Browsing by Subject "Newspaper"
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Item An analysis of the level of trust texas cotton producers place in the texas newspaper media: a qualitative determination of the behavioral characteristics of trust(2007-08) Foster, Jerod W.; Akers, Cynthia W.; Burris, Scott; Fraze, StevenNewspapers have long played a role in providing information to a wide-range of audiences. Newspapers offer a well-known mode of communication for a variety of issues. However, newspapers are sometimes looked upon as biased, liberal members of the mass communication industry. This issue has been a focus for researchers in the realm of agricultural communications, as well as members of the general public. Many efforts have been made in recent years to study the quality and quantity of the Texas newspaper media’s coverage of cotton and cotton-related issues. Before the creation of CottonLink, desired characteristics of a media resource guide were asked of Texas newspaper reporters. However, the cotton producer has had little opportunity to voice his/her opinion on the issue. This study sought to identify producers’ perspectives on trust for the Texas newspaper media, as well as determine those characteristics in which Texas cotton producers look for in other entities in order for them to enact that behavior in them. The research conducted was prefaced by the theoretical framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior, and an adaptation of the grounded theory method of data analysis was utilized for determining the findings of the study. Data collected include interview transcripts, a usability questionnaire, and a researcher perspective journal. Key findings of this research study include the identification of the characteristics that determine trust among Texas cotton producers. Producers also identified their level of trust for the Texas newspaper media, while also stating the low utilization of the newspaper information regarding cotton and related issues. Finally, producers recognized their perspectives of other institutional specific information entities such as magazines, extension service publications, and other cotton-related publications. The findings for this study also resulted in implications that affect the Texas newspaper media and their relationship with the Texas cotton industry. Recommendations focus on both the Texas newspaper media and the Texas cotton producers, as well as future research in agricultural communications.Item An examination of factors considered by the Texas print media on the use of a resource tool(Texas Tech University, 2005-12) Hein, Jessica M.; Akers, Cindy; Davis, Chad S.; Doerfert, DavidThis study sought to determine the impact the CottonLink media resource guide had on the increased coverage of cotton and means of improving industry-provided media resource guides. It also sought to identify newsgathering techniques used and identify the types of articles published and desired by members of the Texas print newspaper media. The population of Texas newspapers was stratified into four groups based on geographic location and publication of cotton-related articles from September 2004 to June 2005; eight participants were drawn from each population sub-set, resulting in a sample of 32. The researcher conducted interviews with participants, using a researcher-designed telephone survey instrument. A total of 26 participants were interviewed. The majority of participants did not recall receiving the CottonLink media resource guide. Participants said they primarily gather information for articles through personal interviews, Internet resources, and the Texas Cooperative Extension. Articles about boll weevils and cotton ginning were the most frequently cited cotton articles published by sample newspapers. Information on new technology or improvements in the cotton industry was cited as the most desired cotton topic for publication. The most frequently published agricultural articles by participants included news and feature articles written by staff writers, Texas Cooperative Extension information, weather information, and meeting and conference information. The most important general news topics to participants were local news and community events, local school news, and local government topics. The most important agricultural news topics included crop harvest articles, weather information, and livestock articles. The most common means of determining article newsworthiness is through topics’ interest and impact and proximity to readers. The most frequently cited means of determining story importance was interest and impact of articles’ topics, followed by attention-grabbing, proximity, and space available. Findings revealed that participants want source contact information and localized information included in media resource guides. The most desired format for information dissemination is though the Internet, press packets or binded copy, or e-mail. Participants said media resource guides were useful because they provide useful, hard-to-access information and story ideas. They also stated media resource guides were not used because of a lack of local information. A selected sample of newspapers chose not to publish cotton-related information said this decision was due to the fact that cotton is not a locally grown crop. Most participants whose newspapers did not publish cotton-related articles from September 2004 to June 2005 said access to resources may enhance publication rates. The most frequent suggestion to improve cotton news coverage was to localize information. Recommendations resulting from this study included suggestions for formatting and distributing media resource guides, providing editors with story ideas at strategic times of the year to increase coverage, providing local source training, and additional research regarding information sources, reporting behaviors, actual determination of newsworthiness, and journalists’ abilities to effectively communicate about the science of agriculture.Item An examination of factors considered by the Texas print media on the use of a resource tool(2005-12) Hein, Jessica M.; Akers, Cindy; Davis, Chad S.; Doerfert, DavidThis study sought to determine the impact the CottonLink media resource guide had on the increased coverage of cotton and means of improving industry-provided media resource guides. It also sought to identify newsgathering techniques used and identify the types of articles published and desired by members of the Texas print newspaper media. The population of Texas newspapers was stratified into four groups based on geographic location and publication of cotton-related articles from September 2004 to June 2005; eight participants were drawn from each population sub-set, resulting in a sample of 32. The researcher conducted interviews with participants, using a researcher-designed telephone survey instrument. A total of 26 participants were interviewed. The majority of participants did not recall receiving the CottonLink media resource guide. Participants said they primarily gather information for articles through personal interviews, Internet resources, and the Texas Cooperative Extension. Articles about boll weevils and cotton ginning were the most frequently cited cotton articles published by sample newspapers. Information on new technology