bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Presidential Approval Ratings as a Variable in the Agenda-Building Process
Authors: Wanta Wayne
Published: December 2011

The agenda of the president, press and public obviously have a relationship to each other, and this study finds the president can interfere with the relationship between the news media and public by presenting an agenda of issues that differs from the press' agenda. Based on a content analysis of the president's weekly summary of activities/documents and Gallup Poll data from 1970 to 1988, this investigation suggests president and press, in a sense, compete for public attention and that the president is more likely to win attention when his popularity is high.
Third-Person Effects and the Differential Impact in Negative Political Advertising
Authors: Cohen Jeremy , Davis Robert G.
Published: December 2011

People often assume that, because of their special knowledge, others will be influenced by mass media messages while they remain relatively untouched. This experiment uses negative political advertisements to find that when subjects saw their own candidates attacked, they reported they were not much influenced, but they said others would be. Conversely, when they saw an attack on a candidate they disliked, they reported themselves to be influenced but were less likely to think others would be. These trends worked more for negative advertising about Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis than those about the Republican winner George Bush.
Competition, Ownership, Newsroom and Library Resources in Large Newspapers
Authors: Busterna John C. , Hansen Kathleen A. , Ward Jean
Published: December 2011

This is a comparison of competitive, monopoly joint operating, chain and independent newspapers on these major variables: size of news and library staffs, number of wire services, number of databases taken and monthly search costs. A census of daily newspapers over 100,000 in circulation found the various competitive conditions and chain ownership had no significant impact on the resource measures. This finding is consistent with most previous research on the relationship between newspaper competition, ownership and content performance.
The First Amendment at Its Bicentennial: Necessary but Not Sufficient?
Authors: Teeter Dwight L.
Published: December 2011

This essay looks at the question of whether an 18th-century protection for freedom of the press — the First Amendment — is sufficient for the challenges that the nation's press faces today. One disquieting conclusion is that many of the problems that faced newspapers in the era that spawned the First Amendment are still present. The study looks particularly at prior restraints and seditious libel and finds instances in which those abuses, long considered abandoned are alive and well—and potentially threatening.
A Government Action Approach to First Amendment Analysis
Authors: Walden Ruth
Published: December 2011

Most First Amendment theories focus on the values served by freedom of expression, resulting in First Amendment analysis based on the content of messages, modes of communication or identities of speakers. This article suggests that a more appropriate approach consists of focusing on the actions of government that restrict free expression. This approach is based on the premise that the courts' function is to determine when a particular government action violates the First Amendment, not whether the expression at issue is entitled to constitutional protection. The government action approach requires judicial consideration of three key factors: (1) the role government is playing at the time it engages in regulation of expression; (2) the justification for the government action; and (3) the nature of the restriction.
Free Expression: The First Five Years of the Rehnquist Court
Authors: Hale F. Dennis
Published: December 2011

A statistical analysis of opinions dealing with free-expression issues rendered during the first five years of the Rehnquist Court shows that this court was more supportive of such issues than was the Burger Court, which immediately preceded it. When the first four years of the Court's record are separated from the last year's, however, a different picture emerges. The drop in support for free-expression issues that appears as the Court truly becomes a “Rehnquist Court,” due to retirements of carry-over justices, may give rise to concerns about the future of free-expression rights.
Comparing Positive and Negative Political Advertising on Radio
Authors: Shapiro Michael A. , Rieger Robert H.
Published: December 2011

Compared to positive political ads, negative political ads presented on radio appear to be a two-edged sword that can sometimes cut the sponsor more than the target. In an experiment with college students, negative issue ads were perceived as relatively fair and resulted in a competitive advantage for the sponsor of the ad over the target of the ad. But negative image ads were seen as relatively unfair and resulted in a backlash against the sponsor. Negative ad arguments were remembered more than were arguments from positive ads.
Using Grunig's Indices to Differentiate Organizational Public Relations Functions
Authors: Reagan Joey , Sumner Janine , Hill Scott
Published: December 2011

Focusing on the function played by individuals in public relations organizations, this study tested an updated version of James Grunig's indices for public relations models, a measure that compares, among other things, whether communication is more one- or two-way. A sample of 136 public relations professionals, surveyed in Washington State, demonstrated two clear functions for one- and two-way communication. The study finds limited support for Grunig's indices but suggests rewriting some measure items and adding new items to improve the indices.
America in a Visual Century
Authors: Kahan Robert
Published: December 2011

