How Readers' Letters May Influence Editors and News Emphasis: A Content Analysis of 10 Newspapers, 1948-1 978

By David Pritchard and Dan Berkowitz

Several studies have documented that there is often little connection between reality and press attention-for example, a "crime wave" is as likely to reflect press atten- tion as actual crime. Using information from a large gov- ernment-gathered database, and cross-lagged partial cor- relations, this study finds some evidence that letters to the newspaper do influence some editors to write about cer- tain issues and also some newspapers to emphasize par- ticular topics in the news. This was true of six of the 10 papers for which data could be used. But there was little evidence that editorials influenced news topics, or vice versa.

>Crime news has been shown to influence levels of citizen concern about crime as a political issue,' as well as the extent to which people fear crime.* In addition, the action agendas of policy makers and prose- cutors can be influenced by media attention to crime.'

Because crime news can have such effects, it is important to under- stand why the press covers crime as it does. Theories of news content suggest a variety of explanations for why commercial news media pay considerable attention to crime.' However, such theories are less suc- cessful at accounting for relatively short-term variations in press atten- tion to crime.

This study addresses the issue of short-term variation by exploring links between the prominence of crime in published letters to newspa- pers and the prominence of crime in portions of the newspapers written by journalists. Specifically, the study examines relationships between the level of attention to crime in letters to the editor, on the front pages and in editorials of 10 American newspapers from 1948 to 1978. Crime is an ideal topic for the study because it was a staple of newspaper cover- age throughout that period.

Background We know, in general, why the press focuses on some crimes rather

than others: basically, journalists tend to accord higher news value to

>David Pritchard is Associate Professor of Journalism at Indiana University and Dan Berkowitz is Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa. This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Justice The authors thank Lec Recker and Kathy Rogers for hclpful commcnts.

Vol. 68, No. 3 (Fall 1991) 388

How Readers'ktten May Influence Editors and News Emphasis 389 violent crimes that fall outside of their stereotypes of typical crimes? However, no one has proposed an adequate explanation for expansions and contractions in the amount of attention a news organization devotes to crime over relatively short periods of time.

One possible explanation for short-term fluctuations is that the level of actual crime in a community predicts the level of crime in the press and that when the level of crime changes, the amount of attention the press devotes to crime changes. Research testing this news-as-reflec- tion-of-reality hypothesis with respect to crime news, however, has shown that the level of crime in a community, as measured by official crime statistics, is unrelated to the level of press attention to crime in the community!

Other theories of news content fare little better. The level of press attention to crime can fluctuate even though media routines, newsroom socialition processes and dominant ideology - all of which have been identified a s factors that may influence news content7-remain constant. Crime reporters rely heavily on law enforcement sources, who may occasionally try to manipulate the press into publishing more or less than usual about crime. Manipulation by sources may contribute to media depictions of 'crime waves," but such crime waves are by defini- tion fairly rare.' They cannot account for the frequent fluctuations in the proportion of their newsholes newspapers devote to crime.

Shoemaker's integrated theory of news content predicts that com- mercial media (those that rely on audiences and advertising for fund- ing, such as the newspapers in this study) should be especially respon- sive to shifts in audience interestsg The mechanisms by which the shifts in audience interests might be translated into changes in content over the short term are not at all clear, however. Although journalists generally have access to audience research, they know little of their mass audiences.1° Indeed, although public opinion about the importance of crime as a social problem fluctuates over periods as short as several

1. Michad Bruce M r K u m socipl Communication d the Man6 P o k y &end&' in Michael Bruce M r K u e n d Steven h e Coornba, M o n 7 h a N m Media P o w in IL6liC&.%im (Bwedy IBUh Glit: Sage, 1981), pp. 17-14; Kim A. Smith, 'Nnrspaper Covenge m d Public Concan obout Canmurily Issuer A EmeSeries Myah: Jovndisl M a o q m # c , 101 (1987).

2 M r y HolLnd Baker, Bahra C. Niensrcdt. Rauld S. Everett and Ridurd Mccleary, I h e Impact of a Crime Wave: Pare- Fear, snd Conhdarce in the Policqs Lmp and Socidy R w h . 17319335 (1983); Linda Heath, ?he Imput of Nersp.pa Gime Reports on Fear of Crime: A Multimethodologiul Investigation'Jmmd dPmmality and SociOrhydokY, 4 7 m m (W).

