bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Media Use and Civic Participation in the African-American Population: Exploring Participation among Professionals and Nonprofessionals
Authors: Mastin Teresa
Published: December 2011

Empirical research has shown a positive relationship between local news media use, community integration, and political participation for the general population. This study examined whether the media serve such functions for African-American professionals and nonprofessionals. Both samples included fairly heavy media users; however, there was no significant relationship between local media use and civic participation. Church involvement, however, was a strong predictor of participation. Two major findings emerged: (1) local news media do not serve the civic information needs of African Americans, and (2) when compared with local news media, interpersonal networks more strongly influence African Americans' civic participation.
Ethical Language and Themes in News Coverage of Genetic Testing
Authors: Craig David A.
Published: December 2011

Ethical theory is employed in this study to assess news coverage of genetic testing, a topic with widely acknowledged ethical implications for professions and society. Ethical language and themes were examined in thirty-one broadcast and print stories by major news organizations in 1995 and 1996. Concerns about consequences, especially avoidance of harm, were prominent in most stories; ethical duties received less attention. Ethical themes, sometimes emerging as direct questions to readers or viewers, underlined choices facing individuals and society. Some stories powerfully brought home ethical issues without directly mentioning ethics.
Reading between the Photographs: The Influence of Incidental Pictorial Information on Issue Perception
Authors: Gibson Rhonda , Zillmann Dolf
Published: December 2011

A news report on an Appalachian tick disease was differently illustrated. It either contained no images, an image of ticks, or this tick image plus three child victims. The victims were ethnically balanced (two White, one Black) or not (either all White or all Black). The text did not make any reference to the victims' ethnicity. Respondents assessed the risk of contracting the disease for children of different ethnicity. Partiality in pictorially representing a particular ethnic group fostered the relative overestimation of risk for that group. Inclusion of the image of ticks, especially when combined with victim images, prompted higher risk assessment overall.
Multimedia Effects on Processing and Perception of Online News: A Study of Picture, Audio, and Video Downloads
Authors: Sundar S. Shyam
Published: December 2011

Do multimedia enhancements affect how much individuals learn from online news websites? Do audio and video downloads generate positive impressions of the website in the minds of users? A five-condition, between-participants controlled experiment (N = 60) was designed to address these questions. Each study participant read three news stories from a news website created for the experiment; he or she was given either a text-only version of the news site; a version with text and pictures; one with text and audio; one with text, pictures, and audio; or one with text, pictures, and video. Following exposure, participants filled out a paper-and-pencil questionnaire assessing their memory and perceptions. Results suggest that pictures and audio are particularly powerful psychological cues. In general, multimedia tends to hinder memory for story content and leads to negative evaluations of the site and its content, but improves memory for advertisements. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
International Conflict Coverage in Japanese Local Daily Newspapers
Authors: Cho Hiromi , Lacy Stephen
Published: December 2011

This study examines international news coverage in local newspapers in Japan, a country with one of the most influential economies in the world. The study shows that local daily Japanese newspapers dependent on wire services for international copy devote more of their space to international news and produce more international news about conflict and disaster than do newspapers that do not depend on the services. International news coverage appears not to be related to circulation size. The authors compare the results to similar characteristics of U.S. dailies.
The “Forgotten” 1918 Influenza Epidemic and Press Portrayal of Public Anxiety
Authors: Hume Janice
Published: December 2011

This study explores media portrayal of collective “American anxiety” by examining magazine coverage of a domestic crisis that should have made Americans anxious, the 1918 influenza epidemic, to seek references to anxiety, and to try to understand why this scourge, which killed more people than did World War I, has been lost to public memory. The coverage suggests that the nature of epidemic itself offers clues to why it has been virtually “forgotten.” It had no beginning or end, no definable enemies, no amplified heroes who fit an early twentieth-century male definition of the concept, and no institutionalized commemoration.
Covering Conflict: A Structural-Pluralist Analysis of how a Small-Town and a Big-City Newspaper Reported an Environmental Controversy
Authors: Harry Joseph C.
Published: December 2011

Structural-pluralism theory pertaining to differences in how metropolitan and small-town news media cover the news is used to frame a comparative analysis of source-quotation patterns by a small-town and a nearby big-city newspaper covering the same environmental conflict. Results suggest that some aspects of structural-pluralist theory may merit re-examination as the social structure of small towns undergoes change, meaning some community papers may perform more like their big-city counterparts for sustained periods of time.
Web Site Use and News Topic and Type
Authors: Wu H. Denis , Bechtel Arati
Published: December 2011

