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The U.S. media today is frequently known as the Fourth Estate, an appellation that suggests the press shares equal stature with the other branches of government created by the Constitution. The press, or “Fourth Estate” plays a vital role as a guardian of U.S. democracy. That role is guaranteed by the First Amendment¹²to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1789, stipulating that Congress not enact any laws abridging freedom of the press.

U.S. media have traveled a long road since the first newspaper was published in Boston, Massachusetts in 1690. Within 50 years, magazines also began appearing in several major American cities. The advent of commercial radio at the beginning of the 20th century ended print’s monopoly of the media in America, giving nationwide and, later, global audiences unprecedented access to live audio programs. Television, an even more powerful medium, entered the scene shortly after World War II. Defying predictions of their decline, the other media have diversified to confront television’s dominant appeal. Satellite technology has allowed U.S. TV networks, especially cable networks, to reach overseas audiences anywhere on the globe. Interactive media, fueled by the advance of digital technology and the growing convergence of the computer, telephone and cable television, represent the principal trend of the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries.

The print and electronic media in the United States, offering wide news and entertainment options, are a pervasive element in American society. According to a recent survey by Mediamark Research, 98% of Americans have a television; 82% of those watch “prime time”and 71% cable programming in an average week. 84% percent of Americans listen to radio regularly. 79% percent are newspaper readers. 45% percent of the whole American population has access to the Internet, while for certain demographic groups that percentage reaches a high of close to 70%.

Economics plays a major role in shaping the information served up to the U.S. public in newspapers, on radio and television, and now on the Internet. While nonprofit and advocacy organizations have significant voices, most of the public’s primary sources ofinformation—major urban newspapers, the weekly news magazines, and the broadcast and cable networks—are in business to make money. Media and communications, with revenues of over $242 billion, are one of America’s largest business groups. In 2000, adult consumers of media information and amusement products spent over $675 a person. Advertisers spent an additional $215 billion to bring their products to the attention of the American public. The media are a great engine in American society, providing jobs for hundreds of thousands of technicians, writers, artists, performers and intellectuals and shaping attitudes and beliefs.

The public’s right to know is one of the central principles of American society. The framers of the Constitution of the United States resented the strict control that the American colonies’ British rulers had imposed over ideas and information they did not like. They determined that the power of knowledge should be placed in the hands of the people. To insure a healthy and uninhibited flow of information, they included freedom of the press among the basic human rights protected in the new nation’s Bill of Rights¹³. These first 10 Amendments to the Constitution of the United States became law in 1791. The First Amendment says, in part, that “congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…”. That protection from control by the federal government meant that anyone—rich or poor, and regardless of political or religious beliefs—could generally publish whatever he or she wished.

Ever since, the First Amendment has served as the conscience and shield of all Americans. In those early days, the media, created by printing presses, were few and simple—newspapers, pamphlets and books. Today the media also include television, radio, films and the Internet; and the term “the press” refers to any news operation in any media, not just print.

Few press laws are in force in the U.S. because of this broad constitutional protection of press freedom and analogous provisions in the constitutions of the 50 states. Existing laws tend to provide additional protections in categories not covered by the Constitution. The Privacy Act of 1974, for example, regulates the collection and dissemination of personal information contained in the files of federal agencies; the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 establishes protection from police searches of newsrooms. Additional examples include federal and state Freedom of Information and “sunshine” laws （such as the 1966 federal Freedom of Information Act） which opens up executive-branch records to public and press scrutiny.

The scope of U.S. press freedom has been determined principally by court decisions interpreting the nuances of the First Amendment. In general, the U.S. courts have held that thepress has a “watchdog” role over government and is not subject to prior restraint or registration. On the other hand, defamation, obscenity and publication of national-security secrets have been generally determined not eligible for protection under the First Amendment.

In 1934, Congress set up the current oversight agency of the broadcasting industry, the Federal Communications Commission （FCC）¹⁴. The law vested in the FCC not only“watchdog” functions, but licensing and rulemaking powers, subject to “public interest, convenience, and necessity”. Acting on this mandate, the FCC has sought to promote diversity in content and ownership in the broadcasting industry.

