Newspaper 2009 Abstracts
Newspaper Division
Open Competition
Losing Ground: The New York Times and Washington Post News Coverage of the May 2000 Israeli Withdrawal from Lebanon • Abhinav Aima, Penn State New Kensington • This content analysis of the May 2000 coverage of Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon, when compared with a previous study of coverage of Israel’s 1996 attacks on Lebanon, shows distinct indicators of the presence of a “Late Breaking Foreign Policy” effect that Warren P. Strobel cites in his work, wherein the media tend to break free of traditional reliance of government sources and allies in times of crises when government is caught unprepared.
Framing them in order to hang them? Content analysis of the reporting of Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans in Botswana Print Media • Eno Akpabio, University of Botswana • The aim of the study was to find where news stories on Zimbabweans fall and to determine if the reports are objectivist or advocacy framed. The findings indicate that stories on Zimbabweans are advocacy framed as opposed to objectivist framed. Also, there are more stories on Zimbabweans involvement in crime. Flowing from the one sided reports, we call for consideration of another aspect to the framing debate – frame up.
Too Old to Run?: Age, Race, and Gender in the 2008 Presidential Campaign • Ashley Kirzinger, Louisiana State University; Matthew Barnidge, Louisiana State University; Benjamin Jenkins, Louisiana State University; David Kurpius, Louisiana State University • This paper examines the newspaper coverage of four candidates during their campaigns in the 2008 presidential election: Palin, Clinton, Obama, and McCain. Using previous research on journalistic norms and routines, this study investigates not only how five different newspapers covered each of the candidates, but also how the newspapers covered specific age, race, and gender issues.
A Journalistic Ethics Scale: Measuring Constraints On Journalists • Jenn Burleson Mackay, Virginia Tech • This study builds off existing research to introduce a new journalistic ethics scale. The instrument measures the degree to which journalists tend to make acceptable ethical decisions when they face professional, organizational, and social influences. Journalists and scholars assisted in the development of the scale. Journalists working for metropolitan newspapers, community newspapers and television stations were administered the instrument. Community newspaper journalists tended to score higher on the scale than the other groups of journalists.
The Bay of Pigs-New York Times suppression myth • WJoseph Campbell, American University • The often-told anecdote of the New York Times censoring itself in advance of the Bay of Pigs invasion is, this paper finds, a media-driven myth. The paper presents compelling evidence demonstrating the Times reported closely on preparations for the CIA-backed invasion of Cuba in April 1961. The news Times’ reports were detailed and displayed on the front page in the days before the ill-fated assault.
Narrative News Frames in the Changing Times: New York Times Coverage of Space Disasters in Three Eras • Jeffrey Cannon, Indiana University – Bloomington • The present study examined New York Times coverage of the three major U.S. space program disasters, the 1967 loss of Apollo 1 and the 1986 and 2003 losses of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, all of which occurred during the same week of a non-election year. Overall overage increased threefold from 1967 to 1986 and 2003.
Interactive News Presentation and its Effects on Evaluative Perception: Is Being “Closer” to the News Better? • Deborah Chung, University of Kentucky; Mina Tsay, University of Kentucky • The current study investigates the effects of different online newspaper presentation styles on the evaluative perceptions of news audiences. An experiment (N = 251) was conducted to examine the influence of relevance and five interactive formats on site engagement, coherence, credibility, and intention to visit the site, along with content clarity, credibility, and objectivity.
U.S. Online Newspapers’ Performance in Local Markets: A Struggle of Inter- and Intra-Media Competition • Iris Chyi, University of Texas at Austin; Seth Lewis, University of Texas at Austin • To portray a realistic picture of the competitive landscape online for local newspapers, this study examined 68 local papers and their performance in both inter- and intra-media competition contexts—i.e., how they competed vis-à-vis their print counterparts and other Web sites for the attention of local audiences.
