Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

5-1992

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Communication

Major Professor

James A. Crook

Committee Members

George A. Everett, Patricia F. Freeland, Michael W. Singletary, Dorothy A. Bowles

Abstract

A review of scholarly research and anecdotal evidence indicate that the media have paid scant attention to the the federal appellate courts. In an attempt to improve access to information about those courts, three U.S. Courts of Appeals during 1989 and 1990 began making their decisions available via online computer. This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to measure the impact of one of the online systems and to gather information about the overall quantity and quality of press coverage of the intermediate federal appellate courts. The process included a content analysis of six metropolitan daily newspapers and the Associated Press coverage of these courts six months before and six months after the introduction of the 6th Circuit's online system. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with journalists who covered courts within the 6th Circuit to leam their views about the media's appellate court coverage. The analysis indicated that there were quantitative differences between stories originating from the jurisdiction with online access and stories originating from jurisdictions without online access capability, but the differences were no greater than would occur by chance. Similarly, differences in the amount of coverage were found to exist among newspapers contrasted on demographic and economic characteristics, but the differences were not statistically significant. Analysis indicated that newspaper and Associated Press coverage, as a proportion of cases decided on the merits, was limited. Of the 21,006 cases decided on the merits by the numbered courts of appeals in fiscal year 1990, only one-half of one percent were covered by the news service. The six newspapers, on average, covered approximately one-tenth of of one percent of the cases during the same time period. More than half of the Associated Press stories included six of the eight items identified in the study as measures of quality coverage. In contrast, only four of the eight measures of quality coverage were identified in more than half of the newspapers' stories. Observations of interviewed journalists suggest that a shared notion of newsworthiness and a reliance on Associated Press accounts may explain, in part, the limited attention the media give to the courts. All of the reporters expressed the view that press coverage of the federal appellate courts could be improved. As barriers to adequate press coverage of the courts, most of the journalists cited their newspaper's lack of proximity to the city where the court was based and an opinion that readers lacked interest in appellate court actions.

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