This study, which may be considered the first of its kind to be conducted on Bahraini newspapers, attempted to provide an insight on the inner workings of these newspapers. The knowledge from this study provides a spring board for other studies to follow and venture into ethnic backgrounds and its affect on media coverage.The main focus was on the coverage of the war in Iraq by two Bahraini newspapers (Al Ayam and Al Wasat) and the gatekeeping process. Both newspapers exhibited a gatekeeping process which was influenced by their ethnic background. Editors of both Al Ayam and Al Wasat exercised gatekeeping on the stories that they published about the war in Iraq promoting their own ethnic group (Sunni or Shiite).The findings in this study presented a new characteristic that seemed to have a direct influence on the gatekeeping process. Ethnic background has never been associated with the gatekeeping process in news coverage. Results of the content analysis undertaken in this study reflected how the ethnic backgrounds of the editors in both newspapers did influence news selection and newspreference. / Department of Journalism

Media theorists have identified five models explaining media content: reflection, media routines, personal characteristics, extrinsic forces and manipulation. This study looks at diversity and controversy in newspaper comic strips to test the models that 1) media content is determined by personal characteristics of the decision maker; and 2) media content is determined by forces extrinsic to the decision maker. It was found that in the majority of cases the personal characteristics of the newspaper editor were more important in determining which diverse and controversial comic strips he/she will publish. However, it was found that no single model completely explains how editors make decisions concerning controversial and diverse material, but instead a variety of decision making models, including reflection, media routines, personal characteristics, and extrinsic forces, influence editor’s decision making. / Master of Science

This thesis looks at the life and times of Aggrey Klaaste, the larger-than-life late editor of Sowetan who shot to fame by championing a novel idea of nation building. His initiative started in 1988 as flames of violence engulfed South Africa and it seemed as if an apocalypse was on the cards. Sickened by what the frustrated black community was doing to itself, for example the use of the dreadful practice of necklacing against the so-called collaborators, he called for moral regeneration. He wanted his compatriots to look into the future and take their destiny in their own hands. Through nation building he tirelessly launched into crusading journalism that sought to heal the scars of the black community after decades of apartheid. It was grassroots community building. He rewarded ordinary men and women who made a difference in their communities. He actively sought peace to end the violence of the 1980s and 1990s. He spoke his mind without wearing any ideological blinkers, even as some thought his initiative would disturb the march to freedom. He was the ultimate newspaperman. This thesis argues that by calling for reconciliation and rebuilding of battered black communities even before freedom came, Klaaste was ahead of his time and even predated Nelson Mandela. Klaaste preferred to do what was right and not be shackled to any ideology. In doing so, he angered many people who felt his thinking was derailing the struggle for freedom. But Klaaste stressed that nation building was ideologically neutral and was meant for everyone. By contradicting prevailing political orthodoxy, he very likely risked his own life. But, like a true leader, he stuck to his convictions. Klaaste was exemplary in calling for reconciliation and building when others called for breaking. Ten years after he died, as the country still grapples with issues he raised in his popular weekly column On The Line, it is worth appraising his thinking and actions. The thesis also looks at the environment that influenced his thinking. His life is interwoven with South African history. That he began his adult life shakily, spending his days in a drunken stupor at Johannesburg shebeens to being awarded the Order for Meritorious Service for his outstanding community work, makes him an interesting subject to look at. It’s a story of a man who vanquished his demons and, through his compassionate community engagement, became an asset to the country. It’s a story of redemption. As his private life attests, he was man with flaws – like anyone else. But Aggrey Klaaste strived to do what was right for his community at all times. He was a restless community builder.

The purpose of this study was to identify and compare the job performance expectations of recent journalism graduates as perceived by selected managing editors and journalism educators in Standard Federal Region Six (the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas). The survey instrument consisted primarily of statements dealing with the topics of five research questions on the value of journalism education to success on newspapers, the value of newspaper experience to teaching journalism, the language skills of recent graduates, the value of academic research to the improvement of newspapers, and the "gap" between journalism education and journalism practice.