This study investigates the relationship between types of news events and daily traffic at the New York Times on the Web. CNN and ABC newscasts were content analyzed to represent each day's news coverage and compared with Web site usage data made available by the Times. The results indicate that level of disruptiveness and episodicity were positively correlated with online traffic. Also, several news topics—international politics, education, and science and technology—were positively correlated with online news usage. During the period examined, dominated by the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, domestic politics, weather, and accident and disaster news were negatively correlated with Web site usage.
Producing Public Voice: Resource Mobilization and Media Access in the National Organization for Women
Authors: Barker-Plummer Bernadette
Published: December 2011

This paper investigates the resource mobilization and media access of the National Organization for Women (NOW). Using data from NOW's archive and from a content analysis of the New York Times, it tracks NOW's 1966–1980 media access. Two factors were key to NOW's media access. First, NOW mobilized the material resources—money, skills, technology, labor, and especially information—needed to serve as a news source for journalists. Second, NOW developed effective and reflexive media strategies by using its knowledge of the routines and discursive structures of news in its own media communications.
An Editorial Comment
Authors: Riffe Daniel
Published: December 2011

The first three articles in this issue have at least two features in common. Each represents an effort to evaluate news media performance. The first looks at the “disastrous” 2000 presidential election-night projections and examines how the news media tried to explain the errors, relying first on news personnel as sources and later involving independent, non-media sources. The second article provides an overview of a large body of research conducted to evaluate performance of “public journalism.” The third uses a narrower case-study approach to evaluate whether television call-in programs, C-SPAN in particular, constitute a deliberative space in the public sphere where citizen discussion and democratic participation can occur.
Nonrecursive Models of Internet Use and Community Engagement: Questioning Whether Time Spent Online Erodes Social Capital
Authors: Shah Dhavan , Schmierbach Michael , Hawkins Joshua , Espino Rodolfo , Donavan Janet
Published: December 2011

Although some argue that Internet use may erode involvement in public life, the most common Internet behaviors, social communication and information searching, may actually foster social and civic participation. To examine this possibility, we test a series of non-recursive models using a national survey of nearly 3,400 respondents. Two-stage least squares regressions were performed to simultaneously test the reciprocal relationship between frequency of Internet use (i.e., hours per day) and three sets of community engagement behaviors: informal social interaction, attendance at public events, and participation in civic volunteerism (i.e., annual frequency). Time spent online has a positive relationship with public attendance and civic volunteerism. No evidence of time displacement from frequency of Internet use is observed.
Sex and Violence in Slasher Films: Re-examining the Assumptions
Authors: Sapolsky Burry S. , Molitor Fred , Luque Sarah
Published: December 2011

A content analysis of popular 1990s slasher films found more acts of violence than similar films from the 1980s. Recent slasher films rarely mix scenes of sex and violence. This finding calls into question claims that slasher films portray eroticized violence that may blunt males' emotional reactions to film violence. Slasher films feature males more often as victims of violence. However, the ratio of female victims is higher in slasher films than in commercially successful action-adventure films of the 1990s. Finally, females are shown in fear for longer periods of time.
Racial and Regional Differences in Readers' Evaluations of the Credibility of Political Columnists by Race and Sex
Authors: Andsager Julie L. , Mastin Teresa
Published: December 2011

The purpose of this experiment was to determine how race and gender of columnist and reader interact to influence readers' perceptions of the credibility of the opinion column. Further, we examined whether regional differences would relate to credibility, using 594 students from two universities 2,500 miles apart. No differences in credibility appeared by race or gender of the columnist until region and race of the subjects interacted.
The Internet and Public Relations: Investigating Practitioners' Roles and World Wide Web Use
Authors: Porter Lance V. , Sallot Lynne M.
Published: December 2011

A national e-mail survey of public relations practitioners investigated how use of the World Wide Web and practitioners' roles and status are linked. Cluster analysis partially replicated and refined Leichty and Springston's 1996 roles typology, further challenging the traditional manager-technician dichotomy that has driven twenty-five years of roles research. Managers used the Web more than technicians for research and evaluation and more than internals for issues communication. Managers and internals use the Web more than technicians for productivity and efficiency. In general, practitioners are no longer laggards in new technology, and women have caught up with men in use of new technology, such as the Web.
The Promise and Peril of Anecdotes in News Coverage: An Ethical Analysis
Authors: Craig David A.
Published: December 2011

This article assesses the use of anecdotes in news coverage on ethical grounds, pointing both to their promise and to their potential dangers. The analysis draws on Craig's framework for analyzing news coverage of ethics; on Christians, Ferre, and Fackler's communitarian ethic; and on Gilligan's relationship-oriented ethic of care. Cases from news stories illustrate the ethical complexity of anecdote use. This study suggests how journalists can choose anecdotes more critically and points to an adaptation of the anecdotal form that is ethically supportable.
Cross-Cultural-Generational Perceptions of Ideal Body Image: Hispanic Women and Magazine Standards
Authors: Pompper Donnalyn , Koenig Jesica
Published: December 2011

