Showing papers in "Newspaper Research Journal in 1999"

Trends in Online Newspapers: A Look at the US Web:

Abstract: Through survey and content analysis, this study shows that newspapers have dif fering objectives for their online editions, hut the most important ones includer eachingmor ereaders, generating addi...

Access, Use and Preferences for Online Newspapers:

Abstract: Readers of online editions of local papers tend to be readers of that paper, but online editions of national papers reach people who don't read the print edition.

Online Staffers: Superstars or Second-Class Citizens?

Abstract: The number of US newspapers offering online products continues to climb rapidly, with the count topping 1,600 by early 1998 and nearing 2,000 a year later, including roughly a third of the nation's dailies(1) But many of the publishers who are on the web do not seem certain they should be there Their reasons for taking their papers online boil down to a set of related fears: fears of being left behind if they fail to protect their franchise, fears of losing existing readers and being bypassed altogether by new ones, fears of losing money - especially retail and classified ad revenue - to new competitors Online dollars remain elusive About a third of the papers with an online presence claim to be making money, but admittedly not much in relation to their up-front investments nor to the double-digit profits on the print side(2) Some admit they are doing it by keeping both expenses and online staff sizes to a minimum(3) While there are indications that web advertising may finally be picking up steam,(4) no small number of people continue to predict that newspapers will never be profitable online, that the web is one giant black hole for publishers' cash and that their rush into cyberspace resembles nothing more than lemmings' rush over the proverbial cliff(5) So while some newspaper publishers express strong support of their online ventures,(6) many are operating in a cloud of uncertainty, driven by the competing fears of becoming obsolete if they're not online and losing money if they are Within the newsroom, those fears translate into a practical concern: how to maintain an online presence and maybe even learn something about the new medium - without bleeding the budget dry This study looks at how US newspapers are staffing their web products and how those staffs compare with their print counterparts Issues explored include salaries, benefits, experience and job duties Online newspapers The meteoric rise of the graphics-based World Wide Web has quickly transformed the online audience into a truly mass, or at least massive, market in the late 1990s As of the end of 1997, 62 million adults, or 30 percent of the US population age 16 or older, were online - a 32 percent increase in a single year By mid-1998, about 20 percent of Americans reported going online at least once a week for news, up from just 6 percent two years earlier(7) The web has become a part of newspaper newsrooms in two ways One has been a boom in its use as an information source In 1994, the year web browsers attained visibility, 25 percent of print journalists reported using the internet or web in the newsroom; in 1997, 92 percent said they used it, and more than half said they did so every day More than 90 percent of journalists have individual access to the internet, and the web is increasingly used as a news source, especially during non-business hours(8) The other way journalists have become involved with the web is to start producing information for it Pioneers in online delivery, who began combining the techniques and tools of computer-assisted reporting with multimedia formats almost as soon as they became available, initially were greeted with skepticism by many publishers who remembered all too clearly the costly videotex debacle of the 1980s But as the decade rounded its midpoint, those publishers began opting to try again Their commitment ranged from assigning a copy editor to send the day's stories online, to hiring someone to handle web updates and maybe a few links, to employing a corps of digital journalists to create interactive content that complemented rather than duplicated the print product(9) Little scholarly research into the working lives of these digital journalists has yet appeared, but personal war stories and trade press coverage provide widely varying accounts of everything from financial compensation to the degree of integration into the newsroom culture …

How Perceptions of News Bias in News Sources Relate to Beliefs about Media Bias

Abstract: Some scholars and journalists argue American journalism in the 1990s suffers from a credibility crisis.(1) Public perceptions of bias in the news media were detected as early as the 1960s.(2) However, trend data suggest the American public views the media as increasingly less trustworthy, paralleling - possibly surpassing - a downward slide in trust for other American institutions.(3) This study examines perceptions about bias in the news media, specifically in the use of news sources by public affairs journalists. It proposes a link between the naivete of news consumers with respect to source bias and their belief that media are biased in their news coverage. Bias and the news media Bias, although viewed as an important dimension of source credibility, is understudied.(4) Credibility research about news media more often explores the importance of expertise as an attribute of news sources or a newspaper, or comparatively between newspaper and electronic news sources.(5) Carl Hovland and Walter Weiss(6) conceptualized expertise and trustworthiness as the two dominant dimensions of source credibility at the inception of social science inquiry into this topic. Even trustworthiness, however, is conceptually problematic with respect to judgments about the news media. One might expect trust in the news media to be a function to some extent of the degree to which the media are perceived to be objective or biased. Therefore, this study is concerned with news consumers' perceptions of bias on the part of news sources. Some government officials and political pundits have criticized what they perceive to be a systematic ideological bias in the news media. Although empirical evidence suggests that the liberal bias charge against the media is largely unfounded,(7) some scholars argue that at certain times the American press has been more liberal or conservative, reflecting the climate of the country at the time.(8) Psychological research shows partisan individuals from both sides of a controversial issue are likely to perceive the same media coverage as biased in opposite directions.(9) Albert Gunther and Dominic Lasorsa(10) found that greater importance individuals placed on an issue led to their increasing trust of newspaper coverage on that issue. It would be, of course, self-serving on the part of journalists to claim that news consumer partisanship is the sole reason for accusations of media bias. As Gaye Tuchman argues, journalists provide a constructed reality that legitimizes the status quo and reflects the social reality of the newsroom.(11) Journalists' perceptions and presentation of social reality may differ markedly from their audiences. W. Lance Bennett(12) maintains news media present biased information by focusing on trivial aspects of important news events, like personality flaws and behavioral gaffes; primarily cover events, leaving no professional convention for addressing many of the most serious problems confronting contemporary societies, like hunger, racism, resource waste and depletion; fragment the news, which distorts larger issues; and rely on too many of the same types of sources - authoritative officials who offer views that normalize the news for members of an average public. Most research on news and public affairs information bias centers on the use of selected, elite sources, those who are easy to identify and access, often governmental officials.(13) Possible relation of news source bias perceptions and media bias perceptions Accusations of systematic bias are frustrating and painful for journalists. Reporters are trained to operate under a professional code of values and ethics, where fairness and balance reign supreme.(14) All the while, audiences are showing increasing signs of distrust. Some of that distrust may be due to extreme partisan positions on the part of some consumers. This, however, is hardly likely to explain a more widespread questioning of media objectivity. …

