Agenda setting provides an analysis strategy for linking press coverage and voter perceptions of front runners, and underscores the importance of studying the primaries early in an election year. Two studies were undertaken in 1976. The first study, in Onandaga County (New York), involved telephone interviews of 335 registered Democrats in late…

This study examines data from several national polls about press coverage during the Watergate scandal, in order to assess the origins of press criticism. The polls were conducted between 28 September and 6 October 1973, during June 1974, and in August 1974. The data suggest that political variables--particularly support of Nixon, party…

A four-month investigation was conducted of media coverage of two controversies involving government officials in Detroit, Michigan. Data were gathered from three sources: journalists involved in covering the stories, people involved in the stories, and the printed stories. Using public documents, the history of one of the controversies was…

This speech advocates the establishment of empirical standards for evaluating the success or failure of press performance. The ideal measure, as outlined in the speech, includes information on specific news coverage, the daily operation of the press, and the media institution's past performance. This information should be precisely gathered and…