Most of the world's newspapers practice a "splashy, superficial, thoughtless and tenuous" journalism that offers readers only a "heterogeneous hodgepodge of triviality." After making that harsh generalization in an ambitious new book that assesses the press on a global scale, John C. Merrill, a professor of journalism at the University of Missouri, nonetheless contends that the number of "serious, intellectually oriented journals with cosmopolitan outlooks" is growing steadily. They constitute what he calls "the elite press," and that is the title of his book (Pitman; $7.95). Merrill not only ticks off the top newspapers by name, but also ranks 100 of them in descending degrees to form the "Merrill Elite Press Pyramid."
Merrill, 44, holds a Ph.D. in mass communications from the University of Iowa and has spent three years checking out his impressions of foreign newspapers, including visits to the home offices of many of them. He defines the elite as "the concerned papers, the knowledgeable papers, the serious papers and the papers which serious people and opinion leaders in all countries take seriously." That definition embraces the captive press of authoritarian societies as well as the best of the free press in the West. Merrill's book provides brief profiles of 40 newspapers, but its value rests on its ranking of the papers. His pyramid places ten papers in a "primary elite," 20 in a "secondary elite," 30 in a "tertiary elite" and 40 in a "near-elite." The world's top ten, with Merrill's estimate of their strengths:
The New York Times—A proud, almost arrogant newspaper whose daily circulation goes to a special leadership audience around the world. Not everybody likes it, but nobody can ignore it. Although its reputation throughout the world probably exceeds reality, it leads all papers in its widespread collection of news and views. Its thoroughness is its chief distinction, and it is the standard against which other American papers are judged.*
Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Zurich)—The most individual, the most serious, the most responsible and the most cosmopolitan. From its lofty pinnacle in its neutral and freedom-loving country, it views all the world with a cold and intellectual detachment.
Le Monde (Paris)—The most remorselessly intellectual and the one that has made the fewest concessions to modern journalism. A paper of interpretation, speculation and realistic conclusion, it possesses an uncanny ability to foresee developments. Calm, unhurried and placid, it consistently represents an intelligent left-of-center line. (It plans to begin publishing an English-language weekly version this winter.)
The Guardian (Manchester/London) —Catalyst to the nonconformist British conscience and representative of the most informed and intelligent sector of British progressive, liberal thought. Not a newspaper to which readers react neutrally, it has de-emphasized news in favor of criticism, interpretation and political polemic.
The Times (London)—Dignified and polite, uncluttered and well edited, with excellent writing and editorials that are highly polished and deceptively sharp. The Times is perhaps the one paper that most readily comes to mind when thoughts turn to quality daily journalism.