3. I& H~OPR The Legislation of Crime and Delinquency: A Review of Rmry, Method. and R e s e p c h ' h u and Socub Review, 143603628 (1980); Fay h u Cook. Tom R. Tyler, Edward C. Goetz, Margaret T. Gordon, David P r o w Dauu R Ldf md Hvvey L. Molotch. 'Media and AgmdPSetLing: Effects on the Public, Intereat Group Leaders. P o 9 Maken. usd Policy: M l i c Opinion Quarfrrb, 471635 (1983); David Pritchard. 'Hmicide and h?&'ained Ju8bcr l l ~ e &end&SeUing Effect of Crime New8 on Rossutws,' A*lK Opmbn Ouorldy, W143-159 (1956); David Aitchnrd. Ion Paul Dilta and Dm Berltowik, 'Rossutora' Use of External &endas in P r o m t i n g Pormeraphy C. seq 'Joundia O U o r l ~ , 643!32398 (19e7).

4. F a m integration of varicus theories of new8 c o n t m see Panda J. Shoemaker. 'Building a ?heory of News CUIW A Spthe ia of Current Approrhes,'/ovndia M o r ~ j h , 103 (1987). For a specilc focus on aime new5 -,Stanley Cohen snd Jock You% @da), 7lu MorJocbrn 4 Nevx socid Robku DeIMmu, and the M a s Media, m s e d d. (London: C o d e , 1981). and Robert E Dmhsd. News Ma&& h the Trid CmtN N e w Yo&: Longman, 1983).

5. Dori. A. Graber, Crime Nels and the IL6lic (New Yo& Praegcr, 1980); Bob Roshier, I h e Sdection of Crime New by the Rer: in Cohen and Young, op. cil.. pp. 4051; Dm'd Ritchard. 'Race. Homicide d Newspapas,' Jarnorisl c?wrldy, ~5o0501(1985).

6. Mark Rahmus 'Crime Waves as Ideology,' SociaI Robk, 25531543 (1978); Baker el. d., op. dl.; John W. W ~ I X I I U U ~ , J d u Seitcr and L. Thomas Winkc . 'Crime News in the Louisiana Press, 1980 vs. 1985,'Jandia Ouorfdy, 677278 (1990).

I . shoemaker, op. dl. 8. Fiatunan *. cil; Baka eld.. Ob. cil. . . 9. Shoemaka. op. cil, p. 25. 10. Jeremy Tunstall. ]arm& d W a t (Bevsly HBk, Wit: Sage, 1971). Iierbert J. Canti, &riding whl's Nems

(New Yalr: Rvdom House. 1979). pp. 2~241.

390 JOURNALISM QUARTERLY months, public opinion about crime does not predict levels of press attention to crime."

Journalists may not know much about their mass audiences, but they do know about the concerns of certain segments of that audience. Family, friends and newsroom colleagues -reporters' personal acquaintances, in other words - may be important reference groups for crime reporters.u Most of the audience, however, is made up of pee ple whom the crime reporter does not know. Tunstall's study of special- ist correspondents (a category that included crime reporters) noted that reporters' "most regular experience of members of the general audience is from their letter^."'^

Accordingly, if Shoemaker is correct (that commercial media respond to the interests of their audiences) and if Tunstall is correct (that much of what journalists know about their audiences comes from letters), then the themes expressed in letters to news organizations may well be reflected in subsequent news coverage. Letters may be one of the few means by which journalists can learn what is on the minds of audience members. Letters may not be perfect reflections of audience opinion, but in the absence of better information, they may help journal- ists orient themselves to the concerns of readers.

Specifically, then, the Shoemakerflunstall approach suggests the fol- lowing hypothesis: that the level of attention to crime in letters to the editor of a newspaper will predict subsequent levels of attention to crime on the newspaper's front page and in its editorials. The hypothe- sized relationships should be positive; greater attention to crime in let- ters should be followed by greater attention to crime on front pages and in editorials.

