Photography editors from three major newspapers and three former presidents of the National Press Photographers Association were surveyed to establish a framework for discussion of ethical questions concerning digital retouching of photographs and its impact on the credibility of photojournalism. Although photographs have been repaired, spliced or…

Continuing an inquiry into what variables explain audience trust in media, a study drew upon two theoretical areas in attitude research to propose a curvilinear relationship between attitude extremity and trust in media--namely that individuals who feel fairly neutral toward an issue and those who report strongly held attitudes see the media as…

A study examined whether public perceptions of media institutions and products are multidimensional and whether the public's image of media matters. Subjects, 512 randomly selected adult residents of Dane County, Wisconsin, were surveyed by telephone. Results revealed that public perceptions of the media are complex, multifaceted, and include more…

Content analysis was employed in an examination of nine major metropolitan daily newspapers to determine how they portrayed both black and white members of the United States House of Representatives from l979 to l983. Specifically, the study examined the amount of coverage given to a sample of 16 black and 16 white representatives, the way…

The dichotomy between the "critical" schools of thought and research practice and the more dominant "empirical" school in the field of communication creates a ferment similar to that described by G. Gerbner in 1983 concerning academic problems in mass communication because of different research perspectives. When addressing the…

A study examined the expectation that videotaped male models would be rated similarly to ratings previously found in research literature for red, blue, and monotone hues, and high, medium, and low levels of color saturation. Using a Graeco-Latin Square design, the ratings of 147 subjects (communications students at the University of Utah) were…

While a person's "interest" is recognized as important in seeking information about science, few studies have investigated what people mean when they say they are interested in a science story or have investigated the effects of that interest on memory for science information. Two studies tested several hypotheses on two components of…

Investigating complaints that newspaper reports about Hispanic Americans or Hispanic issues are biased, a study examined the daily newspaper coverage of Hispanics and Hispanic issues by the "Albuquerque Journal" (New Mexico) and the "San Antonio Express" (Texas). Three constructed-year samples, for 1982, 1984, and 1986, were…

A study investigated gender stereotypes in photographs of female and male athletes, noting differences in the way the two genders are depicted in photographs taken by the Associated Press (AP) and also in photos chosen by newspaper editors. Every photograph sent by AP from the 1987 Wimbledon tennis tournament to one Texas newspaper was coded in…

A study examined the lyrics of the lovesongs of the musical partnership Eurythmics (David Stewart and Annie Lennox), a popular music group. The method used was based on the James Chesbro study, which classified lyrics using a critical paradigm that combined Northrop Frye's hierarchy of communications systems (Ironic, Mimetic, Leader-centered,…

Utilizing both content analysis of 139 editorials appearing in 19 United States daily newspapers and the results of a survey of 146 newspaper editors, a study asked three questions: (1) To what extent is hunger covered in the news and editorial columns of U.S. daily newspapers? (2) How is hunger defined as a problem in terms of its causes in those…

Focusing on three leading Indian newspapers published in New Delhi--"The Economic Times,""The Hindustan Times," and "Nav Bharat Times," a study examined the roles that journalists working for these newspapers assume, or want to assume, and how that may be related to development news production by their newspapers. A…

Fantasy theme analysis (as propounded by Ernest Bormann) has tremendous potential as a tool for investigation of popular music as a rhetorical transaction--specifically, popular music as mimetic discourse. The early tradition of the rhetoric of music focuses on music as a persuasive medium, deriving rhetorical value from the way discourse affects…

Objectivity, truth, freedom, and social responsibility--key principles in contemporary media ethics--fail to provide a practical, coherent code for responsible journalism. During the initial television coverage of Watergate on June 19, 1972, for example, the three television networks all observed these standards in their reporting, yet presented…

Data collected in a 1981 national survey of physical/biological and social/behavioral scientists were used to investigate three research questions: (1) How often are scientists who encounter journalists called upon to discuss topics tangential or unrelated to their research? (2) Will the amount of contact with journalists be related to the number…