While we are poised on the edge of a new visual century, this essay looks back through the eyes of a Jewish woman who could clearly recall the 19th century. At midcentury this immigrant, who remembered Rumania of the 1890s, was most struck by wrestling on U.S. television. In her time, and since, the numbers of visual media have expanded, from early flickering black and white films to holograms and “virtual reality.” Words remain our most important symbols, but they are merging with other ways of presenting information. In a way, we are all immigrants in our own time.
Balancing Business with Journalism: Newsroom Policies at 12 West Coast Newspapers
Authors: Underwood Doug , Stamm Keith
Published: December 2011

Journalists from 12 daily newspapers, surveyed on-site, confirmed what newspaper industry analysts have noted: Newspapers are becoming more reader-oriented and market driven. This is particularly true of group newspapers which, on nearly every level of measurement, showed a stronger market-oriented management. But there are some indications that greater devotion to business principles does not always come at the expense of good journalism and that business-oriented policies are not always viewed as disruptive to sound newsroom policy.
Television “Addiction?” An Evaluation of Four Competing Media-Use Models
Authors: Finn Seth
Published: December 2011

Employing a uses and gratifications paradigm, four individual differences — sensation seeking, religiosity, hostility and family cohesion — were examined simultaneously as correlates of drug use and television viewing and used to test four corresponding models of addiction: medical/disease, moral, compensatory and enlightenment. Not only were alcohol and marijuana use inversely correlated with time spent and motives for watching television, but sensation seeking, which was positively correlated with drug use was negatively correlated with television viewing. Conversely, religiosity was positively correlated with television viewing and negatively with drug use. With these results, the author concluded that the medical/disease model of television addiction lacked empirical support, and other models emphasizing personal control and responsibility appeared more appropriate for developing strategies to regulate excessive or compulsive television viewing.
Numbers versus Pictures: Did Network Television Sensationalize Chernobyl Coverage?
Authors: Gorney Carole
Published: December 2011

The amount of United States network coverage of the 1986 nuclear mishap of the Soviet Union suggests some sensationalism in coverage, with much use of such words as “radiation” and “meltdown.” Yet pictures and still graphics were mostly innocuous and “radiation” was seldom used in fear-inducing linkages. Alarming statements — while there — were in the minority.
Use of “Vague” Quantifiers in Measuring Communication Behaviors
Authors: Kennamer J. David
Published: December 2011

Scholars often ask respondents to answer media use questions in such terms as “often,” “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “never,” but do these words mean the same thing to different people? This study with two groups in two time periods indicates these words do not always mean the same thing to different people. These words may not, therefore, add up to an interval scale, as some scholars assume. If a scale is assumed to be interval, and it is not, some research outcomes may be uninterpretable, or just plain wrong.
Issue Competition and Attention Distraction: A Zero-Sum Theory of Agenda-Setting
Authors: Zhu Jian-Hua
Published: December 2011

Classic agenda-setting studies implied a zero-sum process, in which issues compete for media and public attention. Recent time series analyses on single issues have disregarded this central assumption. Evidence from a variety of sources was cited to illustrate that agenda-setting is a zero-sum game, due to the limited carrying capacity of the public agenda. A mathematical model was proposed to incorporate the strengths of both the classic approach and the time series technique. The model was tested with data on three recent issues. Results reveal both mutual competition and one-way attraction among issues.
Predicting Voting Behavior via the Agenda-Setting Tradition
Authors: Roberts Marilyn S.
Published: December 2011

The agenda-setting function has primarily reinforced the premise that the mass media do not tell people what to think, but what to think about. The possibility that the agenda-setting function may exist in a two-step process is explored, from the transfer of salience to behavioral outcome. The results of a two-group discriminant analysis appear to indicate that specific groups of voters can be identified according to their level of issue concerns. The study suggests that the mass media may not only tell us what to think about, but they influence what actions we take regarding those thoughts.
Is the Medium the Message?: An Experimental Test with Morbid News
Authors: Bennett Ellen M. , Swenson Jill Dianne , Wilkinson Jeff S.
Published: December 2011

This study examined whether medium is an important factor in arousal of curiosity about morbid events. A total of 131 undergraduate students read or viewed six reports: one good news story, one neutral story and four morbid stories. One group read print versions only, while a second group saw photographic images depicting these events and a third group viewed televised versions of these events. Subjects rated stories on a 100-point thermometer rating scale measuring attraction-aversion. Television news reports, somewhat contrary to expectations, did not evoke more curiosity about morbid events than did print or still photo accounts. Television may be getting a bad rap, the authors suggest.
Rural and Urban Newspaper Coverage of Wildlife: Conflict, Community and Bureaucracy
Authors: Corbett Julia B.
Published: December 2011