Differences of Community Newspaper Goals and Functions in Large Urban Areas

Abstract: The functions fulfilled by newspapers and other media are generally summed up in global terms such as keeping the public informed or providing a timely account of current affairs. Harold Lasswell's classic statement of basic communication functions included: surveillance of the environment, correlation of the parts of society in responding to its environment; and transmission of the cultural heritage.(1) Charles Wright added entertainment to the list, and journalists have been citing the set of four functions ever since.(2) More recently, Denis McQuail elaborated on what is involved in these functions and added one in a list of basic ideas about the purposes media serve for society: 1) information - providing information about events and conditions in society and the world; indicating relations of power; facilitating innovation, adaptation and progress; 2) correlation - explaining, interpreting and commenting on the meaning of events and information; providing support for established authority and norms; socializing; coordinating separate activities; consensus building; setting orders of priority and signaling relative status; 3) continuity - expressing the dominant culture and recognizing subcultures and new cultural developments; forging and maintaining commonality of values; 4) entertainment - providing amusement, diversion, the means of relaxation; reducing social tension; 5) mobilization - campaigning for societal objectives in the sphere of politics, war, economic development, work and sometimes religion.(3) Seldom are these functions brought down to the community level, where journalists work and live.(4) Alan Rubin recently pointed to the link between traditional notions about media functions and the uses and gratifications literature.(5) The latter emphasizes audience perceptions of how the media serve them. It is a small step toward integrating the two themes by asking journalists how they serve the community. This article reports on a project that asked a national sample of neighborhood and community newspaper editors to assess their paper's goals for serving the community. Most of the research and criticism of newspapers focuses on the commercial press that is the core of American print journalism. Seldom have researchers examined papers beyond the commercial dailies and weeklies; however, we get a better look at the extent to which newspaper functions are universally accepted by journalists and what influences these functions when we look at community papers with different origins and organizations. How are these functions related to the reasons that led to the creation of specific papers? Methodology More than 35 years ago, Kenneth Byerly noted that community newspapers were "burgeoning in big city and suburban areas" and had new strength in small cities and towns. He noted that the term small town was too limited a description for community newspapers, which focus on local news and are a "community's spark," whatever their context.(6) This study focuses on urban community newspapers in the 25 largest American cities, whose size and location insure considerable diversity. This excludes county weeklies and other small town papers from non-urban areas or more distant suburbs. While it would have been desirable to include those as well, they have been examined more often in the literature and are more similar in their origins and commercial organizations. Since no sampling frame exists for neighborhood and community newspapers, a variety of sources.(7) and a set of procedures were used to compile a master list.(8) Many community papers are so small that they are easily overlooked. They also make frequent changes in staff, location, format and function as they grow. Since the goal was to obtain diversity of community papers, the study limited representation from newspaper chains where multiple papers emanated from a single office. …

From Map to Machine: Conceptualizing and Designing News on the Internet

Abstract: An already crowded news media market is making room for the Internet. Roughly 57 million Americans now use the Internet, and usage among adults increased 260 percent from 1992 to 1998.(1) Today, between 15 percent and 25 percent of Americans receive news online at least weekly, compared to 4 percent in 1995.(2) It is increasingly rare to find a daily newspaper without an online edition.(3) One way newspaper executives have sought to increase product appeal over the past 20 years is to improve information design. Now that news media outlets of all kinds - print, TV and radio - have spawned Web sites, what role does information design play in the new online competition? Do the principles of print news design translate to online newspapers? Many web papers parrot modernist newspaper design, which has become nearly universal in the print industry over the past 20-to-30 years. The modernist layout is a road map in which the route markers are headline size, dominant imagery, story placement and story length. It is the designer's job to make sure readers do not stray from the correct editorial route. Large photos and graphic displays tell a reader to start here. Short teases with snappy icons lead the reader inside to other sections of the paper, and variations in headline size prioritize story importance. Designers package and label related stories, photos and graphics to ensure that readers make the proper connections between issues, as predetermined by editors.(4) Scholars employing a cultural frame have shown how newspaper layouts reflect the authority of the editors as well as the professionalism and credibility of the organization.(5) While newspaper design can be viewed as a means for editorial control, scholars and professionals agree that the Web's interactive nature swings control toward the reader (or user). If most of today's newspaper design is modernist, perhaps the Internet lends itself toless centrally controlled post-modern design.(6) Eric Fredin speaks of designers and editors providing diverse editorial viewpoints from which users can create their own news "hyperstories."(7) Designer Roger Black encourages editors and designers to think of the user's experience as a "journey" to understanding of the news.(8) The question becomes, how much control are editors and designers willing to relinquish in order to reap the full benefit of the Web's unique interactive characteristics? If control is relinquished, will the design-as-map metaphor lose its meaning? Will modernist design principles such as dominant imagery, headline hierarchy and story packaging no longer be helpful? This study uses academic and professional wisdom to explore ways of conceptualizing Internet news and to unearth implications for Internet news site creative directors. In their responses, the creative directors shed a "real-world light" on the literature and raise new issues and concepts. The current wisdom The academic literature on the visual design of Web sites is sparse, but growing.(9) A few researchers have studied user likes and dislikes and how sites are used, but more usability studies have been conducted from within the industry.(10) There is also a growing "how-to" literature from professional designers. Both professionals and academics agree there are no hard-and-fast rules. Whereas newspaper readers generally know what to expect when they open a newspaper, and editors are aware of these expectations (thus the "route markers" of headline size, section headers, story placement, etc.(11)), there are few if any rigid conventions for reading or designing Internet news. It is no wonder that many news Web site designers look at their computer screens and see newspapers.(12) Designers must have some model of good design toward which to work, if only to accomplish work on a daily basis. Eric Fredin, in a cognitive approach to Internet news design, says journalists and users should develop unique schemas for reading Internet news. …

Innovators or News Hounds?: A Study of Early Adopters of the Electronic Newspaper:

Abstract: The pattern of adoption for electronic newspapers is distinctly different from that for other consumable products. The use of the electronic newspaper is not correlated with the use of the Internet...

What Digital Formats Do Consumers Prefer

Abstract: This experimental study indicates an overwhelming preference for portable document viewer format over traditional newspaper and web site formats.

Newspaper Ombudsmanship as Viewed by Ombudsmen and Their Editors

Abstract: Ombudsmen and editors agree that having an ombudsman increases fairness and accuracy of the newspaper.

Twin cities journalists' assessment of topic teams

Abstract: Newsrooms have not been immune to management trends. Particularly in the 1980s and 1990s, newsroom managers have been willing to experiment with new, more efficient methods to run their operations, meet economic goals and handle technological changes. The topic team system is one of these methods. But although the team system has been the subject of numerous descriptive articles in the trade press, not much analytical work has been done.(1) This study examines the effects of the newsroom topic team system on journalists' perceptions of their participation in problem-solving and decision-making processes - in brief, are the empowerment objectives of the team system being met? The study is based on a census survey of two newsrooms (n=244) that implemented topics teams in the mid-1990s. The Star Tribune (Minneapolis) and the St. Paul Pioneer Press are published in different cities, but see themselves as competitors in the Twin Cities marketplace. Background Newsroom topic teams, also called pods, clusters, and other names, are one recent method used by media managers to restructure the newsroom. Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith define a topic team (also called pods, clusters and other names)(2) as "a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable."(3) Teams are supposed to "bring together complementary skills and experiences that, by definition, exceed those of any individual on the team."(4) In newsrooms, teams usually are organized by content areas - public safety, urban problems and leisure time, for example - that often cut across traditional job descriptions and newsroom departments. In a more traditional newsroom, executive-level editors supervise section editors (like sports or features), who in turn are in charge of copy editors and reporters assigned to beats, like the local baseball team or medical news. The traditional newsroom operates with a hierarchical system. Teams are considered less hierarchic than the old ways, and often the structure is changed so that layers of newsroom management are reduced. For example, at the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, seven levels of newsroom :management were made into three.(5) In Tacoma, Washington, four management levels were shrunk to two.(6) An element of leadership remains, said publisher Scott Campbell of The Columbian, of Vancouver, Washington. "Democracy is not what we're after. There is still a role for top management to make decisions when it is appropriate."(7) In a team system, a typical team consists of one or two team leaders, several reporters, copy editors, copy aides, and, often, a photographer and a graphic artist. The team leader is considered less of an editor and more of a coach or facilitator. A unit with the title of urban problems team may have elements of jobs held by the former police, juvenile justice and city hall beats. In many cases, terminology like city desk and state desk has been tossed out, and, indeed, reporters often do not work for the specific sections of the newspaper any longer. In some newsrooms, the general copy desk has been broken into many pieces, and each piece fit into a team. More cooperation among team members is usually one goal of the reorganization, particularly between the visual and written team members. Teams are supposed to add up to more than the sum of their parts. In some cases, as in Vancouver and other places, walls were torn down and the newsroom was remodeled to aid communication and serve as a physical reminder of the new management structure. One of the intentions of the new system is to empower employees.(8) The team design is "what it means to empower people," said John P. McDonagh, vice president of marketing and advertising at The Columbian. "One of the main principles is involving people who do the work. Get employee representatives in a room, describe our situation, what we want it to be and ways we might get there. …