This study expands social comparison theory by examining magazine use along dimensions of gender, age, and ethnicity. Perceptions of magazines' idealized body image standards among two generations of Hispanic women were gathered using the focus group and telephone interview methods. Findings suggest that respondent groups aged 18–35 and those 36 and older both compare their body image to magazine standards, but behavioral effects vary. Two significant patterns are discussed: (1) assimilated magazine standards, and (2) dissonance in homogenization. This is the first study to explore cross-cultural-generational perceptions of mediated body image among Hispanic women using the stated research methods.
The Web of Context: Applying Network Theory to the Use of Hyperlinks in Journalism on the Web
Authors: Tremayne Mark
Published: December 2011

This study applies emerging network theory to the use of hyperlinks in journalism stories on the Web. A five-year data set, including almost 1,500 Web news stories, is examined. The study concludes that the use of links in Web news stories is increasing in ways predicted by network theory. Stories may become both more event-driven and more contextual on the flexible platform of the Web.
Different Sides of the Same Coin: Mixed Views of Public Relations Practitioners and Journalists for Strategic Conflict Management
Authors: Shin Jae-Hwa , Cameron Glen T.
Published: December 2011

A Web survey of 641 public relations practitioners and journalists showed that the source-reporter relationship is conflictual, involving stratagems on both sides. Coorientational analysis simultaneously showed the “mixed views” of the two professions on two dimensions of “conflict” and “strategy.” Both professions disagreed and inaccurately predicted responses of the other. Their inaccurate projection about the views of the other profession was greater than their disagreement, resulting in false dissensus. Nevertheless, the perceived conflict between the two professions appeared to be a strategic choice. Practitioners have a tendency to be accommodative or cooperative, whereas journalists are oriented to conflict as part of their strategic approach to dealing with sources.
Media Effects on Political Disengagement Revisited: A Multiple-Media Approach
Authors: Lee Tien-Tsung
Published: December 2011

Numerous studies have been conducted on whether media consumption reduces political participation. To reflect the proliferation and influence of new and nontraditional sources of political information in recent years, the present research measures the effects of an extensive list of information sources that rarely are found in existing literature, including Larry King Live, Fox News, and The O'Reilly Factor. Findings reveal that media in general do not contribute to political disengagement as suggested by some research. A few news sources may in fact reduce political cynicism and promote political trust.
Building Blogs: A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of the Distribution of Frames on the 2004 Presidential Candidate Web Sites
Authors: Bichard Shannon L.
Published: December 2011

This study investigates frames used by candidate Web sites in the 2004 presidential election. The analysis focuses on official blog content posted by the George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry Web sites. Content analysis was used to record time, space, tone, and topic attributes used in the blog text during the sixty-four days prior to the election. A comprehensive analysis is offered for the distribution of framing content and mechanisms employed for a total of 1,309 blog postings. The findings indicate notable trends as well as significant differences between candidates and their use of frames.
Assessing Newspaper Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies
Authors: Lowrey Wilson , Gower Karla , Evans William , Mackay Jenn
Published: December 2011

This study examines newspapers' preparedness for public health emergencies and seeks to explain why some newspapers are better prepared than others. Findings from a regional survey of newspaper managers showed that few newspapers have crisis plans, and few have sufficiently trained or specialized staff for public health coverage. A model predicting level of preparedness received mixed support. As expected, organizational preparedness and professional orientation had significant effects on level of staff preparedness, but environmental factors such as level of toxins in the community and the degree of pluralism in the community's power structure failed to predict.
The Effects of Visuals on Ethical Reasoning: What's a Photograph Worth to Journalists Making Moral Decisions?
Authors: Coleman Renita
Published: December 2011

Two experiments explored the effects of photographs on ethical decision making in the journalism domain. Both found that photographs improved participants' ethical reasoning and identified mental elaboration as significant in that process: thinking about the people affected by an ethical situation helped improve ethical reasoning. Involvement also was important; when participants were not very involved with the dilemmas, having photographs significantly improved their ethical reasoning. Theoretical explanations for why and how this occurs are offered, building upon moral development theory.
A Content Analysis of the Media Effects Literature
Authors: Potter W. James , Riddle Karyn
Published: December 2011

This study focuses attention on scholarship on mass media effects. Our purpose is to profile that effects literature in terms of specific medium tested, type of content, use of theory, use of method, and type of effect. We conducted a content analysis of the mass media effects literature published in sixteen scholarly journals published from 1993 to 2005.
One Product, Two Markets: How Geography Differentiates Online Newspaper Audiences
Authors: Sylvie George , Chyi Hsiang Iris
Published: December 2011

