A Content Analysis of Prime-Time TV and Radio News in Puerto Rico

^Investigators of news media often contend that the medium directly influences the content. They have focused particularly on television because it has become a major source of news for many North Americans, and many consider it their most reliable news source.' Media comparisons, for the most part, contrast television and newspapers. Radio, although ubiquitous in the background, has received relatively little attention. North Americans rated radio less favorably as a news source after television became well established, but it cannot be ignored.^ In Puerto Rico, where the present investigation was conducted, 97% of the families own at least one television set, and 96% own at least one radio.' In one survey of a representative sample of television owners, 78% viewed television every day, and 75% listened to the radio. Only 49% of the sample read a newspaper daily.* Because radio news most often consists of short broadcasts frequently interspersed with other content (primarily