This study began with the question of whether the press is conveying messages that contain speculation of future events as opposed to the recounting of current events. Speculative language is a form of subjective speech and as such its presence in press content defies the journalist principle of objectivity. The analysis sought to identify two newspaper's use of speculative language within headlines in the news sections. Two other variables considered were article placement, and the ownership structure of the news organizations. Previous research supports the claim that the ownership structure of an organization can influence the content it publishes (Lacy, 1986). With this in mind, the study attempted to determine if these variables have an affect on the nature or frequency of speculative language in news content. The researcher explored the question of speculative language in the press by analyzing headlines from the A (Main) and Local sections from two Florida newspapers, the corporately owned Orlando Sentinel and the independent St. Petersburg Times. The researcher chose to study headlines because they convey the newsworthiness of the story and former research confirms that reader perceptions of a news account can depend on the headline (Pfau, 1995; Tannenbaum, 1953). The aim was to comparatively study the news headlines through quantitative content analysis of the language used.

No Abstract Provided. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

In 2005 Prince Edward Island’s plebiscite on replacing the single member plurality (SMP) voting system with a mixed member proportional (MMP) voting system was defeated. In New Brunswick a similar referendum, recommended by the Commission on Legislative Democracy in 2004, was never held. This thesis investigates media coverage of these recent electoral reform initiatives in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Specifically, it examines local newspaper coverage of each province’s electoral reform initiatives and analyses the findings to determine if the newspapers demonstrated any bias for or against the implementation of a new voting system. It concludes that in each province the local newspaper media demonstrated a pro-electoral reform position, though there was considerable variation between the newspapers with respect to the breadth of coverage, the amount of bias and how that bias was articulated to readers. / Graduate

No description available.