A study was conducted to determine if interest in business and financial news could be predicted from factors other than demographic variables. It was hypothesized that the type and number of personal financial investments the reader had would predict interest in business and financial news. In a telephone survey, 376 adults in a large,…

A report is given of reading material selection and preferences of leisure services personnel. A survey was conducted of the California Association of Parks and Recreation Commissioners and Board members and members of the Cal-SPRE, the education arm of the California State Society. A third sample consisted of members of the National Consortium on…

Data from three countries support validity of the technique of predicting readership of magazine articles on the basis of title ratings. (RB)

An example of the influence of television on the reading interests of teenagers may be seen in the popularity of the book "Eric," the true story of a boy's four-and-a-half-year battle with leukemia, which began just two days before he entered college. Although the television adaptation was inaccurate in many details concerning Eric's…

Surveys selected audiences of Texas Tech University's campus newspaper, the "University Daily," to determine how various audiences perceive the purposes of a campus newspaper. (RB)

Examines the results of the Schools Council study in Britain on children's reading habits and interests, concluding that the results need to be acted on if the reading of British children is to be improved. (RB)

Address Delivered to the Associated Press Managing Editors (Chicago, October 19, 1967).

Based on a speech given at a Children's Book Council meeting (Spring, 1968).

A study analyzed the attitudes of newspaper subscribers and nonsubscribers to determine whether the two groups were truly distinct, homogenous segments of the public or whether there were "atypical" subscribers and nonsubscribers. Data were gathered through telephone interviews with more than 1,000 adults in the southeastern United…

Adolescent literature should deal with the problems of adolescents, should provide them with pleasure, and should say something to them. The adolescent novel is a bridge through a difficult age, a bridge from literature for children to literature for adults, and a bridge to major literary works. Adolescent novels can also be used to approach a…

The following advantages of individualized reading are discussed: (1) a wide and varied selection of good children's literature may be used; (2) instruction may be adjusted to the child's interests, rate, skill needs, and optimal mode of perceptual learning; (3) best use of learning time is possible while all children are meaningfully engaged; (4)…

A clue to the relationship of literature to adolescent development may lie in an understanding of the adolescent's evolving moral conscience. As the adolescent matures in terms of moral thinking, the meaning of particular literary experiences may shift dramatically. According to the theory developed by Kohlberg at Harvard University, individuals…

In order to learn whether teenagers are reading books and, if so, which books they choose, "The New York Times" conducted a fact-finding project. Questionnaires were mailed to the school librarians and English chairmen of 7000 secondary and intermediate schools. The wide variety of answers to observable trends necessitated the analysis of a random…

This study examined whether reading books alone, without adult-led discussions or other intervention, can change children's attitudes toward specific objects. A variation of the semantic differential test was administered to 22 fifth graders to determine their attitudes toward seven countries. England, France, and Holland were regarded as…