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A total of 123 upper-level and graduate students in journalism completed a questionnaire on beliefs about newspaper work. Most of the students were in advanced writing and editing courses, while 32 were in magazine courses. Questions in the survey dealt with beliefs related to James Grunig's theory of information systems. Factor analysis suggested a single problem recognition factor, two concepts relating to decision rules, two on constraints, and a single audience-orientation variable. In general, students rated newsroom decision making as complex and high on uncertainty (problem recognition). They saw a strong need for audience study. Also, while expressing a preference for formal newspaper makeup and high regard for objectivity, they tended to downgrade "news elements" in news assessment, event reporting, and sensationalism. Although students in both magazine and nonmagazine courses agreed on beliefs about the newspaper setting in general, the magazine course students did stress perceived audience interests more and their own preferences less in newspaper editing. Overall, the data suggest that the "neutral" and "participant" perspectives underlie belief clusters held by today's journalism students. (Author/RL)

A study was conducted to explore the influence of newspaper editorial campaign endorsements. The study examined the Louisville (Kentucky) "Courier-Journal," which tends to endorse Democratic candidates, and the Chicago "Tribune," which tends to endorse Republican candidates. It was hypothesized that readers would show higher awareness of editorial endorsements in these two prestige papers than of those in competing papers in the same communities; that readers would see these prestige papers as more balanced and less biased than competing papers in campaign news coverage; and that readers inclined to vote against the endorsed candidate would view the paper as more biased in favor of that candidate than would voters who favored the endorsed candidate. Telephone surveys of 456 residents of Louisville and 364 Chicago residents were conducted. Content analysis of the two papers was conducted from the start of the 1984 presidential campaign through election day. Television network news coverage was also analyzed. Although the great majority of respondents was unaware of which candidate had been endorsed by the paper they read, the readers of the two prestige papers were more likely to know than were readers of the other papers, as hypothesized. The second hypothesis was not supported, while the third received tentative support. (HTH)

A phone survey of 450 Ohioans was completed over the three-week period before a state-wide election on November 8, 1983, to examine three types of orientation to newspapers and television. The types were frequency of media use focusing on state and local politics, frequency of media use for news in general, and the presence or absence of primary reliance on a given medium. Respondents were asked to summarize pro and con arguments relating to a pair of referenda on state revenues and taxes. Major dependent variables were the number of arguments reported as favoring a respondent's own pro or con position, the number of arguments opposing that position, and total arguments given. Each of these factors was interpreted as indexing a type of knowledge level. Results revealed that focused television news use correlated more positively with knowledge of the issues than did general news use; however, newspaper use showed positive correlation for both types of news consumption. In addition, focused media use correlated with knowledge of arguments against one's own position for newspaper dependent respondents but not for television dependent respondents. Finally, it was found that focused media use correlated with knowledge of arguments, but that media reliance did not. (HOD)

"Breadth of perspective" is a significant concept for definition of public goals, especially in line with the two-way symmetric model of public relations practice. The concept involves four components: (1) awareness that more than one definition, stand, or conclusion is possible and is probably accepted as valid by significant persons or groups; (2) awareness that there are, in all probability, differences between one's own position or definition and that of other people; (3) an inclination to take others' views into account when making and carrying out communication decisions; and (4) knowledge of arguments and their ramifications that support viewpoints opposed to one's own. So defined, "breadth of perspective" has roots in a number of disciplines and research traditions, including symbolic-interactionist sociology, personality theory within social psychology, political science, and communication. Three studies have shown partial determinants and implications of breadth of perspective. These include a survey of working journalists, a study of the public relations posture of osteopathic medicine, and a general-population survey relating to three political issues in Ohio. Breadth of perspective is important in public relations because it is in line with the libertarian heritage; it can lead, under many circumstances, to productive, flexible, innovative behavior and output; and it can help articulate and add substance to the two-way model of public relations practice. (Author/FL)

