A guard dog perspective is offered as a way to better understand the functioning of the mass media as an important set of communication agencies in the social system. This perspective takes into account the varying role performances by mass media in reporting on major public issues. The guard dog metaphor suggests that media perform as a sentry not for the community as a whole, but for groups having sufficient power and influence to create and control their own security systems. This conception is delineated from other perspectives, which include (a) the traditional fourth estate role of watchdog media, (b) the lapdog view of submissive media, and (c) the view of media as part of a power oligarchy. Several hypotheses that may be derived for testing the utility of the guard dog perspective are suggested and discussed in light of various bodies of evidence available.
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