Journalists placed on parents the burden of dealing most immediately with Web problems. Unfortunately, the articles did not depict teachers, librarians or neighborhood groups as resources for support. At the everyday level, the press showed parents facing a useful but scary Web virtually alone. The press's portrayal of the Internet is particularly significant because it directly reflects the results of the national survey presented in part 1 of the report. The great majority of American parents with computers in the home is conflicted about the Web.
Parents feel it's necessary, but they fear it.
News consumers are alarmed by and interested in the concerns that the press portrays. Journalists, noting this, give more of what becomes the conventional wisdom about the Internet in this manner. Instead of merely piling on instances of crimes on the Web, the press can investigate the prevalence of these crimes to give the public some perspective on the matter. Instead of placing so much emphasis on problems of a violent or sexual nature, the press can also highlight issues of equity, race, class, and commercialism on a national and global basis. There is a world of socially critical issues regarding the Internet that journalists are hardly covering.