Although libel has remained the major legal problem of the press for 40 years, little empirical research has been conducted concerning its impact. Various methods for conducting this type of needed research include traditional legal research, surveys of practitioners, and surveys of persons outside the media who are directly affected by mass…

A study was conducted to explore the influence of newspaper editorial campaign endorsements. The study examined the Louisville (Kentucky) "Courier-Journal," which tends to endorse Democratic candidates, and the Chicago "Tribune," which tends to endorse Republican candidates. It was hypothesized that readers would show higher…

A study of political news during two four-year periods found reporting changed in response to shifts in relations between Turkey and the United States. (RB)

This discussion of agenda setting reviews early theories of mass communication and traces the beginnings of agenda setting theory to the 1968 United States presidential campaign, during which researchers found a high correlation between what the media were saying about issues and what the people thought were important issues. The results of more…

Professional journalists need to be encouraged in their quest for objectivity if the news media are to be saved from degenerating into political journals and propaganda organs. Sociologist Karl Mannheim's theory of relationalism could be the basis for an improved approach to journalistic practice and should be required reading for journalism…

A study was conducted for the President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island to analyze coverage of the accident by ten news organizations: two wire services, three commercial television networks, and five daily newspapers. Copies of all stories and transcripts of news programs during the first week of the accident were examined from…

PRESS TREATMENTS OF CERTAIN EVENTS INVOLVING COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION WERE EXAMINED. STUDY EFFORT CENTERED ON THE U.S. DAILY PRESS COVERAGE OF THE 1961 NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION CONVENTION, A TOTAL OF 193 NEWSPAPER STORIES. FROM THE STANDPOINT OF "TECHNOLOGICAL" PRESS COVERAGE, THE DOMINATING ISSUE (OR THEME) WAS THE…

Agenda setting provides an analysis strategy for linking press coverage and voter perceptions of front runners, and underscores the importance of studying the primaries early in an election year. Two studies were undertaken in 1976. The first study, in Onandaga County (New York), involved telephone interviews of 335 registered Democrats in late…

The absolutist approach to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution--argued for many years by Supreme Court Justices Hugo L. Black and William O. Douglas--is regarded as the most libertarian interpretation by most mass communication law students. However, the two justices found agreement difficult in some First Amendment cases,…

This book studies communications in agriculture, focusing on the American farm press. As defined here, a commercial farm periodical is directed to farmers and supports itself through the sale of subscriptions or advertising. It includes local as well as regional and national periodicals. A 90-year analysis, from 1880 to 1970, was chosen because…

This paper presents a rationale for studying the effect of a community's news media resources on the diversity of topics that the public considers important (the agenda). Research on media effects has followed a model that implicitly assumes that the important effects consist of the persuasion of individuals to adopt specific positions. This paper…

Unlike most of the regulatory constraints which have impact on the media, libel, slander, and invasion of privacy are common law concepts developed from the precedents of previous court decisions and from reasoning employed in the written judicial opinions of appellate courts. Since common law is thus both traditional in nature and subject to…

This document contains speeches, panel discussions, and audience reactions from a seminar on school-community relations. The material is designed to broaden the understanding of superintendents, central office administrators, and public information personnel on the importance of soundly conceived programs for school-community relations. (JF)

Although empirical research on the agenda-setting function of mass communication dates only from the 1968 presidential election, historically there has been long-standing concern over the control of communication because of its assumed influence. Early communication research shared this concern and assumption, focusing on the ability of the media…

This volume presents the findings of several research studies related to jury verdicts in felony cases and pretrial publicity. The studies include: "Trial Judges' Opinions on Prejudicial Publicity" by Fred Siebert, an attempt to learn whether or not judges thought that pretrial publicity had ever resulted in miscarriage of justice in…