A content analysis of six daily Minnesota newspapers shows that the type of wildlife stories published depends on whether the newspaper is in an urban or rural setting and on whether the story is on the news or “outdoor” pages. Stories about wildlife conflicts are more common in urban than rural news pages, but neither type of newspaper publishes much about conflict in its outdoor pages. All newspapers relied heavily on bureaucratic sources.
Measuring Agenda Diversity in an Elastic Medium: Candidate Position Papers
Authors: Culbertson Hugh M.
Published: December 2011

Analysis of position papers of 12 (of 13) presidential candidates in the 1988 election year finds that the more liberal the candidate, the greater the agenda diversity of his position papers. Also discovered in this content analysis study is that candidates who remained longest in the race display greatest agenda diversity. The study suggests that it would be fruitful if future studies determine if candidate diversity is reflected in audience learning.
The News Conference: How Daily Newspaper Editors Construct the Front Page
Authors: Reisner Ann E.
Published: December 2011

Conversational analysis of language used (and recorded) during 64 different news conferences reveals patterns that editors use in arguing over what stories should appear on the front page. Editors' routinely signal front page newsworthiness by elaborating/defending their choices and work hard to defend the newsworthiness of their choices. Traditional news values are part of the strategy that editors use, but editors also find ways to obscure the role their own ideology may play in their own news selections. One strong trend is that stories are more likely to be chosen for the front page — with little argument — if they are part of a recent ongoing story. News themes, in other words, like individuals, have history.
The Dolt Laughs: Satirical Publications under Hitler and Honecker
Authors: Bytwerk Randall L.
Published: December 2011

A comparison of the humor in Die Brennessel, published in Germany in the 1930s with Eulenspiegel, published in former East Germany in the 1980s, finds that neither magazine published very much that would be funny from a contemporary perspective. The socialist Eulenspiegel came closer to providing humorous insights into the collapsing social and economic system of East Germany and achieved a relatively high circulation — which probably would have been higher if there had been sufficient paper stock.
News Sources and News Context: The Effect of Routine News, Conflict and Proximity
Authors: Berkowitz Dan , Beach Douglas W.
Published: December 2011

This content analysis of three newspapers looks at the extent to which two context elements, routine and conflict, affect the mix of sources. The hypothesized effect (that nonroutine and conflict-based news would contain a greater diversity of sources) was found only for proximate news stories. Although journalists can develop a diverse pool of sources in their own communities, only the most visible sources are easily reachable in other locations.
Stability and Change at the “Big Five” News Agencies
Authors: Alleyne Mark D. , Wagner Janet
Published: December 2011

Five news agencies, headquartered in four countries, are responsible for relaying most of the world's news. This article is a quantitative and qualitative survey of these so-called “Big Five” at the beginning of the 1990s. Diversification of their operations to include more information services, in addition to news, was found to be the major trend in the 1980s. This diversification was financially necessary if the agencies were to remain alive. Financial problems also forced some agencies to seek government support, thereby raising questions again about their reliability as a source of objective news. Change in the former Soviet Union has also influenced the ideological character of the international news flow debate because TASS ceased being a communist news agency, an antithesis to the liberal-democratic press ideologies represented by the other four agencies.
Biased Optimism and the Third-Person Effect
Authors: Gunther Albert C. , Mundy Paul
Published: December 2011

While the third-person effect has proved to be a persistent and robust finding, most research on this phenomenon has employed media stimuli with potentially harmful consequences for its audience. We hypothesized that underlying the third-person phenomenon is a human tendency to see the world through optimistic or self-serving lenses. Such an optimistic bias predicts that people will estimate greater media effects on others than on themselves for messages with harmful outcomes, but no difference in effect for beneficial messages.
Role of Haitian Newspapers in the United States
Authors: Rhodes Leara
Published: December 2011

This study used a content analysis of four Haitian newspapers to determine how they define their roles in American communities and in Haiti. The results of the study suggest that the newspapers are not ethnic presses encouraging assimilation but are alternative presses with political agendas.
Career-Related Characteristics of Male and Female News Directors
Authors: Burks Kimberly K. , Stone Vernon A.
Published: December 2011

A national survey assessed variables related to career progress by men and women in broadcast news management. Fifty-two male and fifty-five female news directors of TV stations were interviewed by telephone. At work, the women and men expressed similarity in their job satisfaction, management styles, and optimism about their careers. They differed in career goals and the forms of discrimination they had encountered. Differences were greater at home, where female news directors had more family responsibilities and stress than did their male counterparts.
RICO and Obscenity Prosecutions: Racketeering Laws Threaten Free Expression
Authors: Bunker Matthew D. , Gates Paul H. , Splichal Sigman L.
Published: December 2011

The Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) was designed to enhance penalties for criminal enterprises associated with organized crime. But RICO has increasingly come to be applied in ways that threaten First Amendment expression. The statute - and its state counterparts - permits draconian remedies including confiscation of property involved in and proceeds derived from a prohibited activity. In the case of obscenity, RICO prosecutions pose a danger of chilling speech that is controversial or socially unpopular.
The Impact of Quotation in News Reports on Issue Perception
Authors: Gibson Rhonda , Zillmann Dolf
Published: December 2011

Respondents presented with news reports containing one-sided direct personal testimony challenging the safety of amusement parks perceived the overall safety of such parks to be less adequate than respondents given the same information in indirect testimony or those presented with no testimony at all. This effect emerged only for print reports, not radio.
Why Going Online for Content Analysis Can Reduce Research Reliability
Authors: Kaufman Philip A. , Dykers Carol Reese , Caldwell Carole
Published: December 2011

This study cautions researchers to be careful when comparing content-analysis research results of online searches to hand searches. How newspapers upload information into the data bases can influence the results. All data bases do not provide the same access to information.
The Impact of the Newer Television Technologies on Television Satisfaction
Authors: Perse Elizabeth M. , Ferguson Douglas A.
Published: December 2011

This study focused on the gratifications of some of the newer television technologies. Specifically we expected that cable television, videocassette recorders, and remote control devices would increase the gratifications people receive from watching television and the satisfaction they derive from television use. Telephone interviews were completed with 615 respondents in a Midwestern town. There was only limited support for our expectations. Use of new technologies had an impact on receiving, pass-the-time, and companionship gratifications from television viewing. Instrumental viewing motives, television exposure, and receiving informational gratifications from television viewing were the strongest predictors of television satisfaction. The discussion relates these findings to the ambiguous meanings that the new technologies have in U.S. society.
Spreading Activation and Involvement: An Experimental Test of a Cognitive Model of Involvement
Authors: Cameron Glen T.
Published: December 2011

This article offers a definition of involvement based on a spreading activation model of human memory processing. Involvement is viewed as the spread of activation through working and long-term memory. Topics resulting in more extensive and/or stronger activation result in higher involvement. As a first test of the definition offered, an experiment was conducted to explore the effects of involvement and limited prior knowledge on cued recall and recognition memory for elements of persuasive messages common in investor relations. Evidence from the measurement of reaction time for recognition supported the model. Theoretical and practical implications of the differences in the effects of prior knowledge and involvement on different types of memory performance are discussed.
Finding Work and Getting Paid: Predictors of Success in the Mass Communications Job Market
Authors: Becker Lee B. , Kosicki Gerald M. , Engleman Thomas , Viswanath K.
Published: December 2011

This article focuses on the determinants of success in occupational entry for persons trained for work in mass communications. Two separate criteria are used to judge success in entry: actual employment and salary and benefits earned upon employment. Experiences in media organizations (internships or working on college media), specialization in any area of study, and grade point average (GPA) were all positively associated with finding a job. Prior experience with the employer was a positive predictor of salary, whereas a generalized job seeking strategy and being a woman were negative predictors of salary. Women, however, were more likely to have a job with a large number of benefits than were men.
The Relationship between Censorship and the Emotional and Critical Tone of Television News Coverage of the Persian Gulf War
Authors: Newhagen John E.
Published: December 2011

The Persian Gulf War provided a unique opportunity to examine the relationship between censorship and the emotional and critical tone of television news. Coverage of the war was unique, not because censorship was taking place, but because news stories were clearly labeled by disclaimers when they were aired. A total of 424 television news stories broadcast during the Persian Gulf War were content analyzed for the presence or absence of censorship disclaimers, the censoring source, and the producing network. The stories also were rated for emotional valence and intensity, and critical tone of the story toward the source. The results are discussed in terms of both production- and viewer-based differences. The question of whether censorship “works” is considered in terms of unanticipated results related to story negativity, intensity, and critical treatment of the sources.
Media Use, Involvement, and Knowledge of the Gulf War
Authors: Lo Ven-Hwei
Published: December 2011

A survey of high school students in Taiwan shows that understanding involvement can help elaborate the relationship between media use and knowledge. Measuring involvement as cognitive and behavioral with regard to the Gulf War produced results consistent with the hypothesis, which proposes that under conditions of high involvement, newspaper use will be correlated more strongly with knowledge than will television news use, and that under conditions of low involvement newspaper use will not be correlated more strongly with knowledge than will television news use. However, when survey respondents held extreme attitudes toward the Gulf War, the results were contrary to the hypothesis.
When Publishers Invited Federal Regulation to Curb Circulation Abuses
Authors: Lawson Linda
Published: December 2011

