Evening star., 1953-04-16
Press Group Rejects
Survey Of Coverage
In 1852 Campaigns

A proposed survey of the fair
ness of press, magazine, radio
and television coverage of the
1852 Presidential campaign has
been rejected by Sigma Delta
Chi, national journalistic fra
ternity, as too unwieldly a job.
After long study, a special
committee of the group reported
such survey "is not feasible"
The committee report, adopted
at the semiannual meeting of
Sigma Delta Chi's Executive
Council at the Hotel Statler last
night, declared:
THE committee knows of no
formulae that would meet the
magnitude and complexities of
the problem of evaluating the
fairness of public information
media in their news coYerage of
the 1852 presidential campaign.
No Feasible Solution.
"Cataloguing the performance
of individual newspapers, maga-
zines, radio and television net
works and stations would, in the
committees opinion, be possible.
But properly to weigh such ma
terial effectively to arrive at a
sound collective judgment of bias
or lack of bias is a problem for
which we have found no feasible
solution"
The member committee
had been asked to study feasi-
bility, and possible financing, of
such a survey after complaints
were raised about news treat
ment of the heated campaign. II
The written committee report
was concurred in by Chairman
j. D. Ferguson. editor of the
Milwaukee Journal: Turner Cat
ledge, managing editor of the
New York Times; B. M. Nickel
way, editor of The Star: Carson
Lyman, managing editor of U. S.
News & World Report, and Earl
English, dean of the School of
Journalism, University of Mis-
souri,.
MurrOw C0ncurS.
In addition, Edward r. Muir
row, Columbia Broadcasting
System commentator, unable to
attend the Washington meeting,
concurred by mail on the diff
Guilty of surveying radio and
television coverage of the cam
paign.
The committees seventh men,
ber Barry Bingham. president
and editor of the Louisville
Courler-.Iournal and Times,
submitted a minority report rec
ognizing the problem of making
fair and representative survey"
But he believed that "a founda-
ton could be interested in under
taking such a survey and en-
ploying a staff of competent
technicians who could formulate
a plan and carry it into execu-
ton"
Dean English, in a separate
statement. urged Sigma Delta
Chi to direct it's energies toward
basic research and personnel
training in preparation for the
day when at least segments of
the overall undertaking may be
properly evaluated." He said
Journalism educators are we'll
aware that we have not devel-
oped the techniques and designs
necessary to accurately measure
the various factors that con-
tribute to these generalizations
of fair and unfair"
Subject Too Complex.
Mr.. Bingham, in his minority
report, said he felt the basis of
such a survey should be to find
whether the press Gin general
was fair to its readers in carry
ing full and unbiased news. ="
Mr.. Ferguson. in a letter to
Lee Hills. Sigma Delta Chi presi-
dent and executive editor of the
Miami Herald and the Detroit
Free Press. noted that the COM
mittee had considered results Of
several limited surveys on the
subject.
"The feeling of the majority
as we explored the subject" he
declared. was that it was so