Journalism historians in recent years have made good use of agenda-setting theory in research, but there has been one drawback: in concentrating on the political and economic views of publishers, editors, and reporters, the agendas of those working behind the scenes, the public relations men and women have been overlooked. The public relations…

Points to the growing public tolerance for what was formerly seen as obscene, vulgar, or in poor taste in the campus and the commercial press. Describes specific incidents in which elements included in newspapers have aroused controversy. (GT)

Journalism on the agricultural frontier of the Old Northwest territory of the United States was shaped by a variety of cultural forces and environmental factors and took on diverse forms. Bridging the gap between the two cultural forms of written correspondence and printed news was a third form: the handwritten newspaper. Between 1844 and 1854…

Examines characteristics of weekly newspaper editors in 21 states in the south, midwest, and west regions of America at the beginning of the "modern" newspaper era (1900). Reports that weekly editors tended to be White, male, and middle-aged. (MM)

Offers an interpretive chronology of the wavering 1934 to 1975 Chicago "Tribune" commitment to spelling simplification; lists the words involved in the spelling experiment and notes public reaction to the experiment. (GT)

Noting that, historically, newspaper editors copied the best, and sometimes erroneous, stories from other newspapers published in distant cities, this paper explores newpaper coverage of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, and the myth that Mrs. O'Leary's cow was to blame. After suggesting that a report invented the story of the O'Leary cow kicking a…

A review of the 42-year development of the professional code of ethics of the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME) demonstrates an effort to elevate newspaper ethical standards around the country. Following the example of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in establishing its "Canons of Journalism" in 1923, the APME formed a…

Describes Harrison Salisbury's tenure as Moscow correspondent for the "New York Times" from 1949-1952. Asserts that although Soviet censorship damaged his articles, his reputation was redeemed soon after his return to the U.S. (MM)

Describes the employee ownership plan put into effect by the Milwaukee "Journal" in 1937; notes that the plan is still in effect and that there is no indication that the "Journal" will ever become part of a chain or conglomerate. (GT)

States that an independent mass-circulation newspaper industry boomed at the end of the tsarist era. Points out that the Russian press differed from the Western press in the manner in which it functioned politically. Concludes that after the 1905 revolution, the newspapers sought new political symbols in Russia's past, and found an equally…

When the centrist government of Prime Minister Jacques Chirac chose 69-year-old Robert Hersant to buy the newspaper "France-Soir" (famous for its ties to the resistance to the Nazis) in 1976, journalists at many newspapers on the left fought the political move by reminding both the public and the government of Hersant's collaboration…

This historiographic essay discusses and seeks to begin to address the need for a business history of the newspaper. The paper's first section clarifies the terms "business history,""economic history,""political history," and "history of economics," (which the paper suggests have been used interchangeably in…

In the early 1900s, the small, penny newspapers of E. W. Scripps were aimed primarily at working class readers, had a policy of limited advertising, and relied upon circulation to provide the bulk of revenues. The "Spokane Press" was conceived in 1902 with E. W. Scripps, his sister Ellen Browning Scripps, and George Putnam as copartners.…

The 1879 Post Office Act created the four categories of mailable matter used today and, in part, signalled the emergence of the modern mass circulated magazine. Between 1863 and 1879, Congress liberalized the terms on which regular periodicals could use the mails and put newspapers and magazines on the same footing. Requiring payment of postage at…

Argues for the importance of understanding women's roles in newspaper families by re-examining the beginnings of Southern California's Otis-Chandler dynasty in terms of the activities of Eliza A. Otis, wife of the Los Angeles "Times" publisher Harrison Gray Otis. (MM)