bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Behavioral Journalism for HIV Prevention: Community Newsletters Influence Risk-Related Attitudes and Behavior
Authors: McAlister Alfred , Johnson Wayne , Guenther-Grey Carolyn , Fishbein Martin , Higgins Donna , O'Reilly Kevin
Published: December 2011

Research teams in five cities used behavioral journalism to promote condom use and injection hygiene (use of bleach to clean shared injection equipment) among subpopulations at risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. For three years, HIV-prevention campaigns were conducted in which newsletters containing stories about peer models were distributed in selected communities. We report exposure to the campaigns across time, the cognitive and behavioral effects of increasing degrees of exposure, and the degree to which other sources of HIV information reached these communities. After one year, campaigns reached approximately 40 percent to 80 percent of the intended audiences. The reported number of campaign exposures was associated with theoretical cognitive determinants of behavior change and with risk-reduction behavior in communities that were not being effectively reached by other HIV prevention messages.
Covering Domestic Violence: How the O.J. Simpson Case Shaped Reporting of Domestic Violence in the News Media
Authors: Maxwell Kimberly A. , Huxford John , Borum Catherine , Hornik Robert
Published: December 2011

This article examines how the Simpson case affected newspaper coverage of domestic violence. We analyzed the frequency with which domestic violence was covered and the content of that coverage in the New York Times, the Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News. As expected, the number of non-Simpson domestic violence stories increased immediately after the event but declined in the majority of newspapers afterwards. The hypothesis that domestic violence story coverage would shift from incident focused to socially focused reporting was not generally supported. Social coverage was present across all domestic violence stories before the Simpson event, and with only minor variations, the overall coverage content did not change.
From On-Air to Online World: Examining the Content and Structures of Broadcast TV Stations' Web Sites
Authors: Chan-Olmsted Sylvia M. , Park Jung Suk
Published: December 2011

This article examined the TV stations' application of the Web features that presumably would contribute to the effectiveness of their Web sites from both the organizational and consumer's perspectives. It also explored whether certain market factors are associated with the availability of these features. The content analysis found that news-related content played an important role on these Web sites and interactivity and personalization were not readily observed on these sites. Broadcast TV stations seem to be following a safer route of expansion into this new medium by re-assembling and re-proposing their distinctive existing products for online delivery.
Reflections on News Event Diffusion Research
Authors: Rogers Everett M.
Published: December 2011

This evaluation of fifty-two research studies of the diffusion of news events summarizes prior work and discusses the need for future research. Emphasis here is on the 1960 investigation by Paul Deutschmann and Wayne Danielson. This paradigmatic study of news event diffusion led mass communication scholars to focus on the S-shaped rate of diffusion over time, media and interpersonal channels, and the salience of news events. Salience may be related (1) to the relative importance of interpersonal communication channels in diffusing a news event, and (2) to the number of others an individual tells about the news event. Future news event diffusion research should emphasize new dependent variables (in addition to awareness-knowledge of the news event), such as knowledge about the news event, attitude change, and overt behavior change.
Beauty and the Beasts: Significance of Press Coverage of the 1913 National Suffrage Parade
Authors: Lumsden Linda J.
Published: December 2011

When five thousand suffragists marched down Pennsylvania Avenue on 3 March 1913, a drunken mob broke up their parade. This article discusses the cultural significance of widespread indignation discovered in parade coverage by ten daily newspapers. Newspapers became the forum for a broader debate on women's place in society stirred by the mayhem. Newspaper coverage of the suffrage parade was significant because it conferred legitimacy upon women's right of assembly. The acknowledgement by the mainstream press that women enjoyed some rights of citizenship moved it closer to the logical conclusion that women also had a right to vote.
Trespassing Speakers and Commodified Speech: First Amendment Freedoms Meet Private Property Claims
Authors: Bunker Matthew D.
Published: December 2011

Legal claims based upon private property rights are increasingly infringing upon interests in freedom of speech and the free dissemination of information. This essay examines both “real” property claims and intellectual property rights that affect free speech and urges that courts, legislatures, and others carefully scrutinize new attempts to impute trespass liability and commodify information.
Talk or Conversation? Dimensions of Interpersonal Discussion and Their Implications for Participatory Democracy
Authors: Scheufele Dietram A.
Published: December 2011

Discussion among citizens has long been identified as a necessary condition for a healthy and functioning democracy. This study uses telephone survey data to examine empirically Michael Schudson's assumption that discussion is not singular, but actually a concept involving social conversation and political talk. It operationalizes the concepts of political talk and conversation and examines their implications for indicators of democratic citizenship. Findings show that indeed there is a conceptual distinction between talk and conversation. Hard news media use was more strongly related to political talk than to sociable conversations. Similarly, people who talked about politics more frequently also displayed higher levels of political factual knowledge and political participation. These findings suggest interesting directions for further research about discussion and democracy.
When No News Is Good News: Inferring Closure for News Issues
Authors: Metzger Miriam J.
Published: December 2011

