This thesis examined the content of sixteen Indiana newspapers, chosen at random, to calculate the topic classification of editorials. Because of concern for chained newspaper growth 'in America, this study attempted to draw conclusions as to the topics of editorials printed in both chained and unchained newspapers. Since "one-publisher" cities are also increasing, further aspects of this study, examined editorials in newspapers of varying circulation categories.Indiana has eighty-two daily newspapers - 30 chained, and 52 unchained. From the complete list, sixteen papers were randomly chosen - two chained and two unchained from each of the following four circulation categories: 1-10,000; 10-20,000; 20-50,000; and 50,000 up.Editorials from a ten-day sampling over two, two-month periods were examined and classified according to the defined topics of "local," "state," "national," and "international."The findings of the study showed that Indiana newspapers, whether chained or unchained, large or small, editorialized most heavily on national issues. However, comparatively, chained newspapers published more local and state editorials than did unchained papers. The unchained newspapers published approximately twice the number of national editorials as 'state and local editorials, combined. The newspapers with the largest circulations, also, published more local editorials than did small papers, but the small papers surpassed the large papers in printing state editorials. However, small papers did concentrate more heavily on national issues than large circulating dailies did. No classification of newspaper, consistently, printed many nternational editorials.The conclusions of the study show that chained newspapers and those with large circulations are doing a better job of localizing editorials than are the unchained newspapers anti small circulating dailies. However, this study was a quantitative account of editorial topics and it made no attempt to study the quality of the editorials.

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This thesis analyzed Indiana editors and reporters through Qmethodology in an effort to establish a typology of Indiana journalists pertaining to the future of the daily newspaper. Because of an apparent lack of abundant research relative to what journalists perceive as the future of the daily print medium, this study attempted to add an Indiana perspective to existing empirical literature dealing with the future of newspapers.Fifty-six editors and reporters from 28 of Indiana's 73 newspapers were selected as a purposive sample of the state's journalists. Statements representing perceptions about the future of newspapers were compiled in a 64-card structured Qsort and administered in person to all respondents. Respondents were asked to sort through the cards and rank the statements on an 11-point, Likert-like most-agree/most-disagree scale.Computer analysis of the Q-sorts produced five typal arrays which may be considered five typical categories into which Indiana journalists fall with regard to their perceptions aboutthe future of newspapers.Four of the five types showed strong correlation among themselves. Although none of the 12 consensus items proved significant, Indiana editors and reporters were found to have similar attitudes overall regarding several key statements.Findings of this study indicate the typical perceptions of Indiana journalists regarding the future of newspapers are centered around the belief that responsiveness to readers is a high priority. Data also indicated editors and reporters see technology and marketing to be keys to success for newspapers of the future. Other findings appear to suggest journalists believe local news and information relative to readers' daily lives will be important parts of future newspaper content. Making newspapers "user-friendly" was also a high priority for Indiana editors and reporters.Although one of the five types emerging in this study showed strong discontent in its perceptions of the public, the overall view of journalists in Indiana appears to be one of respect and confidence in readers of the future. There was also indication that editors and reporters were open to change in the newspaper industry and committed to a career in the daily print medium.Because of the projective nature of this study, Q-methodology was selected as an appropriate research instrument. It should be noted, however, that this method provides only typical attitudes that may not be generalized among populations other than the one particular to this study. / Department of Journalism

This thesis is a content analysis designed to determine whether Democratic presidential candidates Gary Hart, Walter Mondale, and Jesse Jackson received equal coverage in nine selected Indiana newspapers during the month prior to the state primary in 1984. The researcher expected the candidates would receive equal coverage in Democratic, Republican, and Independent newspapers based on the findings of previous similar studies. The study was conducted using three content analysis techniques--space measurement, headline value classification, and evaluative assertion analysis. Nine papers, three from each political group, were selected at random for the study. The data collected was comprised only of news stories. In assessing whether the three candidates received equal coverage, each story relating to one or more of these men was measured using a basic space unit measurement. The amount of space received by the individual candidates in each newspaper group was converted to percentages and chi-square goodness of fit and contingency table tests were applied. Separate totals were maintained throughout for stories about individual candidates and summary stories that were about all three. Headlines concerning each candidate were accorded points based on size and placement. The resulting totals also were subjected to chi-square analysis.The evaluative assertion analysis was. conducted only on news stories that were locally generated. Two sets of coders transcribed assertions and analyzed each for the following: attitude expressed (positive or negative); strength of verbs; and associative or disassociative nature of verbs.The study showed that while the candidates were treated highly similarly by newspapers in the three groups--Hart received the highest percentage of coverage and Jackson the lowest in each case--they were not treated equally. In the individual news stories, Jackson was given significantly less coverage than the others, except in the case of Republican papers in which there was no difference. The headlines followed the same pattern. In the summary stories, there was no significant difference in the coverage received by the three, but for the headlines, Jackson again received significantly less exposure. This was most evident in the Democratic papers. These findings strongly indicate that there was bias in the nine papers in favor of Hart and Mondale and against Jackson.In the evaluative assertion analysis, the coded results all fell into a single category--most of the verbs used were strong and associative and most of the attitudes expressed were positive. This may be more indicative of the writing styles of reporters than of an editorial preference being evidenced by the newspapers.