The investigative journalism and the “watchdog” role developed by the American press in the 1960s and early 1970s gave way to increased attention to “journalism ethics”. During the Vietnam War, the press played a major role in accelerating the U.S. exit from an unpopular war. During the Watergate¹⁵investigation, two persistent reporters from the Washington Post , Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, succeeded in uncovering facts that led to the resignation of President Nixon. There was, however, also a feeling that the press sometimes went too far, crossing the fine line between the public’s right to know and both the right of individuals to privacy and the obligation of the government to protect national security. In many cases, the courts have decided when and if the press has overstepped its rights. In 1971, the government tried to stop the New York Times from publishing a secret study of the Vietnam War known as the Pentagon Papers, claiming that publication would damage national security. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that since the government could not demonstrate the extent of the damage to national security, the newspapers should be free to publish the information.

Faced, however, with polls showing decreasing credibility in press reports, media organizations throughout the 1980s placed renewed emphasis on ethics, taking advantage of such vehicles as codes, news councils and ombudsmen. Journalistic codes of ethics have been in use in the United States since 1923. The American Society of Newspaper Editors （ASNE）¹⁶approved the first such code; followed by the Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi and the Associated Press Managing Editors. These voluntary ethical codes of the three major newspaper professional organizations offer important guidelines, calling on journalists to perform with intelligence, objectivity, accuracy and fairness.

One of the most important issues for American journalists, however, remains the conflict between two deeply held beliefs: the right to know and the right to privacy and fair treatment.It is not a conflict that can be resolved with a single formula, but only on a case-by-case basis. Although the First Amendment protects the press from government interference, the press does not have complete freedom. There are laws against libel and invasion of privacy, as well as limits on what reporters may do in order to get a story. Television news journalists operate under an additional restriction called the Fairness Doctrine. Under this rule, when a station presents one viewpoint on a controversial issue, the public interest requires the station to give representatives of opposing viewpoints a chance to broadcast a reply. The U.S. court system, state and federal legislatures, regulatory bodies, the public and the media will all continue to have a hand in shaping how such legal and ethical issues are handled.

Like many Americans and American businesses in general, the American media are driven by competition for money. In that sense, the media epitomize the American economic system and the American view of success as largely material in nature. A diminishing number of ever larger corporations have taken over all parts of the entertainment industry, from controlling individual performer’s contracts to producing movies, TV programs, and compact discs to distributing and advertising those products worldwide.

Media executives are always looking for new ways to attract viewers and buyers. These same executives are frequently fired when movies, television programs, or publications fail to attract large enough audiences, even if they have had successes in the past and even if the movies, TV programs, or publications in question have received critical acclaim. The executives experiment, trying new ideas and dropping old ones. Trends and fads in television programs and motion pictures come and go with striking rapidity. Stars are in heavy demand one day and forgotten the next. Likewise, the press often covers some sensational news stories in great detail while overlooking other seemingly newsworthy stories.

One manifestation of media competition has been a segmentation of the market. Cable and satellite television have made it possible to devise not just programs but entire networks aimed at specific subsets of the population. There are channels directed toward children, teenagers, women, families （meaning households with young children）, African Americans, and Latinos. There are channels aimed at people with specific interests, such as cooking, history, literature, current affairs, “romance”, movies, and, of course, sports.

Radio stations normally target specific audiences as defined by age, race, language, and, in effect, level of education. Music producers also target specific groups when they select andpromote different artists. The availability of personal compact-disc players makes it possible for each individual to listen to his or her favorite kind of music in virtually any setting.

The print media also play to a segmented market. In addition to the many well-known national magazines and national or regional newspapers, the print media include a thriving alternative press comprising magazines （some published on the Web） aimed at people in specific categories—butterfly collectors, square dancers, nudists, followers of Eastern spiritual disciplines, and so on.

The Web also thrives on Americans’ devotion to individuality. People establish their own, often very idiosyncratic home pages. They visit chat rooms where they can express their views anonymously. They seek out information on arcane topics and shop for virtually anything without having to be in the company of other people.