Evidence reviewed here suggests that people are motivated to achieve closure on news stories that are left unresolved by retrospectively inferring a plausible resolution to the issue or event using their cognitive schemata. Data from 264 respondents revealed that people do infer closure under certain circumstances, particularly when they are less involved in an issue. Interestingly, the results also show that when closure inferences are made, people tend to believe that the issue improved rather than worsened, lending support for the claim that people have a natural “positivity bias” and that, literally, no news is good news.
The Interaction of News and Advocate Frames: Manipulating Audience Perceptions of a Local Public Policy Issue
Authors: Tewksbury David , Jones Jennifer , Peske Matthew W. , Raymond Ashlea , Vig William
Published: December 2011

This article presents the results of a two-wave experiment designed to examine how journalistic news frames can facilitate the communication of advocacy frames designed to influence audience perceptions of a political issue. We constructed five versions of a newspaper article about large-scale hog farms. The versions differed in the weight they gave to frames promoted by organizations interested in this issue. The relative emphasis given the competing frames was reflected in subjects' interpretations of the issue and in their evaluations of hog farms. A retest three weeks after the initial exposure revealed a significant, though muted, cognitive impact of the frames. The implications of these results for journalism, issue advocacy, and the study of issue framing are discussed.
The Metro Wide Web: Changes in Newspapers' Gatekeeping Role Online
Authors: Singer Jane B.
Published: December 2011

Newspapers traditionally have brought selected information about the world to local readers' doorsteps. But as papers go online, their editors face new decisions relating to that gatekeeping role. This study examines the print and online versions of six Colorado newspapers, comparing the amount of local and nonlocal news, sports and business content in each. The findings indicate online products have a much stronger local orientation than print ones, suggesting that online papers may be moving toward a reinterpretation of their role in connecting readers to the world beyond their horizons.
Erosion of Television Coverage of City Hall? Perceptions of TV Reporters on the Beat
Authors: Coulson David C. , Riffe Daniel , Lacy Stephen , St. Cyr Charles R.
Published: December 2011

In a mail survey of 283 television journalists (67 percent completion) who cover city government in the 214 U.S. television markets, respondents were asked about station commitment to local government news in terms of prominence, airtime, and perceived newsroom importance. Small-market stations were seen as more committed to covering city hall, a finding consistent with content analysis data about local news coverage. More veteran reporters perceived diminishing commitment and quality during the last five years, with fewer stories and less airtime.
Revisiting the Civic Duty to Keep Informed in the New Media Environment
Authors: Poindexter Paula M. , McCombs Maxwell E.
Published: December 2011

The present study revisits the relationship between the civic duty to keep informed and news media use in the new media environment, then discovers that the civic duty to keep informed functions as an intervening variable between education and news media use. Of particular theoretical interest is that the civic duty to keep informed was found to be a consequence of education and a determinant of use of new news media, specifically cable news and national news on the Internet, news media that did not exist when the civic duty to keep informed was first measured using a Guttman scale more than twenty years ago. The civic duty to keep informed was also found to have the same strong monotonic relationship to traditional sources of news, newspapers, and network television, as was found in numerous settings more than twenty years ago. Moreover, one new relationship emerged here that was not found in earlier years, a clear relationship between a civic duty to keep informed and use of local TV news. The demographic patterns found in the new media environment among citizens in this southwestern metropolitan area—strong monotonic, or near monotonic, links between the civic duty to keep informed and education, income, and age—replicate the patterns found in earlier years. For education and income, the patterns are very similar. For age, the pattern is even stronger than in previous years.
Evelyn Waugh's Scoop: The Facts Behind the Fiction
Authors: Salwen Michael B.
Published: December 2011

Novelist Evelyn Waugh's assignment as the London Daily Mail's Addis Ababa correspondent reporting the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935–1936 inspired him to write Scoop, a biting satire of the Addis Ababa correspondents. While journalism scholars are aware that Waugh's wartime experiences inspired Scoop, researchers have not investigated the book's origins in depth. This study examined Waugh's criticisms of the correspondents' scoop mentalities by investigating the real scoop satirized in Scoop-of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie's secret deal with an American business consortium to excavate the country's mineral and oil reserves. In their obsession to get scoops, the correspondents colluded with high-level sources and failed to question sources' motives. Waugh's criticisms of the correspondents' obsessions to get scoops, although not original, reached a wide audience and influenced popular beliefs about war reporting and war correspondents.
Second-Level Agenda Setting in the New Hampshire Primary: A Comparison of Coverage in Three Newspapers and Public Perceptions of Candidates
Authors: Golan Guy , Wanta Wayne
Published: December 2011

