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Past research has illuminated consistent patterns in the type of protests that receive media attention. Still, we know relatively little about the differential prominence editors assign to events deemed worthy of coverage. We argue that while media routines shape whether events are covered, mass media organizations, social institutions, and systemic changes are important factors in determinations of prominence. To examine patterns of prominence, this study analyzes the factors influencing page placement patterns of protests covered in the New York Times, 1960-1995. We find that (1) protests are less likely to appear prominently over time, but this effect is conditioned by the paper's editorial and publishing regime; (2) regime effects were especially consequential for civil rights and peace protests; (3) effects of event size and violence weakened over time; and (4) events embedded within larger cycles of protest coverage during less constricted news cycles were more likely to be featured prominently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The press is essential for creating an informed citizenry, but its existence depends on attracting and maintaining an audience. It is unclear whether supply-side effects-including those dictated by the owners of the media-influence how the media cover politics, yet this question is essential given their abilities to set the agenda and frame issues that are covered. We examine how ownership influences media behavior by investigating the impact of RupertMurdoch's purchase of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in August 2007. We collect data on every front-page story and editorial for 27 months, and we compare the difference in political coverage between the New York Times (NYT) and WSJ using a difference-in-differences design. We show that the amount of political content in the opinion pages of the two papers were unchanged by the sale, but the WSJ's front-page coverage of politics increased markedly relative to the NYT. Similar patterns emerge when comparing the WSJ's content to USA Today and the Washington Post. Our finding highlights potential limits to journalists' ability to fulfill their supposed watchdog role in democracies without interference from owners in the boardroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital revolution has ushered in a new era of front page design, with newspapers of all sizes embracing navigation tools and promotions. This study updates the work of Pasternack and Utt examining newspaper design trends in 1984 and 1995. This study examines the state of current front page design. Furthermore, it explores the use of design hubs and their effect on page design in newspaper chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyberbullying has provoked public concern after well-publicized suicides of adolescents. This mixed-methods study investigates the social representation of these suicides. A content analysis of 184 U.S. newspaper articles on death by suicide associated with cyberbullying or aggression found that few articles adhered to guidelines suggested by the World Health Organization and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to protect against suicidal behavioral contagion. Few articles made reference to suicide or bullying prevention resources, and most suggested that the suicide had a single cause. Thematic analysis of a subset of articles found that individual deaths by suicide were used as cautionary tales to prompt attention to cyberbullying. This research suggests that newspaper coverage of these events veers from evidence-based guidelines and that more work is needed to determine how best to engage with journalists about the potential consequences of cyberbullying and suicide coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Content analyses of large and internationally influential American newspapers show that today only 35% of the front-page articles are traditional, event-centered news articles, down from 69% 25 years ago. Of the event-centered news, only 47% mentioned the main development in the first paragraph. This study argues that newspapers have transformed in functions and style such that they no longer deliver first-instance news reporting, but serve as an analytical and/or in-depth complement to the more immediate, instantaneous online news outlets. Broader implications of the findings including theoretical connections to comparative media systems, medium theory, and professional role conceptions of journalists are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On June 2, 1933, trade daily the Hollywood Reporterannounced it was inaugurating a new column, Reviewing the Fan Mags. The section appeared sixty-five times over the next twelve months, eventually surveying 145 magazine issues. The column then ceased as suddenly as it had begun, this time without fanfare. In beginning the section as a new service for readers, the editor, W. R. Wilkerson, had attested that fan magazines were important to the film business. What happened in that year, then, to make Wilkerson decide to abandon the coverage of the movie-magazine contents and ostensibly reverse his views about their utility? This article first examines the contexts, contents, and style of the Reviewing the Fan Mags section before considering the circumstances around its cancellation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author notes the end of the print version of the weekly newspaper "The Village Voice" and presents a personal narrative on his experience of getting his articles published in the paper.

Which U.S. Supreme Court cases are deemed newsworthy enough to appear on the front page of a major newspaper? Which are covered, but do not appear on the front page, and which are not covered at all? We answer these questions using a unique data set of newspaper coverage of Supreme Court cases in four newspapers from 1953 to 2004—a data set spanning more than 6,200 observations, 25 natural courts, and the tenure of three Chief Justices. We find that the overall proportion of Supreme Court cases covered has declined over this period (from a peak of nearly 100%), although the proportion of cases on the front page has remained more constant. The results of a selection model also suggest that, in the aggregate, coverage patterns on the front page are explained by established norms of newsworthiness, but coverage elsewhere in the paper often follows different criteria. When examining different newspapers in isolation, we also find that individual papers do vary, to a limited degree, in their selection of newsworthy cases. These results are important for those concerned about citizen information about politics, the relationship between the courts and the public, and media gatekeeping. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the popularization of science in France during the 19th century. Specifically it addresses a newspaper section termed a feuilleton which addressed scientific subjects to magazines which addressed similar topics. One topics addressed is the history and purpose of scientific popularization. Another topic is the title and nature of magazines published during the period and the nature of dedicated newspaper sections. Popular scientific organizations are also among other things addressed.

