Investigates the accuracy of direct quotes and presents the sources' evaluations of articles quoting and paraphrasing them. Finds that a high percentage of direct quotes are not verbatim but that most changes are not deliberate and do not change the meaning. Suggests ways to improve the accuracy of direct quotations. (RS)

Studies leads and other top paragraphs in stories from the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), Scripps Howard News Service, and three major newspapers. Finds average lead sentence lengths range from 39 to 25 words. Suggests that journalists may be writing for themselves more than for readers. (RS)

Explores relations among three competitive schemes with respect to newspapers' price structures, including advertising rates and prices to consumers. Finds that readers get some benefit from greater competition, but that advertisers do not. (MM)

Compares the content of competitive newspapers and monopoly newspapers, stating that competition has an impact on daily newspaper content. Notes that competitive newspapers have more reporters and buy more wire services than comparable newspapers without competition. (MM)

Measures the extent to which other media compete with newspapers in the market for national advertising, using coefficients of the cross-elasticity of demand between newspapers and eight other media. Concluded that no other media reside in the same product market for national advertising. (MM)

Surveys metropolitan newspapers' coverage of religion. Reports that religion coverage in large newspapers in the U.S. is increasing in both quantity and quality but emphasizes that improvement and expansion are still needed. (MM)

Explores whether the survival rate of newspaper circulation after consolidation can be predicted with reasonable accuracy from public data. Notes that closely matched circulations and a growing market may be reasons to shut down one newspaper in a consolidated two-newspaper firm. (MM)

Explores the short history of the "Frontier Index," also known as the "press on wheels," questioning whether it mirrored frontier society after the Civil War. (RB)

Andrew Jackson's Kitchen Cabinet, not Jackson alone, was responsible for bringing Francis Preston Blair to Washington to edit the "Globe." (KS)

Compares the coverage of science in two groups of daily newspapers to see how the addition of a science news page influences coverage. Finds an increase in the number of science stories, more illustration, and a tendency to group basic science and technology stories in the special section. (RS)

Updates trends in local newspaper ownership. Finds the number of cities with competing dailies and jointly owned dailies declining. Finds that the number of chain-owned papers and the size of chains have increased. (RS)