Second-level agenda setting was examined during the New Hampshire primary through a comparison of Gallup poll responses and coverage in three newspapers in the region. Results show that John McCain was covered much more positively than George W. Bush. The findings also show that respondents linked four of six cognitive attributes (issues, personal characteristics) to candidates in direct proportion to media coverage. The results show less support for media influence on the affective (positive) attributes individuals linked to candidates.
High School Newspapers Still Censored Thirty Years after Tinker
Authors: Kopenhaver Lillian Lodge , Click J. William
Published: December 2011

It has been slightly more than three decades since the 1969 Supreme Court Tinker decision that guaranteed freedom to high school newspapers that are forums for public expression and one decade since the 1988 Supreme Court Hazelwood decision which reaffirmed the right of high school principals to censor stories in student newspapers that are not open forums. This study investigates press freedom in high school newspapers at the end of the century. The findings paint a clear picture of a high school student press that is not free, that is controlled mostly by advisers, but also by principals, and that views editing of the paper by the faculty adviser as the norm.
The Impact of Competition on Weekly Newspaper Advertising Rates
Authors: Lacy Stephen , Coulson David C. , Cho Hiromi
Published: December 2011

This national study of 432 weekly newspapers found that competition from other weeklies in a county was correlated with a lower cost-per-thousand ad rate. However, when a subsample of 236 weeklies with intense competition was analyzed, this relationship with cost per thousand disappeared. Instead, the data showed that as competition became more intense, a weekly's open-column-inch ad rates decreased. Also, when market size was controlled for, ad rates for paid weeklies did not differ from free weeklies' ad rates.
Does It Pay to Be a Market-Oriented Daily Newspaper?
Authors: Beam Randal A.
Published: December 2011

Results from a national study show that market-driven journalism does not appear to pay off with higher circulation or household penetration. The study does show, however, that senior editors from market-oriented newsrooms express less uncertainty about their paper's environment than editors from other newspapers. They also feel more confident that they can adapt their paper to changes in its environment.
Syndicated Service Dependence and a Lack of Commitment to Localism: Scripps Newspapers and Market Subordination
Authors: Adams Edward E. , Baldasty Gerald J.
Published: December 2011

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Scripps chain was profitable and the largest newspaper operation in terms of number of newspapers owned. However, these two accomplishments belie the fact that most of the chain's papers were in a subordinated market position, and often the last position in the market. A content analysis and historical assessment suggest the chain's heavy dependence on syndicated material and lack of commitment to local issues contributed to the subordinated market position.
Comparing Distinctions and Similarities Across Websites of Newspapers, Radio Stations, and Television Stations
Authors: Lin Carolyn A. , Jeffres Leo W.
Published: December 2011

In the current Internet environment, media must not only compete with one another but with a host of newcomers, including online companies with no traditional media ties and a variety of other entrepreneurs. To what extent do the media reflect their traditional strengths and features? Furthermore, since the Internet allows for two-way communication, which of the media are taking advantage of this feature to connect with their audiences? This paper reports the results of a content analysis of 422 websites associated with local newspapers, radio stations, and television stations in twenty-five of the largest metro markets in the United States. Results show that each medium (including newspaper, radio station, and television station) has a relatively distinctive content emphasis, while each attempts to utilize its website to maximize institutional goals. Market size is found to be a relatively unimportant factor in shaping the content of these websites, but media type helps explain how these websites are differentiated.
Intellectuals' Property: Universities, Professors, and the Problem of Copyright in the Internet Age
Authors: Bunker Matthew D.
Published: December 2011

Although universities long neglected copyright claims in faculty teaching and research materials, the thought of potential revenues from Internet distance education has recently made the issue salient. This article analyzes the extent to which universities may claim ownership in faculty works through the work for hire doctrine of copyright law. It also explores whether there is continued vitality in a “teacher exception” to the work for hire doctrine.
From Luxury to Utility: A Longitudinal Analysis of Cell Phone Laggards
Authors: Wei Ran
Published: December 2011

Who remains a cell phone have-not as the cell phone evolves from luxury to utility? This study, based on large-scale telephone surveys in Hong Kong in 1998 and 2000, pursues a longitudinal analysis of the socioeconomic characteristics of the diminishing ranks of non-adopters and assesses the consequence of non-adoption. Over the period, the divide shrank, but the dividing lines along socioeconomic status are still significant. Though the have-nots perceived the cell phone's technical attributes in a better light, socioeconomic status and social influences continued to dominate in the adoption process. Further, cell phone have-nots appeared less knowledgeable about information technologies, providing fresh empirical support for the knowledge gap hypothesis.
Numbers in the Newsroom: A Qualitative Examination of a Quantitative Challenge
Authors: Curtin Patricia A. , Maier Scott R.
Published: December 2011

