*Police; Social Attitudes; Stereotypes; Television; *Work Attitudes IDENTIFIERS *Media Role; mdaia Use

As part of a research project studying ways inwhich police, "culture " is socially constructed and displayed in police talk, six members of a research team rode on patrol with officers of a small; community police department,-during all three shifts, for'd period of four monthst Conversations during the rides were recorded. Analysis of'the conversations revealed many references to the mass media, indirectly.disclosing media use. These observations in the social context of police work revealed three expressions of media 'use: (1) nicknames for /officers drawn frdm the media were used to describe the irony and conflict police officers felt about themselves and theire,colleagUes in relation to their community and society; (2) the police officers consistently used media expressions, specifically those frog police novels, as a dramatic authentication of the value. of police work; and, (3) negative references to- television police shows occurred frequently in explana9.ons of the orealn, world of police work. (HT11) I P. * Rleproductions. supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made 40 ' from the original document