The Internet is a Dangerous Place: Newspaper Portrayal of the Internet Between 1988 and 1995 • Sabryna Cornish, Northern Illinois University • This paper examines the way the internet was portrayed by mainstream media when it first began to take hold in conventional society and offers insights into the social construction of the technology. This study looks for patterns in the type of information available to the public about the internet through a content analysis of newspapers. Established frames are then examined to determine the patterns that exist in the newspaper coverage of the new technology.
Narrating the Bloodbath: How U.S. and Finnish Newspapers Framed the Virginia Tech and Kauhajoki Shootings • Ruth DeFoster, SJMC, University of Minnesota; Meagan Manning, SJMC, University of Minnesota; Teemu Palokangas, SJMC, University of Minnesota • This study compares how the New York Times and the Helsingin Sanomat of Finland framed coverage of high-profile school shootings in each country. A content analysis examined sourcing trends in each newspaper. The Sanomat relied more on societal-level sources, while the Times used more individual-level sources. There was also a striking disparity in coverage of victims—the Sanomat included almost no coverage of victims, while 20% of the Times articles prominently featured victim coverage.
Framing legislative debate: Measuring bias in coverage of opposing ideological issues in the objective and conservative press • Matt Duffy, Georgia State University • A content analysis looks for assertion bias in the coverage of two issues in two newspapers. The researcher examined the New York Times as an example of the objective press and the Washington Times as an avowedly conservative paper. The two issues—welfare reform and campaign finance reform—curried favor with opposite ideological camps. The study finds a conservative bias in the Washington Times and a mirror-opposite liberal bias in the New York Times.
Adoption of Digital Photographic Archives by U.S. Newspapers and Potential Effects on the Historical Record • Keith Greenwood, University of Missouri • U.S. daily newspapers were surveyed (N = 105) to determine how digital photographic archives were created. The results affirm diffusion and organizational change suggestions that organizational characteristics such as size influence the decisions that are made and that innovations that fit well within the established routines of the organization are likely to be successfully adopted.
Did Enterprise Reporting Challenge Access Reporting and the Administration’s Line on WMDs?: Comparing Newspaper Sourcing in the Run-up to the Iraq War • Patricia Hart, University of Idaho; Kenton Bird, Univeristy of Idaho • This study examines newspaper reporting of three major U.S. news organizations between 911 and the Iraq invasion in light of subsequent criticism that reporters were uncritical in their use of government-supplied information supporting invasion of Iraq. The study asks whether the New York Times, which published an apology for providing uncritical reporting, was more or less balanced than the Washington Post or Knight Ridder papers in sourcing, including citing more varied, international, and nongovernment authorities.
It’s an Old Story: Cautionary Work Tales That Journalists Use to Connect to Ethics • Mary Hill-Wagner, affiliation • This study examines how reporters use workplace or newsroom narratives as guides for correct action in making ethical decisions. This analysis, based on in-depth interviews, employs the theory of narrative inquiry from the field of communication. The study shows that these narratives can lead to discussions on broader ethical matters.
Obituaries online: New connections with the living — and the dead • Janice Hume, University of Georgia; Bonnie Bressers, Kansas State University • This study examines online obituary pages at nine major U.S. daily newspapers seeking to understand how these sites use new technologies, and how they publicly portray people’s lives and deaths. These mainstream dailies provide a forum, and potentially large audiences, for mourners who send messages to the dead, express emotion, and tell stories. They also facilitate connections between readers and build new kinds of virtual communities. This represents a departure from traditional obituary content.
National Survey Finds Health Journalists Are Earnest about Their Educator Roles, Especially Newspaper Journalists • JiYeon Jeong, University of Missouri; María Len-Ríos, University of Missouri; Amanda Hinnant, University of Missouri • A national survey (N=774) of health journalists reveals that newspaper health journalists ascribe more importance to their professional roles than do health journalists working for other news delivery channels or newspaper journalists. Overall, health journalists earnestly strive to an educator role. This is critical considering the high stakes for translating scientific/medical details to help people lead more healthful lives. Personal characteristics, motivations, and workplace attributes are also examined as they relate to role conceptions.