This article discusses personal advertisements in nineteenth-century American newspapers, focusing specifically on those published in the New York Herald. It argues that these advertisements are a crucial, although heretofore largely ignored, part of the development of penny press newspapers in America. By exposing intimate relationships in public, personals offered a way for urban dwellers to connect with and understand their neighbors in a city with a rapidly growing, and increasingly anonymous, population. They also became a new kind of ‘fiction’; often romantic, highly stylized, and sometimes even ongoing, personals functioned as short stories for the newspaper audience. However, for critics, the advertisements were dangerous, threatening to lead to the ruin of young people, girls especially. Their complaints reflect a growing concern in this era about the dangers of urban life and loss of control over morality and behavior in large cities. What was most fascinating to readers—the private, apparently illicit lives of neighbors—was the same thing that most frightened moral arbiters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This discourse analysis of audience reception examined journalistic response to the May 1, 2006, immigrants’ rights protests in mainstream newspapers, niche news and opinion outlets in the United States. The organizers of the protests faced a particular rhetorical challenge: to craft a message that would be well received by both hostile and friendly audiences. In addition to attracting significant media coverage, the actions sparked both celebration and criticism in public commentary. Three key themes were identified based on primary texts from protest organizers and existing research on media coverage of political protest: economy; policy/rights; and law/order. Linguistic representations of these themes were constructed and keywords were searched across a corpus of newspaper front pages and television transcripts to identify general trends. These trends were then analyzed at the level of sentence and utterance. Our findings illustrate the particular challenges of polysemy for social movements that seek to use mass media to advance their political goals in an increasingly fragmented media environment, as well as the persistence of some aspects of the “protest paradigm” in media coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presidency and political communication scholars have given scant attention to how local news media cover the presidency. The author offers a comparative study of coverage of the Bush presidency on the front pages of 100 American newspapers during a five-month period in 2006. Sociological and economic theories predict slanted coverage of national politics by America's newspapers, despite journalistic professional norms to the contrary. The analyses suggest there is a slant to the coverage of President Bush that is partly explained by the political leanings of the newspaper and its audience. Newspapers that endorsed Bush's reelection in 2004 tended to write more favorable headlines, and newspapers in states where Democrats are strong politically tended to write less favorable headlines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results of a comparative visual analysis of front-page photographs in U.S. newspapers and photographs distributed by the Associated Press and Reuters wire services revealed that gatekeeping decisions played an influential role in the coverage of Hurricane Katrina in the late summer of 2005. Front-page photographs differed significantly from photographs provided by news wires. Overall, our analyses challenge the notion that decisions made by wire services dictate the visual coverage of a news event and suggest that gatekeeping selections and use of available information are key factors in visual framing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study combines quantitative and qualitative techniques to document and explain the evolution of foreign news in the Chicago Daily News, the newspaper that virtually invented the ideal of a quality, professional American foreign news service. Foreign news at the newspaper began as an experiment and evolved over time, adapting to factors such as cost, ownership, competition, and the urgency of events abroad. This study, through its focus on change over time and on conditions that shaped change, attempts to articulate a dynamic, historical approach to studying foreign correspondence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shows how letters to the newspaper do influence some editors to write about certain issues and to emphasize particular topics in the news. Results of a study which examined relationships between the level of attention to crime in letters to the editor, on the front pages, and in editorials of ten American newspapers from 1948 to 1978; Newspapers included the `Atlanta Journal,' `Boston Globe,' `Houston Chronicle.'

Examines the newspaper front pages design and the importance of newspaper appearance for the readers in the U.S. Selection of daily circulations included in the study by using systematic sampling method; Evolution on the changes of the design graphics noted in newspapers; Impact of the newspaper appearance to American readers.

Presents a study on gender representations in the front pages of elite American newspapers. Objective of the study; Discussion on research questions; Indication that females are very much under-represented as main characters in front page news stories of elite newspapers.

The article focuses on the inauguration of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter in Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C. It mentions the long walk of Carter, his wife Rosalynn Carter and his family from the Capitol to the executive mansion which has garnered different comments from U.S. newspapers. It states that half of the 12 U.S. morning newspapers surveyed have displayed in their front pages the photographs of the walk but the Chicago Tribune gave a prominent space for the event.

The article presents an analysis of newspaper content in a selected group of metropolitan newspapers, with special emphasis on materials dealing with crime and other sensational news. Six daily newspapers were selected from various sections of the U.S. as basic source materials. The names of the papers are as follows: Chicago Daily Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Los Angeles Times, Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, New Orleans Times Picayune, Washington, D.C. Evening Star. The foregoing newspapers, which are more or less typical of the American metropolitan press, contain a liberal amount of space devoted to crime and other sensational news. The data of this research relating to crime and other sensational news will be analyzed for the newspaper as a whole and then compared with a similar analysis for the front page. Certain conclusions regarding the relationship between advertising material and sensational news appear from the statistics on crime news, other sensational news and total anti-social news in the whole newspaper.

Presents information on the news coverage of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. by 'Newsday' newspaper through its 'The Lost' section. Reason for the idea of the 'The Lost' section; Format; Reaction of the readers to the section.

Presents a study on how the readers response to writings in the front pages with four-color halftones in the U.S. Inclusions of four newspapers in the study; Semantic differential scales that have been validated for rating the newspapers; Preference of the respondents on the tone of the pictures of the newspapers; Factors contributing to the newspaper preference of the respondents.