Reflecting and influencing foreign policy, the mass media are important, if nontraditional, diplomatic channels. The role the news media assume, ranging from neutral to participant, depends largely on the society within which it operates. Journalists in authoritarian governments, for example, who rely on press releases and briefings of foreign…

The Basic Law of Press Freedom in West Germany that forbids censorship in any form is the subject of this booklet. The first section defines freedom of opinion as a basic right and presents the relationship of the press to the state. The role and structure of radio and television are described in the second section, which stresses the independence…

Reporters in Hong Kong who were working for 21 Chinese-language newspapers were mailed questionnaires to elicit information on the following: how news organizations in a highly politicized environment exercise control on recruitment, policy direction with regard to the coverage of conflicting issues, and the resolution of possible conflicts…

A study was conducted to examine news coverage of the U.S. withdrawal from Unesco. News reports distributed by the Associated Press, United Press International, New York Times News Service, and Washington Post-Los Angeles Times News Service were studied to determine how adequate a foundation they were providing Americans for independent judgment…

Following issuance of an administrative policy statement detailing procedures for establishing long-term institutional relationships, the National Institute of Education (NIE) formally requested the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) to conduct a regionwide assessment of educational needs. Four major events are associated with the…

In every advanced culture, there exists some kind of understanding between a profession and the people it serves. In the case of mass communication, such an understanding is for the most part an informal compact whose terms are understood more or less tacitly. As the terms of this agreement are renegotiated from time to time--disagreements…

Drawing from the findings of a lengthy study of international news conducted by the American Committee of the International Association for Mass Communication Research at the request of UNESCO, this paper provides information on the system by which news is distributed around the world, on the international news content of four Western news…

Although the suppression in 1917 of "The Masses," an influential Socialist magazine, has been depicted as an American tragedy, such a narrow interpretation ignores the bizarre, confused, often comic developments and episodes that attended the magazine's end. A reexamination of the demise of "The Masses" has been made to show…

Since 1939, legal recognition of the public forum concept has been gradually extended to include the public schools. This expansion of the free speech right has been accompanied by a movement of similar intensity aimed at narrowing the scope of regulatory action that might inhibit First Amendment freedoms. Ultimately, recognition of the public…

The responsibilities and role of the broadcast media in reporting acts of terrorism are examined in this paper. The paper first discusses such topics as new types of television equipment that permit easy and instantaneous coverage of fast-breaking news; television coverage of two 1977 cases in which persons were held hostage by terrorists; 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…

The objective of this study was to contribute a quantitative aspect to the Social Responsibility Theory of the Press which will make possible explanation and prediction of relationships between key elements of society and news-opinion media. The 31 tenets of the Social Responsibility Theory were isolated and categorized. Using these tenets, an…

This article contains a critical analysis of agenda-setting theory and research. In choosing and displaying news, editors, newsroom staff, and broadcasters play an important part in shaping political reality. Readers learn not only about a given issue, but also how much importance to attach to that issue from the amount of information in a news…

This publication is designed to help educators learn how to communicate effectively with the citizens of their communities. It presents a summary of school public information practices drawn from national and Tennessee samples. The monograph contains a discussion of recommended public information techniques for schools and educators derived from…

This booklet presents the results of a national survey sponsored by the American Newspaper Publishers Association News Research Center concerning the news and editorial content and readership of the daily newspaper. Since one of the goals of the study was a reliable estimate of the frequency of newspaper reading, interviewing was conducted in two…