Karen L. Slattery

Trend: Sensationalism versus public affairs content of local TV news: Pennsylvania revisited

This research replicated a study by Adams (1978) in which he reported that the bulk of the news hole in local television newscasts was devoted to coverage of local public affairs and not to sensationalism or human interest stories as critics suggested. In 1992, a random sample of newscasts from the same 10 Pennsylvania stations reveals that news organizations devoted significantly more time to sensational/human interest stories in 1992 than they did in 1976. The time spent on such stories came at the expense of news coverage related to local government, politics, and education.

Shifts in Public Affairs Reporting on the Network Evening News: A Move Toward the Sensational

This study examined the shift away from traditional public affairs reporting toward sensationalism on the network evening news between 1968 and 1996. Using methods developed by Adams (1978) and extended by Slattery and Hakanen (1994), this study found an increase in the proportion of sensationalism in network newscasts over time. The study found that 1996 news content categorized as non-election public affairs coverage contained significantly higher levels of embedded sensationalism than similar content in 1968.

Mothers of Soldiers in Wartime: A National News Narrative

National news media represent mothers of US combat soldiers in the Iraq War as archetypal good mothers, that is, mothers who continue their maternal work even after their children are deployed. However, not all mothers are depicted as the archetypal patriotic mother, i.e., a good mother who is also stoic and silent about the war and her childs role in it. Mothers of soldiers are portrayed as good mothers who sometimes also voice their attitudes about the war effort. The maternal attitudes ranged from complete support for the war to opposition to the war but support for the soldiers. The findings suggest a picture of wartime motherhood that is more nuanced than the historical image of the patriotic mother suggests.

The effect of labeling staged video on the credibility of TV news stories

This study examines the effect of labeling staged video on television news story credibility. The study found no significant difference between credibility scores for a labeled story and the same story without labels. However, the credibility score for a labeled story in a newscast containing a second labeled story was significantly lower than the score for the unlabeled version of the same story. Labeled stories did not significantly affect the credibility of other unlabeled stories in the same newscast.

The expression of localism: Local TV news coverage in the new video marketplace

The emergence of a new video marketplace raises questions about the commitment of local TV news organizations to the FCC localism doctrine. Local news coverage at ten Pennsylvania stations in 1992 was content analyzed and compared with 1976 data collected by Adams (1980). Results indicate that stations devoted more coverage to outlying market areas in 1992 than in 1976, but emphasized sensationalism/human interest stories at the expense of local public affairs issues.

THE WORLD WAR II PATRIOTIC MOTHER

The archetypal good mother and the archetypal patriotic mother are important symbols in American culture. Both are rooted in maternal work but are separated by two conflicting assumptions. The good mother nurtures her children and protects them from harm, while the patriotic wartime mother remains silent when the government sends her child directly into harms way. This study explores how the World War II press positioned mothers of soldiers to sacrifice their children in support of the nations war effort. The findings point to the importance of understanding the role of archetypes in news narratives.

Mother as Mother and Mother as Citizen: Mothers of Combat Soldiers on National Network News

This study examines national television news images of mothers of US combat soldiers during the first seven years of the Iraq War. News stories presented mothers as archetypal good mothers engaged in maternal work long after their children’s deployment. Some mothers were depicted as vocal vis-à-vis their position on the Iraq War, a contrast to the historical depiction of the archetypal patriotic mother who is stoic and silent. The resulting image is more complex, suggesting the boundaries of the archetype may be changing.

Loyalty, harm and duty: PBL in a media ethics course

Abstract Upper division public relations students, like their colleagues in other fields of communication, often prefer an in-depth study of moral issues related to their own area of interest rather than the more broadly-based survey of problems that is generally offered in mass media ethics courses. That preference poses a pedagogical question for the course instructor: How does one teach to the various areas of mass media in sufficient depth, without sacrificing breadth? This essay discusses a variation of problem-based learning (PBL) as one possible solution to that educational conundrum. A project developed by a group of public relations students using the PBL method provides the focus of the discussion.

Mobilizing Mother From Good Mother to Patriotic Mother in World War I

The American press played a key role in the Wilson administration’s effort to craft an image of the Patriotic Mother of the Great War. The Patriotic Mother of a soldier was encouraged to assume the mantle of the Spartan Mother. This monograph contrasts the Spartan Mother archetype used by the government and the press to another wartime maternal archetype, that of Thetis, the mother of Achilles, who objected to her son’s participation in the Trojan War. U.S. mothers of soldiers were socially and politically positioned to assume the role outlined by the Wilson administration and advocated by the news media.

Suppressing Allied Atrocity Stories: The Unwritten Clause of the World War II Censorship Code

Wartime journalists can be torn between loyalty to the ideal of truth and loyalty to their nation. During World War II, American journalists working in the Office of Censorship reached beyond the domestic self-censorship code to stop the publication of news of Allied atrocities. The press had agreed to suppress stories related to military security, but not to cover up military misconduct. The resulting conflict proved difficult for journalists and journalists working for the government to resolve.