A study explored the use of seven political information channels available to eligible voters during the 1986 off-year elections. Specifically examined were (1) the degree to which various political information channels were used during this election, (2) which of these information channels respondents depended upon most for information about the…

In studying the history of the American press, little attention has been given to printing networks and the apprenticeship system, factors which permitted the press not only to survive but to grow. Essential to press growth was the apprenticeship system, vocational education which replenished and augmented the craft's practitioners. Apprentices…

An examination of the changes in press laws after India gained its independence in 1947 shows how a free press is shaped mostly by the structure and evolution of the democratic society that it is intended to serve. The most salient features that have characterized the Indian press, from the early nineteenth century to the present day, are…

A content analysis was conducted of 203 editorials from the "Daily Oklahoman" from the first six months of the 1980 presidential campaign. The analysis was based on two assumptions: (1) the tone of the 1980 presidential campaign essentially was set after only six months of official campaigning, and (2) the "Daily Oklahoman"…

To determine to what extent Spanish-language daily newspapers in Miami (Florida) and Los Angeles (California) reported political news about the primaries from Hispanic angles, a study examined how these newspapers reported news about the issues and candidates during the 1988 presidential primaries. The specific time period examined was from…

Researchers recently have been focusing on the relationships between audience orientations toward specific media and their knowledge about political candidates and issues. The question of media dependency, particularly dependency on television versus newspapers, has been a focal point in the discussion. To test the relationship between media…

Times Beach, Missouri, a small town close to the Meramec River and about 25 miles from St. Louis, is now deserted due to contamination from dioxin, a contaminant generated during the production of some cleansers, herbicides, and pesticides. From November 30, 1982, until the end of January 1983, the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" ran 55…

To provide a deeper look into the American political system that so intrigued the visiting French statesman Alexis de Tocqueville in 1831 and 1832, this monograph focuses on the role of the press in American politics in the the age of Jackson, the 1820s and early 1830s--a period of dramatic and substantive political party growth. In particular,…

A study was conducted to examine Americans' international news consumption. It was hypothesized that (1) television would be the preferred medium for international news; (2) the public would be satisfied with its preferred medium, although watchers more so than readers; (3) the majority of people who would claim that they know something about a…

A survey of 239 newspapers was conducted to explore the use of writing coach programs at these papers. The coaches' backgrounds, newsroom factors, specific writing problems, budgetary considerations, and implications for journalism education were all explored, as were the perceptions of editors supervising the writing coaches. Of the 239 papers…

This study was conducted to determine the reading difficulty of commonly available, mass political literature, thereby to determine the reading level necessary to comprehend the bulk of these materials. Material was sampled from three issues of each source--three newspapers and three magazines--during convention and election time periods. To…

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the mass media act as agents of social control by varying the coverage of political groups in relation to how deviant they perceive the groups to be. Editors from the 100 largest daily newspapers in the United States were asked to rate 11 political groups on four scales thought to measure political…

A total of 109 Korean immigrants completed either an English or Korean version of a nine-page questionnaire in a study of the characteristics, assimilation processes, and media usage of Korean immigrants to the Los Angeles, California area. The findings revealed that ambivalent attitudes prevailed among the immigrants. Most were not satisfied with…

A telephone questionnaire was designed to collect data on community identification, community involvement, and newspaper use. The entire questionnaire was pretested three times over the telephone and was revised after each pretest, yielding a final form between five and ten minutes in length. The questionnaire was administered to a proportionate…

In order to determine if media dependency has effects on audience members, a study was conducted among 460 randomly chosen household heads in Syracuse, New York. The respondents were asked to answer questions designed to measure media dependency in terms of use and of reliance on the various media. The questionnaire included a measure of audience…