The History of the Arlington Citizen-Journal (open access)

The History of the Arlington Citizen-Journal

This study was conducted to detail the history of The Arlington Citizen-Journal newspaper and its editors and the effect of an active newspaper on the orderly growth of a town. The Arlington Citizen-Journal evolved from a merger of two Arlington weekly newspapers, The Arlington Journal and The Arlington Citizen, which for more than fifty years reported Arlington happenings. The study includes historical information about the city, its people, and its institutions, and direct quotations of both editorial comment and news reports of Arlington events and people. It was found that throughout the years of Arlington's rapid growth, The Citizen-Journal was a vital force behind its citizens.
Date: August 1977
Creator: Forehand, Phyllis Hargrave
System: The UNT Digital Library
History of the Plano Star-Courier, 1873-1973 (open access)

History of the Plano Star-Courier, 1873-1973

This study traces the history of the Plano Star-Courier. Information was obtained from newspaper files, interviews, and directories. The thesis is divided into six chapters: Chapter I introduces the study; Chapter II chronicles the founding of Plano and the first newspaper publications; Chapter III concerns consolidation of the newspapers in Plano; Chapter IV traces the changes in ownership; Chapter V describes the newspaper under family ownership and corporation ownership; Chapter VI summarizes the history, influence, and future of the Star-Courier. This thesis combines the history of the Plano Star- Courier and the previously unwritten history of the town. For 100 years, the Star-Courier reflected the attitudes, values, and needs of people in the community.
Date: August 1975
Creator: Garrett, Judy Whatley
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Interscholastic League Press Conference: A History, 1924-1980 (open access)

The Interscholastic League Press Conference: A History, 1924-1980

This study describes the development of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, its goals, intents, and membership growth from its inception through 1980. The current director and all available past directors of the organization were interviewed and the organization's records researched for insight into the history of the organization. This study concludes that the organization and its directors have influenced the development of high school journalism in the state of Texas through convention sessions, critiques, and judging of newspapers and yearbooks. The organization's founder, DeWitt Reddick, exerted a lifelong influence through his personal involvement and his influencce in the selection of six of his seven successors.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Komandosky, Susan White
System: The UNT Digital Library
The History of Underground Communication in Russia Since the Seventeenth Century (open access)

The History of Underground Communication in Russia Since the Seventeenth Century

The purposes of this study were (1) to identify the reasons for and the processes of underground communication in Russia since the seventeenth century and (2) to utilize the information to interpret the clandestine media's significance. The study concluded: (1) underground media have evolved because Russian governments have oppressed free speech; (2) dissidents have shared similarities in the methods of illicit communications; (3) whereas the earlier clandestine press tended to be either literary or political, today's samizdat is a synthesis of many varieties of dissent; (4) underground media have reflected the unique characteristics of Russian journalism; and (5) the Chronicle of Current Events is unparalleled as a news journal in the history of Russian dissent.
Date: August 1975
Creator: Rainbolt, William R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A History of Station WRR: Pioneer in Municipally Owned Radio (open access)

A History of Station WRR: Pioneer in Municipally Owned Radio

This study presents an overall history of WRR, the first municipally owned radio station and describes the problems it encountered by competing in a commercial Dallas market. The study marks the establishment of WRR in 1920 as a signal transmitter for the Dallas Fire Department, its transition to an entertainment station, the addition of WRR-FM, retirement of long-time Station Manager Durward J. Tucker, heavy financial losses, public complaints, format changes, and the sale of the station. A final chapter provides a summary and recommendations for further study, and concludes that WRR should have left the commercial market when its revenue and ratings began to decline.
Date: May 1978
Creator: Sachs, Robin Leslie
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Outdoor Times: A Readership Survey and History of a Specialized Weekly Newspaper (open access)

The Outdoor Times: A Readership Survey and History of a Specialized Weekly Newspaper

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.
Date: December 1973
Creator: Cameron, Randy Duval
System: The UNT Digital Library
A History of DALLAS Magazine and Its Changing Roles in the Dallas Chamber (open access)

A History of DALLAS Magazine and Its Changing Roles in the Dallas Chamber

This study explains the development of DALLAS magazine from its beginnings and changes in sixty-three years in content and format, departments, staff, and editorial policy. The study shows how DALLAS developed, reflecting the history of the City of Dallas' economic and business growth, and the Chamber of Commerce viewpoints since 1922. Concluding, the study reveals that the magazine projected the Dallas Chamber's viewpoints, that the magazine reported only positive images of the City of Dallas and its economy, that the magazine chronicled the changes in journalistic writing and graphic arts technology, that the magazine's audience remained the business leaders of the community, and that staff members progressively became better qualified for their positions.
Date: August 1986
Creator: Mahony, Linda MacDonald
System: The UNT Digital Library
Images of Eight Branches of Journalism Perceived by Journalism Students at North Texas State University (open access)