A secondary data analysis of 136 U.S. online newspapers' usage reports investigates how geography differentiates online newspaper audiences. Results showed that online newspaper penetration is stronger in the local market, but the local market accounts for less than 50% of the overall traffic—suggesting that the size of the long-distance readership is larger than previously anticipated. Larger newspapers tend to attain a larger online audience (in raw numbers), but all newspapers attain a substantial portion of online traffic from outside the print market. Online or not, geography still matters.
Newspapers' Framing of Elder Abuse: It's Not a Family Affair
Authors: Mastin Teresa , Choi Jounghwa , Barboza Gia Elise , Post Lori
Published: December 2011

This article describes media coverage of elder abuse from 2003 to 2005. Guided by media typification and framing literatures, eight newspapers' elder abuse coverage was content analyzed. The newspapers' coverage usually typified and framed elder abuse in a criminal justice context. The stories covered most often featured episodic frames, 57.1%, while a majority, 65.2%, of the coverage framed elder abuse as an individual- as opposed to a societal-level problem. Most elder abuse occurs in domestic settings, yet the newspapers' coverage most often focused on elder abuse in long-term care settings.
Representing the Total Community: Relationships between Asian American Staff and Asian American Coverage in Nine U.S. Newspapers
Authors: Wu H. Denis , Izard Ralph
Published: December 2011

This study sought to verify conventional wisdom that the presence of ethnic journalists—Asian Americans in this case—results in more and better coverage of ethnic groups in a community. Nine newspapers were analyzed from communities with varying Asian American populations and geographic regions. Newspapers with more Asian American staff provide more stories about Asian Americans. Likewise, newspapers in cities with larger Asian American populations have more Asian American staff and cover Asian Americans more. The impact of Asian American staff on coverage was greater than that of Asian American population. The influence of Asian American staff was found in sourcing, substance, and context of stories.
Exploring Journalists' Perceptions of Media Impact
Authors: Tsfati Yariv , Livio Oren
Published: December 2011

How journalists perceive media influence was explored by comparing results from a survey of Israeli journalists (n = 200) and a survey of the Israeli adult population (n = 1,203). As predicted, journalists demonstrated significant third-person perceptions (TPPs), but these were actually smaller than those of the public. Journalists tended more than the public to perceive media influence as positive. Journalists perceiving a stronger media influence were relatively new journalists and worked for local media, but had some formal education in journalism.
Searching for Our “Own Theory” in Advertising: An Update of Research Networks
Authors: Pasadeos Yorgo , Phelps Joseph , Edison Aimee
Published: December 2011

Extending previous research, this work examines the advertising literature published in 2002–05, identifies research streams among most-cited works, and presents a co-citation network. Beyond what the citation analysis suggests about advertising research today, comparing the findings to earlier results provides insight into the intellectual development of the field, including shifts in scholarly orientations. Although advertising scholarship is historically sound, dynamic, increasingly diverse, and largely self-sufficient, the field has yet to move to a level of maturity where it can work off its “own,” rather than “borrowed,” theory.
Valuing New Media Spaces: Are Cable Network News Crawls Cross-promotional Agents?
Authors: Coffey Amy Jo , Cleary Johanna
Published: December 2011

A comparative content analysis of CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC examined the extent to which the cable news networks utilize their news crawls or “tickers” for promotional purposes. Situated in economic, branding, and promotional theory, the study revealed that two out of three cable networks utilized their news tickers for some overt self-promotion, but used them infrequently as synergistic promotional tools for their parent companies, indicating journalistic integrity within this news space for the present time. The study also provides baseline information on the nature of cable news tickers.
News Values, Media Coverage, and Audience Attention: An Analysis of Direct and Mediated Causal Relationships
Authors: Lee Jong Hyuk
Published: December 2011

This study examined causal relationships among news values, media coverage, and audience attention. News values—deviance and social significance—for 104 news events were measured. Then, media coverage of and audience attention to the events were obtained from Pew Research Center's two data sources. A structural equation model showed a significant effect of news values on the amount of media coverage and also a significant effect of media coverage on audience attention. Further, news values indirectly influenced audience attention, mediated by the media coverage.
Disentangling Media Effects from Debate Effects: The Presentation Mode of Televised Debates and Viewer Decision Making
Authors: Cho Jaeho
Published: December 2011

This experiment examines whether the presentation mode of televised debates impacts how viewers assess the issues debated. Participants were exposed to a segment of televised debate on either a single- or split-screen. Candidate character and party attachment were more important in how viewers formed opinions of the debated issue with the split-screen than with the single-screen. On the other hand, in the split-screen condition, viewers relied less on pre-existing notions when forming opinions of the debated issue than they did with the single-screen condition. Such modality effects were particularly pronounced for those with low-levels of political attentiveness.
More Engaged but Still Uninformed? 2004 Presidential Election Coverage in Consumer Magazines Popular with Young Adults
Authors: Mueller James E. , Reichert Tom
Published: December 2011