The press, like many businesses operating in an environment of corporate liberalism, has invited selective government intervention into its circulation practices several times in the twentieth century. These requests seemingly contradict the widely held belief—a cornerstone of the libertarian tradition—-that government poses the principal threat to press freedom. This policy history, however, shows a cooperative press-government partnership where industry leaders comfortably worked with lawmakers to formulate policy to fight off unfair competition and to reassure advertisers.
Regulation of Sexually Explicit Videotex Services in France
Authors: Dupagne Michel
Published: December 2011

In the mid 1980s, concern arose over the rise of sexually explicit services on the French videotex system. In examining the legal implications of these messageries roses, this article reviews how French courts applied criminal law to penalize providers of allegedly pornographic message services. Although the Tribunal correctionnel de Paris relied on statutory law to resolve the Néron case, it refused to extend existing print and audiovisual media laws to cover videotex, based on a judicial precedent against the applicability of press legislation to broadcasting. In July 1991, the Court of Appeals of Amiens condemned three messagerie rose managers as accomplices of users who had produced pornographic announcements because they had intentionally permitted these actions to occur by providing users the means to publicize messages encouraging debauchery.
The News Media's Right of Access to Pretrial Discovery Materials in Civil Lawsuits
Authors: Chang Hosoon
Published: December 2011

This study of court decisions on the right of access to civil discovery materials shows that news media had more access to filed discovery materials than unfiled ones. The legal bases for the right of access to filed discovery materials varied, but the right to unfiled discovery has been far more restricted.
Validating a Scale for the Measurement of Credibility: A Covariance Structure Modeling Approach
Authors: West Mark Douglas
Published: December 2011

This study was designed to cross-validate a widely used set of standard credibility scales in an attempt to further understand reliability and validity of credibility research.
Hispanic Marketing: National Advertiser Spending Patterns and Media Choices
Authors: Goodson Sabrina R. , Shaver Mary Alice
Published: December 2011

This study examines spending patterns and media choices of national advertisers targeting the Hispanic audience. Survey results show that companies who target the Hispanic market at the national level spend only 1.5% of their total budgets in Spanish-language advertising. The media mix used for this audience is quite different than that reported for the general audience; 80% of ad dollars go to broadcast media. The authors suggest that promotions, particularly event marketing, can be a way for national advertisers to both customize messages and gain increased recognition in local markets.
Illusions of Media Power: The Third-Person Effect
Authors: Atwood L. Erwin
Published: December 2011

This study assesses the third-person effect and its alternatives, a first-person effect and equal media effects, among a panel of respondents following the prediction of a severe earthquake and after the earthquake failed to materialize. The theoretical perspectives are provided by social comparisons and cognitive adaption theory. The findings indicate that both third-person and first-person effects result from downward social comparisons following from differences in belief in the message, accuracy of information about the predictability of earthquakes, and perception of the beliefs of others about the message. These media effects and their correlates are interpreted as illusions people create to cope with a predicted disaster and later revise to reflect situational contingencies.
Environmental Advertising: Norms and Levels of Advertiser Trust
Authors: Davis Joel J.
Published: December 2011

This study measures the extent to which the public trusts advertisers who make environmental product claims. There is, for a broad range of environmental advertising behaviors, an extremely low level of trust, as indicated by low levels of agreement between the public's norms and norms attributed to environmental advertisers. The public believes that advertisers are guided by a set of norms much more liberal than their own. The results are discussed in terms of the development of norms for environmental advertising and the publics' lack of trust of environmental advertisers. Implications for the future of “green” products and practice of environmental advertising are also presented.
Public Relations Practitioner Role Enactment in Issues Management
Authors: Lauzen Martha M.
Published: December 2011

Public relations practitioners usually assume a primary role as either managers or technicians. This study examines how these roles are related to issues management and concludes that managers are responsible for all steps in the issues management process.
Controversy and the Newspaper's Public: The Case of Tongues Untied
Authors: Aufderheide Patricia
Published: December 2011

Newspaper coverage of a controversy over public television stations' carriage of the African American gay video poem Tongues Untied provides the material for analysis of how print journalists — ostensibly serving the public's need to know about issues of public importance — address issues in which “the public” is itself a contested notion. Reviews, columns, and articles from newspapers nationwide are analyzed. Typically the journalism acknowledged individual speech rights and abided by professional reporting conventions, but did not acknowledge that the very definition of the public and of public television's obligations was in contest.
Local Breaking News: Sources, Technology, and News Routines
Authors: Hansen Kathleen A. , Ward Jean , Conners Joan L. , Neuzil Mark
Published: December 2011

