Journal of Mass Communication & Journalism

The 1980 Cleveland Newspaper Market Revisited: Analysis Finds Vibrant Agenda Diversity, Robust Marketplace of Ideas

Abstract

Steve Hallock

A reanalysis of the Cleveland newspaper market of 1980, prior to the closure of the Cleveland Press, differs with the conclusions of a previous content analysis of two-daily communities that have become monopoly markets. Unlike the conclusions of the previous study, by McCombs, this replication found a diverse marketplace of ideas and opinion that suggests a lively agenda-setting and ideological diversity that disappeared with the emergence of the monopoly market, to the detriment of the Cleveland community and the democratic process.