Professional Mystique and Journalists' Dissatisfaction

Abstract: A number of recent studies indicate that the job satisfaction of American journalists is not only low in relation to other types of workers, but is also declining. David Weaver and G. Cleveland Wilhoit(1), in their survey of 1,156 journalists, report that only 25 percent of the subjects were satisfied with their jobs, as opposed to 50 percent 20 years ago. Ted Pease and J. Frazier Smith(2) surveyed 1,317 journalists, and found that while the majority of respondents were satisfied with their choice of career, 60 percent thought they would not be working for their current employer in five years, and 15 percent did not think they would be working in the newspaper business at all after that time. Journalists' low job satisfaction is potentially a major problem for the newspaper business, since dissatisfaction has both personal and organizational consequences. A dissatisfied worker may suffer more stress, be absent from work more often, and be more likely to leave the organization.(3) Such conditions also result in lower productivity for the organization, in addition to incurring the cost of replacing the absent or departed worker. A number of causes for journalists' dissatisfaction have been suggested. Pease and Smith suggest dissatisfaction may be caused by lack of professional challenges and absence of career opportunities. Weaver and Wilhoit's respondents cite poor management, low salaries, and excessive work load. Other studies suggest the influence of factors such as increased rule enforcement,(4) small organizational size,(5) and technological change such as pagination.(6) Interestingly, although these causes of dissatisfaction are varied, they are similar in that they all are comparative. That is, various aspects of working conditions are being evaluated against an ideal and are found to be inadequate. The equity theory of motivation(7) suggests that, indeed, this is one method by which job satisfaction is developed. Equity theory suggests that individuals use a comparison other to assess the value of the ratio between inputs of effort and outputs, or rewards. The comparison other can be a theoretical ideal, an actual other person, or a composite of the individual's own experiences (in other words, comparison to oneself in previous situations). If the individual perceives the ratio between his or her inputs and outputs to be different from those of the comparison other, motivation declines and dissatisfaction results. The process of comparing the reality of work to an ideal has been discussed as a source of dissatisfaction in other occupations. Cary Cherniss,(8) in studies of human service workers, identifies the professional mystique - the expectations built up through training and through the early stages of on-the-job-socialization - as a cause of stress and burnout when the actual conditions of the job do not meet expectations. Through an analysis of data collected at mainstream and alternative American newspapers, this paper will attempt to determine whether the professional mystique is a cause of dissatisfaction among journalists. The professional mystique and journalists Cherniss discusses the professional mystique in the context of occupations such as social work and nursing. The debate over journalism's status as a profession is a long and ongoing one (see Randall Beam(9) for a summary). However, the characteristics of the helping professions which Cherniss and, later, Michael Leiter(10) identify as causing vulnerability to the professional mystique are very relevant to journalism, regardless of journalism's official professional status. Leiter lists the expectations that new professionals hold when entering the workplace as: the expectation that their competence be confirmed, the expectation of autonomy in their work, the expectation of meaningful and exciting encounters with clients, the expectation of supportive relationships with colleagues, and the expectation of honest, cooperative clients that appreciate the professional's efforts on their behalf. …

Influences on Editing Quality at the Daily Oklahoman

Abstract: Copy editors have long played a crucial role in quality control at newspapers,(1) but their work environment has changed radically in the past 25 years. Copy desks have made the transition to computers and, more recently, to pagination. Because many newspapers have adopted page designs that include more points of entry to attract readers, copy editors face pressure to write more display type than they once did. Along with these pressures comes the continuing problem of tension between copy editors and the reporters whose work they critique.(2) Against this backdrop, interest in the state of copy desk work is high among both copy editors and newspaper managers. This interest has been evident in the American Society of Newspaper Editors' emphasis in 1995-98 on the state of copy desks,(3) the founding of the American Copy Editors Society,(4) recent attention to copy desks and copy editing in the trade press(5) and responses from more than 100 newspapers to Editors Ink's online survey of copy editors.(6) The purpose of this study is to explore, through the eyes of editors themselves, the factors that shape the quality of editing on the central copy desk at the Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City. The study provides detailed insight about one newspaper, a metropolitan daily(7) that is experienced with pagination. Literature review Scholarly literature relevant to the study of copy editing quality can be split into three categories: studies on newspaper and editorial quality, on the impact of new technology including pagination, and on job satisfaction and burnout. Numerous scholars have examined newspaper and editorial quality. One study measured editing precision of 58 newspapers by examining error rates for four spelling, grammar and style mistakes. It found mean error rates were 2 percent or less for all but the word "minuscule" - misspelled an average of 20 percent of the time.(8) Other quality studies have touched less directly on copy editing. One study compared the quality of newswriting and news content in community and student daily newspapers and found few significant differences.(9) Another used evaluations of news presentation in developing an index of newspaper performance,(10) Other studies have assessed overall editorial and newspaper quality. Several have included criteria that relate to editing quality such as accuracy, balance or impartiality, taste or decency, interest, visual or design appeal, and thoroughness.(11) Studies about the impact of technology have also addressed matters relevant to editing quality. Research, primarily in the 1970s and 1980s, examined the impact of video display terminals. The studies "generally conclude that editing with VDTs tends to reduce the number of spelling and typographical errors, but also tends to be slower than pencil-and-paper editing."(12) A study at the Milwaukee Journal(13) found that nearly all editors agreed accuracy of editing had improved with an electronic system. Some said the system made it easier for them to make content and headline changes, but others noted mechanical delays on deadline that slowed decision making. A few studies since the late 1980s have focused on pagination. A study of 12 U.S. dailies (including the Daily Oklahoman) conducted in 1988 found the electronic makeup involved in pagination added an average of about 15 minutes per page to editors' work.(14) The study concluded that if pagination "continues to take up those extra minutes and additional editors are not hired, quality will almost surely suffer."(15) A study of copy desk chiefs at papers with circulations of 50,000 to 100,000 found most thought pagination allowed greater creativity, but the findings also indicated many copy editors were spending less time on word-related tasks and more doing design and pagination.(16) Similarly, a survey of editors, copy editors, graphic designers and other news desk employees at 13 Washington state papers suggested "that pagination is leading to a tradeoff in newsrooms where, in the name of improved quality control and better appearance of newspapers, traditional editing activities are being displaced by production functions. …

Daily Newspaper Coverage of the Organization, Delivery and Financing of Health Care:

Abstract: Health car egot far less coverage than crime, education or sports in 1993 when a critical national dialogue was taking place.

