A study examined the descriptive language and sex-linked roles ascribed to women and men in articles of the New York "Times" from 1885 and 1985. Seven content analysis methods were applied to four random samples from the "Times"; one sample each for women and men from both years. Samples were drawn using randomly constructed…

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…

Media in democratic societies are generally assumed to have a responsibility to provide a forum for the articulation of diverse ideas, including radical discourse. Research on media coverage of groups which challenge the status quo, however, shows the limitations of the media in the democratic exchange of ideas. To evaluate the coverage of one of…

Using as an example the relations between the state and the mass media in Kenya in the 1960s and 1970s, this paper asserts that in regard to state/media relations, a theoretical middle course exists between the two most common perspectives, the structuralist-functionalists/chroniclers of history and the Marxists. The paper claims that this middle…

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"…

A strike by teachers in the David Douglas School District of suburban Portland, Oregon, in 1978 lasted only a week and was unsuccessful in obtaining contract concessions. This document describes how the district's administration, board, building principals, and public relations specialist cooperated as a team to limit the strike's effects. Key…

Noting that 1977 public opinion polls concerning the new Panama Canal treaties were interpreted as showing increased support for the treaties, this paper contends that this interpretation was erroneous and that the major outcome of the extensive polling was misleading data. The paper is divided into three major analytical sections. The first…

Restricted to books on freedom of speech, this annotated bibliography offers a list of 38 references pertinent to the subject. Also included is a list of 18 ERIC documents on freedom of speech, and information on how to order them. (JC)

The views of the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on freedom of electronic information are contained in this speech transcript. The speech opens with a warning that government regulation of the electronic media is expanding and extending in a dangerous way, posing the possibility that one day this regulation will be extended to the…

This speech advocates the establishment of empirical standards for evaluating the success or failure of press performance. The ideal measure, as outlined in the speech, includes information on specific news coverage, the daily operation of the press, and the media institution's past performance. This information should be precisely gathered and…

Analyses the history of the portraiture of blacks in the media, notes the effect of behavioral scientific findings as represented in the media, and argues that the media have functioned to reinforce cultural norms, create new forms, and influence the modes of conduct of blacks. (JM)

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…

This paper compares newspaper coverage of United Nations (UN) events in the United States and Great Britain, African and Asian nations, and in the black press in the United States. The method involved sampling UN-related coverage in 13 newspapers at four year intervals from 1949 to 1961 and for every second year from 1961 to 1977. Newspapers…

The relationship between the schools and the press who reports about them is the subject of this paper. It contains four speeches made at a 1973 meeting of the Council for Basic Education held in Washington D.C. Two school officials and two journalists offer their views on such subjects as training for educational writers, press bias, and the role…

THIS REPORT OF A FIELD STUDY DESCRIBES THE CONFLICT WHICH RESULTED FROM SCHOOL DESEGREGATION EFFORTS IN 1956 IN MANSFIELD, TEXAS. THIS WAS THE FIRST SCHOOL SYSTEM IN THE STATE WHICH WAS ORDERED TO DESEGREGATE. THE REPORT IS IN TWO PARTS--(1) BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE COMMUNITY AND A CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, AND (2) PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS BY ONE OF…