As a study in the presentation of a public policy issue in education, the argumentative rationales of 139 opinion pieces (editorials, op-ed pieces, and letters to the editor) in "The New York Times" on the issue of school busing were analyzed. Material from the years 1971-75 was located through "The New York Times Index" and…

Social revolutions, which frequently use the press as a propaganda weapon, have been rare in Latin America despite the striking social inequalities of the region. Only three classic socioeconomic revolutions have unfolded in the hemisphere--in Mexico in 1910, in Bolivia in 1952, and in Cuba in 1959. Bolivia attempted to effect radical reforms…

The purposes of this book are to summarize and analyze the nature of public opinion in contemporary America and to examine the implications of that nature for the possibility of a functioning democracy. Material in the four sections covers the following topics: "The Study of Public Opinion: Political Theory and Methodology"--opinions and…

Senators of the Eighty-third Congress were studied to ascertain what factors were most highly correlated with press coverage for each individual senator. This information was then correlated with an earlier study of the Eighty-ninth, Ninety-first, and Ninety-third Congresses to see what differences might exist which could indicate the development…

Intended for non-professional groups trying to make inputs into the political system but having limited access to the mass media, this manual reviews and criticizes the current status of power in the communications industry, especially in regard to ownership and control of the flow of information. Government/media relations are discussed,…

This workshop kit consists of: (1) 30-page "Leaders Guide and Handout Masters"; (2) 12-minute videotape, "Lines in the Sand"; (3) special 24-page issue of the journal "Media & Values" on the theme "The Media: in War and Peace"; and (4) an 8-page booklet on the basics of media literacy, "From…

A study of 4,692 news stories from Egyptian, Algerian, and Tunisian electronic and print news media was conducted to see how state-controlled media reflected government policy changes following the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty and the subsequent diplomatic break between Egypt and Arab League nations. The study found that the three controlled…

Emphasizing the newspaper's influence on people's lives and opinions and its role in preserving a democratic government, this teaching guide attempts to promote student understanding and appreciation of the functions, service, and responsibilities of the press. Units for grades 7-12 focus on particular aspects of the newspaper: introduction to the…