In early 1983, a questionnaire was sent to members of the Public Relations Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication to determine whether they perceived the role of public relations practitioners to be one of four types: expert prescriber, communication technician, communication facilitator, or problem solving process facilitator. Responses indicated that, overall, the communication-technician role, with a focus on writing and producing messages, stood out as quite distinct from other roles. However, the dominant role-orientation factor, called "decision-making," combined elements from the roles of problem solving process facilitation, communication process facilitation, and expert prescriber. Some communication-technician-oriented educators appeared to stress the physical production of messages, while others focused on writing, planning and media relations broadly defined. Overall, educators showed a strong felt need to train generalists for public relations careers.(HOD)

Members of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Public Relations Division were asked to nominate alumni, who were not full-time educators but who appeared to be excellent prospects for academic careers, for a study of attitudes of potential communication instructors toward teaching as a career move. The 27 nominees, most of them white, female graduate students or public relations practitioners, rated each of 10 factors as an advantage or disadvantage to public relations education. Overall, the results suggested a rather favorable view of public relations teaching as a job experience. However, most respondents believed salaries to be low and advancement opportunities limited considering the job experience and training required for academic work. Other findings include the following: (1) those with substantial graduate education tended more than others to rate academic careers favorably in terms of opportunities for creativity and genuine service, (2) those with more public relations work experience saw less opportunity for advancement in an academic career, (3) almost none of the respondents expressed concern about direct or "de facto" discrimination about women or minorities in academe, and (4) several respondents expressed interest in adjunct-faculty positions, which they felt required limited commitment, without appearing to recognize the rather restricted role and lack of security attached to such jobs. (HTH)

Editorials in four prestigious American papers and two Filipino dailies addressing the 1986 election and revolution in the Philippines were compared for differences. Four hypotheses were tested: (1) that in treatment of the Philippines, editorials in the U.S. national prestige press would place more emphasis than do those in the Filipino newspapers on topics that have evolved over a long period, received intense recent coverage, and relate clearly to American interests and U.S.-Filipino relations; (2) that the Filipino press would focus editorials more often than does the U.S. press on concrete acts and events relating to the campaign, election, and revolution; (3) that editorials in either country would deal more often with acts involving primarily that country and its citizens; and (4) that Filipino editorials would have greater agenda diversity than would American newspapers about events in the Philippines. Thirty-eight editorials from the "Christian Science Monitor,""Wall Street Journal,""New York Times," and "Washington Post" were compared with 85 editorials from "Malaya" and the "Philippine Daily Inquirer," each of which dealt with the election and its context between January 15 and March 15, 1986. Each hypothesis was analyzed extensively, with the first three proving supportable and the fourth partially supportable. Overall, the similarities between American and Filipino editorials, when viewed in structural terms, tended to outweigh the differences. (Tables of data and 56 references are included.) (AEW)

Public relations instructors can begin to develop an appreciation of the social, political and economic (S-P-E) contexts on the part of their students by beginning to integrate this thinking into existing courses and curricula. Social contexts deal with cultural and subcultural beliefs, contacts within a community or organization, and frames of reference and standards of comparisons. Political contexts include activities and strategies of political actors and role and power relationships. Economic contexts include availability of resources to client organizations and publics and coping with and cutting costs. During the term students can be expected to do several things that help enhance sensitivity to the S-P-E contexts: (1) draw on a range of S-P-E social science and humanities concepts while critically and comprehensively defining public relations goals; (2) read several case reports and define the three overlapping contexts; (3) confront ethical situations that cannot be examined apart from the social-political contexts; (4) prepare a paper which looks at an actual client's role, public relations problems, key publics, and services to those publics; and (5) hold a series of panel discussions on timely cases. Following these and other exercises, most students seem to see public relations as a dynamic, exciting process central to the client organization's basic function, a process that entails far more than promotion and publicity when placed in a larger context. Selected findings from three public relations research projects illustrate the use of the S-P-E concepts. (Twenty-six references are attached.) (MG)