How Readers' Letters May Influence Editors and News Emphasis: A Content Analysis of 10 Newspapers, 1948-1978.

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.'