Università della Svizzera italiana

Do journalists' opinions affect news selection in a low-key conflict? : Newspaper coverage of the discussion of smoking bans in Switzerland

Schulz, Peter J. ; Hartung, Uwe ; Fiordelli, Maddalena

In: Journalism and mass communication quarterly, 2012, vol. 89, no. 3, p. 414-430

This quantitative content analysis applies the theory of instrumental actualization to Swiss newspaper coverage of smoking bans in public places. The theory holds that journalists' opinions affect news selection; it is studied here for the weighting and evaluation of arguments in news stories. The editorial stance of newspapers was related to the weighting of argumentative fields and the...