Given the upturn in young-voter turnout in 2004, this study updates an analysis of the 2000 election to determine if coverage in youth-oriented magazines remained superficial, strategic, and cynical. Quantity of coverage increased 69% over 2000 (coverage in Rolling Stone increased 300%) despite a decrease in women's magazines' coverage. There was no difference in the largely strategic, cynical, and biased coverage between the two elections. Despite a “wartime” election, the magazines rarely published stories focusing on the Iraq war. The study suggests that resurgent interest in politics among young people was not mirrored in popular magazines they read regularly.
Is Online News an Inferior Good? Examining the Economic Nature of Online News among Users
Authors: Chyi Hsiang Iris , Yang Mengchieh Jacie
Published: December 2011

The U.S. newspaper industry is transitioning from print to online, but users' response to online news has fallen short of expectations and thus raised questions about the economic viability of the new medium. This study explores the economic concept of “inferior goods” and its applicability to online news consumption. Analysis of Pew Research Center survey data shows that as income increases, consumption of online news decreases, other things being equal. Therefore, online news is an inferior good among users.
Advancing Agenda-Setting Theory: The Comparative Strength and New Contingent Conditions of the Two Levels of Agenda-Setting Effects
Authors: Wu H. Denis , Coleman Renita
Published: December 2011

Survey and content analysis data from the 2004 presidential election were used to examine relative strength of first- and second-level agenda setting. Second-level candidate attributes exert a stronger agenda-setting influence on the public than does the salience of issues. More striking is the difference in effect sizes on voting intention. Respondents' perception of candidates' traits has a stronger agenda-setting effect and is a better predictor of voting intention than candidates' issues stance. Additionally, a new contingent condition for second-level effects was confirmed: negative information has more power to transfer the media's agenda of candidate attributes to the public.
Media Coverage of Terrorism: A Meta-Analytic Assessment of Media Use and Posttraumatic Stress
Authors: Houston J. Brian
Published: December 2011

This meta-analysis integrates twenty-three studies of media coverage of terrorism and posttraumatic stress (PTS) to examine cumulative effect and potential moderators. Overall, a significant effect size (r = .152) for exposure to coverage of terrorism and PTS was found. Studies assessing PTS symptoms/reactions found greater effect sizes than studies assessing PTS disorder; studies assessing multiple media were associated with greater effects than those limited to television; youth samples yielded greater effects than adult samples; and studies of samples located farther away found greater effects than those of samples in the same city as the event.
A Profitable Public Sphere: The Creation of the New York Times Op-Ed Page
Authors: Socolow Michael J.
Published: December 2011

This study utilizes archival and other primary materials to describe the development of the New York Times op-ed page. This innovative forum for commentary, which premiered in September 1970, is examined through the lenses of Jürgen Habermas' public sphere theory and economic concerns in the American newspaper industry. The page provided a significant source of revenue and diversified social, cultural, and political news analysis. Times executives sought to serve the public interest while considering corporate profits.
All the News Fit to Post? Comparing News Content on the Web to Newspapers, Television, and Radio
Authors: Maier Scott
Published: December 2011

A content analysis of 3,900 news stories examined how online news differs in coverage from newspapers, network television, cable television, and radio, finding that 60% of the top stories on news Web sites covered the same topics as covered by legacy media. But fewer than a third of news stories hyperlinked by blogs and social media corresponded with mainstream media top stories. The results indicate that journalism's agenda-setting role, though dissipating, remains viable in the fragmenting media universe. Audiences turning to news Web sites will find the dominant stories of the day plus fresh perspectives on national and world events.
Big Advertisers—How Important are they in Newspaper Budgets?
Authors: McEvoy Poynter
Published: December 2011

A profile graph of local advertising concentration is a dramatic and effective way to present vital facts about big and little accounts.
Recent Research Material on Russian Journalism
Authors: Swindler William F.
Published: December 2011

A survey of important studies of the Russian press from its 17th century beginnings to the present is offered by the director of the University of Nebraska School of Journalism. He also comments on current efforts to provide research materials for students of Soviet communications policy.
Reflections on the Trial of John Peter Zenger
Authors: Price Warren C.
Published: December 2011

There is danger in making a too-easy assumption that the “symbol” of Zenger offers present-day protection against efforts to limit press freedom, and ignoring underlying causes and 1735 opposition to the trial verdict. The author is associate professor of journalism at the University of Oregon.
Eisenhower and the Press: The First Two Years
Authors: Pollard James E.
Published: December 2011

In a continuation of his The Presidents and the Press studies, the director of the Ohio State University School of Journalism follows President Eisenhower's relations with the press during his first two years in office. He also discusses the extension of the Presidential news conference to include TV cameras
Audiences for Broadcasting in Britain and America
Authors: Paulu Burton
Published: December 2011

Despite the differences in program offerings by the BBC and American commercial radio and television, people in the two countries exhibit quite similar listening and viewing tastes. Entertainment and escape programs rank first in both audiences, even though the BBC airs alternative “intellectual” programs
Norway's Postwar Press in the Golden Jubilee Year
Authors: Eide Richard B.
Published: December 2011