News Framing of HIV/AIDS in Uganda: Comparative content analysis of government owned and private press • James Kiwanuka-Tondo, North Carolina State University; Fay Payton, North Carolina State University; Kelly Albada, North Carolina State University • Though new frames for HIV/AIDS have been examined in developed nations, research that has investigated the presentation of AIDS by African press is sparse. Moreover, what little research exists has examined news frames over a limited time frame (e.g., one year), and has failed to consider the impact of media ownership on these news frames.
Issues, Candidate Characteristics and the Horse Race: Newspaper Coverage of the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election • Dominic Lasorsa, University of Texas at Austin • An analysis of New York Times and Cleveland Plain Dealer coverage of the 2008 U.S. presidential election found that both policy issues and candidate characteristics received more attention than the horse race. Obama received more coverage and more favorable coverage than McCain. McCain and his supporters served as sources more than did Obama and his supporters. The study also found differences between the newspapers, including that Times coverage was more negative than Dealer coverage.
“It’s All About the Web Hits Here:” How and Why Journalists Create Audio Slideshows • Jonathan Lillie, Loyola College • Most newspapers now produce multimedia in an attempt to increase profits from online editions. Since only a handful of studies address aspects of multimedia news production, additional research is needed, which can hopefully help newspaper journalists successfully change, and save, their industry during this period of profit loss and mass layoffs.
Mapping local news: A research methodology • April Lindgren, Ryerson University • This paper introduces a methodology that applies traditional content analysis and computer-based geovisualization to journalism research so that investigators can map and visually explore patterns of local news coverage in an urban setting. The exploratory power of this information visualization approach is illustrated in a case study that investigates the Toronto Star (print edition) newspaper’s coverage of 13 geographically defined pockets of social need and poverty in Toronto, Ontario.
The Use of Anonymous and Transparent Sources in International News • Renee Martin-Kratzer, University of Florida • This study focuses on the use of anonymous sources in newspapers and found that international stories included these sources in 28% of stories compared to 5% of domestic stories. In addition, international stories that related to the U.S. were more likely to include anonymous sources. However, the use of anonymous sources did not vary according to story origination, length or placement.
Using Equity-based Performance Measures to Build a Community-based Brand • Dan Sullivan, University of Minnesota; Rachel Davis Mersey, Northwestern University • Despite competition, newspapers still have a potential competitive advantage as a community resource and leader. Therefore, if newspapers want to succeed, they need to position themselves as “community assets.” This research establishes the current measures of circulation and penetration as weak indicators of community service, and presents a simple and straightforward measure of how well a given newspaper serves its entire community using a summary statistical measure of inequality, the Gini coefficient.
Use of Infographics in Understanding an Environmental Health Risk • Barbara Miller, Elon University; Brooke Barnett, Elon University • A between participants factorial experiment tested the impact of graphic versus textual presentation of an environmental health risk. Results show the inclusion of the infographic did not lead to enhanced understanding of the probability of the health risk. However, participants who saw the map alone were less likely to believe that industries might release chemicals in their community and less likely to report a sense of internal control regarding the risk posed in the story.
Ideology of internationalism gives a significance to English-language newspapers in Japan • Hiroko Minami, University of Oregon • This paper discusses the raison d’être of English-language newspapers in Japan where English is not the native language. This study argues that the ideology of Japanese internationalism (manifested by publishing English-language newspapers) substantially contributes to their sustainability. The patriarchal Japanese industrial system, keiretsu, also keeps English-language newspapers running. The prevalence of these cultural institutions does not necessarily mean, however, that English-language newspapers in Japan are immune from the influence of the neo-liberal global economy.
Source Diversity within Hyperlocal Reporting • Paul Niwa, Emerson College • Hyperlocal is an emerging strategy for newspapers. This study compares source diversity in Asian Pacific American neighborhood coverage with another study of regional reporting. It finds that sourcing of non-elites is enhanced by proximity and by a reporter’s racial in-group. This shows the potential journalistic benefit of both hyperlocal coverage and newsroom diversity. Newsrooms that terminate workers based on seniority may be eliminating reporters who can best implement the hyperlocal strategy in ethnic neighborhoods.
