The Effect of the Gorbachev Era (1985-1991) on Newsweek's Photo Coverage and Image of the Soviet Union
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-1993 The Effect of the Gorbachev Era (1985-1991) on Newsweek's Photo Coverage and Image of the Soviet Union Ruth Winchester Ware University of Tennessee, Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Ware, Ruth Winchester, "The Effect of the Gorbachev Era (1985-1991) on Newsweek's Photo Coverage and Image of the Soviet Union. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1993. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/3635 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Ruth Winchester Ware entitled "The Effect of the Gorbachev Era (1985-1991) on Newsweek's Photo Coverage and Image of the Soviet Union." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Communication. Paul Ashdown, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Ed Caudill, Robert Heller, Robert Peterson, Norman Swan Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Ruth Winchester Ware entitled "The Effect of the Gorbachev Era (1985-1991) on Newsweek's Photo Coverage and Image of the Soviet Union." I have examined the final copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Communications. Dr. Paul Ashdown, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and reco nd its Accepted for the Council: - Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of The Graduate School THE EFFECf OF THE GORBACHEV ERA (1985-1991) ON NEWSWEEK'S PHOTO COVERAGE AND IMAGE OF THE SOVIET UNION A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Ruth Winchester Ware May 1993 Copyright (C) RUlli WINCHESTER WARE, 1993 All rights reserved 11 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my daughter, Judith Anne Ware, who is beginning her Ph.D. studies just as I complete mine. May we both be successful communicators, Judith in French and me in photography. lll ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the course of the dissertation research, a number of persons assisted me generously. In particular I am indebted to Professors Paul Ashdown, Ed Caudill, Robert Heller, and Norman Swan in the College of Communications, and to Professor Robert Peterson in the Department of Political Science, who served as my dissertation director and committee respectively. Thanks to Professor Don Fiene in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages for making trips to the former Soviet Union available to me and others. My two trips to the Soviet Union inspired my scholarly interests and my photography. Thanks to Professor William Fierman, currently at Indiana University in Bloomington, for his assistance and encouragement in the initial stages of the dissertation. Thanks to Jane Morgan Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Journalism at Middle Tennessee State University, for assisting with the coding. Thanks to Mike Hylton for sharing his computer expertise. Thanks to Constance Milbourne Ph.D., Research Analyst, Leo Burnett, U.S.A, for sharing her computer and statistical expertise. I am especially indebted to Guy Cooper, picture editor of NEWSWEEK, and his staff for their invaluable assistance. A special thanks to Philip Ware for his constancy. iv ABSTRACI' This study examined 729 photos and cutlines published in NEWSWEEK's International Section that depicted events that occurred in the Soviet Union during the Gorbachev Era (1985-91). The period saw change in Soviet domestic affairs (especially glasnost) and foreign relations (especially New Political Thinking or NPT) that cumulatively led to the end of the Cold War. NEWSWEEK coverage of the Gorbachev Era was compared to NEWSWEEK coverage of the Chernenko interlude (February 1984-February.1985) in order to have a base line for comparison. NEWSWEEK increased its coverage of the Soviet Union during the Gorbachev Era. There were more editions, photos, and cutlines that depicted the era. A more diverse mix of content was covered. An increase occurred in content that prior to glasnost was considered taboo. NEWSWEEK depicted the Soviet Union in a more positive way in terms of Slant, Image, and Overall Image. International relations were depicted positively, Gorbachev and his spouse were depicted positively, but domestic turmoil was depicted negatively. NEWSWEEK had many gatekeepers. Photojournalists were important gatekeepers. Photos and cutlines were important conveyors of content and image. It was more difficult to measure latent content of photos than manifest content. v TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCI'ION Purpose of the Study................ ........................................ I Overview of the Study•...••........•...................................... 6 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Images of Nations........................ ....................................8 News Photos................................... ................................. 18 Soviet Domestic .Affairs.................•........ ......................27 Soviet Foreign..Aff airs............................. ......................45 ill. GATEKEEPING THEORIES Deciding What's News....................... .......... ..................60 Theories Applied.................................... .........................65 IV. METHOD Overvi.ew••••.••••••••.••••.••••••••••• •••.•....•.•••..•••••.•••.••....•••..•...•••.68 Problem Statement................... ......................................69 Goals of the Smdy................... ....................................... 70 Definition of Terms........... , ............................................71 Questions.................................. ........................................ 76 Hypoth.eses.......................•........... .................................... 77 vi Content An.alysis Design.................................................. 82 Sam.pling.....................•......... ............•................................. 83 Procedures....... ................................................................... 84 Ca:tegories......................•........... ......................................... 85 Coder Reliabilicy.......................... .....•..•............................ 86 Validicy................................................•............. .................. 87 Measurement............................ ......................................... 88 Statistics..................................... ......................................... 88 V. RESULTS Procedures................................ ..........................................91 Findings of Content Analysis.......................................... 92 Findings of Questionnaires................ ............................ 120 VI. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS Overview of the Study ............................... ..... ............. ... l36 Data Interpretation ......................................................... 138 Other Validity' Issues ...................................................... 149 Umitations...................................... .................................. 151 lm.age........................................ ......................................... 153 Future Research .............................................................. 157 Conclusions................................... .................................... 159 BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIXES vii A 1 List of the Universe Frame.................... ............ 197 A2 Coding Instructions........ ........................................200 A3 Coding Format........................................................ 204 A 4 Coding Sheet ..........................................................21 0 AS Frequency Table (Clarity).................................... 21 2 A6 Frequency Table (Photos by Year).................... 213 A 7 Frequency Table (Locale) ....................................21 4 AS Frequency Table (Overall Image ) ......................215 A9 Frequency Table (Agreement)........ .................... 216 A 10 Frequency Table (Photos) .•............................... .217 A 11 Frequency Table (Source) .................................. 218 A12 NEWSWEEK Correspondence.......................... 219 VITA viii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 5.1 Percentage of Editions during the Gorbachev Era (1985-91)..... ........................................................................................................ 93 5.2 Percentage of Photos during the Gorbachev Era (1985- 91).. ................................................. �············································································95 5.3 Percentage of Editions during the Gorbachev Era (1985- 91) in Comparison to the Chemenko interlude (1984) ...................................