Frederick Fico

Influence of Story Structure on Perceived Story Bias and News Organization Credibility

An experiment was conducted to illuminate the effects of balanced and imbalanced conflict story structure on perceived story bias and news organization credibility. Participants read mock newspaper stories on capital punishment, flat income tax rate, and drinking age that were systematically manipulated to be balanced or imbalanced. Imbalanced stories favored either the pro or the con side on each issue. Participants were randomly assigned to read one story about each issue. Results showed participants perceived imbalanced stories as biased and correctly identified the side favored by the storys imbalance. Participants evaluated newspapers apparently responsible for balanced stories as more credible than newspapers apparently publishing stories imbalanced to favor one side or the other on the issue. Imbalanced story structure directly led to perceived story bias, and perceived story bias in turn led to negative evaluation of the credibility of the newspaper publishing the imbalanced story.

Fairness and Balance in the Prestige Press

A comparison of nine prestige newspapers, such as the New York Times and Washington Post, and a sample of large circulation, but less prestigious, newspapers finds prestige newspapers are more likely to cover both sides of community controversy, with better balanced news. Newspapers demonstrating best balance were the Times, Post, and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Findings are presented in the context of the social responsibility theory of the press.

CITIZEN JOURNALISM SITES AS INFORMATION SUBSTITUTES AND COMPLEMENTS FOR UNITED STATES NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

A content analysis of 48 citizen journalism sites, 86 weekly newspapers and 138 daily newspapers indicates that citizen journalism sites differed enough in six local government content attributes to conclude that citizen journalism sites are, at best, imperfect information substitutes for most newspapers. However, the data also indicate that some large-city citizen journalism sites complement newspapers by increasing the number of news stories and the amount of opinion available about local government. The results also found differences between citizen news sites and citizen blog sites. Few citizen journalism sites outside of large metropolitan cities covered local government.

Fairness and Balance of Selected Newspaper Coverage of Controversial National, State, and Local Issues

This study developed a content-based technique of assessing fairness and balance of newspaper coverage of controversial issues and applied it to 259 stories on eighteen issues appearing in eighteen newspapers during February 1991. The study found that on average one side dominated at least three of the six story qualities assessed. Only 7% of the stories were evenly balanced, while more than 50% of the stories had at least four of the six story qualities dominated by one side. Three issues involving abortion and two involving local schools were the most imbalanced. The Gulf War debate was the most imbalanced national issue.

Race and Gender: An Analysis of Sources and Reporters in the Networks' Coverage of the 2000 Presidential Campaign

Our content analysis of 333 campaign stories broadcast by ABC, CBS, and NBC during the 2000 presidential campaign found that reporting staff diversity, specifically the presence of women and minority reporters, was related to more diverse source usage. Stories by women and minority reporters were more likely to use and give time to women and minority noncandidate sources than did stories by male and White reporters. Women and minority reporters also gave more story attention and time to sources such as experts and ordinary people.

Relationships among economic, newsroom, and content variables: A path model.

The authors explore how issues of market structure and ownership are related to working conditions and story content in newspapers. The research finds that reporter work load and story content are affected by economic structure and suggest further means of evaluating that influence and its import.

Reporting on the State Legislature: A Case Study of Inter-Media Agenda-Setting

This study investigates how media agendas become established. “Inter-media agenda-setting” was studied through the statehouse news coverage of wire services, newspapers, radio and television stations in a midwest capital city during a two-week period. Results suggest that while the wire service news media broke more stories over the short term, newspapers were more likely to set the statehouse news agenda in general.

Race and Gender: An Analysis of the Sources and Reporters in Local Television Coverage of the 2002 Michigan Gubernatorial Campaign

This study examined how race and gender of reporters and community diversity influenced use of women and minority sources in local television coverage of the 2002 governors race in Michigan. Content analysis of campaign stories broadcasted by four local television stations revealed that women reporters were more likely than their male colleagues to use women and nonpartisan sources such as experts and ordinary citizens. But minority journalists were only slightly more likely to use minority sources and were less likely than nonminorities to use nonpartisan sources.

Fairness and Balance in the Structural Characteristics of Newspaper Stories on the 1996 Presidential Election

This content study of how Michigans nine largest daily newspapers covered the 1996 presidential campaign focuses on structural characteristics of news stories that may influence readers to judge reporting as fair or biased. Specifically, the study examines institutional and newsroom influences on such characteristics. Results indicated that stories were significantly imbalanced structurally. Regardless of the candidate a reader might have supported, chances were nearly even that any encountered story was one sided, but two-sided stories were likely to be significantly imbalanced as well. Event coverage was the biggest predictor of imbalanced story structure.

Broadcast and Cable Network News Coverage of the 2004 Presidential Election: An Assessment of Partisan and Structural Imbalance

Broadcast and cable network evening news shows gave more prominence, time, and attention to Democrat John Kerry than to President George Bush in their 2004 presidential election coverage. Broadcast networks were more balanced in their aggregate attention to the candidates than were the cable networks. Individual broadcast network stories and segments were also more balanced than were individual cable network stories and segments, regardless of the candidate more favored in stories and segments. The daily election segments of CBS News and Fox News were the most balanced, contrary to expectations that these two news organizations were most likely to show imbalance. However, different broadcast and cable network news attention to the National Guard and Swift Boat stories impugning the characters of both candidates suggests that the broadcast networks biased some of their coverage against the president.