The contribution of electronic information technologies to breaking general assignment and routine beat news stories in large metropolitan newspapers is examined through a content analysis and in-depth interviews with reporters. Reporters working on breaking news stories make heavy use of their own paper's electronic backfiles and of fax technology, but do not use other information technologies available to them. Reporters use multiple sources for their stories and claim that electronic information technologies make it easier and faster to identify sources. However, the content analysis reveals reporters rely on the same types of sources representing the same institutional and social power structures as in the classic newsmaking studies.
Editors at Most U.S. Dailies See Vital Roles for Editorial Page
Authors: Hynds Ernest C.
Published: December 2011

Editors and editorial page editors remain positive about the role of the editorial in today's newspapers. They believe editorial pages provide information, analyses, benchmarks, and public forums to assist readers in making decisions and taking action on issues. This study provides comparative data about editorial page features for similar studies conducted in 1975, 1983, and 1992. In this survey most editors reported increased reader involvement in the editorial page, especially in letters columns.
Balancing Trust in Media and Trust in Government during Political Change in Taiwan
Authors: Gunther Albert C. , Hong Yah-Huei , Rodriquez Lulu
Published: December 2011

This study examines audience perceptions of news during a change in the press system of Taiwan. Because Taiwan has considerably relaxed its censorship of print media, we speculated that people would trust newspapers more than television. Nevertheless, television news, despite its control by government, was viewed as more credible. However, the gap narrowed considerably when people were asked specifically about political news. People also were expected to increasingly distinguish their trust in government from trust in media as they perceived the media-government relationship to be changing from cooperative or controlled to independent or adversarial. Here, the data revealed a balancing phenomenon: people more conscious of diminishing government control over media were more likely to dissociate the two institutions.
Press and Political Liberalization in Taiwan
Authors: Rampal Kuldip R.
Published: December 2011

The political reforms set into motion after the lifting of the thirty-eight-year-long martial law in 1987 in Taiwan have breathed a new life into the island's press. This article explores the factors contributing to the emergence of political pluralism and the status of press freedom in Taiwan. Based on field research, the article notes that Confucian humanism, socioeconomic progress, and communication revolution have facilitated the democratization process and, therefore, freedom of the press. As a result, Taiwan now has a vibrant press, but further improvements are needed in press law and media ownership patterns to secure a stronger framework for press freedom.
Prestige Newspaper Coverage of Foreign Affairs in the 1990 Congressional Campaigns
Authors: Wells Robert A. , King Erika G.
Published: December 2011

This content analysis of four prestige newspapers' coverage of the first post-cold war congressional campaigns examined hypotheses concerning the amount and substance of international and foreign affairs coverage. As expected, although the news and opinion/editorial agenda of all four newspapers consisted of extensive coverage of the major international and foreign affairs stories taking place during the fall campaign period (such as the military build-up in the Gulf and the collapse of communism), coverage of foreign policy issues in the 1990 congressional races was conspicuously absent.
Mood Influence on the Appeal of Bad News
Authors: Biswas Rahul , Riffe Daniel , Zillmann Dolf
Published: December 2011

Respondents were placed into a bad or good mood and then provided with reading choices. They chose magazine articles that featured either bad or good news. In agreement with theoretical expectations, women in a bad mood were drawn to good news, sampling significantly more of it than women in a good mood. Men did not show this preference, however. Gender-specific selection of news stories was further evident in that women in a bad mood sampled less bad news than did men in a bad mood, whereas women in a good mood sampled more bad news than men in a good mood did.
Homicide Reporting in Chicago Dailies
Authors: Johnstone John W. C. , Hawkins Darnell F. , Michener Arthur
Published: December 2011

Fewer than a third of the 684 homicides committed in Chicago in 1987 were reported in either of the two metropolitan Chicago dailies. Both papers, as expected, were more likely to cover “high amplitude” crimes that involved more than one victim. They were also more likely to report homicides if the offender was male and the victim female, and less likely to do so if the victim was African-American or Hispanic. Additional factors affected whether an individual paper would cover a story. Once selected for coverage, only the “amplitude” factor consistently predicted the prominence a story received.
News on the 700 Club: The Cycle of Religious Activism
Authors: Abelman Robert
Published: December 2011

This content analysis evaluates political topics and themes of televangelist Pat Robertson's high-profile news program The 700 Club during the early months of the 1992 presidential campaign. Considered the media arm of the Religious Right, this program was found to go against the trend of increasingly political and less religious content observed in earlier analyses of equivalent episodes during the 1983, 1986, and 1989 seasons. In addition, political topics were addressed more neutrally than in the past. The study discusses the possible impact of an increasingly competitive telecommunication environment on religious broadcasters.
Effect of Organizational Size on Job Satisfaction of Top Editors at U.S. Dailies
Authors: Demers David Pearce
Published: December 2011

