Briefly discusses theories and techniques of humor. (MH)

Examines two Milwaukee, Wisconsin newspapers' coverage of homicides. Finds that the newsworthiness of a homicide is enhanced when whites are suspects or victims, males are suspects, and victims are females, children, or senior citizens. Concludes that status deviance and cultural deviance are important components of newsworthiness and that…

Finds that, over the past century, stories in American newspapers have grown longer; include more analysis; expanded from specific locations to broader regions; place more emphasis on time frames other than the present; and name fewer individuals and more groups, officials, and outside sources. Notes that these trends affect coverage of three…

Defines the structural components of football telecasts and assesses the degree to which television mediates game coverage. (MH)

Compares newspaper readers' estimates of the incidence of specific crimes with the amount of news coverage that crime received and the readers' fears of being victimized with the crime news available to them. Suggests that newspaper emphasis upon relatively infrequent violent crimes may contribute to fear of criminal attack. (JMF)

Examines Kadushin's earlier empirical efforts to determine the leading social critics and organizations of social criticism in America and investigates his theory through content analysis of leading journals of social criticism. (MH)

Examines the accuracy of newspaper headlines as compared with the corresponding story content for four Philadelphia daily newspapers. Results indicate that dailies with the tabloid format had a higher percentage of misleading and ambiguous headlines than the standard papers. (JMF)

Analyzes the canons and codes of four media and concludes that the code of a medium may become less restrictive as that medium declines from audience acceptance. (MH)

Discusses how magazines differ in the types of information they provide and the characteristics of the audience they reach. (JMF)

Compares the 1960 and 1976 presidential debates as part of the political campaign and concludes that the differences between the two in terms of format and content are minor. (JMF)

Investigates positive and negative perspectives of self-disparaging humor. (MH)

Analyzed the content of 91 newspapers in terms of four expected effects of newspaper competition: quality, diversity, fairness, and responsiveness. Found few beneficial effects of competition. (PD)

Analyzed episodes of "All My Children" and "General Hospital," as reported in the 1980 issues of "Soap Opera Digest." Found that moral violations tended to be resolved consistently with traditional moral standards. Suggests that criticisms of soap operas' effects on morals may not be totally warranted. (PD)