Ombudsmen's Interactions with Public through Columns

Abstract: Newspapers that appoint an ombudsman hope to become more responsive to public concerns about the paper's performance.(1) Presumably, having an ombudsman respond to reader concerns enhances a newspaper's credibility(2) and studies of the public's perception of ombudsmen support this assertion.(3) However, critics argue that ombudsmen field primarily minor complaints and offer little substantive analysis of their paper's shortcomings.(4) Some editors believe having an ombudsman makes a newspaper less responsive because the position places a buffer between journalists and the public.(5) This article seeks to bring into sharper focus how ombudsmen interact with the public.(6) Background The modern newspaper ombudsman movement began in 1967 as part of an effort to reverse declining public confidence in the press.(7) The late A.H. Raskin proposed the creation of a department of internal criticism to be headed by an ombudsman. Raskin saw the ombudsman as a critic who would scrutinize the newspaper's behavior and as a complaint manager who would resolve reader complaints.(8) Soon after Raskin's commentary appeared, the Louisville Courier-Journal and Louisville Times appointed an ombudsman.(9) Since then, the number of U.S. newspapers employing an ombudsman has stayed between 30 and 40.(10) Some newspapers that appointed an ombudsman later abolished the position.(11) Typically, ombudsmen perform the roles of complaint manager, in- house critic and public relations practitioner.(12) Because an ombudsman monitors the behavior of his or her own newspaper, critics say this compromises an ombudsman's independence and loyalty to readers.(13) In responding to reader complaints, ombudsmen may focus more on explaining the newspaper's view of its behavior than on critically examining the paper's behavior.(14) Ombudsmen tend not to perceive reader loyalty as the antithesis of employer loyalty, nor do they believe their loyalty is divided. Some researchers have found the ombudsman's role orientation difficult to define unambiguously because ombudsmen embrace conflicting role orientations.(15) Ombudsmen are reluctant to acknowledge that they practice public relations on their newspaper's behalf.(16) This may reflect the adversarial attitude that many journalists(17) hold toward public relations.(18) Although ombudsmen may consider their work more oriented toward truth telling than the press agentry behavior that many journalists associate with public relations,(19) the context in which the ombudsman position evolved and the reasons newspapers give for appointing ombudsmen(20) suggest that ombudsmen play a public relations role. Public relations involves managing an organization's communications with the public.(21) One goal of public relations is to achieve public understanding of an organization's reasons for its behavior. Increasingly, organizations also seek to understand the public's view of the organization's behavior.(22) Maintaining satisfactory relations with the public is the substance of public relations practice.(23) Failure to maintain satisfactory relations with the public could subject an organization to such difficulties as protests, boycotts, litigation or increased government regulation.(24) Organizations that cultivate good relationships with the public enjoy more freedom from external interference with the organization's affairs.(25) A newspaper that fails to maintain good relations with the public may lose credibility as a source of information, which in turn could trigger declining circulation and revenue. The newspaper also risks losing influence in the community, which could endanger press freedom.(26) Some commentators believe having an ombudsman is good public relations practice for newspapers.(27) Ombudsmen themselves strongly endorse as important to their job some activities that are public relations in nature. …

How Identifying Rape Victim Affects Readers' Perceptions

Abstract: Journalists face a dilemma in reporting on rape. Public interest demands full coverage of crime, punishment and the criminal-justice system, but reporting certain aspects of rape may further traumatize rape victims. In particular, rape victims seem to object to the reporting of their names. Victims, counselors and others believe publication of victims' names will result in public humiliation, ostracism and even retaliation. Many journalists share victims' belief. Yet they also are troubled by the idea of omitting information from stories - particularly when that information would be included in stories of crimes other than rape. Even when journalists consider that society treats rape differently from other crimes, they find few simple answers. Journalists can make strong arguments for withholding the names of child victims. But in situations where many community members already know an adult victim's name - such as the 1991 rape trial of William Kennedy Smith - not naming the victim makes less obvious sense. Journalists have little empirical information on which to base their decisions. As yet, no studies have looked at how the inclusion - or exclusion - of victims' names in news stories influences public opinion. This study begins to explore this area by looking at how victim identification in news stories affects the way readers view victims, responsibility for crimes and the educational value of news stories on rape. Key questions in the study were: * Do readers see naming rape victims in the news as a harmful practice? * Does naming victims increase readers' interest in stories about rape? * Do readers find stories more effective in educating people about crime if victims' names are included in stories? * Does naming victims affect the amount of sympathy readers feel for victims? * Does victim identification affect readers' estimation of the way crime alters victims' lives? * Does the use of victims' names affect the way readers assign responsibility for the crime to victims and suspects? Background While the issue of rape-victim identification seems less current than it did in the early 1990s when reporters swarmed to cover the William Kennedy Smith and Mike Tyson trials, journalists who cover crime and courts still have to make decisions about whether to name victims in their stories.(1) In 1997, California Community Newspapers editors confronted the unusual situation of how to cover sexual-assault charges filed against one of their columnists by a city councilwoman.(2) Journalists covering the Waco hearings received public criticism for identifying rape victim Kiri Jewel.(3) At Marshall University in West Virginia, the student newspaper's decision to name rape victims resulted in the college president transferring control of the paper from the journalism department to a more conservative student publications board.(4) And in Minnesota, a rape victim was forced to go public to correct errors in the initial reporting of her story.(5) Most journalists probably are familiar with the arguments for and against naming rape victims. Some commentators say journalists should publish sex-crime victims' names because doing so promotes truth and helps reduce the stigma of the crime.(6) A small number of journalists also say sex-crime victims should be named because it is journalists' obligation to put all available facts before the public so people can make informed decisions.(7) Other journalists and victims' advocates counter by saying that in a perfect world, sex-crime victims would not be stigmatized, but since the world is not perfect, journalists shouldn't make victims' ordeals worse.(8) Until society's view of women and rape changes, victims will continue to be harassed or shunned and, as a consequence, probably will be reluctant to report the crime. Many journalists and scholars believe rape-victim identification is an ethical issue to be dealt with through careful reasoning. …

Leadlines May Be Better than Traditional Headlines

Abstract: Newspaper headlines are difficult and costly to write and often dangerous to publish. Headlines can mislead readers and sometimes hurt feelings and provoke lawsuits.(1) Leadlines - the lead of the story set in display type and used like a headline - are not commonly used by newspapers now but may be an alternative that avoids many headline problems and saves time and money. This experimental research asks whether leadlines could complement current headline practices as an effective way to introduce and communicate story information on newspaper pages. Literature review Headline and lead functions Journalism textbooks and professional articles point out that headlines and leads perform similar tasks.(2) In fact, the headline/lead literature lists at least 23 functions, many shared by both headlines and leads. These 23 functions were divided with 83 percent agreement into three sets by three professional journalists. They selected six functions that sold the story to the reader. They were: attracts attention to the story; conveys a sense of immediacy; urges reading of story; creates a vivid story impression; lures the reader into the full story and indicates the reward for reading the story. Ten functions communicated the meaning or content of the story: summarizes story content; sets story tone or mood; communicates information effectively; tells the main idea of the story; reveals major points immediately; clear and easy to understand; accurate in fact; focus and tone; uses specific, precise wording; logical and makes sense; and concise and right to the point. Another seven functions serve graphic or display functions on the page. They are: indicates importance of the story; makes the page more attractive; makes the page more modern; separates stories on the page; helps scanning of the page; provides cues on nature of the newspaper and indexes stories on the page. Headline and lead problems The creation and use of newspaper headlines is a time consuming, costly and difficult professional task. Doug Underwood, C. Anthony Giffard and Keith Stamm, in a study of the impact of computers on the newspaper editing process showed that headlines are probably taking more time to write and edit now than before computers.(3) About 28 percent of their respondents said that writing headlines takes more time now compared to about 13 percent who reported less time. Editors also said there was less time available for headline work. The authors further noted: "... as the percentage of time spent on what were formerly backshop activities goes up, the priority placed on a number of important journalistic tasks goes down."(4) Randall Hines and Jerry Hilliard, in a study of editorial quality, examined the extent to which Tennessee newspapers observed established guidelines for writing headlines. They learned that dailies failed to observe traditional guidelines about 30 percent of the time and non-dailies about 40 percent.(5) Theodore E. Conover, in his book on graphics, condemned headlines claiming that "The traditional headline form is difficult to write and often it is necessary to use inaccurate or inappropriate words because of the rigid unit count."(6) Headlines are error prone. In a 1964 study of inaccuracies in one week's issue of the Gainesville (Florida) Sun it was shown that headlines contained incorrect facts (42 percent of errors) and distortion and exaggeration (34 percent of errors).(7) Similar problems with newspaper leads are often presented as journalistic errors to be avoided. For example, Fred Fedler, John Bender and Lucinda Davenport provide a list of problems lead writers should avoid.(8) And Carol Rich lists 10 defective lead types.(9) Melvin Mencher reports that advertising and news writers share headline and lead problems. "Advertising copywriters say that finding the few words for the headline or lead-ins is the toughest part of the job. …

