Newspaper Titles Research Articles

From Euphoria to Rationalization. The Daily Press in French-Speaking Belgium

A constant erosion of sales and readership, a decline in the number of news-paper companies and titles, a move towards a highly concentrated structure of ownership, and the death of many partisan newspapers are the central features of the post-war evolution of the french speaking daily newspaper press in Belgium. In a rather small, but highly competitive regional market, since 1945 the press has undergone a transition from a strong partisan orientation to one wholly based on industrial and commercial considerations. This article lokks at this post-war development 'from heyday to decline', adressing both factors of crisis and strategies of adaptation such as the increased local orientation of the bulk of the french-speaking dailies. As problems of adaptation to the new logic of industrialism brought about a severe crisis of the traditional partisan newspaper, especially the leftist ones, the second part of this article offers a more detailed, historical case by case analyses of their decline.

An Index to <i>V.</i>

Indexing <em>V. </em>seemed to be a straightforward project at first, but we found in compiling the more than 1,900 entries that certain aspects of the text present particular problems to indexers. For instance, the text rarely uses italics for titles of books, periodicals, newspapers, operas, and paintings; likewise, the various ships mentioned, such as the U. S. S. Scaffold, are also not italicized. To remain consistent with the novel we have not italicized items unless they appeared so in the text. We did decide to place song titles within quotation marks, but, again, <em>V. </em>does not follow this practice. In adding annotations to identify allusions, it was tempting to try to fill the void of a yet-to-be-produced companion to the novel. We have restrained ourselves, but we hope that our work here will spur someone to undertake that task. For references regarding Malta, we are indebted to Arnold Cassola's "Pynchon's <em>v., </em>and the Malta Connection;' <em>Journal of Modern Literature </em>12.2 [1985]:311-31.

DEFINITION, PERSPECTIVES, AND UNDERSTANDING OF INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS: A QUEST FOR A COMMON GROUND

Competitiveness is one of the most misunderstood concepts of the 1990s. It has drawn substantial attention from the government and business communities during the last 25 years. Morrisson et al. (1988) noted that between 1983 and 1987, the term competitiveness appeared more than 5700 times in the titles of newspapers and magazine articles. The growth of importance and interest can also be observed from the increase in the bibliographical entries in ABI/Inform database. From 1981 to 1986, the topic “international competitiveness” increased by about 26 listings per year (a total of 159 in 6 years) and the rate increased to 45 listings per year from 1987 to 1993. Academic interest in the area has also increased and as a result, new developments contemplating conceptualization and understanding of competitiveness are taking place. However, to no one's surprise, writers from different disciplines offer a variation in perspective when describing the concept, understanding, and postulation of competitiveness.

Editor's Introduction

The subtitle of the present selection of articles—"Selections from Zhongguo jindai shi [Modern Chinese History (1840-1919)]"—is intended to highlight the extraordinary service performed by Zhongguo jindai shi and its associated publications. Compiled and published by the Clipping Service of the People's University of China (Zhongguo Renmin Daxue Shubao Ziliao Zhongxin)1 in Beijing, Zhongguo jindai shi is one of ninety-one reprint journals in the series known as Publication Reprints (Fuyin Baokan Ziliao).2 On an ongoing basis, more than fifty scholars and specialists comb more than three thousand serial and newspaper titles selecting the very best items, which are then reprinted in one of the ninety-one journals. So efficient is the operation that the articles are usually reprinted within just months of their initial publication; the eight articles translated here were all reprinted within one to three months of their original appearance. The Service's various sorting areas, a picture of the Chinese work ethic at its best, reflect this efficiency.

