Socolow Paper Referenced in Slate Column
Slate columnist Jack Shafer uses research by UMaine journalism professor to counter opinions offered by former ABC journalist Ted Koppel in a Sunday Washington Post column on the current state of television journalism. In that piece, Koppel writes that network news divisions were “loss leader(s) that permitted NBC, CBS and ABC to justify the enormous profits made by their entertainment divisions” until 60 Minutes came along in the 1960s. Shafer’s column makes frequent, detailed references to Socolow’s study published in the December issue of Journalism, describing the “myth” of unprofitable news divisions designed only to serve the public.