This study sought to test on the state level the validity of Thomas A. Bailey's theory on reactions to the proposal for a League of Nations following World War I. Bailey, a noted diplomatic historian, suggested that most groups were guided by partisan loyalties to either support or oppose the League. Indiana newspaper editors were chosen as the test group for study because of their influence with the public and the accessibility of their views. Ten Indiana newspapers were surveyed fully between January 1919 and the end of March 1920, and an additional eleven papers were spot-checked during that period. The state newspapers were divided as equally as possible based upon their support for either the Democratic or the Republican party, and then were compared to two national newspapers, one Democratic and one Republican.The results of these comparisons appear to validate Bailey's hypothesis. The editorial positions of most of the Indiana newspapers coincided with the positions of thepolitical parties with which they were identified. The study also revealed greater diversity of opinion among editors of both political persuasions during the early months of 1919 as the participants at the Paris Peace Conference worked toward the first draft of the Covenant. After President Wilson presented the Treaty of Versailles to the United States Senate, partisan debate ensued, and a narrowing of editorial opinion parallel to that debate was evident among newspapers on both sides. Pro-League newspapers supported Wilson's position from the time he presented it to the Senate in July 1919. Anti-League newspapers supported Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and his followers in the Senate from about the same time. Neither group changed significantly from then until the final defeat of the treaty in March 1920. Thus, it would appear that Bailey's hypothesis regarding the partisan origins of most group's positions was correct. / Department of History

This study is essentially a descriptive account of the images of women labeled as prostitutes in the newspapers of Muncie, Indiana, at the turn of the century. In addition, attention was also given to how women as a group were presented. It was suspected that there would be a correlation between the images of women stigmatized by arrest and the images of those other women whose status or behavior was thought to merit inclusion in the newspapers.This paper includes: 1. a brief overview of the social, economic and political dynamics of the town in 1895, 1905 and 1914, 2. a section on images of the prostitute as portrayed by the newspapers during these years as well as an attempt to evaluate the actual, as opposed to symbolic, position of women identified as prostitutes and 3. a review of the activities and images of other women as presented in newspaper accounts.The main findings are: 1. In 1895, prostitutes were presented as stigmatized but integral members of the community who were routinely regulated by law enforcers while women as a group were newsworthy primarily when involved with the legal system in cases involving, marriage, divorce and suicide. 2. In 1905, the prostitute had become a symbol of individual and communal decay while women in general were portrayed within the context of romantic love whereby passion led to elopements, divorce, suicide and interpersonal violence. 3. By 1915, the image of women labeled as prostitutes had shifted again to that of a youthful victim of socioeconomic processes. This new image was linked with the much publicized ascendancy of middle-class women into the public sphere as professionals, club members and active reformers in the town. 4. Women labeled as prostitutes suffered a loss of status and legal protection between 1895and 1915 while women actively involved in public life experienced increased visibility and affirmation in the newspapers.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In 1901, three German American candidates ran for the office of mayor in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The winner, Henry Berghoff, had emigrated from Germany as a teenager. This thesis examines the election discourse in the partisan press for signs of ethnic tension. The first chapter places Fort Wayne in historical context of German immigration and Indiana history. The second and third chapters investigate the editorial pages for evidence of ethnic tension. I also reference a few articles of an editorial nature outside of the editorial pages. The second chapter provides background information about the election and examines indications of the candidates’ ethnicity and references to the German language papers. The third chapter considers the editorial comment about Germany, the intertwining of ethnicity and the issues, and ethnic name-calling. In order to identify underlying bias for or against Germany and to better understand the context of the references to German ethnicity, the fourth chapter explores the portrayal of Germany in the Fort Wayne papers.