Images of Eight Branches of Journalism Perceived by Journalism Students at North Texas State University

The purpose of this study was to specify quantitatively the meanings and images of eight branches of journalism as perceived by a selected group of college students majoring in journalism. The problem of this study was to identify the locations of these meanings, using a semantic differential, as points in a three-dimensional semantic space consisting of evaluation, potency, and activity dimensions. The study was also designed to test two hypotheses. Hypothesis One was that there would be a significant difference between the male and female groups in their perception of the same concept about a journalism branch. Hypothesis Two was that there would be a significant difference between two concepts perceived by the members of the same sex group.
Date: August 1973
Creator: Choo, Kwang Yung
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Readership Survey of the Denton Record-Chronicle (open access)

A Readership Survey of the Denton Record-Chronicle

The purposes of this study were to determine the characteristics of the subscribers to the local community newspaper, to determine what the subscribers read most and what they read the least in the local publication, and to determine the role of the small newspaper within the metropolitan area.
Date: December 1973
Creator: Jones, Gregory Morgan
System: The UNT Digital Library
How Hitler Controlled the Press (open access)

How Hitler Controlled the Press

Adolf Hitler advocated total control of the press for many years before he was elected Führer. Almost immediately after he assumed power in 1932, Hitler began writing new laws and regulations that totally exorcised all freedoms from the German press. This study follows the path that Hitler took to control the German press from 1920 until the end of World War II. It utilized translations of documents and statements by men whom Hitler appointed to control the press and books written by experts in the fields of communications as well as men who prosecuted Nazi war criminals after World War II. The study found that the control of the press was indeed a very necessary ingredient in Hitler's climb to power and remained crucial during his reign as Führer.
Date: May 1982
Creator: McConal, Billy Jon
System: The UNT Digital Library

Women in Public Relations: Our Past, Present, and Future

Access: Use of this item is restricted to the UNT Community
Since abolition, women have used the media to bring attention to causes and injustices in society. Issues faced by these women are some of the same issues faced by women in public relations today and possibly the future. This paper is the history of the women of pre-professional public relations in relation to their use of the media to bring about change and communicate with an audience. It also discusses the evolution of the public relations profession as it pertains to the parallel issues that the women of the first wave faced in relation to the second wave, or professional era. The paper will then synthesize these two eras in public relations and discuss the future of women in the profession as seen by researchers and women practicing at this time.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Moore, Jaimee
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Descriptive Analysis of Causal Attribution in News Reports of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots in Three National Newspapers (open access)

A Descriptive Analysis of Causal Attribution in News Reports of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots in Three National Newspapers

A content analysis was conducted to determine the amount and type of causal explanation included in coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and The Christian Science Monitor. The data were analyzed to determine whether causal explanations were primarily societal or individual/situational. The primary purpose was to examine whether the press has altered its reporting techniques since the Kerner Commission report criticized the narrow, descriptive-based reporting of the 1960s riots. Study results indicate riot coverage was predominantly descriptive and similar in content to that detailed by the Kerner Commission. The most frequently cited cause was the triggering event, the Rodney King acquittal verdict.
Date: August 1993
Creator: Franks, J. Elizabeth
System: The UNT Digital Library
Killing Flies With a Shotgun: How the Internet Set a New Journalistic Standard and Style (open access)

Killing Flies With a Shotgun: How the Internet Set a New Journalistic Standard and Style

Today, both the way a story is told and how long the viewer's attention can be held are often as important as the story itself. This study shows how online media sets new standards for narrative and continues some print traditions. This study focuses on the dialogue between print and online media. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of this dialogue through story length, readability, shovelware and story packaging shows the numerous effects the Internet has had on news media content.
Date: August 2000
Creator: Maher, Kelly M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Nigerian Military Government and Press Freedom, 1966-79 (open access)

