Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of English, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-83).

The debate over Utah statehood involved several controversial issues that the United States government and the American public wanted resolved before admission would be granted. One strong advocate for such changes in Utah was the widely published newspaper, the Salt Lake Tribune, which continually published anti-statehood and anti-Mormon ideas in the final decades before Utah was finally admitted in 1896. This thesis studies and analyzes the Tribune’s editorials and news stories to better understand which issues opponents of statehood worried the most over and what they wanted to accomplish with their protest. It finds that Mormon political domination was the paper’s central concern throughout the last decade of the debate, even after developments showed change on the horizon. This thesis also examines the Tribune’s ability to reach Utah readers and a national audience through its connections with the Associated Press. By citing numerous newspapers from throughout the United States and members of Congress who were close to the statehood debate, this thesis shows that the Tribune got its message out and that it played a strong part in the statehood struggle.

This thesis is a study of the rhetoric of newspaper rivalry, particularly under the pressures of image restoration and transformation. I use methods of critical discourse analysis to look at newspaper articles in Utah's two dominant newspapers, the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret Morning News. I compare a sample of news articles from each paper in 2002 to a sample in 2003, when the Tribune was working to restore its image after a scandal involving two of its reporters, and the News was working to transform its image as it transitioned from an afternoon newspaper to a morning newspaper. Using rhetorical categories previously developed, as well as categories I developed myself, I counted the appearances of different types of rivalry rhetoric in the news articles from each year. I found that while certain categories of rhetoric fell from 2002 to 2003, other categories increased drastically. In general, the categories in the 2003 sample were much more polarized than in the 2002 sample. The most striking differences were in the categories of accusation, defense, and gloating. The News' use of accusatory rhetoric and the Tribune's use of defensive rhetoric increased considerably from 2002 to 2003. The News' use of gloating rhetoric increased largely from 2002 to 2003, whereas the Tribune's decreased significantly during the same time period. Much of these changes are attributed to the pressures of image restoration and transformation.

The purpose of this investigation has been to write an account of the Utah newspaper war during the final thirty years of the nineteenth century, with emphasis on the events that brought about the establishment of the Salt Lake Tribune, the men who guided its destiny, news and editorial content, as well as its role in the economic, social and political history of Utah.

A group of Utah citizens, supported by the Salt Lake Tribune, campaigned in May and June of 1968 to change Utah's liquor distribution system from a state-owned package method to one which would allow mixed drinks. Opponents of the change were supported by the Deseret News.The two newspapers became the spokesmen for the two opposing groups. A careful analysis of them shows that of the 2,844.6 column inches of space in the Tribune, and of the 1,856.2 column inches in the News, exclusive of advertising, more than eight per cent in each newspaper supported the editorial stand of that newspaper, while only slightly more than six per cent opposed it.Neither the Salt Lake Tribune nor the Deseret News lived up to the standards of the journalism profession in the handling of the liquor issue in Utah. A complete view of the issues could not have been seen by reading either newspaper. Both were guilty of serving special interest groups; both used their news columns for opinion; both suppressed news and facts which did not conform with their own views; and both failed to be fair and impartial in reporting the two sides of the issue.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Communications, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-180).

This thesis examines press coverage in the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune of five female politicians in Utah history: Martha Hughes Cannon (1896), Reva Beck Bosone (1948), Karen Shepherd (1992), Enid Greene Waldholtz (1994), and Olene S. Walker (2003). A total of 438 articles were reviewed using qualitative textual analysis. Coverage by candidate varied, though it was not in general overtly biased concerning candidate gender. However, the press did call attention to the gender of candidate and gendered commentary was present. The press also called attention to the rarity of women running for high political office and addressed the ability of candidates to balance the roles of wife/mother/homemaker with a political career. This thesis contributes to the overall understanding of newspaper coverage of female politicians and provides a window into the cultural as well as political history of Utah. Suggestions for further research about media coverage of female politicians are made.