CD‐ROMs in public libraries: a survey

This article summarizes the main findings of a survey, undertaken in early 1994, of open access CD‐ROM in British public libraries. The survey examined how well Public Library Authorities (PLAs) were implementing CD‐ROM technology for public use and how well the general public were fairing with CD‐ROMs. The survey was both quantitative and qualitative in nature: current national statistics for CD‐ROM distribution in PLAs were sought, case studies of 13 PLAs who provided open access CD‐ROM were conducted and finally an end‐user survey of 4 of these libraries was undertaken. The principal findings of the survey are as follows. In 1992 only 5% of PLAs provided CD‐ROMs for public use, but by 1994 this figure had risen to 12%. London and English County PLAs had the highest proportion of CD‐ROMs for public use. PLAs with CD‐ROM services were not necessarily the big spending authorities. National newspapers accounted for the majority of CD‐ROMs in use. The main management concerns were lack of adequate user training and documentation. All PLAs wanted to update and expand their CD‐ROM services. This matched one of the main demands from users, which was for more facilities, but PLAs failed to address the users' other main demand ‐ the provision of greater assistance. The predominant user group was young students. Educational institutions played a significant role in training users in the use of CD‐ROMs. Most users searched newspaper and business titles. Finally, there was a high level of user satisfaction with CD‐ROM searching.

Is ethnicity a cause of war?

Since the end of the Cold War, the vocabulary of politics has changed. The violent decay of Yugoslavia, the separatist movements in Ethiopia, and the small wars in the Philippines indicate that an era of ethnic conflicts has replaced the former East‐West rivalry. Since the outbreak of violent conflicts in the former Soviet Union, the phrase “ethnic conflict” has ruled the titles of newspapers and magazines and has even found its way into the discourse of political science. “Ethnic nationalism,” mere “nationalism,” even such linguistic monsters as “ethno‐nationalism” have recently become central concerns. The emergence of so many violent clashes between ethnic groups in the last few years has perplexed the public, and even social scientists have had difficulty explaining nationalism and ethnic conflict. In trying to explain these conflicts, some authors point to cultural differences. In 1993, Samuel P. Huntington proclaimed the beginning of an era of clashes between cultural entities. But explaining these conflicts in terms of cultural differences is not quite satisfactory. Or, as the Austrian political scientist Alber F. Reiterer asks: “What is a cultural difference? Is it that the Slovenians sing ‘Gori, gori na planina’ while the Carinthia‐Germans sing a slightly different melody ‘In die Berg bin i gern'?” And, more important, are such differences sufficient causes for violence? Obviously they are not. The phrase “ethnic conflict” does not shed much light on the origins and causes of these wars. It cannot explain the case of Somalia; in the most ethnically homogeneous country on the African continent, a war broke out and could not even be ended by international intervention. As I shall argue, “cultural” differences, although often seen as the underlying structural causes of social conflicts, are not the root causes of contemporary wars. An analysis of three examples elucidates this claim: the ongoing war in Liberia, the conflict in the Casamance, and the so‐called Tuareg conflict.

