Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Communications, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-69).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1967. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 99 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-99).

No description available.

This dissertation investigates the phenomenon of the digitally native production of foreign and international news in Anglo-American media. The focus is on the news startups I am calling “virtual foreign bureaus” (VFBs), independent, professional and niche news outlets that carry out much of the reporting remotely. These news startups have increased in numbers and importance with the shutdowns of foreign bureaus in traditional news organizations. Using newsroom visits, interviews, and content analysis, I compare and contrast journalistic routines and norms of VFBs with those of traditional foreign correspondence. As organizations, VFBs are more networked and less hierarchal than traditional foreign bureaus. I find a different use of sources, with open-source Web databases, crowdsourced material, and social network sources taking precedence over traditional “human” sources, because the former are more accessible to VFBs and also seen as more verifiable than the latter. Despite these differences, I note an increasing convergence of the norms of VFBs and traditional foreign correspondence, working toward the creation of a hybrid professional identity. As organizations, VFBs are entrepreneurial, seeking to combine multiple funding streams to achieve financial independence and sustainability. They rely heavily on foundation grants and partnerships, but such relationships rarely constitute a sustainable business model. I argue that any meaningful solution to the financial woes of foreign reporting should include policy interventions and an infusion of public funds.

No description available.

This study examined coverage of the December 2003 bovine spongiform encephalopathy event to discover reporters’ sources for breaking agricultural news, the impact of reporter specialization on source choices, and the impact of newspaper differences, including location, circulation, and ownership, on coverage. Quantitative content analysis was performed on 62 stories selected through a keyword search for the period December 23, 2003 through October 31, 2004 from U.S. newspapers included in the LexisNexis database. These stories were divided into two equal groups based on reporter work-role identity and were analyzed by length, number of sources, and source variety, and by location, circulation, and ownership of the newspapers in which they appeared. ANOVA, bivariate correlation, and forced entry regression were statistical techniques used. Results indicated numbers of stories, story length, and numbers of sources per story appear related to newspaper location, and use of scientists and agricultural scientists as sources to be correlated with type of newspaper. Newspaper circulation and ownership type were found to explain a statistically significant amount of variance in number of sources used. No statistically significant differences between mean length or mean number of sources used were found between stories written by science-specialty beat reporters and those written by reporters not assigned to such beats, contradicting previous research. However, while mean overall source variety did not differ between the two reporters groups, work-role identity was found to be correlated with use of scientists and agricultural scientists as sources. Extrapolation from this study suggests it is open to question whether (a) reporters would be well-advised to pursue courses of study or to seek additional training to build defined areas of expertise, better equipping themselves to cover more complex issues; (b) editors should seek candidates with such special training and structure their newsroom routines to accommodate specialty reporters when considering adding employees to their reporting staffs; and (c) universities should offer journalism curricula that facilitate both acquisition of basic reporting skills and registration for substantive electives which build subject-matter knowledge. Answers to these questions should be actively pursued, since they may shape the future of journalism education and practice.

This study examined coverage of the December 2003 bovine spongiform encephalopathy event to discover reporters’ sources for breaking agricultural news, the impact of reporter specialization on source choices, and the impact of newspaper differences, including location, circulation, and ownership, on coverage. Quantitative content analysis was performed on 62 stories selected through a keyword search for the period December 23, 2003 through October 31, 2004 from U.S. newspapers included in the LexisNexis database. These stories were divided into two equal groups based on reporter work-role identity and were analyzed by length, number of sources, and source variety, and by location, circulation, and ownership of the newspapers in which they appeared. ANOVA, bivariate correlation, and forced entry regression were statistical techniques used. Results indicated numbers of stories, story length, and numbers of sources per story appear related to newspaper location, and use of scientists and agricultural scientists as sources to be correlated with type of newspaper. Newspaper circulation and ownership type were found to explain a statistically significant amount of variance in number of sources used. No statistically significant differences between mean length or mean number of sources used were found between stories written by science-specialty beat reporters and those written by reporters not assigned to such beats, contradicting previous research. However, while mean overall source variety did not differ between the two reporters groups, work-role identity was found to be correlated with use of scientists and agricultural scientists as sources. Extrapolation from this study suggests it is open to question whether (a) reporters would be well-advised to pursue courses of study or to seek additional training to build defined areas of expertise, better equipping themselves to cover more complex issues; (b) editors should seek candidates with such special training and structure their newsroom routines to accommodate specialty reporters when considering adding employees to their reporting staffs; and (c) universities should offer journalism curricula that facilitate both acquisition of basic reporting skills and registration for substantive electives which build subject-matter knowledge. Answers to these questions should be actively pursued, since they may shape the future of journalism education and practice.

In a modern democratic society, election has become the most common way in which people participate in politics. Moreover, voting is the presentation and consequences of people¡¦s opinions. Therefore, during the period of election, all the information people saw or heard through the mass media might influence people¡¦s decisions of their votes, their attitudes, and their behaviors. Along with the strengthening of Taiwan¡¦s democracy, the political cultures in Taiwan have been changing. Meanwhile, the interactions between politicians and mass media and the distributions of powers have been changing. The relationships between the political systems and the news media are multiple and complicated. The reporters, the elementary gate keeper, are certainly the first target the candidates want to influence. The various ways of influence, either ¡§threatening¡¨ or ¡§seduction¡¨, create ¡§pressure¡¨ on the reporters when they report news relevant to the election. Thus, the motivation and purposes of this study were to investigate the strategies the reporters employed when they encountered pressure. This study made use of questionnaires to collect data. This study surveyed the reporters in the big Kaohsiung area (Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County) to analyze ¡§the strategies the reporters employed when they encountered pressure.¡¨ This study recruited 113 valid questionnaires. The results show that when the reporters reported news relevant to the 2004 legislators¡¦ election, the pressure the reporters in the big Kaohsiung area received was lobbying, followed by advertisements and other stress related to profits. The pressure from the news office was also common. As a result, the attempts to influence news about the election were multiple. As for the pressure from the gangsters, it was rare; less than 10 percent of the subjects had ever received such pressure. As far as the strategies employed, a high percentage of the reporters in the big Kaohsiung area adopted the strategy ¡§compromise¡¨, followed by ¡§direct confrontation¡¨ and ¡§ignorance¡¨. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that ¡§compromise¡¨ was the most frequent strategy adopted by the reporters when they received pressure from the news office. This finding illustrates that the key influence on the reporters came from the controlling power of the media organizations. When it comes to the advertisements and other stress related to profits, the reporters usually employed the strategies ¡§compromise¡¨ and ¡§cooperation¡¨; the percentage reached 80%. Such an overwhelming percentage demonstrates the serious interference from the departments of advertisements and businesses in news reports.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on January 12, 2010). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Political Science, University of Alberta." "Spring 2010." Includes bibliographical references.