Drawing on social system and reference group theory, this study hypothesized that top editors at large newspapers would be more satisfied with their jobs than top editors at small newspapers. Editors on larger newspapers were expected to be more satisfied because increased role specialization gives them greater autonomy, their salaries are higher, and their jobs are more prestigious. A national probability sample of top editors at daily newspapers in the United States supports the hypotheses that editors at larger newspapers are more satisfied and that autonomy is a mediating factor, but income is not related to job satisfaction.
Effects of U.S. Television Programs on Foreign Audiences: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Ware William , Dupagne Michel
Published: December 2011

A number of studies have investigated the impact of U.S. television programs on foreign audiences. A meta-analysis of these studies reveals a small, but statistically significant, association between exposure to U.S. entertainment programs and attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of foreign audiences. When taking study characteristics into consideration, only language of the questionnaire produced a significant difference in correlation size, with studies using English questionnaires displaying a larger effect. Also, contrary to the assumptions of a uniform effects model, the findings indicate that the magnitude of the relationship depends upon the type of dependent measure.
The Messages Replication Factor: Methods Tailored to Messages as Objects of Study
Authors: Jackson Sally , O'Keefe Daniel J. , Brashers Dale E.
Published: December 2011

In research on effects of message variables, it is generally necessary to examine responses to actual messages that represent, embody, or instantiate the values of the variable of interest. Researchers have lately become attentive to problems of confounding in the use of individual concrete messages to represent abstract theoretical contrasts, and replicated treatment comparisons are increasingly common in communication research. How to treat the replications factor in the statistical analysis remains controversial. Whether to treat replication factors as fixed or as random hinges on what is assumed about the relationship between abstract treatment contrasts and their concrete material implementations. We argue that reflection on this relationship justifies a general policy of treating replications as random. Two circumstances in which fixed-effects analyses might seem attractive (the case of matched-message designs and the case of experimental manipulations occurring outside of messages) are considered, but it is concluded that these situations also require random-effects analyses.
Measuring New-Voter Learning Via Three Channels of Political Information
Authors: Martinelli Kathleen A. , Chaffee Steven H.
Published: December 2011

A cross sectional survey of newly naturalized U.S. citizens, during the month preceding the 1988 U.S. presidential election, uses within-media measures of exposure, attention, and recall to explore the influences of newspapers, television news, and television ads on political knowledge of new voters. Controlling for traditional indicators of immigrant political socialization, each channel made a separate, significant contribution to issue learning. For newspapers and television news, questions about attention were the strongest predictor items. Recall of television ads, a measure designed specifically for this study, had the greatest predictive strength.
The Flawed Characters in the Campaign: Prestige Newspaper Assessments of the 1992 Presidential Candidates' Integrity and Competence
Authors: King Erika G.
Published: December 2011

A content analysis of New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times reporter and columnist/editorial evaluations of the integrity and competence of the 1992 presidential candidates during the fall campaign found that explicit assessments of the candidates' character were present in about 7 percent of all news articles and one-third of op/ed items, and that, as predicted, the vast majority were unfavorable in tone. Similar character assessments appeared in the three papers, with all following a negative media “subtext” for each candidate that emphasized his character flaws. Clinton was consistently assessed as a slippery obfuscator, Bush as an inept dissembler, and Perot as an arrogant paranoid.
Mood Management during the Menstrual Cycle through Selective Exposure to Television
Authors: Weaver James B. , Laird Elizabeth A.
Published: December 2011

Women in different phases of the menstrual cycle reported their preferences for various genres of television programs along with ratings of their affective dispositions. The findings revealed considerable variability in women's preferences for comedy and suspense drama television programs. Comedy preferences were strongest immediately prior to and during menses when negative affect was also most evident. At the midpoint of the menstrual cycle, when positive affect proved the strongest, an elevated interest in suspense drama programs was apparent.
Alistair Cooke: America's Unconventional Press Critic
Authors: Murray Michael D.
Published: December 2011

Alistair Cooke occupies a unique place in American journalism. He began writing about American culture for the BBC in 1934. While correspondent for The Guardian, he introduced radio's longest running series. He was the host of Omnibus and later wrote and narrated America, the only television series to win Emmy awards for both information and entertainment. In spite of a distinguished career, he is sometimes overlooked as an influential commentator, one who has made American journalism central to his work. This study reviews the special attention he has given to journalism.
Chain Growth and Merger Waves: A Macroeconomic Historical Perspective on Press Consolidation
Authors: Adams Edward E.
Published: December 2011

