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This study of newspaper and television coverage in the 1988 Democratic primaries before Michael Dukakis established himself as the front-runner suggests that the media covered this election differently than they did earlier ones that featured a clear leader. For instance, all those actively campaigning for the presidency in 1988 received relatively equal amounts of coverage and the nominal leader, Dukakis, enjoyed favorable coverage throughout the race.

How the media covered the horse race changed during the course of the 1988 presidential primaries. A content analysis of newspaper and network coverage revealed that the press initially focused on general indicators of candidate strength, then concentrated on event-specific horse-race measures. After the New Hampshire primary, coverage began to center on the candidates' general momentum in the campaign. Also, different measures of horse-race coverage provided different perceptions of how each candidate was performing in the primaries. Finally, while the newspapers' coverage differed from the networks', there were few differences within each medium.

A survey of journalism school graduates compares attitudes toward Iran/Contra of those working in the media and those employed outside the media. Media personnel were more likely to criticize Iran/Contra coverage, but were also more likely to defend reporters against charges that the media covered the event unfairly. Both groups said the media treated President Ronald Reagan fairly, but both groups also criticized reporters for not delving more deeply into the case. Ideology and support for Reagan, however, were the strongest predictors of opinion regarding media performance and Reagan's behavior in Iran/Contra.

This study examined the degree to which visitors to Al-Jazeera's English-language website support broadcasters presenting graphic and war-related imagery in comparison to users of Al-Jazeera's Arabic-language website. The authors found that users of the Al-Jazeera English-language website overwhelmingly supported the network's decision to run graphic images and claimed the network contained valuable information missing from Western competitors, such as CNN, and national Arab media. Those who relied on the English-language website and who were strong supporters of press freedom were more likely to support Al-Jazeera's decision to run graphic images, but these correlations disappeared after controlling for demographic variables.

Studies suggest that US reporters, who enjoy the protection of the First Amendment, are strong supporters of freedom of the press. However, studies also suggest that the press rarely challenges the positions of government elites, unless those elites do not agree on a course of action. What happens when attitudes toward free press and government policy collide? This study relies on a survey of embedded journalists conducted soon after the conviction of Al-Jazeera's most prominent reporter, Taysir Alouni, on charges that he collaborated with terrorist organizations. The survey was designed to discover whether embeds believe the arrest sets a dangerous precedent. The study also examines the degree to which attitudes about whether the arrest sets a dangerous precedent are correlated with attitudes about press freedom and amount of censorship in Iraq. Respondents were more likely than not to believe that the arrest would set a dangerous precedent, but the plurality did not take a position on the issue. Those who believed reporters should have maximum access to the war and those who believed that the government engaged in censorship were more likely to argue that Alouni's arrest may have a chilling effect on journalism.

This study employed an online survey of 249 politically interested Internet users during the 2004 national Assembly election in South Korea to examine if reliance on online news media for political news and information influences political attitudes after controlling for demographics and use of the traditional media. Reliance on independent Web-based newspapers appeared to be a stronger predictor than traditional media and their online counterparts. Based on the findings, a media power shift in Korea was discussed.(Asian J Commun/NIAS)

A survey of embedded journalists suggests an overall positive perception of embedded reporting. While most embeds agreed their reports provided a narrow slice of the conflict, they still had a positive view of their work. Respondents also noted their stories differed from the stories of non-embedded journalists and perceived both types of reporting as invaluable. Further, embeds' attitudes towards the war, age, professional experience, and online reporting were correlated with perceived performance.