Typescript. / Bibliography: leaves 316-327. / xii, 327 leaves ill

by Louisa Shu-ying Ha. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 186-196.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 B88 / Master of Arts

This dissertation examines the emergence of a cohort of independent literary, intellectual, and political publications—“little magazines”—in New York City over the past decade. Helmed by web-savvy young editors, these publications have cultivated formidable reputations by grasping and capitalizing on a constellation of economic, political, and technological developments. The little magazines understand themselves as a radical alternative both to a journalistic trend toward facile, easily digestible content and to the perceived insularity and exclusivity of academic discourse. However, the bohemian tradition in which they operate predisposes them toward an insularity of their own. Their particular web of allusions, codes, and prerequisite knowledge can render them esoteric beyond the borders of a specific subculture and, in so doing, curtail their political potency and reproduce systems of privilege. This dissertation explores the tensions and limitations of the bohemian artist-activist ideal, and locates instances in which little magazines were able to successfully transcend subcultural boundaries to productively engage in a broader politics.

This thesis identifies some of the new muckraking journalists writing for American newspapers and the role they are playing in the 1970's. To identify the modern muckrakers, questionnaires were sent to 50 newspaper journalists asking them-to define the term, discuss who's muckraking today and whether or not they consider themselves muckrakers. An additional 100 questionnaires were sent to all U.S. Senators asking them if newspapers in their state indulge in muckraking, character assassination and trial by newspaper. If so, they were asked to identify the newspaper, specific examples and name those reporters doing the muckraking. Senators were asked not to identify themselves on the returned questionnaire.As the result of this thesis it has been determined that muckraking is a bona fide practice today. However, many of those participating in this type of journalism prefer to call it investigative reporting. It was also determined that U.S. Senators are reluctant to make their views on the subject known, as only a small percentage answered the questionnaire.

Planners can have the best ideas and the most progressive projects in the world. But if the local newspaper doesn't write about them, nobody will know about them. And if nobody knows about them, they might as well never have been done. Newspaper reporters and planners are going through a drastic change in their historically distant relationship. Increasingly, television news, USA Today and the Internet have replaced newspapers as the prime source for international and national news. Newspapers are now concentrating on local news. This is a golden opportunity for planners to not only raise the clout of their agency, but increase public support for their ideas. More coverage means more media scrutiny of planning issues. Understanding basic newspaper processes, and maintaining positive relationships with newspaper reporters, is a growing part of a successful planner's job. / Department of Urban Planning

Historians frequently make statements which, superficially or fundamentally, seem to be gross generalizations without obvious foundations. The suggestion that one of America’s heroes of the twenties, the businessman, became a devil of the thirties struck this author as one of those generalizations. Since it was impossible to measure "public opinion" on the subject, the study examined the image of businessmen as presented in the periodical press.Businessmen are an integral part of American society; however, historical writing has tended to favor political and military exploits. The businessman's ability to influence societal decisions and his role as a major functioning and determining element within society require in-depth study.The general hypothesis for the study was based on a perception held by the author. It was assumed that historians had projected an image of businessmen held by the American people which was at a high level prior to the 1929 Stock Market Crash, plunged drastically following the Crash and remained at a low level through 1.934; in 1935, that image rose through the 1937 recession, when it fell again, and then, as recovery began and foreign war materials orders were filled, the image rose but never reached the level of the pre-Crash period. This assumption of the historical attitude was based on the writing of several historians.The project classified businessmen in several categories: retail, construction, and services; wholesale; chain store and mail order; local, small manufacturing; national, corporate manufacturing; local financial and real estate; national financial, insurance, stock brokerage and Wall Street; extractive industry; and, transportation, communication, power, publishing, and entertainment. The popular press was defined as those periodicals with a circulation greater than 0.1 percent of the population of the United States (±125,000) for at least 6 of the 14 years covered by the study. A random sample of one-sixth of the articles published, regardless of subject matter, was content analyzed for attitudes assigned by the study to the vocabulary pertaining to businessmen. Of 293 businessmen who appeared in magazine articles by name, 21 were selected for specific mention and comparison in the study. The great quantity of data was subjected to computer programs to determine precise and systematic measurement.The results indicated that the popular press did not reflect the variations in image suggested by historians. Indeed, the numerical image of businessmen in the period represented a very even, medium, or neutral, position. Mean attitudes toward businessmen for the five periods of the study were clustered around the mean attitude for the entire study (3.31973 on a scale of 1 to 5), and in only two periods did the numerical image differ significantly from the mean for the entire study. The wide variations suggested by historians did not develop when businessmen were in the twenties as a hero and that he fell from that position examined by business classification, by type of article, or by the magazines' subject/interest areas. Finally, the suggested variations did not emerge from examination of individual periodicals or examination of individual businessmen.The study, then, throws into doubt conclusions reached by many historians that the businessman was regarded by many citizens into disrepute during the thirties. Further study of other periodicals and other sources will be required.

No description available.

This dissertation explores how journalists in the United States and Germany have been addressing declining levels of trust and attacks on their credibility. I comparatively examine how journalists interpret the trust crisis, and consequently, the strategies they have developed for addressing it. This study is based on multi-site ethnography: I interviewed 87 journalists, conducted observations in 15 local and national newsrooms, and examined metajournalism from the United States and Germany. Findings show that U.S. and German journalists interpret declining trust and anti-media sentiments differently: U.S. journalists believe they stem from information gaps and lacking media literacy, while German journalists believe they reflect a sense of alienation. And so, in their efforts to gain credibility, U.S. journalists focus on increasing transparency and showcasing their professionalism, while German journalists focus on increasing reciprocity and showing that they listen to criticism from outside the profession. As this dissertation shows, both U.S. and German news media are thoroughly professionalized, but their different relationships to their audiences and communities shape different perceptions on — and strategies for — trust building.

by Joseph Man Chan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1981. / Bibliography: leaves 147-153.