How the Pendulum Swings: The Balance Between Journalistic and Law Enforcement Legitimacy

• In Event: Institutional Trust, Cultural Framing, and Community Relations

Abstract

This study investigates the evolving narrative environment law enforcement resides within; specifically focusing on what is constructed by journalistic storytelling. Journalism historically has held a symbiotic relationship with police to maintain law enforcement legitimacy. Journalism’s role in constructing the truth is dynamic and often influenced by external pressures. The truth construction is done through the dominant macrostories across Hallin’s Spheres (1986). The three unique spheres are consensus, controversy, and deviance. The police and journalists have their own interests in portraying perceptions of legitimacy to the public. By analyzing journalistic storytelling, the study provides insights into how journalism shapes public discourse on policing through a historical content analysis. This analysis will characterize the narrative arcs that have shaped the portrayal of policing over time in newsprint. The research aims to explain how narratives maintaining journalistic legitimacy either legitimize or stigmatize the police profession. This includes broader implications for both journalistic practice and police-community relations.

Author

• Elijah Peter Bueno, Temple University