A study examined readers' cognitive and affective responses to photographs and accompanying stories published in 20 newspapers. Subjects, 204 high school students (mostly 18-year-old seniors) in 9 Illinois high schools, each read the front page of one of the 20 newspapers (chosen from across the country) and completed a quiz dealing with information contained in the stories. High school students were used because they are representative of the average newspaper reader in median years of school completed (12.7) and in heterogeneity and variety of backgrounds. Results indicated that readers have a limited capacity for storing information. Photographs that do not complement stories can detract from information processing of unrelated stories. Secondary stories especially suffer if something else is more memorable--such as an emotional photograph. Photographs also can have an affective influence, in which subjects underestimate future events based on photographs and accompanying stories. (Six tables of data are included; 27 references and 9 photographs from the front pages of the newspapers are attached.) (Author/RS)