This thesis analyzes the published commentary of editorial journalists regarding the division of Germany in twelve major newspapers of the Federal Republic of Germany in a period spanning from the final years of division to the immediate aftermath of the unification of the two German states. The study tracks editorial advocacy in response to East German leader Erich Honecker's Bonn visit in 1987 coupled with the intra-German policy efforts of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, which seemed to edge towards two-state neutralism; the wave of repression in the German Democratic Republic from late 1987 onward in the wake of Mikhail Gorbachev's reform programme, and the June 1989 visit of Mikhail Gorbachev to Bonn. Journalistic commentators' propagation of a form of constitutional patriotism as a Federal Republican identity will be examined. Responses to the East German Revolution as it developed in late 1989 are analyzed in detail, followed by an account of journalistic efforts to define the political-cultural parameters of united Germany between March 1990 and June 1991. After four decades, the post-war division of Germany had acquired a degree of normalcy. Journalistic commentators argued against any acceptance of division that also accepted the existence of the party-state dictatorship in the German Democratic Republic, insisting that the German Question was 'open' until self-determination for East Germans was realized. Nevertheless, throughout the period journalistic commentators argued in unison against solutions to division which would alienate the Federal Republic from its western alliance or put its established socio-political order at risk. Contemporary journalism propagated an image of the Federal Republic that was thoroughly defined by its post-war internalization of 'Western' value norms. This was most evident during the East German Revolution and the immediate aftermath, ostensibly the moment of greatest uncertainty about Germany's future path, when commentators became champions of continuity within the western alliance.

For many years newspapers were locally owned by editors and publishers. However, today many are run by corporations from out of state. As a result, many communities have lost the personal relationship between the family owned publication and the community. Gene Howe, who served as editor, publisher and columnist of the Amarillo Globe-News from 1926 until his death in 1952, believed the community was where the focus should be and the newspaper should do all that it can to help their readers. Despite the fact that Howe was not born in Amarillo, Texas, his passion and love for the city and its inhabitants compensated for it. During the Dust Bowl and Great Depression Howe and the Globe-News helped Amarillo survive the dust and economic storms that blew through the Texas Panhandle, an area that has not been written as much as other parts of Texas. Through his “Tactless Texan” column, which served as a pulpit to the community, to the various contests and promotions the newspaper sprang up, including the creation of Mother in Law Day, Gene Howe gave the newspaper another dimension little has been studied about, the role of the editor and publisher in guiding a community through a dramatic era. Understanding Howe’s ethos can allow others to examine the roles editors and newspapers play in communities throughout the country.

PhD (English) / Department of English / This study sought to analyse the discourse strategies in the editorials of the Daily Graphic newspaper as texts constructed in an African English as a Second Language (ESL) setting and the editorials of the New York Times of America as texts constructed in an Anglo-American English environment. The objective of the study was to discover the differences and the similarities that exist between the discourse strategies of the editorials of the Daily Graphic newspaper and the editorials of the New York Times. This objective is achieved by analysing five features of text. First, the rhetorical structure of the two editorials were analysed to find out the rhetorical strategies used in composing the editorials. Second, the micro-genre variation between the two editorials was examined. In addition, the thematic development of the two editorials was carried out. Also, the study investigated the rhetorical appeals preferred by the editorials from the two different socio-cultural settings. Finally, as newspaper editorials, the use of attribution was studied to find out how the editorials disclose the sources of their information to make it clear to their readers where they get their information from. The findings of the study revealed some differences and some similarities in the discourse strategies employed by the two editorials. The Daily Graphic as a newspaper published in an ESL setting in Africa exhibited the unique use of some discourse features that reflect the socio-cultural setting different from that of the New York Times as a newspaper published in the socio-cultural environment of Anglo-American English. / NRF