The role the media play in shaping perceptions of the public schools is a recurring theme in the ongoing debate over the quality of public education. Public Agenda, at the request of the Education Writers Association, surveyed members of the general public, parents with children in public schools, public school teachers and superintendents, and education reporters and editors to learn exactly what they think about media coverage of education. That educators are highly critical of the education media may not be surprising, but it is interesting that the education media acknowledge they could improve in some areas. The public voices mixed feelings about the media, but, ultimately, surprisingly few rely on the local media for information about their community's schools.
Society is broken.
Sixty-six percent give only fair or poor ratings on the quality of local broadcast media's coverage of public education. They feel educators often unfairly blame them for negative publicity when, in fact, they are simply reporting the news and doing their jobs. But reporters are open to criticism and readily acknowledge room for improvement. The public is not as critical of the media as educators are, but people are divided on whether the media is biased and one sided or fair and well-rounded. They want to get it on the five o'clock news, first story.