To examine how journalists perceive their use of numbers in the news, focus groups were conducted with reporters, copy editors, and top managers of a 150,000-circulation daily newspaper. Results suggest that varying levels of math anxiety lead to fundamental differences in journalists' use of numbers. Perceived math ability, not actual ability, appears key to determining the extent that journalists work effectively with numbers. Drawing on self-efficacy theory, the researchers propose a conceptual framework for understanding and improving numeracy in the newsroom. Strategies for helping journalists work with numbers with greater confidence and competence also are explored.
Voter Learning and Interest in the 2000 Presidential Election: Did the Media Matter?
Authors: Weaver David , Drew Dan
Published: December 2011

This study examines the relationships of exposure and attention to various news media, including the Internet, with information learned about the issue positions of candidates George Bush and Al Gore, interest in the 2000 election campaign, and intention to vote among a random sample of adult residents of Indiana who were interviewed by telephone in October and November 2000. The findings are compared with those of previous studies of the 1988, 1992, and 1996 presidential elections. They confirm the importance of television news and television debates as sources of issue information, despite criticisms, and the importance of paying attention to newspaper campaign news for voting.
Sample Size for Newspaper Content Analysis in Multi-Year Studies
Authors: Lacy Stephen , Riffe Daniel , Stoddard Staci , Martin Hugh , Chang Kuang-Kuo
Published: December 2011

This study examines the most efficient method of sampling content from five years of daily newspaper editions. Selecting nine constructed weeks (nine issues from a Monday, nine from a Tuesday, etc.) from five years is more efficient than the ten constructed weeks—two from each year—suggested by previous research on populations of a year's newspaper content. This rule holds provided the variables being measured do not have large variances.
News Information Processing as Mediator of the Relationship between Motivations and Political Knowledge
Authors: Eveland William P.
Published: December 2011

The cognitive mediation model of learning from the news proposes that motivations for news use influence the processing to which the news information is put, and that this processing is the proximal determinant of learning. The role of motivations in learning from the news, then, is indirect through information processing. Secondary analysis of data indicate substantial support for the model. The relationship between motivations and knowledge was reduced by the introduction of the mediating cognitive variables, news attention, and news elaboration. Both attention and elaboration were significantly related to knowledge, even after controlling all other variables in the model.
Newspaper Coverage of Fundamentalist Christians, 1980–2000
Authors: Kerr Peter A. , Moy Patricia
Published: December 2011

In light of evidence indicating that political attitudes are driven in part by attitudes toward fundamentalist Christians, this study examines the potential role of media coverage in influencing these attitudes. A content analysis of a probability sample of 2,696 articles drawn from Lexis-Nexis indicates a relatively stable and slightly negative portrayal of fundamentalist Christians since 1980. The amount and type of depictions differed by geographical region as well as by type of newspaper article. Also emerging from the data was a trend toward the meshing of religion and politics. Implications of such coverage are discussed.
The Normative-Economic Justification for Public Discourse: Letters to the Editor as a “Wide Open” Forum
Authors: Wahl-Jorgensen Karin
Published: December 2011

To show how U.S. society thinks about public discourse, this study examines how editors in the San Francisco Bay area speak about the letters to the editor section. The research finds that editors successfully balance two visions of the section. On the one hand, editors celebrate its democratic potential. On the other hand, the letters section is also seen as a “customer service” feature that boosts the newspaper's financial success. The coexistence of the two models gives rise to a “normative-economic justification” for public discourse, which captures the idea that what is good for democracy is also, inevitably, good for business.
What the Public Thinks about Public Relations: An Impression Management Experiment
Authors: Sallot Lynne M.
Published: December 2011

Impression management theories suggest that perceived motives of self-interest may explain the poor reputation sometimes attributed to public relations. A 4×2×2 factorial design experiment with 585 nonstudent adults and undergraduate students tested effects of motives, communication style, and licensing on the reputation of public relations. Perceived motives to impression manage in public relations, seen as advocacy behavior, had a main effect. Public relations was found to be less well-regarded when its practitioners were seen as acting with overt, intentional behaviors for self-gain compared with practitioners not appearing to be intentionally managing impressions. Mixed support was found for licensing as a means of enhancing reputation. Results of experimental tests suggest licensing may create a halo effect around selfishly motivated practitioners. The effect of one-way or two-way communication was in combination with the other factorial variables.
A Editorial Comment
Authors: Steiner Linda
Published: December 2011

When Jack Lule and I first discussed a special issue on mythology in journalism, we never anticipated receiving well over thirty submissions. The fact that so many scholars responded indicates, at a minimum, growing acceptance of the notion that media organizations and the professionals who work for those organizations deploy myths.
Myth in Charles Kuralt's “On the Road”
Authors: Ehrlich Matthew C.
Published: December 2011

