In a study designed to determine if weekly newspapers are more thoroughly read than daily newspapers, 14 half-page articles on energy were placed in three daily and two weekly newspapers in Wisconsin and Iowa. The selected papers provided a wide range of circulations and citizen interests. Random samples of subscribers to each newspaper were…

A study was conducted to compare the news reporting of religion specialists and nonspecialists at three major metropolitan newspapers. Representing different news policies and structural constraints, 1,164 religion news items from the "New York Times," Minneapolis "Star," and the Richmond (Virginia) "Times-Dispatch"…

Concludes that the "London Times" and the Foreign Broadcast Information Service of the United States government provide both comprehensive and unbiased coverage of events in Rhodesia, while the "New York Times" is less complete and the "Christian Science Monitor" is selective. (FL)

Examines environmental information source reliance among American and Japanese citizens. Finds that the Japanese are inclined to rely on non-mass media sources, whereas Americans exhibit greater differentiation among sources. (RS)

In an attempt to integrate research on the impact of judicial selection and research on journalist-source interaction, a study considered the method by which judges are selected and retained and how this method influences the exchange relationship between sources and journalists in trial courts. Elected trial court judges in Minnesota and…

A Dallas study showed that the claim that television news is more timely than newspaper news has only a limited validity, at least in terms of locally produced television news. (GW)

Al Hester's communication model sees news flow as being primarily dependent upon national rank in the hierarchy of nations, dominance and weakness of nations, and economic and cultural factors. A sample of 37 newspapers was content analyzed in a study extending this international news flow concept to the intra-national level to determine whether…

Reports that newspaper and television coverage of presidential elections have increased at comparable rates since the mid-1950s and that most Blacks who vote use both media. (FL)

A study was conducted to determine if environmental activists differed from nonactivists in their use of the various media; specifically in their use of the media to obtain information on environmental issues. Based on a review of environmental literature, it was hypothesized that activists (1) would spend more time using newspapers and less time…

A survey of 266 adults supported previous findings that television is perceived to be a more credible, truthful, and important source of local news than the newspaper. (GT)

Data gathered in a study of news coverage of the parttime Indiana and fulltime Michigan state legislatures were used to determine if source use in stories, portrayals of lawmakers and of the legislature as a whole, and topic coverage varied with the length of the legislative session. A content analysis was conducted of the 111 stories written by…

Reveals that women in decision-making positions in their jobs use media more for work-related information than do women in other work. (FL)

An exploratory survey (part of a larger study) examined the relative effectiveness of news versus advertising as sources of product information. Subjects, 140 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory public speaking course or a course in visual communication, completed a 5-page media interest survey. Results indicated that news rates…

Investigates and compares events following two nuclear accidents in the United States and the Soviet Union. Considers that the accompanying flow of information shows that the optimistic bulletins of official sources provided too few facts and weakened credibility with both journalists and the public. (NKA)

Investigated assumption that those most concerned and knowledgeable about the environment (as well as those most active) tend to use specialized media rather than mass media for environmental information. Results indicate that persons environmentally active do not necessarily use mass media differently from those not environmentally active, except…