David Shaw is the Los Angeles Times press critic, the only newspaper writer in the United States who devotes his full time to researching and writing criticisms and explanatory articles about broad issues affecting the press and the public. In addition to calling attention to bias, sensationalism, arrogance, and unresponsiveness in the press, Shaw has sparked internal criticism from his colleagues at the Times; At a time of declining public confidence in the media, Shaw asserts that the press has a duty to explain itself and engage in public self-criticism: The only public institution the press does not regularly scrutinize is the press; This study identifies the most prominent and insightful press self-critics in U.S. history and traces the development of their critical themes. Shaw\u27s eighteen and a half years of press criticism is then examined and found to continue many of the critical themes from history
