No. 45 – Michelle Stack: Deep Mediatization and the U.S. News and World Report Education Rankings

This study examines the impact of U.S. News and World Report (USN) education rankings as a rich example of deep mediatization. The study also investigates the role of academ- ics, non-profit entities, and their parent companies in validating rankings by appearing to be neutral third parties. Academic criticism of the U.S. News and World Report (USN) edu- cation rankings began soon after its inaugural publication in 1983. University rankings ex- isted long before the U.S. News & World Report (USN) rankings; however, the USN rankings represent a leap in the reach and number of rankings and the regularity of publication. In 1987, the USN produced its Best Colleges and Best Graduate School rankings and in 1990, the Best Hospital rankings. In 2008 USN reported its “biggest single audience day” with 2.2. million visitors on the day of publication on usnew.com of Best High Schools (U.S. News In- formation, 2018). The U.S. News & World Report owner, Mortimer Zuckerman, explained to Washington Post journalist Thomas Heath (2013) that rankings saved his company: “Thanks to the rankings, we were … better positioned to take advantage of a web plat- form than most other magazines.” According to Heath’s article, universities and hospitals paid up to $20,000 to use the “Best of” badge from USN, a substantial chunk of the 30% of revenue USN receives from online advertising displayed on its rankings’ pages or as part of the co-sponsorship of events. USN rankings have become a substantial business and are viewed as legitimate tools for decision-making in higher education.

About the author

Michelle Stack
Michelle Stack is Associate Professor at the Department of Educational Studies of the University of British Columbia at Vancouver Campus, Canada. She is an academic Director, UBC Learning Exchange. In 2022, Michelle was a ZeMKI Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Bremen. Her central research interest concerns how people, knowledge and institutions are categorized and the influence of these categorizations on our ability to grapple with “wicked problems” including inequity and climate change.