Relatively little scholarly attention has been devoted to letters to the editor. We do know that virtually all daily newspapers in North America devote a substantial amount of space to editorials and letters to the edi- tor" and that the editorials and letters are widely read.ls In fact, letters to the editor are among the items in a newspaper in which readers are most likely to say they are "very interested."16

Studies of letters to the editor have reached different conclusions on whether letters are accurate representations of public opinion. Grey and Brown were skeptical;17 Hill, however, found a close relationship between opinions expressed in letters and public opinion generally.u Letters on some topics, including crime, have a better chance of being published than do letters on other topics,m but editors generally do not discriminate against letters that oppose their newspapers' positions."

Scholars have tended to conclude that the themes portrayed in let-

11. MacKuen, op. cif; Smith. @. cil. 12 Ithiel de Soh Pod and Inwin Shulman, 'Newsmen's Fantasieq Audiares. and h'ewswriting.' IL6k Opinion

ouOrfntV.zJ:145159 (1958). 13.funMU,op.cif.,p.252. 14. h e s t C. Hyndq 'Editorials, opinion P w e s StiU Have Vital Roles at Most Newspapa-s,']mnalirn Oumfedy,

6 1 M 9 fl964). 15. Led Bogart, t f m a d FWlic: Mo Reads Who/. When. Men. and My in American Newspapen. 2nd ed.

16. B o ~ R ~ , op. cif.. p. 301. 17. David L Cry and Trevor R Brow. 'Letters to the Editor H a y Redstiorm of Public Opinion.' joundirr,

Ouorferfy, 47450453.471 (1970). 18. David B. HiU. Zmer Opinion on ERk A Test of the Newspaps Bias Hypolhesiq' M l L Opinion Oumkdy,

19. P a h Comrt R d o . 'Bias in Selstion of I.&ters to Fditor.'jmndJirn Oumlrrt): 562.22.826 (1979). 20. W Dnis and Cden Rarick. Tunctions of Editorials and I&rm to the Editor.']ounolkm Oumfndy, 41:106109

(HiUzdde. NJ.: Lawence FAbaum. 1939).

45386392 owl).

(1964); Hill, op. cif.

How Readen’Letten May Influence Editors and N e w Emphasis 391

ters to the editor reflect the issues that have been dealt with on the front page or in editorials or both,” though no study has subjected the presumed relationship to a rigorous test. Such conclusions implicitly assume not only that letter writing members of the audience are passive until inspired by news content but also that journalists are unaffected by letters to the editor.

This study’s hypothesis (that the content of letters influences the content of news and editorials) makes no such assumption. Rather, it focuses directly on the relationship between the level of attention to crime in letters and the level of attention to crime in portions of the newspaper produced by journalists.

Data and Measures The data analyzed in this study were gathered in the late 1970s and

early 1980s under the auspices of the Governmental Responses to Crime project, which was funded by the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. From the mountains of data generated by the project, we focused on information about atten- tion to crime on the front page, in editorials and in letters to the editor in randomly selected issues of certain metropolitan newspapers from 1948 to 1978, inclusive. In all, we analyzed data from 3,614 issues of 10 newspapers from eight cities.” Because we were interested in time-series analysis of the content of

individual newspapers, we needed a relatively large number of consecu- tive time periods for which we had data about a given newspaper’s attention to crime. We created 93 four month intervals Uanuary through April, May through August, and September through December of each year) from the start of 1948 to the end of 1978. We included in this study only newspapers for which there was usable data in at least 60 consecutive four-month intervals.

This selection criterion resulted in 10 newspapers suitable for analy- sis: the Atlanta Journal, the Boston Globe, the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Post, t h e Indianapolis Star, t he Minneapolis Star , t he Minneapolis Tri’bune, the Oakland Tribune, the Philadelphia Bulletin and the San Jose Mercury. Greater detail about the newspapers can be found in Table 1.

We measured the level of a newspaper’s attention to crime on the front page, on the editorial page and in the letters to the editor column in each four-month interval by computing the proportion of all items that dealt with crime. Crime was defined a s any local, state or national item dealing with incidents of crime, criminal prosecutions, criminal jus- tice personnel, legislation related to crime, general crime news and investigative reports of criminal activity.