Website Format or Media Experience Driven? A Test of Perceptions of Online Messages • Jennifer Greer, University of Alabama; Po-Lin Pan, University of Alabama; Kelly Frank, University of Nevada; Paula Lee Hobson, University of Nevada; Crystal Soderman, University of Nevada • By manipulating branded editorial, branded blog, and non-branded blog in a between-subjects experiment, this study examined perceptions of online message credibility, quality, preference and persuasiveness. The study was designed to examine whether online website format and personal experience with mass media would come into play when media users evaluated the news and information of branded and non-branded websites.
Information Recall of Internet News: Does Design Make a Difference? A Pilot Study • Val Pipps, The University of Akron; Heather Walter, The University of Akron; Kathleen Endres, University of Akron; Patrick Tabatcher, The University of Akron • This study looked at the effect of the design of online news presentation on content recall. One of four versions of a story were read online. Results of a post-test showed that recall was significantly higher after students read the text only or abbreviated text with photos and captions options over photos with captions and videos or animated graphics.
Bad bugs: U.S. newspaper coverage of antibiotic resistant staph bacteria, 1998-2007 • Paula Rausch, University of Florida; Debbie Treise, University of Florida; Heather Edwards, University of Florida College of Journalism & Communications; Eli Perencevich, University of Maryland School of Medicine • This study examines U.S. newspaper coverage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus using Social Representation Theory to understand how these media portrayals may have affected public perception about this potential threat. Large majorities of articles discussed both hospital-acquired MRSA, and the much less common community-acquired MRSA, with this trend changing over time. MRSA was often described using potentially threatening language, with risk the most common topic of discussion, occurring more often than prevention, transmission, symptoms, and treatment.
When is a lead not really a lead? Sampling Error During the 2008 Presidential Election • Matthew Reavy, University of Scranton • This study examines how three prestige newspapers reported polling data during the 2008 presidential election. Of special note is their handling “marginal differences” that fell within sampling error. The study confirms hypotheses suggesting that the newspapers would overemphasize differences that could be explained by sampling error alone. Additional hypotheses testing suggestions from previous research that the New York Times would perform better than the other two newspapers were also confirmed.
The New Dynamic in Corporate Media Relations: Are Fortune 500 Virtual Press Rooms Useful to Journalists? • Justin Pettigrew, University of Georgia; Bryan Reber, University of Georgia • This study examines the use of dialogic components of Fortune 500 Company Web site press rooms. A content analysis of all Fortune 500 company press sites examined site content. Results showed that corporations have increased their Web presence, and that dialogic components on the Web are improving for journalists’ use. This study also suggests that operationalized elements of dialogic theory as it applies to the Web should be continually revisited as technology develops.
Weathering the storm: How newspaper sports editors have adapted during changing times • Jesse Temple, University of Kansas; Scott Reinardy, University of Kansas; Max Utsler, University of Kansas • This study examined how newspaper sports editors at some of the nation’s top daily sports sections from the Associated Press Sports Editors 2007 judging contest have coped with budget cuts as the industry struggles through difficult economic times. Through interviews and a survey, sports editors said staff reductions and Internet demands have created more work for their staffs with less time to do a good job.
Is Not-For-Profit Journalism the Key to the Future of News? • Dan Shaver, Jönköping International Business School/MMTC • Bankruptcy filings and newspaper closings have intensified the debate about whether not-for-profit newspapers can fill the gap in local news coverage created by shrinking newsroom resources at for-profit newspapers. This study examines the two major not-for-profit newspaper models and assesses their potential for sustainability and quality local coverage. It identifies opportunities and potential difficulties.