Between the late 1890s and the early 1930s, newspaper chains experienced new growth. The number of newspaper acquisitions and mergers increased and decreased simultaneously with the emergence and decline of the “merger movements.” This study examines the two waves of merger activity affecting all industries around 1900 and the 1920s and compares it to acquisitions and mergers by the largest newspaper chains. This paper suggests that acquisition activity of all business and industry paralleled the acquisition activity in newspapers and fueled the growth of chains through acquisitions; thus newspapers concentrated at an increased rate because of the larger macroeconomic trend and not because of a tendency isolated to the newspaper industry.
Slow Fade to?: Advertising in Ebony Magazine, 1957–1989
Authors: Leslie Michael
Published: December 2011

This research investigated the changing image of blacks in advertisements in Ebony magazine from late 1950 to late 1980. Content analysis of paired samples from three decades revealed significant differences in the mix of products advertised as well as in the aesthetic qualities of models used in the ads. This research also found that while the Black Revolt of the 1960s “blackened” Ebony's ads, the fair-skinned, Eurocentric model had begun to reassert itself as the somatic norm for Ebony advertising by the late 1980s.
Creating a Venue for the “Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name”: Origins of the Gay and Lesbian Press
Authors: Streitmatter Rodger
Published: December 2011

This country's first three widely distributed gay and lesbian publications were founded on the West Coast in the 1950s. This article describes One, Mattachine Review, and The Ladder, as well as the journalists who created them. In addition, this study analyzes the editorial content of the magazines and considers the three pioneering publications in the context of other social movement presses.
Causal Communication: Movie Portrayals and Audience Attributions for Vietnam Veterans' Problems
Authors: Griffin Robert J. , Sen Shaikat
Published: December 2011

This study applies attribution theory to field research into communication and public perceptions of a social group. In particular, audience viewing of various popular Vietnam War films related to attributions audiences made for readjustment problems facing some Vietnam veterans, which in turn related to public opinion about government assistance to Vietnam veterans. Results also suggest that mass media might play a role in the social definition of the meaning of the Vietnam War as the United States comes to closure on that episode in history.
Reconstructing Suicide: Reporting Suicide in the Israeli Press
Authors: Weimann Gabriel , Fishman Gideon
Published: December 2011

Researchers have not found consistent relationships between suicide stories and suicide. Through a content analysis of suicide stories in the Israeli press (1955–1990) and measures of real suicide events, this study highlights the selective, distorted, and reconstructed nature of reporting suicide. Such reporting may account for at least some of the contradictory findings of studies on the impact of publicized suicide stories on imitative behavior.
The Boston Gazette and Slavery as Revolutionary Propaganda
Authors: Bradley Patricia
Published: December 2011

Boston Gazette content in the six years prior to the Declaration of Independence revealed the slavery issue was used to unite patriot fervor under a proslavery position. Specifically, the Gazette misguided readers regarding the 1772 decision in which the American slave James Somerset was freed by a British court, chose not to reflect the debate on slavery under way in other colonial newspapers, selected items that promoted Southern patriarchy, and appropriated the word “slavery” as a metaphor representing colonial America vis-à-vis Great Britain. The author concludes such use was deliberate as part of the propagandistic mission of the Gazette.
Experts and the Operational Bias of Television News: The Case of the Persian Gulf War
Authors: Steele Janet E.
Published: December 2011

This study analyzes the way in which television news organizations select and use expert sources to interpret the news. In this case study of the Persian Gulf War, news organizations chose expert sources that reflected both journalists' professional ideology and their understanding of expertise. Experts are selected according to how well their specialized knowledge conforms with what can be termed television's “operational bias,” or an emphasis on players, policies, and predictions of what will happen next. These processes undermine the ideals of balance and objectivity, and severely limit how news is framed.
Chain Ownership, Organizational Size, and Editorial Role Perceptions
Authors: Akhavan-Majid Roya , Boudreau Timothy
Published: December 2011

This study examined the relationship between chain ownership and editorial role perceptions to illuminate the impact of chain ownership on content. Based on 258 questionnaires returned by a nation-wide sample of daily newspaper editors, the study found the editors of chain-owned newspapers to be more likely than their independent counterparts to subscribe to activist role perceptions. The tendency toward activist values increased as the size of the chain increased. Further, in general, editors of larger news organizations tended to subscribe to activist values more than did editors in smaller organizations.
“You're a Tough Guy, Mary-and a First-Rate Newspaperman”: Gender and Women Journalists in the 1920S and 1930s
Authors: Lumsden Linda
Published: December 2011

Relying on autobiographies, articles written by the subjects, and oral history, this article analyzes how gender-based polarities affected ten “front-page gals” between 1920 and 1940. It demonstrates how women journalists had to lose their feminine selves to succeed in the male-dominated city room. The women's emphasis on succeeding on individual merit left: them unable to recognize structural discrimination in pay, assignments, and benefits. Nonetheless, their adventurous spirit blazed a trail for future women journalists.