Covering the United States Supreme Court in the Digital Age

284 Pages·2014·1.727 MB·English

by  Richard Davis

covering the united states supreme court
in the digital age
The U.S. Supreme Court seeks to withhold information about its deliberations,
while the press’s job is to report and disseminate this information. These two
objectives conflictandcreatetensionbetween thejustices andthe reporterswho
coverthem;addtothattheincreasingdemandsfortransparencyinthedigitalage
and the result is an interesting dynamic between an institution that seeks to
preserve its opaqueness and a press corps that demands greater transparency.
This volume examines the relationship between justices and the press through
chapters that discuss such facets as coverage of the institution, the media’s
approach to the docket, and the effects of news coverage on public opinion.
Additionally,twojournalistswhocovertheCourtofferinsightsintotheprofession
of reporting today, while two biographers of Supreme Court justices share the
perspectivesofthosejusticesregardingthepress.
RichardDavisisaprofessorofpoliticalscienceanddirectoroftheOfficeofCivic
Engagement at Brigham Young University. He holds a PhD in political science
from Syracuse University. He is the author of several books on the role of the
media in American politics. He is past chair of the political communication
sectionoftheAmericanPoliticalScienceAssociation.

Covering the United States Supreme
Court in the Digital Age
Edited by
R I C H A R D D A V I S
BrighamYoung University
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,ny10013-2473,usa
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©RichardDavis2014
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permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2014
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
CoveringtheUnitedStatesSupremeCourtinthedigitalage/editedbyRichardDavis.
pages cm
ISBN978-1-107-05245-1(Hardback)
1. UnitedStates.SupremeCourt–Presscoverage. 2. Courtsoflastresort–Press
coverage–UnitedStates. 3. Massmedia–Lawandlegislation–UnitedStates.
I. Davis,Richard,editorofcompilation.
KF8742.C6792014
070.40493477326–dc23 2014003454
ISBN978-1-107-05245-1Hardback
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accurateorappropriate.
To the reporters of the United States Supreme Court press corps

Contents
Aboutthe Contributors page ix
Introduction 1
1. The SymbioticRelationship Betweenthe U.S.Supreme
Court and the Press 4
RichardDavis
2. How and Why the SupremeCourtRemains Undercovered 23
TylerJohnson
3. News Coverage of the Supreme Court Docket 42
TerriL.TownerandRosaleeA.Clawson
4. TheSupreme Court and New MediaTechnologies 61
VincentJamesStrickler
5. Explaining Intermedia Coverageof Supreme Court Decisions 89
RichardL.Vining,Jr.,andPhilMarcin
6. Constructing Harry Blackmun 109
RorieSpillSolbergandEricN.Waltenburg
7. On and Off the Supreme Court Beat: Differencesin
Newspaper Coverage of the Supreme Court and the
Implications forPublic Support 126
NicholasLaRoweandValerieHoekstra
8. The Placement of Conflict: The SupremeCourtand Issue
Attention in the NationalMedia 153
JosephDanielUra
vii
viii Contents
9. How Traditional JournalistsCoverthe Courtin the
NewMedia Age 173
DavidG.Savage
10. TheSupreme Court and New Media 187
DahliaLithwick
11. What the Justices Thinkof the Press 198
LauraMoyerandMatthewThornton
12. JusticeBrennan and the Press 221
SethStern
13. JusticeJohn Paul Stevens and the Press:Extra! Extra!
Read AllAbout It! 238
BillBarnhart
Index 257