Effects of Foreign Ownership on Media Content: Thomson Papers' Coverage of Quebec Independence Vote:

Abstract: Critics and scholars have long worried about the power that media owners have to shape the content and ideas that reach the public. In the past four decades, as concentration of media ownership has increased, considerable effort has been focused on studying the impact of ownership structures on the quality, nature and diversity of media content. In the late 1980s, the aggressive expansion of media corporations into overseas markets began raising questions about the impact foreign ownership may have on the content and performance of domestic media.(1) Concern about foreign ownership of media is not new. Since the early part of this century, most nations have specifically prohibited or strictly limited the foreign ownership of core domestic media and communication companies at least partly out of fear that foreign owners would use those outlets to manipulate public opinion in times of national crisis. As a result of such restrictions, transnational media ownership was not widespread outside of the consumer magazine industry prior to the late 1980s. Not surprisingly, then, research on the international aspects of media performance has been focused largely on the effects imported media may have on domestic audiences, and on issues of international coverage, news flow and framing. Little attention has been paid to the effects foreign ownership may have on media content. After the fall of the Eastern Bloc, the ownership of large segments of Eastern Europe's print media passed into the hands of foreign, largely Western companies.(2) Simultaneously, the move towards privatization and liberalization of communication industries throughout the industrialized world opened the doors to greater international ownership of media companies. Contributing to the rapid transnationalization of media companies since the late 1980s has been the global push for free trade in international markets. Industrialized nations, in particular, have recognized that information is a valuable trade good in world markets and,(3) as a result, media and cultural industries are increasingly being included in free trade agreements. The European Union has worked to reduce national barriers to transnational media ownership and investment, while both the Canadian Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement include specific provisions designed to pressure Canada and Mexico to open their cultural industries to American investment.(4) Simultaneous with this increased emphasis on free trade has been the development of technologies that facilitate the management of global media operations, such as high-speed computer networks and satellite communications. Additionally, the movement by some media companies to take advantage of these new opportunities by transnationalizing has pressured others in the industry to do the same in order to avoid being placed a competitive disadvantage. These factors suggest that the transnationalization of media will continue in the foreseeable future and lend some impetus to studying the question of the impact of foreign ownership on media content. Literature review Although there is little published research that directly addresses the question of the impact of foreign ownership on media content, and particularly print media content, there has been considerable examination of the effects of other types of ownership structures on newspaper content. Media scholars have long been concerned about the rapid consolidation of media ownership that has taken place over the past few decades, with critics arguing that control of large numbers of media outlets allows a handful of corporate owners to obtain dominant influence over public opinion.(5) This concern is, of course, based on the assumptions that owners influence media content and that chain ownership will tend to homogenize the content of the multiple media outlets held by the chain, leading to a reduction of the vigor and diversity of the editorial content and opinion available to the public. …

How Public Journalism Set the Agenda for a Public Safety Complex

Abstract: In 1997, The Pew Foundation for Public Journalism honored coverage of a proposed public safety complex by a medium-sized Knight-Ridder newspaper in Florida. The proposed multi-million dollar public safety complex including a city hall, fire and police stations was to be built around an existing municipal auditorium on city-owned waterfront property. This study focuses on the newspaper's most intense coverage of the controversial safety complex issue, which occurred for approximately four months, from the end of July to early December 1996, under the moniker Decision Downtown. Public journalism has been called community journalism and civic journalism, among other things. It is unlikely all professional journalists agree on precisely what it is. At the very least, public journalism purportedly seeks to set an agenda for public discourse. In some cases, it conceivably endeavors to sway public opinion. The study of public journalism is compatible with the evolution of the agenda-setting model, which now posits that media sometime set the agenda for what people think, not just think about. Former executive editor and editorial page editor of the New York Times, Max Frankel, claims that public journalism is a new ideology that obligates journalists to organize public opinion and action.(1) While critics concur with Frankel's concerns that this brand of journalism threatens the traditional journalistic norm of objectivity,(2) the more activist approach has prompted numerous public journalism projects and received accolades for involving the public in relevant issues.(3) Fairness, objectivity and social responsibility were strongly recommended press norms nearly 50 years ago by the Commission on Freedom of the Press, and it was also suggested that media go beyond just reporting the day's events to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas.(4) Marcus Brewer and Maxwell McCombs recently discovered that a Texas newspaper's public journalism crusade successfully set the agenda for greater spending on children's programs by local government. The public journalism strategy, according to the researchers, acknowledged the limitations of direct editorial persuasion and the significant agenda-setting effects of continuing news coverage.(5) Michael Gurevitch and Jay Blumler speak of meaningful agenda-setting, the expectation that media should identify the important issues of the day and forces capable of resolving them.(6) It is also possible to study the agenda- setting effect of the media regardless of whether the agenda is intended or unintended.(7) Agenda-setting's pioneer study of elections by McCombs and Donald Shaw nearly 30 years ago concerned the transfer of issue salience from the media agenda to the public agenda.(8) The evolution of the model, however, has inspired the question of how the media agenda, the public agenda and the policy agenda of elected officials collaboratively influence one another.(9) Government officials and public information subsidies frequently contribute to the media agenda because of reliance on official news sources and the advent of government spokespersons.(10) In her study of health policy development, Kim Walsh-Childers found media influences upon policymakers included alerting officials to the issue, placing it on the public agenda, providing framework for thinking about the issue and prompting legislation or spending.(11) Researchers analyzed election coverage in the United States and Great Britain, concluding the media wield tremendous power in shaping the agendas of candidates and political parties.(12) Shanto Iyengar and Donald Kinder discovered that media profiling of important issues can shift the outcome of elections.(13) In addition, special interest groups that raise money, lobby a cause and make political contributions are increasingly vital to the agenda-setting process.(14) According to the literature, the merits of public journalism are subject to debate. …

Prophets of Gloom: Why Do Newspaper Journalists Have So Little Faith in the Future of Newspapers?

