Indicates that personal religious preference is the demographic characteristic best able to predict a religion journalist's use of a particular denominational news service. Shows that the journalist's own religious preference is a much weaker predictor than is the strength of the religious tradition in the newspaper's circulation area. (JD)

A study explored whether religion--both that of the reporter and that of the audience--has an impact on news judgment. The news service used was the Lutheran World Information (LWI). Religion writers and editors for the 42 daily newspapers that receive the Lutheran World Information weekly news packets were surveyed by telephone. Completed…

A study was conducted to examine the journalism work of James Gordon Bennett, who founded the "New York Herald" in the 1830s, and to determine the nature of his coverage of religion before, during, and after the "Moral War" waged in 1840 against Bennett's popular newspaper. In addition, the study analyzed what Bennett's…