Results

Twenty-two articles about Freedom Summer published on page one of the Jackson Daily News from June 1, 1964, through June 30, 1964, were reviewed and separately coded by two people using a common codebook. (See Appendix)

In research question number one, which asked whether the stories were positive, negative, or neutral according to definitions in the codebook, it was found that the negative category and neutral category each scored 38.6 percent of the total number of stories reviewed.  Stories in the positive category amounted to 22.7 percent.

In research question number two, which asked whether headlines on the stories were positive, negative, or neutral according to definitions in the codebook, it was found that 43.1 percent fell into the neutral category; 40.9 percent fell into the negative category; and 15.9 percent fell into the positive category.

In research question number three, which asked whether the stories were written by Jackson Daily News staff writers, wire service reporters, or were published with no byline, it was found that 52.2 percent of the stories were written by wire service reporters, 25 percent by the newspaper’s staff writers, and 22.7 percent of the stories carried no byline at all.

In research question number four, which asked whether stories were placed above or below the fold, it was found that 86.3 percent of the stories ran above the fold, and 13.6 percent of the stories ran below the fold.

In research question number five, which asked whether the tone of editorials was positive, negative, or neutral according to definitions in the codebook, it was found that the issues published during the dates examined did not contain any page one editorials.