Abstract: It's difficult to imagine doctors, lawyers or accountants believing that they, as a profession, will soon be a less important part of American life. Newspaper journalists, however, seem to exhibit that kind of pessimism about their professional future. This study found that 55 percent of newspaper journalists believe newspapers will be a "less important part of American life" in the next 10 years. This represents a significant increase over eight years ago, when a similar survey found only one-third of newspaper journalists stating that newspapers would be less important in the future.(2) In this study, 40 percent indicated that in 10 years newspapers will be about where they are now, and only 4 percent thought newspapers will become more important. There are two obvious explanations: Either newspaper journalists are overly pessimistic, or they have good reason to lack optimism. It is likely a combination of both factors. The purpose of this article is to examine perceptions and attitudes that might help explain newspaper journalists' widespread and growing pessimism about newspapers. Whether the threats to newspaper journalism are real or imagined, the views of the industry's practitioners will play a key role in the industry's ability to maintain its presence. Threats to newspaper journalism It is an irony of history that U.S. newspaper journalists have become so pessimistic at a time when newspapers are doing rather well. Recent controversies over news-gathering practices and fabrications notwithstanding, journalists enjoy extensive legal freedom in their work. And economic patterns within the communications industry have made newspapers a lucrative business.(3) The stock price of every major newspaper company was substantially higher in the mid-1990s than it was a decade earlier, and the increase has been fairly steady.(4) Advertising lineage continues to rise, and these figures (as well as circulation) have been remarkably stable over time.(5) Despite gloomy predictions that emerge repeatedly when new media enter the market, newspapers have endured - and in good health. Yet journalists seem worried about the survivability of their product. Most published evidence of this uncertainty is anecdotal. A panel of journalists, for example, at the 1996 meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication agreed that students should stay away from newspaper careers and instead seek out new media.(6) In his study of the legacy of Knight-Ridder's 25/43 Project in Boca Raton, Fla., Kris Kodrich reported despondent predictions from several current and former reporters and editors.(7) Indeed, the American newspaper does face several imposing challenges. The mere fact that newspapers have not vanished cannot be taken as a sufficient indicator, let alone a guarantor, of future success. Structural changes in the market and social changes in media-society relations constantly require the rethinking of standard journalistic practices.(8) Perhaps it is not so much their literal survival that is at stake, but their significance as a medium. There are three much-debated areas of concern: Alienation of readers, effects of market-driven journalism and the new-media challenge. Alienation of readers While the circulation of many newspapers is stable, and while many of the largest papers are gaining, some seriously struggle with circulation decline.(9) And even when circulation stays steady, readership rates have dropped steadily: In the 1960s, about 80 percent of U.S. adults read a newspaper on a weekday, but only 58 percent did so in 1997.(10) Dozens of reasons have been offered to explain this decline. Doug Underwood, for example, notes that Americans often feel too busy to read papers; more adults work outside the home; people are more mobile and thus less involved with community and local news; there is intense competition for leisure time; and the increasing proportions of ethnic minorities have little affinity with general-circulation newspapers. …

Newspaper Size as Factor in Use of Computers for Newsgathering

Abstract: The growing form of computer-based newsgathering commonly known as computer-assisted reporting is experiencing change. At the time that Philip Meyer introduced the term precision journalism, only large daily newspapers with access to mainframe computer systems, sufficient budgets to purchase databases, and the requisite computer programming expertise regularly used computers for newsgathering.(1) Even a decade later, when David P. Demers and Suzanne Nichols offered their view of precision journalism, it remained a tool of larger newspapers with time and resources to tackle computer-oriented database projects.(2) By the time Meyer revisited precision journalism at the beginning of this decade, change was beginning to occur in use of computers in journalism. In the 1990s, using precision methods in newsgathering evolved with the new, more powerful tools.(3) The process has become known as computer-assisted reporting and journalists are using rapidly improving personal computers. Originally a specialty approach reserved for investigative reporters and a few other specialists in the newsroom, computer-assisted reporting has moved toward wider use in news organizations.(4) In some newsrooms by 1998, it had become integrated into the newsroom and its tools had become part of all reporters' approaches to their assignments.(5) The new digital forms of newsgathering are changing, even reshaping the basics of journalism.(6) In other newsrooms, the transition occurs when new computers and newsroom networks are installed to replace limited-task-centralized computer systems originally designed for writing, editing, and production. Usually, recomputerization of a newsroom occurs because of desire to increase productivity or to save money. Rarely do editors and publishers upgrade technologies to increase quality or to compete.(7) The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of circulation size of a newspaper to its use of computers for news gathering. Research has shown that newspaper size is associated with development of new resources in newsrooms.(8) Large metropolitan dailies were among the first newspapers to use online research tools such as Lexis/Nexis and to build their own in-house database archives that were accessible online.(9) Sigman Splichal studied 42 Florida daily newspapers and found computerized public records were more likely to be used by large newspapers than small newspapers.(10) That use, he observed, was often more sophisticated as well. He also found that larger newspapers used more advanced computer systems for online access and transfer of public information. Smaller newspapers, he said, depended much more on paper copies of records than on digital forms such as tape or diskette. Celia Friend found that almost all editors recognized the value of computers and their analytical potential and, if they were not using online tools at the time of her study, would soon begin.(11) She also determined a shift from special project applications of CAR to more daily and routine types of reporting. This was leading to a wider range of data sources and story subjects. In their national study of the impact of computerization on newspaper newsrooms that occurred at the beginning of growth period for computer-assisted reporting, B.S. Brooks and T. Yang determined that "small newspapers lag far behind their large and medium-size ones in newsroom computerization. While small papers may do word processing on computers, the equipment is used for little else...."(12) They found differences in the length of time computers have been in the newsroom, amount of hardware and software resources, training, advanced applications of computing for reporting, and general use of CAR. They were able to associate newspaper circulation, staff size, database use, use of CAR, and the total number of computer functions to such things as use of databases. Technology is the heart of most industries in 1999, particularly the information industries. …

Corporate Newspaper Bashing: Is it Justified?:

Abstract: Corporate newspapers are destroying good journalism and democratic principles. Or at least that's what most U.S. media pundits believe. "Modern corporation management and packaging theories are sapping the vitality of creative editors and reporters," charges Ben Burns, former executive editor of the Detroit News. "It's the General Motors syndrome .... Now we think we can create good editors by management training. You end up with a CPA mentality among mid-level editors."(1) James D. Squires, former editor of the Chicago Tribune, agrees. "The new corporate owners of the press have taken the responsibility for `news' content out of the hands of trained, experienced professional journalists whose goal was peer recognition for quality journalism, and put it into the hands of trained, experienced professional business managers whose goal is peer recognition for successful business management."(2) And Ben H. Bagdikian, perhaps the best-known critic, claims that "the antidemocratic potential of this emerging corporate control is a black hole in the mainstream media universe.... What the public learns is heavily weighted by what serves the economic and political interests of the corporations that own the media."(3) Although corporate newspaper bashing has been around since the early 1930s, when The Nation Editor Oswald Garrison Villard warned about the growth of chain newspapers, the level of bashing seems to have risen considerably in recent years. Former editors and reporters at scores of newspapers have published books and articles which attack the corporate newspaper. Even Knight-Ridder, considered by many to be the exception to the rule, is now a target. Whither Knight-Ridder? bellows the headline from a recent issue of American Journalism Review. "It was considered something special, a large newspaper chain that put quality journalism first. Now it is cutting back in an effort to increase profits in the face of pressure from Wall Street. But at what cost?"(4) Are the critics right? Is the corporate newspaper destroying a political system that many believe is free and democratic? Is it a menace? Or have the critics overstated the adverse effects of corporate structure? Is it possible for the corporate form of organization to expose injustices, lessen inequalities and promote social change? Could it even play the role of a messiah, helping society to adapt to social, economic and political change? Personal experiences or anecdotes can be very useful methods to study the impact of organizational structure on news and newsroom policies, but they also can lead to misleading results, because what happens at one newspaper may not be representative of what happens at others. National probability surveys of journalists, editorial page content and news sources, on the other hand, allow generalizations to the entire population of newspapers. Thus, the most important question is not whether a particular newspaper is more concerned about profits than product quality, but whether newspapers in general become more concerned about profits and less concerned about product quality as they take on the characteristics of the corporate form of organization. Data gathered in this way show that the corporate newspaper is certainly no messiah, for it often publishes information that has adverse consequences for disadvantaged groups and unconventional ideas. However, most of the criticism against the corporate newspaper is more myth than fact. Although structurally organized to maximize profits, the corporate newspaper actually places much more emphasis on quality journalism and much less emphasis on profits than its entrepreneurial counterpart. The data also show that the corporate newspaper is more, not less, vigorous editorially, which suggests that it has a greater capacity to effect social change that lessens inequalities and injustices. …

Portrait vs. Landscape: Potential Users' Preferences for Screen Orientation:

Abstract: This survey finds a strong preference for portrait or vertical screen viewing of newspapers on computers.

