Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (86Th, Kansas
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 481 268 CS 512 493 TITLE Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (86th, Kansas City, Missouri, July 30-August 2, 2003) . Radio-Television Journalism Division. PUB DATE 2003-07-00 NOTE 319p.; For other sections of these proceedings, see CS 512 480-498. PUB TYPE Collected Works Proceedings (021) Reports Research (143) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC13 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Athletics; Audience Analysis; Broadcast Journalism; *Broadcast Television; Civil Rights; Gender Issues; Higher Education; Job Satisfaction; *Journalism Education; Mass Media Effects; *Media Coverage; Memory; *Presidential Campaigns (United States); *Radio IDENTIFIERS Deregulation; Federal Communications Commission; Journalists; *Local News; Television News ABSTRACT The Radio-Television Journalism Division of the proceedings contains the following 11 papers: "In Whose Best Interest? FCC Deregulation and Local News: How Cross-Ownership, National Caps, and Duopolies Are Addressed in Three Commissioned Studies" (Laura K. Smith); "Remembering the News: The Effect of Chronological Presentation of Information on Memory for Broadcast News" (Mark Kelley); "Job Satisfaction of Newsmagazine Correspondents Compared to Regular News Correspondents" (Cindy J. Price); "'It Looks Like a Fun Job!': An Examination of Media Exposure and the Cultivation of Perceptions about a Broadcast Journalism Career" (Laura M. Trendle Polus); "Sex, Drugs, and TV News: When a Reporter Is Arrested" (Mary Blue and Nancy McKenzie Dupont); "It's in the Visuals!: Journalists and Gender Issues in Television Network News Coverage of the 1996 U.S. Presidential Election" (Kimmerly S. Piper-Aiken); "Civil Liberties and Mobilization Information in Press Coverage of the USA PATRIOT Act" (Jessica Matthews); "The Effects of Preferred Radio Format on Listeners' Attention, Retention, and Loyalty" (Thomas W. Smee, Jessica Matthews, Amanda Rotondo, and Craig Stark); "Race and Gender: An Analysis of the Sources and Reporters in the Networks' Coverage of the Year 2000 Presidential Campaign" (Geri Alumit Zeldes and Frederick Fico); "The Changing Role of Sports in Local Television News" (Brad Schultz); and "Increasing Candidate-Centered Televised Discourse: Evaluating Local News Coverage of Campaign 2000" (Stephen J. Farnsworth and S. Robert Lichter) . (RS) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication 86th, Kansas City, MO July 30-August 2, 2003 Radio-Television Journalism Division In Whose Best Interest? FCC Deregulation and Local News: How Cross-Ownership, National Caps, and Duopolies are Addressed in Three Commissioned Studies...Laura K. Smith Remembering the News: The Effect of Chronological Presentation of Information on Memory for Broadcast News...Mark Kelley Job Satisfaction of Newsmagazine Correspondents Compared to Regular News Correspondents...Cindy J. Price "It Looks Like a Fun Job!" An Examination of Media Exposure and the Cultivation of Perceptions about a Broadcast Journalism Career...Laura M. Trend le Polus Sex, Drugs, and TV News: When a Reporter is Arrested...Mary Blue, Nancy McKenzie Dupont It's in the Visuals! Journalists and Gender Issues in Television Network News Coverage of the 1996 U.S. Presidential Election...Kimmerly S. Piper-Aiken Civil Liberties and Mobilization Information in Press Coverage of the USA PATRIOT Act...Jessica Mathews The Effects of Preferred Radio Format on Listeners' Attention, Retention, and Loyalty...Thomas W. Smee, Jessica Mathews, Amanda Rotondo, Craig Stark Race and Gender: An Analysis of the Sources and Reporters in the Networks' Coverage of the Year 2000 Presidential Campaign...Geri Alunit Zeldes, Frederick Fico The Changing Role of Sports in Local Television News...Brad Schultz, Mary Lou Sheffer Increasing Candidate-Centered Televised Discourse: Evaluating Local News Coverage of Campaign 2000...Stephen J. Farnsworth, S. Robert Lichter PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS Office of Educational Research and improvement BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Points of view or opinions stated in this 1 document do not necessarily represent 2 official OERI position or policy. EST COPY AVMABLE IN WHOSE BEST INTEREST? FCC DEREGULATION AND LOCAL NEWS: How Cross-Ownership, National Caps, and Duopolies are addressed in Three Commissioned Studies By Laura K. Smith Ph.D. Student University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism [email protected] 7122 Wood Hollow Drive #64 Austin, TX 78731 (512) 794-2921 Research Paper Presented August 