The Times articles were reprinted in more than 20 other major US newspapers and the claims that dioxin was no longer dangerous were repeated by dozens of other media outlets. New scientific studies indicating that the danger of dioxin was in fact worse than previously realized were hardly reported. Media coverage continued to suggest that the dangers of dioxin had all been exaggerated by emotional environmentalists. Environmental reporting emphasizes individual action rather than underlying social forces and issues. Journalists who try to expose these deeper societal maladies soon learn that it is the editor who decides which stories get aired or printed and how these are to be cut.
Editors represent the owners in the news room.
She teaches at the University of Wollongong, Sydney, Australia.