Large Dailies Have Improved Coverage of Religion in 1990s

Abstract: Thirty years ago Louis Cassels, religion editor of United Press International, identified several broad categories of religion(1) news that he said needed more and better attention in the press. These included coverage of institutional activities such as pastoral changes and revivals; coverage of controversies such as doctrinal disputes and church involvement in social and political issues; and most significantly perhaps, coverage of humans' never-ending quest for a confident faith to live by. Cassels said people want to know if God exists, if the Resurrection actually took place, and if there is life after death. He said newspapers should cover religion issues as fairly, dispassionately and fearlessly as they do other controversies.(2) Improvements in religion coverage didn't come overnight, but by the late 1980s serious religion coverage was being provided in many of the nation's larger newspapers and some of the others. News magazines expanded their coverage of religion in the 1990s, and some television news people began to take a more in-depth look at the subject. Increasing numbers of editors began to realize that religion, or faith in a supreme being, is important to most readers and that most want more and better coverage than has been provided. The public interest in religion, or faith, has been continually affirmed by the Gallup Poll, which has been measuring public opinion regarding religion in the United States since the 1930s. Gallup's polls have documented the remarkable vitality of faith in the United States, but they also have revealed declining support for organized religion. It was reported in 1996, for example, that while more than 90 percent of Americans believe in God, only about 40 percent attend weekly religion services.(3) The Freedom Forum, "a non-partisan, international organization dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people," has sponsored two studies in the 1990s of religion and the news media. One in 1993 was part of a series conducted by the Forum's First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University to look at alienation between the news media and institutions covered by the media. This study conducted by John Dart, a veteran journalist whose specialty is religion, and Jimmy Allen, a noted Baptist minister and communicator, found "a chasm of misunderstanding and ignorance separates those who pursue careers in the secular news-media field and those whose careers are in the field of religion." It made a number of recommendations including media recognition of the importance of religion to readers.(4) The Forum's Media Studies Center issued a report in 1994 on a national conference it sponsored in New York in the fall of 1993 for nearly 150 theologians, journalists and leaders from religion and the media in the United States. Its purpose was to call attention to the public's interest in religion and explore ways in which the media could improve their coverage. This study also recognized the need for better understanding between members of the news media and those in organized religion.(5) A few studies have been done to look specifically at what newspapers have been doing, if anything, to improve their coverage of religion. In a survey of the nation's metropolitan dailies, Hynds explored demographic questions about religion editors and reporters as well as their qualifications, experience, and job satisfaction, and looked at changes in the newspapers' coverage of religion stories and issues.(6) The current study is in large part a replication of that study. Some new questions have been added in response to perceived changes in newspapers and religion coverage, but the broad replication makes it possible to report not only on what's taking place in religion coverage today but also explore how that coverage has changed in the past decade. Method A four-page questionnaire, composed mostly of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, was mailed together with a short cover letter and stamped return envelope to religion editors of all newspapers with 100,000 or more circulation listed in the 1997 Editor & Publisher Yearbook. …

Generation X: Is Its Meaning Understood?

Abstract: Since the label Generation X was first used in Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel(1) to depict the angst of the MTV generation, the label has been used by newspaper and magazine journalists, network and local TV news anchors, print and broadcast advertisers, and TV, cable, and film producers as shorthand to describe the post-baby boomer generation, those born between 1965 and 1977. While the Generation X label may be convenient for those in the media to use, do those who read, see, or hear it understand that meaning? What are the consequences for the media if the meaning of Generation X, a label that has been used to describe 45 million young adults, is misunderstood by the audience?(2) Would misunderstanding the label Generation X have special consequences for the newspaper industry? This article addresses these issues. Background and use of the label A 1992 New York Times article on then-presidential candidate Governor Bill Clinton's efforts to court the MTV generation's vote used a variety of labels to refer to this age group: youth vote, youngest voters, young voters, the young, young people, 19 to 30-year olds.(3) But there was no mention of the label Generation X to describe the young adult age group. But over the past six years, the use of the label Generation X, or a variation of it, appears to have become commonplace in describing the generation born between 1965 and 1977. A headline from a 1994 Washington Post News Service article, for example, said, Marketers tailor pitches toward `Generation X'.(4) Another headline for a 1996 Austin American-Statesman article, said Groups Give Voice to Generation X.(5) This article listed four interest groups that had sprung up to offset the negative portrayals of Generation X in the media, including the National Association of Twentysomethings, Generation X Coalition, The 2030 Center and Third Millennium. As early as 1993, academic research began to use the label in conference papers and thesis reports.(6) Books have also used the Generation X label: Generation X Goes to College by Peter Sacks, Managing Generation X by twentysomething author Bruce Tulgan, and Rob Owen's Gen X TV: The Brady Bunch to Melrose Place.(7) In creating an advertising campaign for its soft drink, Pepsi Cola used a variation of the Generation X label, Generation Next to appeal to the youth market. Most recently, Time magazine prominently displayed the label in a cover story, Generation X Gets Real.(8) From its 1991 debut in Coupland's fictional account of three twentysomethings, the label Generation X has conjured up negative images. Generation X has been portrayed as cynical, apathetic, disrespectful losers and slackers. But a recent Yankelovich study featured as a Time magazine cover story contradicts that negative image. The survey found today's young adult generation should be described as optimistic, savvy, confident, ambitious, determined, independent, and materialistic.(9) Author of Managing Generation X Bruce Tulgan adds that the profile of Generation X is "sort of the flipslide of slacker." He described Generation X as "flexible, adaptable, comfortable with technology, independent problem-solvers who constantly monitor the world around them for feedback."(10) But regardless of whether the negative or positive attributes of the label have been emphasized by the media, the relevant question is: How has the label, which has become synonymous with the young adult population, been perceived? Do those who read, see, or hear the label understand its meaning and do they evaluate it positively or negatively? Just semantics? One might ask whether the use of the term Generation X to refer to young adults is something worth worrying about. As Shakespeare suggested, would not a rose smell just as sweetly, regardless of what name we give it? Is not this just a matter of semantics? The answer is, yes, that's precisely what it is. …

Chief Justices' Perceptions of News Coverage of State Supreme Courts

Abstract: Although numerous scholars have examined the issue of news coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, researchers have virtually ignored the parallel and equally significant issue of media coverage of state supreme courts. A few earlier studies examined newspaper coverage of specific state supreme courts, but no studies have examined broadcast and newspaper coverage of all of the nation's state supreme courts. This study therefore evaluates newspaper and television coverage of state supreme courts by surveying the chief justices of those courts. Justices were surveyed about their demographics, public information activities of courts, and perceptions of the overall news coverage and newspaper and broadcast coverage of their courts. Review of literature Relevant to this survey are the numerous books and articles that have scrutinized press coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, the limited number of commentaries and studies that have evaluated press coverage of state appellate courts, and one study that examined newspaper coverage of the U.S. Court of Appeals. The communication of U.S. Supreme Court decisions to the public received serious attention from scholars in the late 1960s in books by David Grey, Stephen Wasby and Richard Johnson.(1) Those works underscored the uniqueness of the Supreme Court as a news source. The court largely operates in secret and shuns media attention. Fred Graham, who covered the court for CBS and the New York Times, observed: "In a world in which everybody else wanted to be on television, only the justices and the Mafia avoided it."(2) Most of the court's operations are invisible. It accepts for review only three percent of the cases appealed to it; and it provides no explanation for either accepting or rejecting a case. Between the time that a case is accepted by the court and the release of a court decision, only one public event occurs. Attorneys for both sides appear in a public session of the court for one hour of oral arguments. The Supreme Court is most newsworthy when it files a written decision that decides a case, which in the 1990's occurs about 100 times a year. The filing of Supreme Court decisions is unlike other news events in Washington, D.C. There is no advanced warning of when a specific case will be decided. And the written decisions must stand on their own as sources about the court's actions; neither judges nor court personnel will interpret the decisions. Also unlike other Washington, D.C., institutions, there are very few news leaks at the Supreme Court. Any conjecture about court decisions must come from legal authorities outside of the court. Most studies of news coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court have examined the quality and quantity of the content of newspaper stories, editorials and opinion columns. However, one study by Ethan Katsh examined network television coverage of the court.(3) The study of the last five court terms of the 1970's found that networks covered 20 percent of court decisions, with half of those covered by the networks' legal affairs specialists who had law degrees. Another study examined Supreme Court coverage by the three U.S. newsmagazines. Dorothy Bowles and Rebekah Bromley(4) measured coverage of eight court terms in the 1980's and found that 10 percent of decisions were covered, down from 15 percent in a 1970's study. They also found that the decision stories were quite thorough. For example, 89 percent of the stories discussed the reasoning of the majority court opinion. The issue of the quality and quantity of Supreme Court coverage continues to attract attention from scholars, media commentators and even members of the court. A 1993 study by Elizabeth Atwood-Gailey evaluated editorial coverage of the controversial Rust v. Sullivan decision in which the court upheld a Reagan Administration policy that prevented medical clinics that received federal funds from informing patients about the option of abortion. …