or improvements in the cotton industry was cited as the most desired cotton topic for publication. The most frequently published agricultural articles by participants included news and feature articles written by staff writers, Texas Cooperative Extension information, weather information, and meeting and conference information. The most important general news topics to participants were local news and community events, local school news, and local government topics. The most important agricultural news topics included crop harvest articles, weather information, and livestock articles. The most common means of determining article newsworthiness is through topics’ interest and impact and proximity to readers. The most frequently cited means of determining story importance was interest and impact of articles’ topics, followed by attention-grabbing, proximity, and space available. Findings revealed that participants want source contact information and localized information included in media resource guides. The most desired format for information dissemination is though the Internet, press packets or binded copy, or e-mail. Participants said media resource guides were useful because they provide useful, hard-to-access information and story ideas. They also stated media resource guides were not used because of a lack of local information. A selected sample of newspapers chose not to publish cotton-related information said this decision was due to the fact that cotton is not a locally grown crop. Most participants whose newspapers did not publish cotton-related articles from September 2004 to June 2005 said access to resources may enhance publication rates. The most frequent suggestion to improve cotton news coverage was to localize information. Recommendations resulting from this study included suggestions for formatting and distributing media resource guides, providing editors with story ideas at strategic times of the year to increase coverage, providing local source training, and additional research regarding information sources, reporting behaviors, actual determination of newsworthiness, and journalists’ abilities to effectively communicate about the science of agriculture.Item An intercultural exploration of journalistic framing of immigration in the Mexican Press and United States press(2008-08) Madison, Thomas Phillip; Wilkinson, Kent; Chambers, Todd; Johnson, TomSince the mid-1990s, immigration through and from Mexico to the U.S. has increased. This has led to a good deal of controversy on the issue for all sectors of life, and is immediately apparent in newspaper reporting. In 2006, with proposed changes to federal immigration policy on the legislative table, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people took to the streets and protested these changes. For this study, a sample of 1028 newspaper articles dealing with immigrants and immigration was taken from both U.S. and Mexican newspapers between October, 2005 and September, 2006. The articles were analyzed for journalistic frame, tone, attitude toward immigrants and immigration, objectivity, and number and types of news sources used by the journalists. Several differences between U.S. and Mexican journalists’ coverage of the protests emerged, and were considered as part of the larger context of a year’s worth of reporting.Item Front-page gatekeeping and content trends in 15 large-circulation newspapers(2006-12) Schroeder, Jared C.; Watts, Liz; Chambers, ToddThis study examines the state of gatekeeping and news judgment practices among major daily newspapers in three regions by studying their front-page content offerings. Using a content analysis of the story selections of 15 newspapers (five in each region), the results within each region were compared to those of the others using a set of 12 story topic categories. The newspapers were compared individually and as a group to the findings of a massive Readership Institute study that outlined what readers stated they want from their daily newspapers. The 15 newspapers were chosen because of their circulation, all 15 are among the 30 largest in the country in weekday circulation, and geographic location. The study sought a diverse group of papers in terms of media ownership and most of the nation’s top media markets are represented. Gatekeeping practices are similar, with differences appearing when regional or readership-specific needs arise to change the weights given to different stories. The results also show that in the current newspaper and overall media environment, newspapers that focus their resources on what their readership most values, wants and needs to know, and are easy to navigate will have a chance to compete or at least hold their readership in years to come.Item How newspapers shaped the culture of golf in Austin, Texas : an historical analysis(2016-05) Farr, Jeffrey Robert; Todd, Jan; Ozyurtcu, TolgaThis study looks to answer the question as to whether or not newspaper coverage concerning a particular sport can influence the participation of that sport of an era. In order to answer this question, this study conducts an historical examination rooted in the process of content analysis to identify the impact that the Austin Statesman had on participation in golf between the years of 1958-1965 in Austin, Texas. A content analysis was conducted, trends were identified and themes emerged from the body of literature that conclude that the writers and editors of the Statesman were an influencing factor on the citizens of Austin in relation to their motivation to participate in golf.Item Transforming the news: the impact of leadership and organizational fctors on the adoption and use of interactive elements on newspaper web sites(Texas Tech University, 2008-08) Boyle, Kristoffer Dee; Johnson, Thomas; Reddick, Randy; Payne, Tyge; Chambers, Todd; Fontenot, MariaThis study examined the influence of transformational leadership behavior and organizational factors on the adoption and use of interactive elements on newspaper Web sites. An online survey was administered to 99 online and managing editors at newspapers across the United States, measuring their perceptions of their leadership, the innovativeness of their newsrooms, and other areas related to the newspaper Web sites. Based on the responses to the survey, a content analysis of participating newspaper Web sites was conducted to compare the actual adoption and use interactive tools with the feedback from the editors. The findings revealed that transformational leadership was not a significant predictor of the level of interactivity on the Web sites. Instead, newspaper circulation predicted the amount of interactive content, which is consistent with previous research. Additionally, the editors reported a low level of innovativeness within their newsrooms. Innovativeness is a moderator of transformational leadership, so this low level can be used to explain the lack of transformational leadership in the newsroom. Finally, ownership status was not a significant predictor of the amount of interactivity on the Web sites. They may be producing different types of interactive elements, but they don’t necessarily produce different amounts. Based on these results, it was concluded that transformational leadership could and should used more by editors in an effort to improve their online products.