1, 2003 AEJMC Kansas City, MO Radio-Television Journalism Division IN WHOSE BEST INTEREST? FCC Deregulation & Local News: How Cross-Ownership, National Caps, and Duopolies are addressed in Three Commissioned Studies On December 3, 2002, Jonathan Adelstein was sworn in as a member of the Federal Communication Commission. His appointment brought the five-person panel to full membership for the first time in more than a year (Shields, 2002). The 40-year-old Democrat joined the Commission at a critical moment in U.S. media history. The FCC's third Biennial Regulatory Review of Broadcast Ownership Rules is currently underway. Launched in September 2002, the review marked "the beginning of the most comprehensive look at media ownership regulation ever undertaken by the FCC" ("FCC Initiates," 2002). According to the FCC, "the objective of this proceeding is to develop ownership rules and policies that are reflective of the current media marketplace, are based on empirical evidence, and are analytically consistent" ("FCC Initiates"). By way of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress mandates that the FCC review the nation's broadcast ownership rules every other year. At issue is whether the policies remain necessary to protect the public interest or whether evolving market forces (e.g., competition and technological advancements) eliminate the need for such regulation. Last September, the FCC announced it would review all six media ownership rules related to use of the broadcast spectrum.2 The rules include: Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-Ownership Prohibition (1975) Local Radio Ownership (1941) Radio/TV Cross-Ownership Restriction (1970) Dual Television Network Rule (1946) National TV Ownership (1941) Local TV Multiple Ownership (1964) Half of these rules have been in place for more than 60 years. In light of recent legislative and judicial actions, the political landscape, and a fast-changing media market, the commission is reconsidering the need for restrictions (Fox v. FCC, 2002; Sinclair v. FCC, 2002, 1996 Telecommunications Act). The following paper examines the information upon which the FCC will rely to make its decision. The majority of this information comes in the form of twelve empirical studies, commissioned by the FCC's Media Ownership Working Group (MOWG) and released to the public this fall for review and comment. Conducted by researchers in academia as well as staff members within the FCC, the studies are designed to examine "the media marketplace and improve the FCC's knowledge base and ability to Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. LA. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (1996). 2 The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on September 23, 2002 (MM Docket No. 02-277). 2 I IN WHOSE BEST INTEREST? FCC Deregulation & Local News: How Cross-Ownership, National Caps, and Duopolies are addressed in Three Commissioned Studies make informed media policy decisions" ("FCC Releases," 2002). According to Chairman Michael Powell, "it is critical that the FCC has a solid factual base to support its media ownership rules" ("FCC Releases," 2002). Of all the media resources available to the public, research shows Americans rely most heavily on local television for news and current affairs ("Consumer Survey," 2002). According to Nielsen Media Research, more than 92 percent of Americans have tuned in to local news in the past week to collect information, more than newspapers (79 percent), radio (68 percent), the Internet (34 percent) or magazines (20 percent). Given the significant role of local television in the lives and interests of the American public, this author analyzes research contained in the FCC studies as it pertains to local television newslooking closely at the evidence which Chairman Powell says will drive the FCC's upcoming decisions ("FCC Chairman," 2002). THE DECISION-MAKING CLIMATE: SOME HISTORICAL CONTEXT Before analyzing the relevant studies, it is important to understand the current judicial, legislative, and political climate in which the FCC's decisions will be made. Several congressional and court decisions are affecting the nature of the FCC's current examination. Deregulatory Trends: For nearly two decades, media policy in the United States has moved steadily towards deregulation. The trend began in 1984 with the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in FCC v. League of Women Voters.3 At issue, in part, was the FCC's Fairness Doctrine (which became law in 1949). Based on the concept that the public airwaves are a scarce resource, the doctrine required broadcasters to offer balanced coverage of controversial issues in