Mary Jackson Pitts, Ph.D.

mpitts@astate.edu

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Here is an example of a developing theoretical paper.  You will find a statement of the problem and an outline of the potential paper.   The actual paper is found in the link indicating paper example

Download a word file of this outline

  Statement of the problem          

            Some speculate local television stations, not the major networks, will soon be deciding what the audience knows about national and international news.    What this means is there is a new set of players in the news business.  The players are local reporters, news producers, photographers and the rest of the local news staff.  They have become players because of the changing economics in the broadcast industry and the introduction of new technology that allow them to gather news from most anywhere in the world.

           An examination of the building of the local media agenda will be addressed in this study.  A review of pertinent literature will be used to theorize about these emerging players and how the agenda building process of the media will influence coverage of national and international news.

Outline

A) The changing broadcast equation (Local stations -             Networks =)  JQ58:628 ADAMs

     a-1. neuman and pool prediction in their article

`                       media industry survey p. pm26

          broadcasting mar 2 1992

                 Reagan behind Soloski article page 887.

            1) Local stations go national and international

        1-a. changing channels p 26-30

           Korzenny, Toro Gaudino page 73

         bogart page 576 

                        bullion page 1

                        global new flow discussion page 131 Tunstall

          international perspective page 121,126

B) History of agenda setting

            1) definition---mccomb and shaw(1972)  cohen               richard..in summer or fall paper

                        coom review year vol2 page 210-211,219

                        comm year 11 p 565.. What is an agenda? p 567              p 569. p 572  page 579 ,

                        comm14 page 343

                        Behr and Yengar p 38

                        iyengar mcyr4 p80-82 definition

                        becker myrc3 age 530

                        B and Z page 4-5 ,13

                        a. categories of agenda setting  comm year 11                           p 556   p 570

                                    1. public agenda  year book 11  p 558

                                                a. significant findings

                                                Eaton pg 943, 946

                                                   tipton haney baseheart page                                     20,22

                                                Weaver coomm8 page 682-687

                    Weave r myrc3 page 538,547,551

                                    2. policy agenda  year book 11  p 559

                                                a. significant findings

                                                Gormley page 305-306, 308

                                                            weaver myrc3 page 545

                                                altheide page 482-3

                    gaziano page 591

                                                 comments about gulf war.  

                                    3. media agenda   year book 11  p 557

                                       comm14 page310,311, 313, 343

                                       stuff from summer papers.                          

                                                a. significant findings  page                                                    576:11...non agenda setting

                       Weaver and Elliot page 88

                                                b. page 580 comm11

                       schema article.

                                                   wanta, stephenson, turk ,                                                     mccombs p 537

                                     Whitney and Becker mcyr13 page                                                     409

                 b>             lessons learned page 579  comm11

                                                                          comm 14:p354

                             comm year review vol2 page 225,228-                                    9 Chaim H Eyal.   page 231

               Whitney and Becker mcyr13 page 411.

                                    becker mcyr3 page 533

                                    altheide page 487

C) Media agenda page 582 comm11

                                     comm14page 352.

                                     comm year review vol2 page 219 DeGeorge                                              p.221

                                    tan page 325

            1. Economics 

                        a.Networks relinquish power to affiliates                        comm14 page 324 

                        b.Ownership as media agenda setters

             page 316-317, 319, 321, 331-332, 344 comm14,                Soloski page 868

                        Dreier page 439-43 in mcyr13,  this stuff      should be looked at in tv with relationship to   

             group ownership ,445

                        from summer paper

                        c.Changing economics changes local media                 coverage area  Changning CHannels                                    Brassfield and abbott page 855.

                          berkowitz page 249 spring 1991,

                          dominick page 471

                                    chang etal page 399       

                        d.Ramification for national and foreign

                                    news coverage  

                                    Larson book..under representation of                                     international news 

                                    Unesco report mcry3 page 209

                                    page 576 comm11 

                                     page 318,  comm14

                                     Atwater behind smith article page 467

                Korenzky page 75,84-86

                                     tan 78-79

                                     altheide page 479.

                        2. Technology page 875, rreagan beyond             soloski article.... berkowitz spring 1991,                page 249.

                        a. Increased coveragecomm14329- 331,

                           smith 99-102  cleland and ostroff, 1988                              berowitz 1991 p246

                        b. Ramification for national and foreign news                     covers  comm14 page 351 

                                    Lee myrc3 page 321

                                    schiller page 283 myrc3

            3. Sources  page 40 behr and yengar page 45,51,53

                              Wanta etal page 338

                                    Weaver amd Elliott page 86        

                        a. Policy agenda affect on media agenda

              nord JQ 58:574

                            iyengar mcyr4 page 84

                 page 600 comm11 p 559 , 582-583, 611

                           Weaver and elliott page 91,94

                            Wanta etal p 537, 541

                        b. Sources as media agenda setters  Gans

              the book source     

                        page 610            comm11 

                        612..... comm14 351, p314, 316, 322,324-327,                                         333,

                                                Soloski page 866,869,870

                                      Berkowitz JQpage 510-511,513

                                    stuff from summer papers.

