Keywords
Newspaper content, Ownership, Speculation
Abstract
This study began with the question of whether the press is conveying messages that contain speculation of future events as opposed to the recounting of current events. Speculative language is a form of subjective speech and as such its presence in press content defies the journalist principle of objectivity. The analysis sought to identify two newspaper's use of speculative language within headlines in the news sections. Two other variables considered were article placement, and the ownership structure of the news organizations. Previous research supports the claim that the ownership structure of an organization can influence the content it publishes (Lacy, 1986). With this in mind, the study attempted to determine if these variables have an affect on the nature or frequency of speculative language in news content. The researcher explored the question of speculative language in the press by analyzing headlines from the A (Main) and Local sections from two Florida newspapers, the corporately owned Orlando Sentinel and the independent St. Petersburg Times. The researcher chose to study headlines because they convey the newsworthiness of the story and former research confirms that reader perceptions of a news account can depend on the headline (Pfau, 1995; Tannenbaum, 1953). The aim was to comparatively study the news headlines through quantitative content analysis of the language used.
Notes
If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu
Graduation Date
2005
Semester
Summer
Advisor
Costain, Gene
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Nicholson School of Communication
Degree Program
Communication
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
CFE0000718
URL
http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0000718
Language
English
Release Date
January 2006
Length of Campus-only Access
None
Access Status
Masters Thesis (Open Access)
STARS Citation
Hudock, Lindsay, "News Or Speculation? A Comparative Content Analysis Of Headlines And The Prevalence Of Speculative Language In Corporate And Independently Owned Newspapers" (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 451.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/451