Are Blogs Changing the News Values of Newspaper Reporters? • Mary Lou Sheffer, University of Southern Mississippi; Brad Schultz, University of Mississippi • Traditional news outlets such as newspapers are incorporating blogs as part of their content in an effort to reach new audiences. Because blogs are typically opinionated and personal how newspapers present their blogs could indicate a shift from traditional journalism values. This content analysis sought to investigate several categories (news, sports, politics and entertainment) of newspaper blogs in terms of personal opinion/commentary, attribution and transparency.
The Impact of Newsroom Cutbacks on Newspaper Revenue: An Empirical Financial Analysis • Shrihari Sridhar, University of Missouri, Trulaske College of Business; Esther Thorson, University of Missouri; Murali Mantrala, University of Missouri, Trulaske College of Business • The newspaper industry is faced with troubled times. Executives continue to find ways to withstand the onslaught of various economic forces. However, an empirically observed phenomenon is that a) they have been resorting to cost-cutting measures and b) these cost-cutting measures are more pronounced in the newsroom departments. Scholars disagree with these cutbacks, arguing they constitute a myopic attempt to preserve high profit-margins which ignores the erosion of newspaper revenue.
Newspapers and Urban Growth: How an old Medium Responds to a Growing Trend • Gordon Van Owen, University of Florida • This study examines the impact of urban growth on The Orlando Sentinel and staff perceptions of that change. By analyzing in-depth interviews conducted with staff members from the editorial, circulation, and advertising departments, this study reveals trends that may be occurring on a larger scale at other newspapers across the state and country.
Dynamic Content in American Online Newspapers: Life and Updates in Lead News • Jin Xu, Winona State University • This research examines the life and update of lead news stories on newspaper sites and how they differ concerning newspaper size and story’s geographic focus. The sample includes 59 large, medium and small newspapers. By monitoring their lead news, it has documented the story life, update count, update interval, update immediacy and update clustering. It concludes that timeliness is a distinct hallmark but its degree is determined by newspaper size, not by story’s geographic focus.
Student Papers
Effects of a trend: The influence of user comments on readers’ perceptions of online newspapers • Erin Ash, Pennsylvania State University; Kirstie Hettinga, Penn State; Daniel Halpern, Pennsylvania State University Online newspapers provide comment forums to generate a sense of community for audiences • This research investigates the relationship between the presence or absence of user-generated comments and perceived journalistic quality. A 2×2 between subjects experiment (N = 96) showed when comments were present, individuals perceived lower levels of reporting quality, yet liked the articles more. Also, sense of online community moderated the relationship between comments and story liking. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Attribute Agenda-Setting and Changing: A Comparative Analysis of U.S. and Korean Media Coverage of The Virginia Tech Shootings • Kanghui Baek, The University of Texas at Austin; Kangkyung Baek, Michigan State University • This study compares U.S. and Korean newspapers’ coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings for the month following the event. By applying attribute agenda-setting theory, this study shows how the Washington Post focused more on “societal” and “anecdotal” levels of attribute agendas, while the Chosun Ilbo focused more on “international” and “individual” levels. Furthermore, this study examines the differences in the two newspapers’ patterns of attribute agenda-setting across the four agenda levels throughout the event’s life span.
Framing a war and a people: The words portraying Iraqi violence • Jacob Dittmer, University of Oregon • This study explores what words are selected in portraying Iraqis and the violence that has plagued the country since the U.S. invasion. Through a content analysis of two newspapers’ stories on Iraq over the course of two years, this study examined the prevalence of certain words compared with others. This study also explored what sources were used in connection with certain frames and how they were attributed.
Change to Believe In? • Jeff Lemberg, University of Maryland • News media trade publications often use critiques and criticisms in an effort to shame the press into better serving their audiences. This analysis of coverage in the trade press about USA Today, from its founding in September 1982 through September 1987, revealed significant tensions over the relationship between traditional journalistic values and organizational change in the newspaper industry.