Concentration of Ownership in the Belgian Daily Press

Belgium is witnessing a growing tendency toward press ownership concentration especially among regional and provincial newspapers. Press concentration is a world-wide phenomenon. This does not mean, however, that it is the result of similar factors in different countries. Sometimes, it is; sometimes, it isn't. In general, concentration operates in at least three directions: horizontal, vertical and diagonal. Although all three forms of concentration occur in the Belgian media landscape, there is a growing trend toward horizontal integration of press enterprises in specific geographic areas-a concentration type that is legally prohibited in many other countries (among them, for instance, the U.S.). This study provides the basic data which illustrate this concentration and briefly discusses its economic and political implications. Basic facts Since 1970, the number of Belgian newspaper titles have decreased from 43 35. Also circulations have dropped by more than 10% about two million copies in 1986. The French-language press situation is most alarming. While the circulation of Flemish dailies seems have stabilized in recent years, the circulation of French-language papers has decreased further (see Table I).1 As a result of the economic crisis in Belgium and the decrease in spending power, many readers find newspapers too expensive. The price of a daily has increased from 3.50 francs in 1970, 10 francs in 1975, and 22 francs (55 cents) today. In 1970, there were still 19 newspaper publishers; at present there are only 14 left. Many family enterprises have been taken over by the business world, mainly banks and financial holdings (such as the GB, the BBL and the KB). Also French media tycoons like Robert Hersant, Editions Mondiales and Hachette have their eye on the press market, especially in the Belgian French-speaking South. Nevertheless, there still are some prosperous press concerns considering expansion and new initiatives. For instance, the VUM (Flemish Publishing Company), which publishes the popular newspapers HeI Nieuwsblad and De Gentenaar, and De Standaard, a so-called 'quality' newspaper read by the Dutch-speaking political and economic elites, is one of the most profitable Belgian press concerns at this moment. Apart from this press group, only two-not coincidentally, regional-newspapers go against the trend and enjoy a considerable increase in their circulation: Met Belang van Limburg in the province of Limburg, and Vers l'Avenir in the Walloon region. But CIM figures for 19861987 indicate that, even in these cases, a saturation point has been reached.2 The system of indirect and (since 1974) direct state subsidies-officially implemented to maintain diversity in opinion newspapers-hardly alters these trends. On the contrary, by excluding the ideologically more diversified weekly press from direct press aid, one can observe a narrowing rather than an expansion of the pluralistic opinions expressed in the press. Moreover, the indirect subsidies system's ability maintain diversity can be questioned as well. The tariffs for postal subscriptions, for instance, has gone up more than 700% since 1974. Also, the weekly press is denied postal delivery on Saturdays.3 Regional Characteristics Regional concentration tendencies in the Belgian press can be called alarming.4 Of the 24 French-language newspapers, 16 are clearly regional in nature and backing. It would be more appropriate call them provincial or local papers. In Frenchspeaking Belgium, only La Libre Belgique and Le Soir can be called national papers. The conservative and Christian-Democratic establishment paper, La Libre Belgique, attracts readers from all over Belgium. Le Soir is called a national quality paper for its independent coverage of local and national events. However, it is mainly distributed in the Brussels metropolitan area and in the Walloon part of the province of Brabant. …

The union list change report: Union list maintenance for the United States newspaper program

Butler is CONSER/USNP specialist, Serial R e cord Division, Library of Congress. The United States Newspaper Program (USNP) is preparing an online national database that identifies and describes newspapers published in the United States, identifies the repositories that hold those newspapers, and lists the issues held by those repositories. Described in the vernacular of technical services, the USNP is a retrospective serials cataloging project that uses the CONSER (Cooperative Online Serials) Program database maintained on OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and is a serials union list project that uses the union list component of OCLC's serials control subsystem. With a newspaper project in each state and territory, the union list is expected to consist of bibliographic and local data records for approximately 300,000 newspaper titles from hundreds of repositories in all states and territories. The USNP currently has twenty-two state projects contributing to the union list, which consists of approximately 55,000 bibliographic records and 120,000 local data records. State projects are supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the principal funding agency for the program, and by organizations and/or individuals in each state that have the resources or knowledge to identify and inventory newspaper repositories. Each project is administered by a state agent, such as a library, archive, or historical society, that is an associate CONSER member and a union list agent for the newspaper repositories within that state. The task of each state project is to locate and inventory the newspaper repositories within its borders. From that inventory, a project inputs bibliographic and local data records into the USNP union list. For each bibliographic record that iden-

SCOTTISH NEWSPAPERS

Historically, the Scottish newspaper came into being in the 17th century, some years after its English counterpart. News was first transmitted to Scotland from London and abroad by means of news‐sheets. However, the preponderance of foreign news tended to limit their interest, as far as readers were concerned, mainly to the Church and to men of letters, and it took some time for the newspaper habit to take hold in Scotland. The earliest surviving Scottish newspaper, in that it was published in Scotland and dealt with Scottish affairs, was Mercurius Scoticus published in Leith in 1651. It was followed by a handful of other titles over the next few decades but by the 18th century the situation had begun to change. More newspaper titles were produced in Scotland, and they began to carry local news as well as news from London and abroad. Advertisements were introduced, in the first instance, mainly for patent medicines and notices of entertainments. Governments recognized at an early stage that newspapers were a potential source of revenue and, in consequence, a newspaper stamp tax was imposed on all weekly newspapers in 1712. This tax, which was dubbed “tax on knowledge”, was strongly resented by the newspaper proprietors, who set about evading it as best they could, and in doing so determined the format of many of the newspapers of the period which were specially designed to circumvent the tax.

