Indicates that nearly all of the newspaper advertisements examined contained at least one information cue and that one-third contained four or more cues, with an average of 2.8 per ad. Suggests that newspaper advertisements are more "informative" than television and magazine advertisements. (JD)

Indicates that (1) newspaper competition had a significant impact on newspapers' use of color and graphics, (2) television competition had no impact, and (3) the number of newspapers in a group had only a limited relationship to the use of graphics and color. (JD)

Indicates that readers were in substantial agreement on their impressions of the subjects of news stories, as were other readers who viewed only the mugshots associated with those stories. Finds that these judgments correlated significantly with one another. (JD)

Compares the content of the new genres of newsletters--the in-house letter focusing on writing quality--with what writing coaches have said are the major writing problems. Indicates that the newsletters may need refocusing and that, while coaches said news writers' chief problems are conceptual writing improvements, newsletters focus on mechanics…

The Flesch readability scores for six kinds of newspaper content in 21 daily newspapers showed that newspaper content was generally difficult to read, that international news stories were most difficult to read, and that sports/women's news stories were least difficult to read. (RL)

Reports that editors and readers could agree on "worst" newspapers, but concludes that editors may not share reader criteria concerning what constitutes the "best" journalistic product. (RL)

Questions 22 participants to ascertain whether using newspapers in school is associated with later newspaper use as an adult. Finds that, initially, only 40 percent recalled a "Newspaper in Education" experience; after focus group discussion, 70 percent recalled an NIE experience, indicating that more complex techniques are required to…

A study of five city newspapers over a 10-year period indicated that business/economic news coverage increased steadily, especially in nonbusiness sections of the newspapers. The depth in such news coverage also increased, with an increased emphasis on explanation noted. (RL)

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…

Indicates that personal religious preference is the demographic characteristic best able to predict a religion journalist's use of a particular denominational news service. Shows that the journalist's own religious preference is a much weaker predictor than is the strength of the religious tradition in the newspaper's circulation area. (JD)

Indicates mixed support for the hypothesis that editorial sections publish a positive ratio of favorable to unfavorable commentary about endorsed candidates and a negative ratio of favorable to unfavorable commentary about unendorsed candidates. Suggests that editorial sections in some newspapers may be more internally balanced in their political…

Reports that newspaper carriers' collection duties were linked to their job turnover rate. (RL)

Reports on a classic example of newspapers' uncritical acceptance of wire service news copy. Suggests that newspapers adopt a more critical stance toward the wire services, assuming responsibility for changing or balancing material that violates journalistic principles. (RL)

Examines the relationship between newspaper groups and their member papers. Shows how the introduction of a group-owned wire service encourages member newspapers to print certain news stories, how profit goals established by groups change the publisher's role, and how management techniques affect newsroom personnel. (RL)

Content analyses of eight California newspapers revealed an approximate split among good, bad, and indeterminate news, with a slightly higher bad news percentage overall. No differences were found in public recall of good v bad news stories. (RL)