Choosing six Mexican newspapers representing an ideological range from liberal to conservative, a study analyzed the content of the newspapers' editorials and political columns from 1951 through 1980. Data established that Mexican newspapers, contrary to many critics' judgments, criticized government policies and political figures. They did,…

Subjective comments from veteran news reporters, media critics, and the public give the impression that bad or negative news is becoming a major problem in this country. This impression raises major questions concerning how much is really known about bad news, including whether the media present an accurate or distorted picture of reality in…

A reliable "news morbidity" scale was developed to measure the prevalence of bad and good news on radio and television; the scale was then used in a pilot study of one city's news output. The news morbidity scale is a seven-step scale ranging from "extremely bad" to "extremely good" news. A sample of 945 television…

Hypothesizing that the way in which the media present information influence their audiences' reaction to it, a study examined 158 economy-related news stories broadcast between September 15 and October 31, 1980, by the three major television networks: ABC, NBC, and CBS. Analysis was guided by three questions: To what degree was economic…

Objectivity, truth, freedom, and social responsibility--key principles in contemporary media ethics--fail to provide a practical, coherent code for responsible journalism. During the initial television coverage of Watergate on June 19, 1972, for example, the three television networks all observed these standards in their reporting, yet presented…

In 1972, M. McCombs and D. Shaw introduced the idea that the mass media have the ability to tell the public which issues are of major importance in a political campaign by virtue of the amount of coverage they give each. This they termed the "agenda setting" function of the media. A study was conducted to investigate various aspects of…

Since the classic Columbia University studies conducted in the 1940s, the role of the mass media in modern U.S. politics has been the subject of debate among political scientists. This paper contributes to that debate by examining news media coverage of American national political institutions: the presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. A…

Describes a study which randomly sampled Gainesville, Florida, residents to determine whether free and aided recall is greater for videotex news stories or television newscaster stories; for stories with or without graphics; and for videotex or television newscaster stories accompanied by a nonredundant crawl. (MBR)

This study investigated college students' use of and attitudes toward traditional and nontraditional news media, and the role of cable news network (CNN) and its integration into evolving news consumption patterns. Results indicate later college years are associated with heavier consumption. CNN viewers are heavier users of traditional media.…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 11 titles deal with the following topics: (1) the Supreme Court and the limits of the First Amendment in "Zurcher v. Stanford Daily"; (2) the radical journalist, I. F. Stone; (3) group owned vs. independentl owned…

A study tested the cumulative acquisition model proposed by S. H. Chaffee and A. R. Tims to explain the development of adolescent patterns of news media use. The Guttman scale procedure was used to analyze patterns of news media use across a three-wave panel survey of 366 parent-child pairs over a 2-year period. In each wave, interviewers talked…

To examine the relationship between parent and child news media use within specific age groups and to evaluate the stability of this use over time, 501 parent child pairs were interviewed by telephone in the winter and again in the fall of 1980 on their political views, social values, and media use. Findings on exposure to five types of…

Examines how social and psychological factors interact to produce different lifestyles and patterns of media use. Based on responses to telephone interviews and questionnaires, four lifestyle types are identified and their use of cable television and newspapers and newsmagazines is analyzed. (50 references) (Author/LRW)