1. NCAA全国大学体育协会，是美国全国各大学约1 200个体育协会或个人自发组成的全国性业余体育协会，总部位于印地安纳州印地安纳波利斯。NCAA的会员分为三个等级，其中一、二级的学校可以发放体育奖学金，三级学校则不能发放体育奖学金。相应的，各种比赛也分为三个等级。

2. AFL国家橄榄球联盟，是美国一个庞大的橄榄球联盟。联盟中共有32支队伍，被分为两大联合会：美国橄榄球联合会（American Football Conference，简称AFC，美联）和国家橄榄球联合会（National Football Conference，简称NFC，国联）。每个联合会有16支队伍，又分成4个分赛区：东部、南部、西部和北部。每个分赛区有4支队伍。

3. the Super Bowl超级碗，是美国国家橄榄球联盟的年度冠军赛，胜者被称为“世界冠军”。超级碗一般在每年1月最后一个或2月第一个星期天举行，那一天称为超级碗星期天（Super Bowl Sunday）。超级碗是比赛的名称，其奖杯名称为文斯·隆巴迪杯（Vince Lombardi Trophy）。参与球队为该球季的美国美式足球联会冠军以及国家美式足球联会冠军。

4. Alexander Cartwright亚历山大·卡特来特（1820—1892），历史上最早之棒球规则制定者，被公认为“棒球之父”。

5. Babe Ruth贝比·鲁斯，美国著名职业棒球运动员。原来效力于红袜队，1918年被卖到扬基队，他带领扬基取得多次世界大赛冠军。

6. Jackie Robinson杰基·罗宾森，是美国职棒大联盟史上第一位美国黑人球员。在1947年4月15日罗宾森穿着42号球衣以先发一垒手的身份代表布鲁克林道奇队上场比赛之前，黑人球员只能在黑人联盟打球。因此杰基罗宾森登上大联盟的舞台，被认为是近代美国民权运动重要的标志之一。

7. the World Series世界大赛，是美国职棒大联盟每年10月举行的总冠军赛，是美国以及加拿大职业棒球最高等级的赛事。由美国联盟冠军和国家联盟冠军，进行7战4胜制的总冠军赛。

8. MLB美国职业棒球大联盟，1903年由国家联盟和美国联盟共同成立。这是北美地区最高水平的职棒棒球联赛。

9. World Baseball Classic世界棒球经典赛，在2006年3月3日至3月20日首次举行的棒球国际大赛，2009年3月5日，举办了第二届比赛。以后四年举办一次。世界五大洲皆有球队参赛。

10. FIFA国际足球联合会，简称国际足联。由比利时、法国、丹麦、西班牙、瑞典、荷兰和瑞士倡议，于1904年5月21日在法国巴黎成立，现有208个会员。

11. Major League Soccer美国职业足球大联盟，是美国最高等级的职业足球联赛，大联盟有很强的美国模式的烙印，最独特的是大联盟没有升降级。

12. the First Amendment美国宪法第一修正案，是美国《权利法案》的一部份。该修正案禁止制定任何法律以“确立国教”、阻碍信仰自由、剥夺言论自由、侵犯出版自由和集会自由、干涉或禁止人民向政府和平请愿的自由。

13. Bill of Rights《权利法案》，指美国《1787年宪法》通过后首批10条宪法修正案。其主要内容是弥补宪法在人民权利等方面的不足。

14. FCC美国联邦通信委员会，是一个独立的美国政府机构，它直接向国会负责，根据《通信法案》于1934年成立，职责是规范和管理美国各州以及美国与国际间的无线电广播、电视、有线通信、卫星和线缆通讯。

15. the Watergate水门事件，是美国历史上最不光彩的政治丑闻之一。在1972年的总统选举中，为了取得民主党内部竞选策略的情报，1972年6月17日，以美国共和党尼克松竞选班子的首席安全问题顾问詹姆斯·麦考德（James W. McCord, Jr.）为首的5人闯入位于华盛顿水门大厦的民主党全国委员会办公室，安装窃听器并偷拍有关文件，当场被捕。此事直接导致总统尼克松辞职。

16. ASNE美国报业编辑协会

I. Fill in the blanks according to the text.

1. The most popular sports in the United States are American football, __________, and__________.

2. ____________ invented basketball in 1891 as an indoor diversion for young male athletes during the Northeast’s cold winter months.

3. ____________ is the final contest of the National Football League’s season.

4. ____________ is the highest level of professional baseball competition in North America including teams from the United States and Canada.

5. The U.S. media today is frequently known as ___________, an appellation that suggests the press shares equal stature with the other branches of government created by the Constitution.

6. During the Watergate investigation, two persistent reporters from ____________, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, succeeded in uncovering facts that led to the resignation of President Nixon.

7. One of the most important issues for American journalists remains the conflict between two deeply held beliefs: ____________ and ____________.