The makers of meaning: National Public Radio and the new long journalism, 1980-2000

U.S. news media have seen the simultaneous shrinking of political sound bites and audience ratings in the past quarter century. The news also shifted away from event-centered coverage, instead emphasizing reporters and their opinions in what has been called the new long journalism. To observe the depth of these trends, this case study looks at a potential exception to the rule: National Public Radio. Since the late 1970s, its flagship news programs, "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition," have evolved from an alternative source of opinion and information, based on lengthy sound features, into a primary news service. Content analysis of election-year samples reveals a fundamental change affecting most aspects of NPR reports and sound bites. Although insulated somewhat from the market, the programs became more-not less-centered on journalists and their opinions. The coverage did not provide more of the background and information needed to make sense of political events, despite the NPR mission to involve the public. The nostrum for shrinking sound bites and audience ratings-that journalists do a better job of explaining the context that gives political events meaning-thus had unintended consequences, making journalists more important as sense-makers, empowering them rather than citizens.