Charles Kuralt was perhaps the most beloved journalist of his day via his “On the Road” television reports for CBS News. This article qualitatively examines those reports in the context of Kuralt's speeches and other writings. It argues that his stories not only drew upon ancient myths such as those of the “Other World” and the “Good Mother” but also uniquely American myths extolling self-reliance and individuals' ability to address social problems. The article examines whether those myths primarily served conservative, system-maintaining ends or presented a model for change in journalism and American society that is still relevant today.
Global News, National Stories: Producers as Mythmakers at Germany's Deutsche Welle Television
Authors: Silcock B. William
Published: December 2011

This article explores the mythic nature of television news in a global-newsroom context. News routine analysis of newscast producers and ethnographic data from a case study of the English-language newsroom at Germany's Deutsche Welle point to the existence of sociocultural filters influencing news decisions and, in turn, mythmaking. These filters reveal a uniquely German myth—the Past—not shared and even resisted by English-language (Anglo) producers framing stories and constructing newscasts from a German news organization for a global audience.
Olympic Athletes and Heroism in Advertising: Gendered Concepts of Valor?
Authors: Goodman J. Robyn , Duke Lisa L. , Sutherland John
Published: December 2011

This analysis of television advertisements aired during NBC's telecast of the 2000 NBC Summer Olympics examined advertisers' use of Jungian-based concepts of heroism and gendered concepts of heroism. Using traditional archetypes of heroes—the Innocent, Orphan, Martyr, Wanderer, Warrior, and Magician—the study analyzed commercials featuring Olympic athletes. Findings were that male and female athletes were equally portrayed as Warriors. However, male athletes were more likely to be portrayed as preparing for and doing battle successfully while female athletes were more likely to be celebrated for their athletic skills and achievements.
A Case Study of Deliberative Democracy on Television: Civic Dialogue on C-SPAN Call-in Shows
Authors: Kurpius David D. , Mendelson Andrew
Published: December 2011

Call-in programs have been specifically designed to give citizens a venue for offering their perceptions on various topics. The purposes of this exploratory study were to examine the extent to which callers brought in new political ideas and incorporated values, solutions, and consequences in their comments and to analyze the reactions of hosts/guests on C-SPAN's Washington Journal. Content analysis of 225 callers revealed 27 percent of caller-generated topics presented new political information. Callers talked longer when the topic was new rather than old; seldom were values, solutions, or consequences discussed. The results are discussed in relation to Yankelovich's work on public judgment.
The Bush and Gore Presidential Campaign Web Sites: Identifying with Hispanic Voters during the 2000 Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Primary
Authors: Len-Ríos María E.
Published: December 2011

This study examines presidential campaign discourse addressed to Hispanic voters during the 2000 Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Burke's concept of identification is used to determine how candidates identified with Hispanics through (1) common association, (2) antithesis, and (3) subtlety or cunning. Results reveal that George W. Bush invested more in his Spanish Web site and differentiated more among distinct Hispanic populations to create identification with specific subgroups, while Al Gore presented a pan-Latino message. Overall, only four of the thirty-one analyzed messages focused specifically on mobilizing voters during the primary/caucus season.
Cause-Related Marketing Ads in the Light of Negative News
Authors: Deshpande Sameer , Hitchon Jacqueline C.
Published: December 2011

This experimental study tested Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) ads in the context of Benoit's Image Restoration Theory. The effects of three kinds of ads on the image of a brand and a nonprofit organization (NPO) after the release of an unfavorable news story were compared: brand ads, PSAs, and CRM ads. CRM ads produced more favorable responses than brand ads prior to scandal, but lost their advantage in the light of negative news.
Explaining Variability in Newspaper Design: An Examination of the Role of Newsroom Subgroups
Authors: Lowrey Wilson
Published: December 2011

Variability in newspaper design is typically thought to reflect changes in the paper's economic environment as well as wider cultural trends. The present study proposes an additional factor: the relative influence of the design subgroup, conceptualized as an “occupational subgroup” with its own distinct knowledge base, norms, and values. The analysis was conducted within the context of higher-level predictors of design variability, including organizational size, corporate size, and newspaper competition. Findings from a national survey of newspaper organizations show that professionally judged design quality is most strongly predicted by size of the newspaper, and prominence of graphics is best explained by relative influence of the design subgroup. It appears graphical prominence is shaped most by the political effectiveness of designers, and design quality is more greatly determined by the consequences of size, such as level of resources and degree of specialized expertise.
Advertising Managers' Perceptions of Sales Effects and Creative Properties of National Newspaper Advertising: The Medium Revisited
Authors: Reid Leonard N. , King Karen Whitehill
Published: December 2011