Nigerian Military Government and Press Freedom, 1966-79

The problem of this thesis is to examine the military-press relationship in Nigeria from 1966 to 1979 and to determine whether activities of the military government contributed to violation of press freedom by prior restraint, postpublication censorship and penalization. Newspaper and magazine articles related to this study were analyzed. Interviews with some journalists and military personnel were also conducted. Materials collected show that the military violated some aspects of press freedom, but in most cases, however, journalists were free to criticize government activities. The judiciary prevented the military from arbitrarily using its power against the press. The findings show that although the military occasionally attempted suppressing the press, there are few instances that prove that journalists were denied press freedom.
Date: May 1984
Creator: Agboaye, Ehikioya
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Evaluation of the Contributions of the "Wichita Falls Times" in the Development and Progress of Wichita Falls, Texas, from 1907 to 1976 (open access)

An Evaluation of the Contributions of the "Wichita Falls Times" in the Development and Progress of Wichita Falls, Texas, from 1907 to 1976

The purpose of this study was (1) to trace the contributions of the newspaper to the civic improvement and economic growth of Wichita Falls; (2) to trace the contributions of the publishers; and (3) to trace the development of the Wichita Falls Times from 1907, when it began as a daily, to 1976, when it sold to Harte-Hanks Communications Inc.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Zajac, Patricia
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Persuasive Power of Ridicule: A Critical Rhetorical Analysis of Gender and Humor in U.S. Sitcoms (open access)

The Persuasive Power of Ridicule: A Critical Rhetorical Analysis of Gender and Humor in U.S. Sitcoms

The serious investigation of humor's function in society is an emerging area of research in critical humor studies, a "negative" subsect of the extensive and "positive" research that assumes humor's goodness. Using Michael Billig's theory of ridicule as a framework, this study explored how humor operated to discipline characters who broke social norms or allowed characters to rebel against those norms. Layering this with gender performative theory, the study also investigated how different male and female characters used ridicule and were subject to it themselves. After examining ridicule in The Big Bang Theory, 2 Broke Girls, and The Odd Couple using a critical rhetorical analysis, the findings revealed that disciplinary ridicule was used more overtly throughout all three programs, while potentially rebellious ridicule emerged in only a few scenes. In addition, men were overwhelmingly the subjects of disciplinary ridicule, although women found themselves as subjects throughout all three programs as well. The discursive ridiculing of non-normative bodies constructed and maintained social norms about gender and sexuality, thereby uninviting these bodies from participating in society.
Date: May 2017
Creator: Waters, Leah E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
China's Propaganda in the United States During World War II (open access)

China's Propaganda in the United States During World War II

The study examined China's conduct of its most important overseas propaganda activities in the United States during World War II. The findings showed that the main characteristics of China's propaganda in the United States in the war years included, (a) official propaganda in the United States was operated by the Chinese News Service and its branch offices in several cities; (b) unofficial propaganda involved work by both Americans and Chinese, among them, missionaries, newspapermen, and businessmen who tried to help China for different reasons; (c) both China lobby and Red China lobby, changed people's image about China, either the Nationalists or the Communists; and (d) propaganda toward the overseas Chinese in the United States was to collect donations and stir up patriotism.
Date: August 1980
Creator: Tsang, Kuo-jen
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparative Analysis of Press Coverage of the 1974 Cyprus Crisis by the Turkish Newspaper, "Cumhuriyet," and the Greek Newspaper, "To Vima" (open access)

A Comparative Analysis of Press Coverage of the 1974 Cyprus Crisis by the Turkish Newspaper, "Cumhuriyet," and the Greek Newspaper, "To Vima"

This study is concerned with determining whether the Turkish newspaper, Cumhuriyet, and the Greek newspaper, To Vima, differed in their coverage of the 1974 Cyprus crisis, Issues of the newspapers covering the period, July 16-August 31, 1974, were examined, News items related to the crisis were categorized as hard news, soft news, editorials, and illustrations. Totals for each category were measured in column inches and converted to percentages of total available space in each newspaper, Categories were added to obtain total coverage of the crisis by each newspaper. This study concludes that Cumhuriyet devoted proportionately more coverage to the crisis than To Vima, in both total coverage and all news categories.
Date: December 1975
Creator: Pasadeos, Yorgo
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Content Analysis of Press Coverage of the 1975-1976 Lebanese Civil War by "The New York Times" and "The Times" of London (open access)

A Content Analysis of Press Coverage of the 1975-1976 Lebanese Civil War by "The New York Times" and "The Times" of London

