An evaluation of content analysis as a qualitative indicator of sensationalism in newspapers
Samenvatting
As a means to measure the value of content analysis as a qualitative indicator for the sensationality of papers, the coverage of a famous court case (the case of Hans van Z.) by 12 Mostly nat'l) Dutch papers was ranked by measuring 14 aspects such as: length of article, length of headlines, number of photographs, etc. This score was r'ed (Spearman r) with the sensationality score, which was measured by judging the coverage of 7 selected aspects of the court case by 86 judges (Thurstone's equal appearing interval method). A r of .72 was found, & a new hyp was formulated: "There is a more general concept, attractiveness" (re the accessibility of the article), which is described not only by the style of the article (sensationality), but also by its layout. "Attractiveness" of papers appears to have high r's with circulation (.89/.78). Morning papers are more "attractive" than evening papers. The confessional papers, have a 'role conflict'; as morning papers they have to be "attractive," & as confessional papers they do not want to devote too much attention to sensational/erotic matters. They tend to diminish the sexual/sensational aspects of the court case & find some compensation in the violence/sensational aspects. As the conclusions were drawn ex post facto, they are stated as hyp's. H. Van de Belt.