Norwegian journalism has made a good recovery from the effects of the German occupation and postwar readjustment. While party newspapers, including the most influential labor press in Scandinavia, are strong, Norway's editors maintain high news standards and seek spirited discussion of conflicting views
Trends in Newspaper Reading: Comic Strips, 1949–54
Authors: Haskins Jack B. , Jones Robert L.
Published: December 2011

Six years of readership research in Minneapolis since the advent of TV reveal that reading of comics in the morning paper has remained relatively stable, while in the afternoon it has declined slightly and has moved toward greater selectivity. The possible effects of smaller-sized strips also are examined
Articles on Mass Communications in Magazines of the U. S. A.
Authors: Higbie Charles E. , Baker Dean C. , Brown Donald E. , Duncan Charles T. , Pride Armistead S.
Published: December 2011

Activity on issues between the federal government and the press continued during the third quarter of 1955. However no single major flare-up resulted although there were several vital questions opened up for debate. The Eisenhower administration continued to issue “dry-up” orders on information in several new areas including firms holding defense equipment orders. At least two congressional committees entered the field of investigation of press v. government relations. Newspaper organizations heard several discussions and disquiet over the situation was evident at a number of conventions although no outright, official action was taken.

In the radio and television field great interest in the theoretical merits and drawbacks of “pay” television programs continued. The status of the FCC as a result of the Lamb case also was being watched.
Sensationalism in the News
Authors: Lindstrom Carl E.
Published: December 2011

Readers criticize newspapers as being sensational because newsmen are too constantly straining for effect, and thereby sometimes are guilty of overstatement, unwelcome invasion of privacy, inaccuracy or failure to put news events in proper perspective. The author is executive editor of the Hartford Times.
Shaping of Editorial Policy in the Indian Press
Authors: Narasimhan V. K.
Published: December 2011

An Indian newspaper editor concludes, on the basis of a study of 12 major Indian dailies, that the senior journalists have the strongest hand in the shaping of editorial policy and that the publisher plays a relatively minor role. Group discussions are fairly generally used in formulating policy.
Twenty-three Nations Represented at Journalism Education Meeting
Authors: Luxon Norval Neil
Published: December 2011

The international conference held by UNESCO in April indicated increasing recognition of need for providing more and better training for persons entering the mass communications field. Dr. Luxon, dean of the School of Journalism at the University of North Carolina, was a U. S. representative at this meeting.
Articles on Mass Communications In Magazines of the U.S.A.: A Selected Annotated Bibliography: April, May and June 1956
Authors: Nelson Harold L.
Published: December 2011

Assisted by Donald E. Brown, Illinois (Radio and Television); Norris G. Davis, Texas (General Magazines); Russell G. Heitman, Denver (Community Newspapers); Armistead S. Pride, Lincoln (Negro Journalism).
Reaction to Mass Media Growth in 18th-Century England
Authors: Lowenthal Leo , Fiske Marjorie
Published: December 2011

What happened to the writer and the quality of his work when a substantial reading public developed in 18th-century England for newspapers, books and magazines? Here is described the turn from initial optimism to pessimism on the part of authors who saw literary tastes lowered by mass consumption.
The Historical Standard in Analyzing Press Performance
Authors: Martin L. John , Nelson Harold L.
Published: December 2011

The problems of constructing a historical standard, against which a periodical's performance in reporting events can be analyzed and evaluated, are discussed in this article by two journalism professors. They report on their own attempt to study the performance of several weekly news periodicals.
Lord Northcliffe and World War I
Authors: White William
Published: December 2011

Lord Northcliffe, builder of mass circulation British newspapers, used his influence to advocate preparation for war against Germany long before 1914, according to this personality study of the press lord. Dr. White is acting chairman of the Department of Journalism, Wayne State University.
Research in Radio and Television News, 1947–57
Authors: Barnes Arthur M.
Published: December 2011

The author, journalism professor at the State University of Iowa, reviews research of the past 10 years in four areas: How does broadcast news operate? What is available to the audience? What does the audience like? What are the effects on the audience? His bibliography lists 87 studies.
Propaganda and Communication: A Study in Definitions
Authors: Fellows Erwin W.
Published: December 2011

The author discusses definitions of propaganda, then suggests a frame of reference for distinguishing it from other types of communication.
President Eisenhower and His Press Secretary
Authors: Rutland Robert A.
Published: December 2011

Presidential press secretary James C. Hagerty plays a much more authoritative role than those played by previous press secretaries. The author examines White House statements at the time of the Soviet satellite launching in October and surveys press comment on Hagerty's activities then and earlier.
The Non-Reader in a Magazine Readership Survey
Authors: Kearl Bryant
Published: December 2011

