Tony Atwater

Product Differentiation in Local TV News

b Local television newscasts contribute daily to the total information pool of a community. They do so by presenting both common and diverse news items to local viewers within a given broadcast market. Previous research on local television news has focused heavily on “similarity” or “commonality” of news values and news treatment. This perspective has been used to help explain and predict electronic news judgment.’ Few studies have analyzed news judgment on the basis of the “unique” or non-duplicated stories aired by competing stations within a broadcast market. By establishing the table of assignments described in the Sixth Annual Report and Order, the FCC determined that a system of broadcast outlets based on local service was preferable to a system of powerful regional stations providing broad public access.* The “localism” doctrine adopted by the Commission is based on the assumption that the larger the number of stations serving a community, the greater the probability that citizens will be exposed to a broad diversity of information, issues and viewpoints.

Consonance in local television news

News reporting in three markets was studied to explore consonance in local television news. As more local television stations cover national news, the concept of consonance has assumed increased importance for broadcast news consumers. Consonance theory suggests that similar media messages transmitted across different media channels may influence public opinion and promote consensus. This study found consonance to be extensive in local television newscasts in three midwest cities.

Competition and the Allocation of Resources for Local Television News

This study applies “financial commitment” theory to local television news, exploring how competition affects the allocation of financial resources. It found that as competition intensified, television stations increased their expenditures for news, apparently as a means of product differentiation and increasing quality.

Cost and competition in the adoption of satellite news gathering technology

This study finds that many local stations subscribe to satellite news networks to obtain material for news broadcasts but that the high cost of satellite news gathering vehicles stops most from obtaining such vehicles. The study also finds that intensity of competition in the local market is a primary reason for acquiring such equipment.

News Sources in Network Coverage of International Terrorism.

Relatively little attention in the literature on media and terrorism has been devoted to examining sources televised in network coverage of terrorist incidents. To provide empirical evidence on how network news personalizes coverage of international terrorism, we made a content analysis of network evening news coverage of the TWA hijacking of June 1985. A sound bite is a term commonly used in broadcasting to denote a “portion of a statement or interview that is broadcast in a radio or TV news story.”l This study was among the first to use the “sound bite” as the unit of analysis in investigating network coverage of international terrorism. Previous studies by Altheidez and Atwater’ have analyzed network evening news coverage of the Iranian Hostage Crisis and the TWA Hostage Crisis. Network news accounts of these crises were observed to be extensive, reactive and dramatic.

News format in network evening news coverage of the TWA hijacking

This study reported findings of a comprehensive content analysis of network coverage of the TWA hijacking. The evidence suggested that consonance in network news coverage of the event extended beyond message content to the level of the news format. Consonance was observed in the networks’ news production practices, use of news time, types of stories broadcast and sources televised.

Race Relations in Ebony: An Analysis of Interracial Statements in Selected Feature Stories

The tense racial climate in America during the civil rights movement was the subject of constant media attention during the 1960s. Race relations were often portrayed and characterized as tenuous. To what extent (if any) did media accounts influence perceptions about race relations during this chapter of American history? Unfortunately, this question and the broader issue that it poses have not been addressed very often in the mass communication literature. However, social scientists have investigated and compared media use of Black and White Americans (Greenberg & Dervin, 1970). Additionally, researchers have examined the roles played by media (frequently television) in portraying racial minorities and in presenting racial stereotypes (Roberts, 1970). Lippmann (1922) was among the first social scientists to note the potential of media to influence human tendencies to reduce perceptions into convenient categories facilitating easy recognition. He referred to this process as stereotyping. Later studies on the impact of media in cultivation and socialization lend support to the notion that mass media potentially influence perceptions about race relations (Gerbner, 1973). To systematically investigate this proposition, a multifaceted research design could be employed to generate data on media content, media consumption, and attitudes relative to race relations.

Terrorism on the Evening News: An Analysis of Coverage of the TWA Hostage Crisis on "NBC Nightly News.".

Abstract Earlier studies on network coverage of terrorism have shown that the networks devote extensive coverage to hostage crises. Further, the networks tend to emphasize the same topics while depicting them in similar ways. These trends have contributed to growing concerns that the networks may be granting legitimacy to terrorist grievances while television journalists willingly or unwillingly become participants in the news event. The purpose of the study was to investigate the nature of news coverage devoted to the TWA hostage crisis on “NBC Nightly News.” A central objective was to investigate the emphasis which the broadcasts devoted to the crisis throughout the 17‐day ordeal. Specific research questions addressed by the study included (1) What percentage of news time did “NBC Nightly News” devote to the crisis? (2) What topics did the news broadcasts emphasize in their crisis coverage? (3) What types of stories and formats did hostage reports frequently involve? and (4) What types of sources were i...

Editorial Policy of "Ebony" Before and After the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The civil rights era of the 1960s shook the American conscience. Accompanying the racial conflict of this period was a revolutionary growth in black consciousnessfrom a state of self-pity to a state of self-pride. Expansion of the black middle class resulted in what some historians have called a black “mass culture.” The black press of the 1960s mirrored this phenomenon. One publication, in particular, was aimed at raising black consciousness in America. Ebony mirrored the development of the black community; its drawing cards were “success” and “black pride.” Ebony’s coverage of civil rights issues during the 1960s constitutes the subject of this paper. The magazine’s editorial content was studied to compare Ebony’s editorial policy in the two years before and the two years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The research focused on two central issues: I ) Did Ebony’s editorial content reflect greater emphasis on civil rights issues after adoption of the Civil Rights Act of 19w? 2) Did Ebony serve as an advocate during the civil rights era of the 1960s? ’ Paul M . Hirsch.’AnAnalyriad Eh:hony:lhe Magwineand 11s Readers.” JOIJRNAI.tSM QIJARlFRt Y. 453292 (Summer IYhX).

News time allocation in network crisis coverage: The case of TWA flight 847

Abstract This study examines the network news coverage of the TWA hijacking of June 1985 with the objective of identifying possible network differences through a more rigorous analysis of network performance than found in earlier studies. The analysis focuses on news time allocation and network performance at several stages of the event to determine possible differences in topical emphasis. A total of 491 hostage stories broadcast on ABC, CBS, and NBCs evening news programs are content‐analyzed. The percentages of news hole time devoted to the crisis coverage are compared across networks on a day‐by‐day and on a stage‐by‐stage basis. One major finding is that the networks exhibited homogeneous news treatment in that they allocated similar percentage of news hole time to each of the five topic categories either by day or by stage. An analysis of topical emphasis suggests that the networks emphasized a domestic angle in covering an international crisis.