                                      Abbott and Brassfield page 856

                                      kanervo and kanervo page 308-309

                        Tardy etal page 626 JQ 58

                                    1. Events comm14 330,

                                                SOloski page 867-868,

                                                Harmon Articles

                                                atwater job33:302

                                                weimann and hans bernd brosius                                                     p337-348

                                       Government,

                                                behr and iyengar page 48,52,                                           SOloski page,

                                         Shepherd pg 135,137....

                                                Weaver and Elliott [age 86                                             van slyk turk

                    kanervo and kanervo page312-313

                                                paper from summer

                                         Tardy etal page 625  JQ vol 58

                                                chang sheomaker brendlinger page                                                 399-400,403

                                       Foreign Government

                                                reporters under fire.

                                                lee page 324 myrc3

                                                nnaemeka etal page 99,110

                      2. Ramification for national and foreign

                                       news coverage  page 609 comm11,                                        comm14 p349

                    Weaver and Elliot page 93

                                                kanervo and kanervo page 311,                                             313,314

                    fejes page 350 myrc3

                      tan page318-319

                    chang etal page 403-406,408,410

                    bogart page 571

                     nnaemeka page 125,127

Significance of the topic

            This study is significant because it ties the concept of the development of the media agenda to international and national news.  How local media in the future report international and national news will affect many who rely on television as their main source of national and international news.

Relevance of the topic to this course

            This study is relevant to this course because it examines mass communication gatekeepers (television news organizations),  how the organizations' agendas of coverage are developed (the process) and what that will mean for the public (the effect).

            Because it is obvious that media influence what the audience thinks about,  this study will look at what influences what local television stations think about.  Ramifications for national and international news coverage by local television stations will then be considered as society turns into more of a Global Village.

Representative list of references

Maxwell E. McCombs and Donald L. Shaw,  (1972).  The             agenda setting function of Mass Media.  Public   Opinion Quarterly 36: 176-87.

Bachrach, P., & Baratz M. (1962). Two faces of power,             American Political Science Review, 56, 948-970.

Brown, J., Bybee, C., Wearden, S., & Straughan, D.             (1987).  Invisible Power: Newspaper News Sources             and the Limits of Diversity. Journalism Quarterly,             64, 45-54. 

Defluer, m., & Ball-Rokeach, S. (1989).  Theories of             mass communication. (5th ed). New York: Longman.

Dimmick, J.,  Coit, P. (1982).  Levels of analysis in             mass media decision making.  Communication             Research, 9, 3-32.

Gandy, O. (1982) Beyond agenda setting: Information             subsidies and public policy. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Gieber. W. (1960). Two communicators of the news:  A             study of theories of sources and reporters. Social             Forces, 39, 76-83. 

Lasora, D. L. , & Reese, S.D. (1990).  News source uses             in the crash of 1987.  Journalism Quarterly, 67,             60-71.

Rogers, E.M., & Dearing J.W. (1988)  Agenda-setting             research:  Where has it been, where is it going?

            In J.A. Anderson (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 11

            (pp. 555-594).  Newbury Park, CA: Sage             Publications.

Iyengar, S. (1988). New directions of agenda setting             research.  In J.A. Anderson (Ed.), Communication             Yearbook 11 (pp. 595-602).  Newbury Park, CA: Sage             Publications.

Swanson, D. L.  (1988).  Feeling the elephant: Some             observations on agenda setting research. In J.A.             Anderson (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 11 (pp.       603-            619).  Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Edelstein, A.S. (1988).  Communication perspectives in             public opinion: Traditions and innovations.  In             J.A. Anderson (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 11             (pp. 502-533).  Newbury Park, CA: Sage             Publications.

Reese, S. D. (1991).  Setting the media's agenda: A             power balance perspective.  In  J. A. Anderson             (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 14 (pp. 309-340).              Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Berkowitz, D. (1987).  TV news sources and news             channels: A study in agenda building.  Journalism             Quarterly, 64, 508-513.

Wantz, W., Stephenson, M.A. VanSlyke Turk, J, McCOmbs,             M.E. (1989).  How president's station of union             talk influenced news media agendas.  Journalism             Quarterly, 66, 537-541.

Atwood, L.E., Bullion, S.J., & Murphy, S.M. (Eds.). (1982).  International perspectives on news.             Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University             Press.

Atwater, T. (1989).  News format in network evening             news coverage of the TWA hijacking.  Journal of             Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 33, 293-304.

Larson, J.F. (1983).  Television's Window on the World:              International Affairs Coverage on the U.S.             Networks.  Norwood, NJ: Ablex.