DIVERSITY, ECONOMICS AND THE AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY

Diversity of newspaper outlets and diversity of newspaper ownership are both generally conducive to economic efficiency within the newspaper industry. A review of the economics of newspaper publishing reveals two major factors concerning the structure and ownership of the press. The first is that scale economies of production are largely responsible for the tendency of newspaper markets in cities and towns to be dominated by a single title. The second is that the combined effect of economies of scale and newspaper firms’ drive towards growth is likely to bring about a high concentration of newspaper ownership. It is argued that economic theory lends qualified support to policy proposals to prevent mergers between newspaper firms and to require divestiture of newspaper titles.

Grammaire et idéologie du titre de journal

THE GRAMMAR AND IDEOLOGY OF THE NEWSPAPER TITLE To consider the grammar and ideology, or rather the grammar of the title as the support — intermediary — for an ideology, is to show a certain prejudice for a grammar in preference to semantics, for a form rather than a content. Instead of considering newspapers from the viewpoint of what may have once been called their (ideologico-political) conditions of production, M. M. views the newspaper as a matrix and origine of utterances, a place where they are formed. What has been described here is "le lieu journalique" par excellence, the title; and that which is formed in the title is the discourse — if not the language — of information. M. M. used Le Monde as a reference. The structure of the titles discovered in Le Monde seemed to him to be the fully developped form which is achieved in other newspapers by forms which are more or less complete, though not unforeign to this model. Le Monde therefore makes it possible to understand the paradigm of the newspaper utterance in its most legible form.

A Message Without a Code?

A Message Without a Code?

A Research Guide to China-Coast Newspapers, 1822–1911. Edited by Frank H. H. King and Prescott Clarke. Cambridge: East Asian Research Center, Harvard University, 1965. Distributed by Harvard University Press, x, 235, General Index, China-Coast Newspaper Titles, Index, Bibliography, n.p.

A Research Guide to China-Coast Newspapers, 1822–1911. Edited by Frank H. H. King and Prescott Clarke. Cambridge: East Asian Research Center, Harvard University, 1965. Distributed by Harvard University Press, x, 235, General Index, China-Coast Newspaper Titles, Index, Bibliography, n.p.

The Names of Negro Newspapers

A SK ANY literate American if he has ever heard of a Negro newspaper, and one out of ioo might nod his head and say, 'I've never seen one, but I suppose they have them.' One out of 900 more might be able to mention the Chicago Defender or the Pittsburgh Courier, two of the older and more widely circulated papers. Rare indeed are those people who are aware that there have been upward of 3,000 Negro newspapers published in 40 states and the District of Columbia since I827. Yes, 3,000 of them, of which 206 are operating today. One of the striking omissions in the accounts of American newspapers in past years has been the story of these Negro papers, a story that is just gradually being pieced together with any degree of fullness. The appellations the overseers have given their papers is a story in itself and one that is the subject of this article. These papers have been variously named and have not all, chameleon-like, taken on the surrounding hue. There are, to be sure, a number that bear the usual titles one expects of newspapers: Herald, Star, Ledger, News, Tribune, and the like; but many others have been given strikingly individual names. There is, for instance, the Oklahoma Black Dispatch, whose editor told the writer a few years ago that the name was chosen to 'dignify a slur.' In a former day, the expression black dispatch gossip had ignominious overtones; put a good newspaper under that expression, Roscoe Dunjee reasoned, and you raise the latter. So, the Black Dispatch came into being, a weekly at Oklahoma City. The Civil War left in its wake such Negro newspaper titles as Freeman; Free Man's Press; Union Republican; Black Republican; and perhaps one of the longest titles of any newspaper, North Carolina Republican and Civil Rights Advocate. Before 1900 Republican was the title of eight Negro papers in the Southern states.

American Newspaper Titles

American Newspaper Titles

"Free press" in newspaper titles

"Free press" in newspaper titles

Free press in newspaper titles

Free press in newspaper titles

"Free press" in newspaper titles

"Free press" in newspaper titles