Attracting the Newspaper Reader in a New Domain: Dimensions of User Interest in News Content Online • Seth Lewis, University of Texas at Austin; Mengchieh Jacie Yang, University of Texas at Austin • To enhance our understanding of online news consumption, this study went beyond analyses of medium preference to explore issues of content interest: (1) identifying clusters of interest among online newspaper readers, and (2) comparing those dimensions across differences in users’ demographics, frequency of news-seeking, and offline relationship with the newspaper. Through an analysis of reader survey data (N=25,964), we found nine reliable classifications of content interest and distinct user types that were associated with them.
When Reporters Blog: Gatekeeping in mainstream newspapers’ blog coverage of ongoing and breaking news events • Bartosz Wojdynski, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • This exploratory study sought to analyze whether news event blogs that are published by mainstream newspapers adhere to conventional journalistic norms with regard to sources both cited and referenced in links. Analysis of 416 blog posts from four separate ongoing and breaking news blogs show support for the extension of mainstream media’s traditional gatekeeping function to news blogs, in addition to newer functions such media criticism and rapid information dissemination.
Community Newspaper Reading Fosters a Sense of Social Cohesion • Masahiro Yamamoto, Washington State University • A long tradition of research in sociology and mass communication suggests that community newspapers serve community social organization by disseminating a pattern of content that promotes common community values and goals. Building on past community newspaper research, this study tests whether community newspaper reading has a direct positive effect on an individual’s sense of social cohesion.
Special Call for Newspaper Industry Research Papers
One Product, Three Markets: How Market Segmentation Informs Newspapers about their Online Readership • Iris Chyi, University of Texas at Austin; Mengchieh Jacie Yang, University of Texas at Austin; George Sylvie, University of Texas at Austin; Seth Lewis, University of Texas at Austin; Nan Zheng, University of Texas at Austin • This study proposes a market segmentation approach for analyzing online newspaper readership. The model first distinguishes long-distance users from local users (based on geographic proximity) and then differentiates between two classes of local users—hybrid and online-only readers (based on the use of multiple product formats). Analysis of online reader survey data from 28 U.S. newspaper Web sites outlines each of the three market segments. Marketing and advertising implications are discussed.
Perceived Differences in Credibility of Traditional News Channels Compared to Online News Channels • Audrey Post, Florida State University; jonathan adams, The Florida State University; Juliann Cortese, Florida State University; Gary Heald, Florida State University; John DuBard, The Florida State University • Much of the research measuring credibility of news across platforms over the past 10 years has been limited to newspapers, television and a broad category called “online.” This study narrowed the focus by comparing the perceived credibility of traditional media with the perceived credibility of their online counterparts, as well as with online-only news sites. It also compared the perceptions of college students and older adults.
Kansas City Star journalists cope with stress and self-affirmation following layoffs • Scott Reinardy, University of Kansas • Steele’s (1988) self-affirmation theory posits that when faced with a threat, self-esteem, self-identity and personal control are affected. For layoff survivors, there are threats to job security, job quality and job satisfaction. In 15 months, the Kansas City Star newsroom was downsized by nearly half. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the self-affirmation of Kansas City Star layoff survivors and their job security, job quality, job satisfaction and coping strategies.
Role Call: 2008 Campaign and Election Coverage on the Websites of Leading U.S. Newspapers • Jane B. Singer, University of Central Lancashire / University of Iowa • This study, based on a survey of online editors, explores how websites affiliated with leading U.S. newspapers covered the 2008 campaign and election. As the third in a series, it traces changes over a decade in which the internet moved from the periphery to the center of political, public, and media attention. Although the 2004 study suggested online editors were rethinking their function as information gatekeepers, this version indicates a reassertion of traditional journalistic roles.
Experimenting with Interactive Media: Negotiating the Role of Digital Media in News Organizations • Matthew Weber, University of Southern California • This research presents a case study of the evolving nature of the news media industry, from both a micro- and macro-level perspective. After reviewing currents industry trends, as well as previous theoretical work, this study then illustrates the variance in organizational patterns in the news media industry, from traditional hierarchies to network-based modified organizational patterns.
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