Framing Educational Agendas for Managers: The Role of the News Media

Abstract

A continual thread that ran throughout the interviews conducted for this project concerned the influence of the media in shaping public perceptions and political pressures about education. Senior leaders in education spoke about the growing influence that media had on their work; both directly through increased pressures to market and publicize their schools, and indirectly through media-driven influence on parents and the wider community (such as league tables, media-generated moral panics about education and media analysis about the politics of education). Despite the persistent presence of media in their world, educators — and students — directly involved in the sphere often remained relatively powerless in the media sphere, lacking a means of direct access or participation in the news process. Those who worked within the education system were subject not only to the professional power and interests of those who represented them politically (such as statutory agencies and teacher unions), but also those who represented them culturally (the media).