How the Weekly Press Covers News of Local Government

Abstract

Fewer than half of the weekly newspapers reporting in a national survey give on-the-spot coverage to three key units of local government. Competition appears to be a significant factor in determining diligence. The author is an associate professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Oregon.

Theoretical and Practical Considerations in Operationalizing Newspaper and Television News Competition

“…Use of this measure has had mixed research results, with some studies finding little or no impact of competition (Bigman, 1948;Borstel, 1956;Busterna et al, 1991;McCombs, 1987McCombs, , 1988Nixon & Jones, 1956;Willoughby, 1955) and others finding an impact of competition on content (Candussi & Winter, 1988;Duncan, 1952;Everett & Everett, 1989;Hicks & Featherston, 1978;Lacy, 1987;Litman & Bridges, 1986;Sylvie, 1991;White & Andsager, 1990). The mixed results could have many explanations-the questionable assumptions mentioned earlier, variations in samples, variations in statistical procedures, and variations in the selection and measurement of dependent variables.…”

“…The simplest is a nominal variable based on the presence or absence of similar firms. This measure was used almost exclusively in early newspaper competition studies (Bigman, 1948;Borstel, 1956;Duncan, 1952;Grotta, 1971;Kearl, 1958;Nixon & Jones, 1956;Weaver & Mullins, 1975;Willoughby, 1955) and has been used for more recent studies as well (Busterna, Hansen, & Ward, 1991;Candussi & Winter, 1988;Entman, 1985;McCombs, 1987McCombs, , 1988. This measure assumes that any two firms in the same geographic market producing similar products would be acceptable substitutes for buyers.…”

A study of US online community journalists and their organizational characteristics and story generation routines

“…One theoretical challenge with this line of research is the diversity of labels applied by researchers. Rural, black, Hispanic, neighborhood, weekly, urban, country, rural, civilian, citizen, blog, hometown, underground, advocacy and dissident publications can be classified as community journalism publications (Byerly, 1961;Carpenter, 2008;Donahue et al, 1972;Duncan, 1952;Gladney, 1990;Hindman, 1998;Janowitz, 1952;Kessler, 1984;Lewes, 2000Lewes, , 2001Lowrey et al, 2011;Reader, 2006;Waisbord, 2009;Ward and Gaziano, 1976). In literature related to the study of online providers, these people have been referred to as participatory individuals, community journalists, citizen journalists, pro-ams, bloggers, non-profit journalists, alternative journalists, user-generated participants and producers (Bruns and Jacobs, 2006;Carpenter, 2010;Deuze et al, 2007;Friedland and Kim, 2009;Harcup, 2011;Lewis et al, 2010;Meadows, 2013;Nah, 2008;Reich, 2008;Robinson and DeShano, 2011;Singer, 2010).…”

A study of content diversity in online citizen journalism and online newspaper articles

“…Research conducted on alternative, neighborhood, weekly, urban, dissident and community-oriented publications can shed light on citizen journalism publications (Donahue et al, 1972;Duncan, 1952;Gladney, 1990;Hindman, 1998;Janowitz, 1952;Kessler, 1984;Reader, 2006;Ward and Gaziano, 1976). These types of publications can be categorized as 'smaller' publications.…”