Objectivity has long been contentious in American journalism. Many practitioners call it essential to a news organization's credibility. Critics, however, hold objectivity is impossible and urge reporters simply to reveal their biases. For educators, teaching objectivity is challenging. Some, seeking a middle ground, instead urge fairness and…

Factor analysis of 50 editors' responses to a questionnaire eliciting information about objectivity found general agreement on the subject but clear differences of emphasis on various aspects of it. (FL)

Reports that male editors of women's/lifestyle pages cover more male-oriented subjects than female editors; that men favor coverage of entertainment while women favor coverage of club and social news and the women's movement; and that nontraditional men editors choose a leisure focus while nontraditional women editors choose a social change…

Reports that editorial page editors and cartoonists agree on most aspects of the cartoonist's role, but differ on the amount of freedom allowed the cartoonist. (FL)

A study of newspapers in three Louisiana cities suggests that whether a city's newspapers are owned jointly or by separate owners, little duplication occurs in newspaper appearance or content. (GW)

Traces the evolution of libel law involving the clergy as plaintiff and the news media as defendant. Concludes that the clergy's position in libel suits is not as favorable as it once was but that it is still more favorable than that of most other types of plaintiffs. (FL)

An analysis of the election stories about presidential candidates that appeared in three major news magazines during the 1976 presidential campaign reveals that coverage of Eugene McCarthy's candidacy was unbiased but meager. (GT)

Reports that (1) the length and number of news items about aging and the aged in 10 metropolitan newspapers were disproportionate to the proportion of aged persons in the population, and (2) the tone of such newspaper stories was positive or neutral. (GT)

A content analysis of newspapers in 11 Texas cities between 1975 and 1977 suggests that only editorial page coverage favored mayoral candidates endorsed by the newspapers and that all serious candidates had an equal chance of receiving fair campaign coverage in their respective city newspapers. (GT)

The scope, methods, data, conclusions, and recommendations of a study examining press coverage of libraries and their services in Iran are presented, as are the views of librarians concerning such coverage or the lack of it. Tables provide totals of library-oriented items printed in Iranian dailies, weeklies, and monthlies. (FM)

Attempts to explain why, despite its importance and expensiveness, education is generally neglected in the American press. Suggests that a major reason might be a lack of reliable outcome measures in education, which limits the amount of "hard" educational news. (KH)

Reviews four major criticisms of media coverage of social science--oversimplification, premature closure, lack of concern with the methodological and theoretical competence of the social science reported, and biased selection--and concludes they are largely justified. Argues that such shortcomings are explicable, given the structure and operating…

Surveys U.S. wire service coverage of foreign countries. Results indicate that while less well-developed countries are not neglected in favor of more developed countries, the focus is generally on conflicts and crises in the Third World and on political and military activity and crime in the more developed nations. (JMF)

Analysis of the New York "Times's" financial column for the period October 13 to November 13, 1929, reveals that the column did not predict the stock market crash, that it was usually neutral in its financial analyses, and that it was more often optimistic than pessimistic in outlook. (FL)

Examines the International Women's Decade conferences held in 1975, 1980, and 1985. Indicates that amount of coverage increased substantially at the last conference, newspaper editors tended to place stories in lifestyle section rather than in the hard news section, the greatly expanded 1985 coverage was conflict-oriented, and the term…