The public relations administration of newspaper publicity for newsworthy students by the fifteen Arizona community/junior colleges : a comparative study

Abstract

This study is a content and bias analysis of local newspaper coverage of newsworthy students attending Arizona's fifteen community colleges. The publicity which these college students receive is examined from two viewpoints, newspaper stories written by both college public relations practitioners and by newspaper staff reporters. The stories are rated for bias by two panels of professional journalists; one panel is composed of media employees and the other by public relations practitioners. A comparison is made between the amount of copy printed about newsworthy students and about seven other categories of collegiate news. The student category is divided into nine sub-categories for more definitive analysis. Methodology for the study consists of two questionnaires, a content analysis of newspaper coverage during Fall Semester 1975, and a bias rating of a sample of those stories by two panels of professional jurors. From the first questionnaire, professional and operational data about the state's fifteen community college public relations directors are assimilated for purposed of comparison, contrast, and analysis of common problems. On the second questionnaire, certain data and perceptions by the directors are compared with matching responses received from the fifteen newspaper editors who principally receive news releases from the college public relations directors. While the two panels of raters did not always find the stories to be objective, there was not enough significance to disqualify the null hypothesis that the releases would be unbiased. However, media employees did rate the stories slightly higher in bias than did the practitioners..