Building on a previous survey of large-agency media specialists' opinions on the sales effects of national newspaper advertising, we surveyed advertising managers with the nation's largest national advertisers to measure opinions on national newspaper advertising for (1) ad delivery effectiveness, (2) sales effects, and (3) creative properties of media-delivered ads. High agreement was found between ad managers and media specialists. Newspapers fared poorly as a national medium for ad delivery effectiveness, sales effects, and medium-based creative properties of ads in comparison with network TV, but were judged effective at producing immediate sales payout and delivering both simple and complex ad messages. The more dollars spent in national newspaper advertising by a company, the more effective the medium was perceived by that firm's advertising manager.
Measuring Contingencies: Using Scales to Measure Public Relations Practitioner Limits to Accommodation
Authors: Reber Bryan H. , Cameron Glen T.
Published: December 2011

The contingency theory of accommodation in public relations posits that public relations practice moves on a continuum from total client or employer advocacy to total accommodation of a public. A survey of ninety-one top public relations practitioners was used to quantify contingency theory by constructing scales of five theoretical constructs: external threats, external public characteristics, organizational characteristics, public relations department characteristics, and dominant coalition characteristics. While the default response of practitioners was that bridge building is the best public relations practice, specific contingencies were found to limit bridge building or accommodation. Practitioners cited fear of legitimizing activist claims, credibility and commitment of an external public, and the place of public relations in the dominant coalition as contingencies impacting dialogue with contending publics.
Question-Order Effects in Surveys: The Case of Political Interest, News Attention, and Knowledge
Authors: Lasorsa Dominic L.
Published: December 2011

Subjects were exposed to one of three survey versions differing only in question order. Those who first faced difficult political knowledge questions reported significantly lower levels of both political interest and news attention than those who did not first face the knowledge test. However, when the knowledge questions and the interest and attention questions were separated by a “buffer” item that could serve as an excuse for poor knowledge, self-assessed interest and attention were less depressed. Characteristics of survey questions that may make them particularly susceptible to these types of question-order context effects are discussed and strategies for dealing with such effects are noted.
The Impact of Web Site Campaigning on Traditional News Media and Public Information Processing
Authors: Ku Gyotae , Kaid Lynda Lee , Pfau Michael
Published: December 2011

This study examined the impact of Web site campaigning on traditional news media agendas and on public opinion during the 2000presidential election campaign. Based on an intermedia agenda-setting approach, this study demonstrated the direction of influence among three media in terms of the flow of information. An agenda-setting impact of Web site campaigning on the public was also identified.
Gender Politics: News Coverage of the Candidates' Wives in Campaign 2000
Authors: Winfield Betty Houchin , Friedman Barbara
Published: December 2011

This study considers coverage of the candidates' wives prior to the election during the 2000 presidential campaign. News coverage is examined for the presence of established frames used in covering First Ladies: as an escort, in a protocol role, in a noblesse oblige role, and as a policy adviser.
The Princess and the Paparazzi: Blame, Responsibility, and the Media's Role in the Death of Diana
Authors: Hindman Elizabeth Blanks
Published: December 2011

This case study examines mainstream newspaper editorials' discussion of the role, responsibility, and ethics of the media in the death of the Princess of Wales. Using attribution theory, it concludes that the newspapers dealt with criticism of the media in the case in several ways. First, they distanced themselves from the photographers who chased her car before it crashed; second, they blamed those outside the media, including Diana herself; and third, they acknowledged some responsibility.
Professional Confidence and Situational Ethics: Assessing the Social-Professional Dialectic in Journalistic Ethics Decisions
Authors: Berkowitz Dan , Limor Yehiel
Published: December 2011

Ethical decisions that journalists make vary greatly in their situational context, often shaped by a tension between professional values and organizational imperatives. This survey of newspaper reporters questions the notion of a common ethics decision-making framework that applies uniformly from situation to situation. Through three ethical situations—each varying in the nature of interaction with news sources—the study considers how individual, peer-group, organizational, professional, and societal levels of analysis relate to journalists' ethics decision making. Results found that ethical decisions vary by context and that an important difference among journalists is their degree of professional confidence.
Embargoes and Science News
Authors: Kiernan Vincent
Published: December 2011

This paper proposes a model of the processes of the social construction of news by newspapers of studies reported in scientific and medical journals, through the use of embargoed access to the journals by the journalists. Substantial support for the model was found in data from a content analysis of 46,108 coverage decisions by newspapers for studies reported in four elite scholarly journals from June 1997 through May 1998. Associated Press coverage of a journal article was the principal direct influence on newspaper coverage of the journal article, with press releases and the proximity of the research having lesser direct influence.
Numeracy in the Newsroom: A Case Study of Mathematical Competence and Confidence
Authors: Maier Scott R.
Published: December 2011

