James F. Evans Collection, Because large-circulation newspapers in the United States continue to serve increasingly urban audiences, there is a logical question as to what place agriculture-related news had in their pages. Amounts and kinds of farm news urban readers receive is important because urban readers far outnumber rural readers and have much more power to elect legislators and to influence other policy-makers who control the direction of agriculture;s future. Content analysis of selected issues of three urban newspapers, The chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post, from 1982 through 1992, showed extensive use of agriculture-related news. A patterned schedule of weekday urban editions on alternate months during alternate years provided a total of 234 issues for analysis. (author)
