2004 UC Proceedings Abstract

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Do News Maps Shape Audience Perceptions?
Track: State and Local Government
Author(s): Catherine Lorbeer

In 2003, the Reno Gazette Journal reported on Washoe County, Nevada's efforts to re-designate federal lands as part of the Regional Open Space Plan. With the aid of a colored map, newspaper readers learned about the extensive undeveloped lands proposed for open space, a land use transfer unprecedented in the County's history. More importantly, the story helped diminish public perceptions of uncontrolled regional growth. Not every news map has such logical impacts on the public, but the graphic tool undoubtedly affects the news audience. This paper considers the journalist's role in shaping audience perceptions of news stories by adding maps. The experimental research examines whether the presence or absence of a news map affects a reader's comprehension of the newspaper story. The research was conducted as part of a Masters thesis. The experiment also manipulated the graphic content of the news map to further test associations between pictures and words.



Catherine Lorbeer
Washoe County
Community Development
1001 E. Ninth Street, Bldg A
Reno , NV 89523
US
Phone: 775-328-3626
Fax: 775-328-3648
E-mail: clorbeer@mail.co.washoe.nv.us