Considers the use of local daily newspapers in the high school journalism classroom to learn news reporting. Suggests weekly quizzes consisting of six questions that are global, national, and community related in nature. (PA)

Uses content analysis to compare two community newspapers for indices of elaboration identified through various theoretical sources. Traces the relationship of economic development and technological growth to use of elaborative elements in text describing science and technology. Concludes there were strong correlations for breadth and depth in the…

This activity helps students understand the relationship between public relations (PR) writing and news writing by demonstrating how PR material gets used in the production of news stories. Considering that "more than 70 percent of daily newspaper copy emanates from PR-generated releases," it is important for students to learn how PR professionals…

News media and public relations professionals have a unique relationship that paradoxically combines both mutual reliance and mutual distrust. An exploratory study utilized symbolic interactionism and in-depth interviewing with news media personnel from four sites (a newspaper, a radio station, a television station, and a university) and a public…

A study of 258 news personnel from 17 newspapers indicated that professional attitudes toward contemporary newspaper journalism fell into three distinct clusters: traditional, interpretative, and activist. Traditional journalists focused on local and spot news, downgraded interpretative and national/international material, and shared their…

Journalists have typically employed four rhetorical traditions--information, sensationalism, feature story, and the didactic approach--in conveying news; these affect the meaning received by audiences. Journalists play a variety of roles in this persuasive atmosphere and are deeply involved in the construction of rhetorical visions about terrorism…

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…

News professionalism is an efficient and effective means of controlling the working behavior of journalists. The norms of news professionalism determine legitimate arenas and news sources, and although journalists do not set out to report news so that the existing political and economic system is maintained, their norms end up producing stories…

To expose a fundamental conflict in journalism between newsworthiness and objectivity (or novelty and authority) this monograph first examines the parallel between news environment and physical environment. Objectivity is defined here not as a description of the environment, but as symbols in the minds of significant publics, or…

Colonial printers were more or less forced to take sides during the Revolutionary era. As they did so, their social status changed from that akin to mechanics to that of spokespersons of a social movement. From this time on, the gradual separation of editor from printer formed a social basis for defining a journalist's tasks as editorial, not…

The "Main Street Mississippi Meets the Third World" project was designed to demonstrate that hometown newspapers can provide relevant news stories about developing countries without leaving the local community. Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and the "American" were the selected site and newspaper. The project involved working with…

Since "New York Times Co. versus Sullivan," the amount of money spent on libel suits brought against the media, and the amount of money awarded to litigants, has skyrocketed. Most people who file such suits against the media are not seeking monetary damages, but only vindication for damage to their name and reputation. However, they may…

To increase knowledge about the nature of news (particularly its valuation and presentation conventions), to enrich understanding of communication conventions in our society through the study of news communication, and to fashion a tool that can be used to charge and change such conventions, a study examined the content of all news articles…

This handbook gives practical suggestions for organizing and conducting publicity campaigns. It is directed to media publicists working for private agencies, studios, stations, or networks; however, the methods and principles discussed apply to all fields of publicity. The book discusses the following topics: the publicity campaign; the press kit,…

This is the first cover-to-cover revision of the basic stylebook adopted in 1960 by United Press International and The Associated Press. Its primary purpose is to provide a set of consistent guidelines, reflecting current word usage, for newspaper editors handling wire-service copy and for others who follow the same style. The main entries, which…