To Protect and Serve: The “Guard Dog” Function of Journalism in Coverage of the Japanese-American Internment

This monograph explores the evolution of themes in print media coverage of Japanese-Americans during the period between Pearl Harbor and the day Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. Print journalists at first halfheartedly played the celebrated role of "watchdog," in some cases urging readers to be tolerant of Japanese-Americans. But their tolerance, and their time in the "watchdog" role, lasted only until the government put the finishing touches on its policy to deal with alleged fifth column activity, a policy which culminated in the internment. From that point on, print journalists assumed the role of "guard dog," acting as the government's sentry, patrolling for threats to the official version of events that unfolded after Pearl Harbor (Donohue, Tichenor, & Olien, 1995). Donohue, Tichenor, and Olien outlined the "guard dog" function as it relates to political reporting, but I argue that it is of particular relevance here. "Guard dog" journalists act as "sentries" for groups who hold power and who have the ability to create their own security systems - in this instance, the federal government, local and state officials, and the military. Guard dog reporting takes place "when external forces present a threat to local leadership" (p. 116). In writing favorably about dominant groups, journalists tend to "concentrate on individuals while accepting the structure," a tendency seen clearly (and discussed in more detail later) in reporting on the alleged Japanese-American threat to national security. Through their interaction with and dependence on local leaders for information, journalists are trained to suspect potential intruders, and sometimes, as is the case here, "sound the alarm" for reasons that the dominant group may initially be unable to understand. This inability arises when the authority within the power structure is divided or when part of the power structure is made uncertain by an organized challenge. Along the way, groups who lack power and influence receive little attention from "guard dog" journalists. How a journalist gathers information and writes stories is shaped by the nature of the structure being served and by whom the dominant groups label a threat. When there is consensus in a community, the guard dog "sleeps," stirring only when an external threat to local leadership materializes. Conflict is reported "in a constrained way and only on certain issues and under certain structural conditions" (p. 116) - in short, when there is conflict between "dominant powers or power blocs" (p. 120). Further, "where different local groups have conflicting interests," Donohue, Tichenor, and Olien argue, "the media are more likely to reflect the views ofthe more powerful groups" (p. 116). Such protection highlights "the functions of externally based conflict for reinforcement of local cohesion" (p.117). Coverage emphasizes the role of dominant groups in addressing issues and correcting problems faced by the community. The guard dog function rejects as "unrealistic" the "watchdog" role of the press taught in so many university journalism classes as a guiding principle for journalistic practice. The media are not autonomous; they operate as part of the power structure; as such, they "have neither the inclination nor the power to challenge those dominant groups, unless they are already under challenge by other forces" (Donohue, Tichenor, & Olien, p. 119). Unable to develop social policy or motivate political action, the media are left to report on actions taken by dominant groups. If, as in the case of alleged "fifth column" activity explored in this monograph, "these groups and agencies are concerned primarily with an external threat, that will be the agenda of the media..." (p. 119). Questions from reporters that seem to challenge the official view of an event or issue amount to "role playing" driven more by attacks from "contending powers" (p. 119) than by a journalist's desire to expose corruption or challenge action taken by a corporation or agency. …