This study was designed to determine (a) the extent of the coverage in total wordage; (b) the direction and intensity of the articles; and (c) the impression conveyed by each newspaper toward the two main parties of the war. The findings show that (a) The New York Times devoted nearly twice as many words to the war as The Times of London; (b) the majority of the articles were neutral; (c) The New York Times was more favorable to the leftists and was as favorable to the rightists as The Times of London; and (d) the two newspapers were consistent in direction, and all deviation from neutrality remained within the limits of mild intensity.
Date: May 1980
Creator: Husni, Samir A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Comparison of United States Network Television News Coverage of Sub-Sahara Africa Before and After the 1975-76 Angola Conflict (open access)

A Comparison of United States Network Television News Coverage of Sub-Sahara Africa Before and After the 1975-76 Angola Conflict

The proposition that American network television news coverage of sub-Sahara Africa increased substantially after the 1975-76 Angola conflict is examined in this study of the responsiveness of television to changing news values at the international level. News coverage for two thirty-month periods before and after the Angola conflict is compared using data derived from the Television News Index and Abstracts. The study finds that network news coverage of sub-Sahara Africa increased from 0.36 per cent of total news time before the Angola conflict to 4.46 per cent after, indicating that network news coverage is a reflection of the intensity of United States government activity at the international level.
Date: May 1981
Creator: Ilegbodu, Fred O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Foreign Influence on Newspapers in Kenya from 1900 to 1980 (open access)

A Study of Foreign Influence on Newspapers in Kenya from 1900 to 1980

This study gives an historical account of foreign ownership of newspapers in Kenya. Since the establishment of the first newspaper in the early 1900s, to the modern publication of daily newspapers in Kenya, the press has been dominated by foreign owners, writers and advertisers. Before independence from Britain, foreign domination was expressed by the total disregard of the African by the newspapers. After independence, foreign domination continued as the government, dedicated to the free enterprise capitalist system, has not made any substantial effort to nationalize already established newspaper companies. In 1977 the first African-owned newspaper, a weekly was established. Today, there is no African-owned daily newspaper. All indications are that only the modernizing process will result in African ownership and control of newspapers.
Date: August 1981
Creator: Okeniyi, Elizabeth Wako
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Textual Analysis of News Framing in the Sri Lankan Conflict (open access)

A Textual Analysis of News Framing in the Sri Lankan Conflict

The purpose of this study is to investigate how local and foreign newspapers used the war journalism and peace journalism frames when covering the Sri Lankan civil war, and to uncover subframes specific to the conflict. The first part of the thesis provides an in- depth literature review that addresses the history of the conflict and media freedom in Sri Lanka. The newspaper articles for the textual analysis were selected from mainstream Sri Lankan and U.S newspapers: the Daily News (a state sponsored newspaper) and Daily Mirror from Sri Lanka, and the New York Times and Washington Post from the U.S. A total of 185 articles were analyzed and categorized into war journalism and peace journalism. Next, subframes specific to the Sri Lankan conflict were identified. The overall coverage is dominated by the peace journalism frame, and the strongest war journalism frame is visible in local newspaper articles. Furthermore, two subframes specific to the Sri Lanka conflict were identified: war justification subframe and humanitarian crisis subframe. In conclusion, the study reveals that in the selected newspapers, the peace journalism frame dominated the coverage of the Sri Lankan civil war. All in all, while adding to the growing scholarship of media …
Date: December 2014
Creator: Ratnam, Cheran
System: The UNT Digital Library
Attitudes of Foreign Students at North Texas State University Toward American Advertising (open access)

Attitudes of Foreign Students at North Texas State University Toward American Advertising

The problem of this study was to determine whether any relationship existed between foreign students' cultural and economic backgrounds and their attitudes toward American advertising and advertising media. The major findings of this study were that foreign students had a slightly favorable attitude toward American advertising and spent a great deal of time with American mass media. The stage of economic development of foreign students' home countries and the length of time foreign students stayed in the United States were powerful group predictors of their attitudes toward American advertising.
Date: August 1980
Creator: Chung, O-Jeeru
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Democrat Years: A Growing Process (open access)

The Democrat Years: A Growing Process

Changes of ownership, a seeming lack of interest in history, several deaths, and a fire prompted this study into the history of The Weatherford Democrat. Data for the thesis came from back issues of The Democrat, Ayer Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals, letters from former publishers, and personal observations and experiences of the writer, who worked on the paper 14 years. All but about a dozen years of the back issues are available. The thesis is written in chronological order, dating from the beginning in 1895 to 1967, when the Donrey Media Group gained control, ending local ownership. The Democrat is the survivor of more than 20 newspaper ventures in the city and is still the principal county paper.
Date: August 1977
Creator: Vandagriff, Jon R.
System: The UNT Digital Library