What Missing the newspaper means

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What Missing the newspaper means

• By Bernard Berelson

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Introduction - author

• Bernard Berelson American behavioral scientist
• Major contributions in communication research,
  voting studies and population policy
• project director at the Columbia University
  Bureau of Applied Social Research (directed by
  P.F.Lazarsfeld)
• Co-author of The Peoples Choice (with PFL and
  Hazel Gaudet)
• Established the Center for Advanced Study in the
  Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, California
• Popularized behavioral sciences
• Author of Voting A Study of Opinion Formation in
  a Presidential Campaign (1954) based on Bureaus
  survey data from 1948 election
• 12 books, over 90 articles on social and
  behavioral sciences

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Introduction the strike

• Strike of deliverymen of 8 major NYC newspapers
• Started Saturday, June 30, 1945
• Lasted for 17 days
• 13 million newyorkers affected
• Only possibility to obtain newspaper was directly
  from the papers offices/temporary newsstands
• 3 surveys - Elmo Roper agency
• Fact Finders Associates, Inc.
• Bureau of Applied Social Research

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Methodology

• Roper/Fact finders extensive quantitative
  research, statistically unreliable
• Bureau qualitative data from 60 intensive
  interviews, sample stratified by rental areas in
  Manhattan (good status distribution,
  overeducated)
• Surface facts vs. What missing the newspaper
  REALLY means

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Role of newspaper what people say

• Difference between what people say and really do
• Serious vs. Nonserious information
• Remembering last weeks case
• General protestation of serious interest vs.
  Specific desires and practices in reading

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Uses of newspaper

• For information about and interpretation of
  public affairs
• As a tool for daily living
• For respite
• For social prestige
• For social contact

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The desirability of reading

• Nonconscious reasons to miss the newspaper
• Reading itself no matter what is pleasurably
  motivated in urban society
• Prestige component of reading (US culture)
• Reading provides basic satisfuction without
  primary regard to the content

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Another use of newspaper

• Ritualistic/near-compulsive character of
  newspaper time filler
• Most easily consumed source of reading
• Compulsive reasons to read the paper
• Feeling bad for not participating in war
• keeping the spirit up
• dont know what Im missing feeling

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Summary and conclusion

• Rational and non rational uses of newspaper
• Role of reading itself/ritualistic character of
  newspaper reading
• As a survey
• Good example of elaboration (going behind the
  obvious facts)
• Example of a qualitative research suitable as a
  base of a later quantitative survey

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References

• Berelson, B. What missing the newspaper means.
• http//www.archive.org/details/17DaysTh1945
• http//www.answers.com/topic/bernard-berelson