An analysis of 1938 newspaper editorials about Orson Welles' notorious "War of the Worlds" broadcast reveals that they explained audience reaction on the grounds of gullibility, the ominous threat of war, and the technique of the broadcast, and that they offered radio a rather stern lecture on the relationship between freedom and responsibility.…

The findings of research studies that come from a variety of sources and concern newspapers, some aspects of television news, and news media audiences are summarized briefly. Among the topics are audience characteristics, content of stories, readership, headlines and makeup, editorial policy, and editorial administration and personnel. Most of the…