For each of the 10 newspapers, then, we had measures of the level of attention to crime on the front page, in editorials and in letters to the editor. The measures were simple proportions: the number of items (e.g., front-page stories, editorials or letters) pertaining to crime for

21. Dabis d Rsrick. 09. cif; Grey md Brown, on. cif; Wl. Romanow, WD. Soderlund, RH. WaaRlban and ED. B d a , ‘LetIen to the Editor in a Canadian Federal Election: Hard News, Editors’ Cues. and Renders’ Views.’ NnarP4Pn Ram& Journal. SQS7.68 (1935); &hard V. &son, Rbicia M. BMnek and Janet B. Chvs Ntgolidiw? C a l d : A SbrgdNnaSmrma (Toronto: WveniIyofToronto Reas, 1989). Z. Gmrsl inlamarion about the data colleCtion is in Herbert Jxob and Robert L. Umberr y @As.), Gwmnabl

RcrpmcO lo Cnar: Criru 01 Urbam Apndm (Washington D.C.: US. Deprtment of Justice, 1982).

392 JOURNALISM QUARTERLY each four-month interval divided by the total number of items.

Because a correlation between two contemporaneous measures of content would reveal little about the direction of the relationship, we examined the effect of previous content on subsequent content. We test- ed the strength of relationships with lagged partial correlations. For example, we examined the effect of front-page attention to crime on attention to crime in letters by correlating front-page attention to crime during interval (t-1) with attention to crime in letters during interval (t), controlling for the attention to crime in editorials during interval (t-1). This strategy minimizes the possibility that an observed relationship will be spurious.p The significance levels of the partial correlations were based on the number of intervals for which there was data about a given newspaper, minus one (because every correlation related mea- sures from two consecutive intervals). The maximum =nn upon which the correlations are based, accordingly, is 92.

Table 1 Newspapers in the Study, Years Covered by the Data,

and Number of Issues of Each Newspaper Included in the Study intervals number

of issues coded

Atlanta Journal 194877 375 Boston Gbbe 195878 234 Houston Chronicle 194878 300 Houston Post 194878 31 8 Indianapolis Star 1951-78 335 Minneapolis Star 194878 315 Minneapolis Tribune 194878 345 Oakland Tribune 194878 s 2 Philadelphia Bulletin 194878 329 San Jose Mercury 195u74 501

We analyzed each newspaper separately because the Shoemakerflunstall approach suggests a relationship between individ- ual news organizations and their audiences. We did not assume that the patterns of relationships between letters, front pages and editorials would be uniform from one newspaper to another, even within the same community.

Our analysis strategy provided a stringent test of the relationships between letters, front pages and editorials. The analysis would detect only those patterns of influence that endured over periods as long as 31 years.

Results The results, shown in Table 2, reveal moderate support for this

study’s hypothesis, which predicted that attention to crime in letters would be positively related to attention to crime on the front page and in editorials in the subsequent time period. At six of the 10 newspapers under study, the hypothesis was supported for either the front page or editorials or both.

Specifically, attention to crime in letters was a significant predictor of

23. We did not incorporate m y exogenous vuirbleq such as flucuatiom m local crime rates OT public opinion. into Ihe analysis, becpuse -h h9 h n d Uut they are umelptad (0 h w the MWI~ media coyer aime (ace &dies ciccd in notes 1 d 6).

How Readers' k t t e r s May Influence Editors and News Emphasis 393 subsequent attention to crime in editorials at four newspapers: the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Post, the Indianapolis Star, the Oakland Tribune. Letters influenced subsequent attention to crime on the front page of three newspapers: the Houston Chronicle, the Minneapolis Star, and the San Jose Mercury.

Table 2 Relationships Among Attention to Crime in Letters to the Editor,

Editorials, and Front-Page Stories

Newspaper (number of intervals)

Atlanta Journal 6-88) Boston Glob (n-62) Houston Chronicle 6-92) Houston Post (11-92) Indianapolis Stur (n-83) Minneapolis Star (11-92) Minneapolis Tribune (11-92) Oakland Tribune (n-92) F'h iladel ph ia Bulletin (11-92) San Jose Mercury (11-74)

Letters & subsequent editorials

-.01

.09

2844

.17'

.22'

.15

.06

.26*'

-.03

.05

Letters & subsequent front pages

:07

-.01

.18'

.07

.06

.21

.ll

.oo

:02

.24*

Front pages & subsequent

letters

-.07

.09

.la4

.15

.11

.06

.27**

.284*

.03

.27"

Editorials & subsequent

lcttcrs

.14

.38'+f

-.02

.05

-.02

.16

.oo

.05

.03

-.03

Coefficicnts are frstardcr partial correlations, controlling for the content element (front pages or editorials) not named in a column hcading. *-p c.05 t4- p <.01

pcool ttt-

At two newspapers with the hypothesized relationship between let- ters and subsequent editorials (the Houston Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune) and at two with the hypothesized relationship between letters and subsequent front page content (the Houston Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury), the results also showed a statistically significant relationship between front-page content and subsequent letters. Such results sug- gest the possibility of more complex interplays of influence than hypoth- esized.