Amplifying the Giant Sucking Sound: Ross Perot and the Media in the NAFTA Negotiations

Abstract: No doubt about it: Ross Perot has a gift for the colorful phrase. Throughout his campaign for president in 1992 and in the ensuing years, Perot's folksy expressions have drawn extensive media attention and helped the Texas businessman publicize his political positions. Prominent among those positions was Perot's 1993 opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he said would devastate the U.S. economy by encouraging American firms to move to Mexico to take advantage of cheap labor. He described the consequent loss of jobs in this country as a "giant sucking sound" of employment and dollars rushing out of the United States and into the coffers of its southern neighbor. The media picked up the phrase - along with many of Perot's other statements about NAFTA - and directed the public's attention to the treaty's potential impact during the ratification debate. Republican President George Bush completed NAFTA negotiations with Mexico in September 1992 and enthusiastically promoted the treaty during the campaign. Democratic challenger Bill Clinton took only a lukewarm position toward NAFTA, but two days after he was elected president, Clinton came out in favor of NAFTA and went on to promote its approval and ratification. However, Perot, the third presidential candidate in 1992, made defeating NAFTA a crusade in 1993. Perot used the populist sentiment he had stirred up during the campaign to fight the treaty's approval in Congress, bringing significant domestic pressure to bear on the president's relationship with U.S. trading partners. In fact, Clinton was forced to reopen negotiations to work out side agreements on environment and labor matters before submitting the treaty to Congress in September 1993. In addition, the president offered special deals to some members of Congress whose support he needed to ratify the amendment. Had Perot not made such an attention-getting fuss about the treaty, it is possible the American public would have paid little heed to the matter and that the Congress would have approved the treaty almost as a matter of course. As it was, the outcome was in doubt almost up to the hour on November 17 when the House approved the treaty on a 234-200 vote. Three days later the Senate approved NAFTA in a less emotional climate and by a 61-38 margin. This paper examines the effect media coverage of Perot's extreme antipathy to NAFTA had on the ratification of the treaty. Did Perot's gift for the colorful phrase draw the media to publicize his cause? Did the public pressure aroused via the media at the domestic level of negotiations have an impact on the administration's negotiations with its international counterparts? The ratification process lasted through most of 1993, long enough to allow voters to be aware of the major pros and cons of the treaty, of the vociferous opposition Perot mobilized and led and of their congressional representatives' positions. Without the media's amplification of Perot's opposition to NAFTA, the public might have paid relatively little attention. Because the public's attention was aroused, however, passage of or opposition to NAFTA became a salient part of the national agenda, apparently making it difficult for elected representatives simply to vote quietly to approve the treaty. Congressional opposition to NAFTA forced Clinton to reopen negotiations with Mexico and to promise federal projects and concessions to some members of Congress in order to get the treaty approved. Implicit here is the observation that U.S. presidents conduct international negotiations on two levels: with their foreign counterparts and with their domestic constituents, both as represented in the Congress and in terms of direct public reaction and opinion. Also implicit is the observation that the media in a democracy like the United States play a major role in the formation of public opinion and the way that opinion is brought to bear on the president and the Congress. …

The New York Times and its Editors' Notes:

Abstract: The most common mistake addr essed in NYT editors' notes was failur e to include appr opriate information or exclude inappr opriate information.

Penn State University's President Promotes Newspapers to Students

Abstract: The president of a major university took action in early 1997 to promote newspaper reading among college students, a subset of the young adult population whose lack of interest in reading newspapers threatens the future of the industry. Graham B. Spanier, president of Pennsylvania State University, commissioned an experiment in promoting newspaper reading in the spring semester, 1997, by having the New York Times and the Centre Daily Times, the local daily newspaper, delivered free Monday through Friday to all rooms in three co-educational residence halls occupied by 940 students at the University Park main campus. In the fall semester, 1997, the newspapers-in-dormitories program was widened to all main campus residence halls, which house 13,000 students, and 4,000 students who live in residence halls at eight of Penn State's branch campuses served by daily newspapers: Altoona, Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, Reading, Hazelton and Waynesboro. A third newspaper, USA Today, also a national newspaper, was made a part of the program on the nine campuses. All students were assessed a fee of $5 per semester as part of their room and board bill for the services and the three newspapers were made available for pickup throughout the building along with the Penn State University student newspaper, the Daily Collegian. Bill Asbury, vice president for student affairs, said that the papers were placed in convenient spots near dormitory elevators and in dormitory lobbies, noting that the Daily Collegian, which receives a $200,000 annual subsidy from the university, would benefit from improved distribution points.(1) In justifying the innovation, President Spanier, who first publicly discussed the concept of widespread newspaper availability in dormitories in the winter of 1996, stated "It's clear through this experiment that newspaper readership can have a positive impact on the lives of our students." He added that the students' use of newspapers will be monitored and adjusted according to the students' preferences. "We are prepared to make as many newspapers available as students want." Spanier claimed that Penn State was the first major university to begin this type of program. "It is critical that college students have an understanding of the world, both local and international, where they will soon go out to live, have jobs and raise families. Reading a daily newspaper is a perfect way to gain a better understanding of that world." Spanier noted that he backed the program for competitive reasons because his university strives for excellence in competition with other institutions of higher education because he believes it will "improve the quality of the undergraduate experience" at Penn State.(2) Studies show college students avoid newspapers Thirty years ago 60 percent of young adults (18-to-29-year-olds) read a daily newspaper every day; now that figure has dropped to 25 percent or below.(3) The No. 1 problem in the daily newspaper industry is the continued hemorrhage of young-adult readers. One newspaper that has resisted that tide is USA Today, the national newspaper founded in 1982. The average age of its six to seven million daily readers is about 40 years while the typical daily newspaper's reader is more likely to average 50 years. USA Today has been described as the daily newspaper best able to relate to young adults.(4) The indication that newspapers were losing their young adult readers began appearing in newspaper-industry publications more than two decades ago. Ernest Larkin, Gerald Grotta and Philip Stout reported that newspapers were having trouble appealing to young adults.(5) The study stated that 21-to-34-year-olds were not nearly as interested in reading newspapers as their parents(5) The newspaper industry did not like this rebuke of its supremacy over all age brackets. Seventeen months later John P. Robinson reported that more young people read newspapers than watched television news. …