What Did You Learn In School Today?: The Recursive Relationship Between Media Coverage Of Public Education And The Crafting Of Education Policy

Authors

Elisabeth Reinkordt, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

4-2014

Comments

A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts, Major: Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education, Under the supervision of Professor Edmund Hamann. Lincoln, Nebraska: April 2014

Copyright (c) 2014 Elisabeth Ann Reinkordt

Abstract

How does the public learn about issues in contemporary education policy? While changes in the economics of the media industry have shifted the mass media landscape, local communities continue to receive information about the state of their local schools primarily through local newspapers or television stations. It is arguably the most important task of a local paper to provide education coverage, as the schools are often the primary beneficiary of local tax revenues. This thesis reviews the literature surrounding the interface between education reporting and the crafting of education policy, examines the way in which education stories are framed by the media, and then assesses the skills, needs, and resources available to education journalists as it outlines limitations to robust coverage.

Adviser: Edmund Hamann