Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Business Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Journalism Studies

PDF

Journal

5.06 Newsroom environment, culture, and trends

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Business

A Farm Newspaper Capitulates To Advertiser Pressure: Determinants Of Readers’ Attitudes Toward The Firing Of An Editorial Cartoonist, Lulu Rodriguez, Supathida Kulpavaropas Dec 2018

A Farm Newspaper Capitulates To Advertiser Pressure: Determinants Of Readers’ Attitudes Toward The Firing Of An Editorial Cartoonist, Lulu Rodriguez, Supathida Kulpavaropas

Journal of Applied Communications

On April 2016, the weekly Farm News cut its ties with veteran freelancer Rick Friday who drew a cartoon that called attention to how much the CEOs of large agricultural corporations are paid. This study examines the determinants of people’s attitudes toward Mr. Friday’s firing. Using data gathered from a national online survey of newspaper readers, this study traced the antecedents of these attitudes. While the incident drew strong negative reactions, we found that public attitudes were strongly mediated by readers’ attitudes toward Big Ag advertisers. That is, those who saw Big Ag in a positive light were more inclined …