More should be known about non-readers, presently omitted from analyses of readership studies, if editors are to use the data efficiently, the author found in a study of differences between readers and non-readers of a farm magazine. Dr. Kearl is head of the Department of Agricultural Journalism at Wisconsin.
Motion Pictures and Propaganda in Communist China
Authors: Houn Franklin W.
Published: December 2011

The Chinese Communist regime has used the film, along with other mass media, for propaganda and indoctrination purposes. It has completely nationalized facilities for production and showing of films, but rigid rules and taboos for movie-making have resulted in adverse reactions and shortcomings.
News Notes
Authors: Root Robert
Published: December 2011

News for inclusion in this section … activities of schools and departments of journalism, staff appointments and changes, curricular developments and the like … should be sent to Professor Root, School of Journalism, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N. Y. Notes for the next issue should reach him by January 1.
The Impact of the 1955-56 Detroit Newspaper Strike
Authors: Cannell Charles F. , Sharp Harry
Published: December 2011

Interviews with Detroiters following a 46-day strike which shut down the city's three newspapers showed that the only content of the newspaper missed by a majority of readers was the hard news. Advertising ranked second. Data on substitutions of other media for newspapers are given also.
Distance and News Interest: Scarperia, Italy
Authors: Maclean Malcolm S. , Pinna Luca
Published: December 2011

This is the first report on one phase of an extensive study of mass media intake and attitudes in a small Italian community. The authors are seeking to establish a means of predicting a person's reading or listening habits on the basis of his expressed interest in news about far places.
Development of Journalism in Nigeria
Authors: Oton Esuakema U.
Published: December 2011

All daily newspapers in Nigeria are published in English, and a few measure up to European or American standards. But technical difficulties and lack of trained personnel are serious handicaps. The article surveys the growth of Nigerian journalism from 1880 to the present and describes some leading papers.
Testing Suitability of Typefaces for Editorial Subject-Matter
Authors: Haskins Jack B.
Published: December 2011

A nationwide sample of Saturday Evening Post readers was questioned to determine if typeface preference is a function of the editorial subject-matter with which it appears. The author found readers could make significant discriminations with regard to typeface suitability in different contexts.
News Notes
Authors: Root Robert
Published: December 2011

News for inclusion in this section … activities of schools and departments of journalism, staff appointments and changes, curricular developments and the like … should be sent to Professor Root, School of Journalism, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N. Y. Notes for the next issue should reach him by July 1.
Comparative Newspaper Handling of the Emmett Till Case
Authors: Breed Warren
Published: December 2011

Eleven newspapers, Negro and white, from North and South, were studied regarding their treatment of the Emmett Till murder case in Mississippi. Only one paper fitted the stereotype of bias, a small Mississippi daily. But qualitative analysis showed North-South differences to some degree.
The Labor Press: As a Leadership Tool
Authors: Garver Richard A.
Published: December 2011

A study of international labor union publications shows that their primary mission is to sell the organization and its leaders to the worker, not to educate or to arouse him against the employer. Dr. Garver is assistant professor of journalism at Montana State University.
Further Directions for Readability Research
Authors: Powers Richard D. , Kearl Bryant E.
Published: December 2011

“Areas for further research” is an oft-neglected section in theses. This article presents the authors' opinions as to some needed areas of further research in readability, as mapped out during a University of Wisconsin Ph.D. project, which should interest journalism teachers and graduate students.
Editorializing on the Air by U.S. Television Stations
Authors: Wetzel Roy
Published: December 2011

This department is devoted to shorter articles and notes on research in the communications field, either completed or in progress. Readers are invited to submit reports on investigative studies which might prove useful to other students because of content, method, or implications for further research.
Professional Secrecy and the Journalist
Authors: Siebert Fred S.
Published: December 2011

The problem of obtaining legislation to protect the journalist from compulsion to reveal his news sources is reviewed in detail. In the United States refusal so to testify before administrators and legislators is recognized, but in only 12 states are newspapermen protected from demands of courts.
Non-Fiction Magazine Articles: A Content Analysis Study
Authors: Ellison Jerome , Gosser Franklin T.
Published: December 2011

A study at the Department of Journalism, Indiana University, analyzes non-fiction article content of nine general magazines for three-month periods in 1947 and 1957, and traces changing preferences in subject matter, writing style and article length for individual magazines and the group.
Media-Habit Survey of Indiana Homes
Authors: McEvoy Poynter
Published: December 2011

This department is devoted to shorter articles and notes on research in the communications field, either completed or in progress. Readers are invited to submit reports on investigative studies which might prove useful to other students because of content, method, or implications for further research.
Objectivity: Dead or Alive?
Authors: Macrorie Ken
Published: December 2011