At four of the 10 newspapers under study (the Atlanta Journal, the

394 JOURNALISM QUARTERLY Boston Globe, the Minneapolis Tribune, and the Philadelphia Bulletin), there was no support for this study’s hypothesis.

Our analysis scheme also enabled us to examine links between edito- rials and stories, a relationship that might be of interest to those who suspect that the agenda of newspaper management (which might be expected to be expressed in editorials) may be reflected on the front page.

The results (not shown in Table 2). however, offer no general s u p port for that conclusion, nor for any links between front-page attention to crime and attention to crime in editorials at all. At only one of the 10 papers in the study - the Minneapolis Star - was attention to crime in editorials significantly related to subsequent attention to crime on the front page. Front-page attention to crime was related to subsequent attention to crime in editorials only at the San Jose Mercury. At least with respect to the issue of crime, accordingly, there seems to be no support for the news management notion.

Although the political environments within which individual newspa- pers function are best measured at the community level, our findings suggest that the patterns of influence under study here can differ from newspaper to newspaper within the same community. In Houston, for example, letters in the Chronicle influenced subsequent editorials and front pages, and the front page in turn influenced letters. At the rival Houston Post, however, only one link was significant: letters influenced editorials. In Minneapolis, letters and editorials influenced subsequent front pages of the Star; at the Minneapolis Tribune, however, the front page influenced subsequent letters.

Overall, there was no uniform pattern of influence among the news- papers; however, neither were the results random. Of the 40 possible relationships involving letters in Table 2, 12 were statistically s igns- cant. Chance would predict only two of 40 such relationships would be significant at the .05 level. Another indication that the correlations are not the result of chance is the fact that all 12 significant relationships were positive. One would expect half of a set of chance relationships to be negative.

Discussion This study’s results suggest that letters to the editor are more impor-

tant in understanding the content of front pages and of editorials than had previously been realized. The level of attention to crime in letters predicted attention to crime in editorials of four newspapers and atten- tion to crime on the front page of three. These findings are consistent with the notion that, in the absence of a more valid indicator, newspaper journalists may tend to take cues about reader concerns from letters to the editor.

Letters were not significant influences at all of the newspapers under study, but their influence was sufficiently common that future research into the determinants of editorials and front-page news should consider the possible effect of letters to the editor.

Most previous research has assumed that letters respond to front- page topics. Our study found some evidence of that pattern of influence, though it was far from global. In only four of the newspapers was atten- tion to crime on the front page a significant predictor of attention to

How Readers’Letters May Influence Editors and News Emphasis 395 crime in letters.

Editorials responded to letters at four newspapers, to the front page at only one. This finding suggests that editorial writers might be more oriented to the flow of topics on their page, where the letters appear, than on the hont page.

Although this study was designed to uncover only those patterns of influence that had endured over periods as long a s 31 years, patterns of influence with shorter life spans are certainly possible. Future research should examine shorter time periods. The shorter the time period under study, the greater the stability of newsroom personnel and of newsroom culture generally. Research strategies based on newsroom observation and in-depth interviewing would be well-suited to uncover- ing patterns of influence in contemporary news organhtions.

Our decision to measure content within four-month intervals was based principally on what the data would enable. Research using short- er o r longer intervals might produce different results. Similarly, research using an issue other than crime might produce different results, especially in light of evidence suggesting that letters dealing with crime have a better chance of being published than do letters on other topics?‘

The most important finding of this study is that the amount of atten- tion to crime in editorials and on the hont page cannot be fully under- stood without reference to letters to the editor. Shoemaker and Tunstall are at least partially right: the journalists who decide the content of edi- torials and the kont page seem in many cases to be influenced by their perceptions of the concerns of a highly interested segment of the audi- ence - the people who write letters to the editor.

24. M O . @. ci l .