The problem of this study was an audience analysis of the weekly newspaper Outdoor Times, a Dallas based publication, by conducting a readership survey of randomly selected subscribers. The study also contains a brief history of the Outdoor Times, tracing its development since its inception to the present. The purposes of this study were (1) to examine the characteristics of a specialized, regional publication, the Outdoor Times, (2) to determine some characteristics of subscribers to the Outdoor Times, (3) to determine some reasons why readers subscribe to the Outdoor Times, (4) to examine subscribers' likes and dislikes concerning the Outdoor Times.

This work demonstrates the importance of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in stirring sectional awareness and tension in Texas. It also analyzes the continuing impact of the measure on Texas politics and public opinion from 1854 until secession in 1861. Texas newspapers of the 1850s were the principal source for this study, supplemented by historical journals and other works. Organized chronologically and topically, this study traces Texans' attitudes and opinions concerning the extension-of-slavery controversy from their showing little interest in the issue prior to 1854 to their demand for secession in 1861. Texans considered slavery inseparable from their prosperity and welfare. Their determination to preserve it caused them to become a part of the disastrous secession movement.