Testing of mathematical skills at a metropolitan newspaper provides a baseline assessment of numeracy in the newsroom. Drawing on social cognitive theory, the study also examines the interplay of mathematical competence and confidence of journalists. The results challenge the view that most journalists cannot handle elementary mathematics. Nonetheless, about one in six of news-editorial staff failed to answer the majority of math questions posed. Testing reveals high math anxiety even among strong math performers. The study also documents a gender gap in mathematics skills and confidence.
The Impact of Public Ownership, Profits, and Competition on Number of Newsroom Employees and Starting Salaries in Mid-Sized Daily Newspapers
Authors: Lacy Stephen , Blanchard Alan
Published: December 2011

This study of seventy-seven dailies between 25,000 and 100,000 circulation found publicly held daily newspapers produced higher profit margins than did privately held dailies. Public ownership and higher profits were associated with smaller newsroom staffs. Public ownership was positively related with starting salaries. Also, the presence of competition was positively correlated with newsroom size and starting salary. The impact of profitability on newsroom size was progressively greater for newspapers with higher-than-average profit margins.
Media or Personal Relations? Exploring Media Relations Dimensions in South Korea
Authors: Jo Samsup , Kim Yungwook
Published: December 2011

This study examined the dimensions of media relations and their impact on how public relations is valued. The results showed that three factors determine media relations in South Korea. The first principal factor demonstrated existence of informal relationships in media relations. The results also affirm the personal influence model of public relations. Establishing personal relationships with journalists is a critical task among public relations practitioners. If public relations practitioners do not possess personal relationships with appropriate journalists, they often have difficulty getting media coverage. In particular, personal relationships play a critical role in the event of minimizing unfavorable media coverage.
PRSA: Scale Development for Exploring the Impetus of Public Relations Strategies
Authors: Huang Yi-Hui
Published: December 2011

This paper develops a multiple-item scale for measuring public relations strategies, i.e., the Public Relations Strategy Assessment (PRSA). In this study, Chinese culture was considered and incorporated into scale development. After a discussion of the conceptualization and operationalization of the dimensions of public relations strategies, three survey data sets are used for scale development, including (1) legislators and their assistants from the Legislative Yuan, (2) congressional liaisons from the Executive Yuan, and (3) public relations practitioners from Taiwan's top-500 companies and PR agencies in Taiwan. Moreover, two long-interview data sets that consist of a total of thirty-two in-person long interviews were incorporated. Evidence of the scale's reliability, factor structure, and validity are presented.
Ownership and Barriers to Entry in Non-Metropolitan Daily Newspaper Markets
Authors: Lacy Stephen , Coulson David C. , Martin Hugh J.
Published: December 2011

This exploratory study examines the relationship between private ownership of dailies and the number of weekly newspapers and weekly penetration in non-metropolitan counties. These data indicate private ownership is associated with fewer weeklies in a county, a result consistent with economic theory that suggests private dailies may create barriers to entry for weeklies through nonaggressive pricing strategies and investment in newsroom quality.
Agenda Setting and International News: Media Influence on Public Perceptions of Foreign Nations
Authors: Wanta Wayne , Golan Guy , Lee Cheolhan
Published: December 2011

A national poll and a content analysis of network newscasts examined if coverage of foreign nations had an agenda-setting influence. The more media coverage a nation received, the more likely respondents were to think the nation was vitally important to U.S. interests, supporting the agenda-setting hypothesis. The more negative coverage a nation received, the more likely respondents were to think negatively about the nation, supporting the second level of agenda setting. Positive coverage of a nation had no influence on public perceptions.
Whither the Experts? Newspaper Use of Horse Race and Issue Experts in Coverage of Open Governors' Races in 2002
Authors: Freedman Eric , Fico Frederick
Published: December 2011

This study assessed the use of “horse race” and issue experts by fifteen daily newspapers covering seven open races for governor between Labor Day and Election Day 2002. About 38% of stories cited experts. “Horse race” experts were cited in 27% of news stories, while issue experts were cited in 14%. Experts were cited more frequently in 2002 than in a similar study of a 1998 governor's race. Stories by statehouse bureau reporters were more likely than others to cite experts. More prominently displayed stories cited more experts than other stories, as did stories that were more balanced between electoral opponents.
A Pitfall of New Media? User Controls Exacerbate Editing Effects on Memory
Authors: Southwell Brian G. , Lee Mira
Published: December 2011

While much research focuses on main effects of emerging media technologies, the potential for new media attributes to moderate relationships between content features and cognitive outcomes has enjoyed less attention. Do new user controls moderate editing effects on memory? This study demonstrates that control can exacerbate effects. Researchers developed an interface offering two levels of user control. Those assigned to a situation comparable to traditional television viewing were four times more likely to later recognize complex media content than were those for whom user control over pacing and narrative sequence was available. Implications for journalism and strategic communication are discussed.
The Effects of Brand Familiarity in Alignment Advertising
Authors: Park Sung-Yeon , Hitchon Jacqueline Bush , Yun Gi Woong
Published: December 2011