Why is “objectivity” such a prickly word for newsmen? What are the historical roots of the concept of objectivity? What attitude should newsmen have toward it—and what different term might be substituted for “objectivity” in order to clarify their thinking? The author considers these questions.
Sportugese: A Study of Sports Page Communication
Authors: Tannenbaum Percy H. , Noah James E.
Published: December 2011

What do sports writers mean when they say one team “gouged,” “whumped” or “whipped‘ another? Do certain verbs indicate the amount of point-spread between two teams? The authors found sports writers communicate fairly accurately with each other and with regular sports readers, but not strangers.
Attitude Changing Effect of News and Photo Combinations
Authors: Mehling Reuben
Published: December 2011

An experimental study of photographs as a means of changing personal attitudes shows that a photo-caption combination is more effective than a story alone in attitude-changing. Coupling of two persons in a photograph, without caption, also may produce an attitude change toward both persons.
High School Students' Attitudes toward Journalism as a Career
Authors: Lubell Samuel
Published: December 2011

High school student delegates to a press conference at Columbia University rate journalism interesting and useful as a career, but rank it low in prestige, pay and conduciveness to a good family life. Only 29% say they intend to enter some form of journalism or writing as a career.
Journalism in the First Democracy
Authors: Graves Wallace
Published: December 2011

Greece, with a population of less than eight million people, supports 300 newspapers; Athens, a city of a million, has 19 major newspapers. The author describes the main lines of Greek newspaper organization and reports on the frankness of writing in sex and crime stories.
Communication of Election Appeals in Canada
Authors: Scarrow Howard A.
Published: December 2011

This department is devoted to shorter articles and notes on research in the communications field, either completed or in progress. Readers are invited to submit reports on investigative studies which might prove useful to other students because of content, method, or implications for further research.
News Notes
Authors: Root Robert
Published: December 2011

News for inclusion in this section … activities of schools and departments of journalism, staff appointments and changes, curricular developments and the like … should be sent to Professor Root, School of Journalism, Syracuse University, Syracuse, N. Y. Notes for the next issue should reach him by June 20.
Anti-Intellectualism in Press Comment: 1828 and 1952
Authors: Hage George S.
Published: December 2011

A comparison of newspaper content in the Eisenhower-vs.-Stevenson and Jackson-vs.Adams campaigns suggests that anti-intellectualism was at least as pronounced in the earlier election period as during the more recent contest. The author also discusses attention to other “personality” issues in the two elections.
Factors Related to Freedom in National Press Systems
Authors: Nixon Raymond B.
Published: December 2011

Utilizing new data and a new theory appearing in recent books, the Editor of the Quarterly makes a cross-country comparison of four variables in 85 national press systems. The results indicate that socioeconomic and cultural factors are closely related to the degrees of freedom reported by IPI and IAPA surveys.
A Program for Developing the Media of Southeast Asia
Authors: Ragsdale Wilmott
Published: December 2011

The UNESCO Conference in Bangkok has made proposals that will require the support of international organizations, national governments and private agencies, along with technical help of many kinds. The author urges the independently owned media of democratic countries to take a more active role.
The Relation of Empathy to Effective Communication
Authors: Gompertz Kenneth
Published: December 2011

This article is a review of some of the diverse literature on the psychological concept of empathy. The author concludes that knowledge of the empathic response is basic to an understanding of the process of communication and is necessary for developing more effective techniques of mass communication.
On the Political Economy of Communications
Authors: Smythe Dallas W.
Published: December 2011

The author offers an analysis of the central concerns of the political economy of communications, identifying three broad policy areas: production policy, allocation policy and policy on capital, organization and control. For the final area, a summary historical analysis is presented.
Effects of “the Thaw” on the Soviet Press
Authors: Markham James W.
Published: December 2011

The effect of “the Thaw” which began in the Soviet Union with Stalin's death in 1953 has been to improve quality and effectiveness in the mass media rather than to relinquish a degree of control or to grant a wider range of expression. But the media have been brightened and have more mass appeal.
Some Basic Realities in Journalism Education Today
Authors: Duncan Charles T.
Published: December 2011

In his presidential address to the 1961 convention of the Association for Education in Journalism, the dean of the University of Oregon School of Journalism advanced seven basic propositions which describe the current state of affairs in journalism education and its relations with the media.
Audience Impact of a Double Newspaper Merger
Authors: Lyle Jack
Published: December 2011

Three UCLA journalism professors have begun a depth study of the Los Angeles newspaper publishing situation, in the wake of the suspension of the Examiner and Mirror. This initial report indicates the two discontinued papers had a weaker hold on their readers than did the two surviving dailies.
Meaning Intensity and Interest in Foreign News Topics
Authors: McNelly John T.
Published: December 2011

This experimental study relates the acquisition of interest in the subject matter of news to the acquisition of meaning for it. Subjects who were exposed to news stories about previously unfamiliar topics acquired interest in the topics along with more intense meanings for them.