The editorial pages can be seen as fertile territory for examining female journalists' attitudes and behavior toward topics traditionally considered "women's." To study the numbers, characteristics, attitudes on several women's issues, and behavior in relationship to several women's issues, first a mailing list was compiled from the…

A study investigated the possibility that news sources account for the pattern of journalistic topic selection. It was hypothesized that the proportions of content in raw news materials made available to reporters by sources would be similar to the proportion of content found in published stories, and that the proportions of sources for these raw…

To investigate what the news is by looking at journalists' practices and sources from a historical perspective, a study conducted a computer content analysis of levels of attribution and institutional sources in "The New York Times" and "The Los Angeles Times" from 1885 through 1985. Using the GENCA program that matches a…

A telephone survey of 10 Minnesota communities was conducted to examine media use. The results indicated a pattern of metropolitan dominance throughout the suburbs and general dominance of metropolitan media for nonlocal news. Dominance of the two Minneapolis daily newspapers was reflected in their circulation, followed by the two St. Paul…

A study examined the marketing differences between large chain newspapers and small chain and independent newspapers by analyzing differences in characteristics of the newspapers, patterns of circulation, economic and social conditions of the market, and competition from other print media. The 200 newspapers studied--113 large chain and 87 small…

In focusing on the epistemology of journalism, this paper seeks to determine how reporters, particularly investigative reporters, know what they know. It begins by distinguishing between the validity of knowledge claims and their everyday justification, assuming the latter to be the proper focus for a phenomenological study of what passes as…

Bloomington, Indiana citizens and 19 members of the editorial staff of the "Herald-Telephone" were surveyed to determine whether the audience for news had the same notion of news value as those who decide what news will be available on any given day. The respondents were asked to list the events most important to them in 1981, on the…

A comparative-historical perspective was used in analyzing the readabilities of three newspapers and three magazines. A total of 270 100-word samples were collected from the Chicago "Tribune," the New York "Times," the Memphis "Commercial Appeal,""Cosmopolitan,""Atlantic Monthly," and…

A telephone survey of 1,487 adults in 91 nonmetropolitan areas of Tennessee was conducted to determine the nonmetropolitan newspaper audience, the exposure and effectiveness of nonmetro newspaper advertising, and the complementary relationship of advertising media, particularly newspapers and television, in nonmetropolitan markets. The results…

The way newspaper quality related to newspaper circulation was examined by asking journalism professionals to list the four best and the four worst daily newspapers with under 200,000 circulation in their own states. Returns were counted in only those states where two or more judges returned ballots. A total of 79 newspapers was rated superior by…

A study was conducted to investigate whether readers of newspapers that carry large amounts of crime news have a greater fear of being victims of crime than do readers of newspapers that place less emphasis on crime coverage. Data were gathered through a content analysis of crime news in three newspapers of widely differing circulation, interviews…

The effects of a year-long newspaper series about energy on peoples' knowledge and actions were assessed in a Wisconsin study. The series consisted of 20 full-page newspaper articles, which appeared at intervals of from three to five weeks. Results, based on responses to a 16-item knowledge test mailed to newspaper subscribers and nonsubscribers…

Five studies conducted at Oklahoma State University on the nature of news are reported in this volume. The first study reports the similarities and differences in news values among 10 city editors. The second and third studies replicate the first, one with city news editors and the other with wire service newsmen as subjects. Study 4 summarizes a…

Findings from a 1971-72 North Carolina statewide survey focusing on the newspaper nonreader were compared with results from a similar statewide survey taken in 1961-62 in Wisconsin. Although there were limits to how precisely the two sets of data could be compared, the findings demonstrated that the type of person who chose not to read a newspaper…

This study examines the coverage of the Rosenberg case in the "New York Times,""Chicago Tribune," and the "New Orleans Times-Picayune," from 20 May until 22 June 1953, the month prior to the execution. These three major metropolitan dailies represent different geographical areas and political orientations. It was…