This study addresses the issues of managerial concern for both nonprofit organizations and profit-oriented organizations by comparing public service advertising, alignment advertising, and traditional brand advertising as marketing communication tools. Previous findings regarding affective and conative advantages of alignment advertising over brand advertising were replicated and further expanded. At the same time, the investigation revealed that alignment advertising is not necessarily at a disadvantage to brand advertising in terms of brand recall.
An Update on Sex in Magazine Advertising: 1983 to 2003
Authors: Reichert Tom , Carpenter Courtney
Published: December 2011

Magazine advertisements from 2003 were content analyzed as an extension of a study reported in Journalism Quarterly that assessed sex in advertising in 1983 and 1993. As watchdog groups become more vocal concerning indecency in advertising and media in general, it is important to assess the state of sex in advertising since 1993. The findings indicate overall increases in sexual dress and intimate contact from 1983 to 2003 and that female models were more explicitly dressed in 2003 (49%) than 1993 (40%). In addition, sexual content continued to be more explicit and prevalent in women's and men's magazines compared to newsweeklies. In 2003, for instance, 78% of women in ads in men's magazines were sexually attired.
Routine Reliance Revisited: Exploring Media Importance for German Political Journalists
Authors: Reinemann Carsten
Published: December 2011

Although routine reliance on other media is regarded as a major factor in journalists' news decisions, it gets little scholarly attention. This study investigates the importance of media use for journalistic work. Taking German political journalists as an example, the study shows that media use is a major part of everyday journalistic work, as indicated by the amount of time journalists spend using other media and by the importance they assign to other media for different stages of news production. However, the importance of other media differs among journalists working for different types of media and among journalists of different ages and political views.
Partisan and Structural Balance of Local Television Election Coverage of Incumbent and Open Gubernatorial Elections
Authors: Fico Frederick , Zeldes Geri Alumit , Diddi Arvind
Published: December 2011

Local television stories and segments covering the 2002 open race for governor in Michigan were compared with the same stations' coverage of the 1998 election in which an incumbent governor ran against a challenger. Coverage of the 2002 race was more even handed toward the Republican and Democratic candidates, as predicted. Overall, multistory segments making up a day's news coverage were more balanced than the individual stories, consistent with previous research in 1998. Segments leading newscasts were more balanced than those run inside. Election stories that ran alone in a day's newscast were also more balanced. However, stories covered by reporters were less likely to be balanced than stories covered by anchors, contrary to predictions.
Federal Government Uses of the Japanese-Language Press from Pearl Harbor to Mass Incarceration
Authors: Mizuno Takeya
Published: December 2011

During World War II, federal officials used the Japanese “enemy language” press to pacify Japanese Americans and facilitate mass incarceration. While making efforts to preserve the press as a symbol of American democracy, the Office of Facts and Figures, and later the Office of War Information, sought to use it as a messenger of governmental news and views, as a morale builder among Japanese Americans, and as a defense against Axis propaganda from abroad.
Selective Exposure Effects for Positive and Negative News: Testing the Robustness of the Informational Utility Model
Authors: Knobloch-Westerwick Silvia , Carpentier Francesca Dilltnan , Blumhoff Andree , Nickel Nico
Published: December 2011

Selective exposure to Internet news articles was hypothesized to increase with higher informational utility of news, defined by the informational-utility model according to dimensions of magnitude, likelihood, and immediacy of consequences. Data were collected in Germany and the United States to investigate the robustness of predictions for both positive and negative news, as the model pertains to reports on opportunities and threats. The computerized 2×3×2 experiment manipulated utility intensity (low/high) and utility dimension (magnitude/likelihood/immediacy). Country (United States/Germany) was incorporated as a moderating variable. Online news exposure was unobtrusively recorded as repeated measures. Findings show high informational utility increased selective exposure to both negative and positive news, regardless of cultural setting.
The Impact of Newsroom Investment on Newspaper Revenues and Profits: Small and Medium Newspapers, 1998–2002
Authors: Chen Rene , Thorson Esther , Lacy Stephen
Published: December 2011

This study used Inland Press Association data from 1998 to 2002 for newspapers with less than 85,000 circulation and found a positive relationship between newsroom investment and circulation revenue per copy, advertising revenue per copy, total revenue per copy, and gross profit per copy. The strongest relationships were between newsroom investment and total revenue per copy and advertising revenue per copy. For both variables and for all five years, newsroom investment accounted for at least 20% of the variance in these financial performance variables.