ABSTRACT. In a content analysis of news content, three Native American tribal
newspapers were examined for the functions of surveillance, correlation,
transmission of culture and entertainment. For these three cases, the findings
indicate that these tribal newspapers seldom perform an interpretive or
propaganda function. Instead, the analysis shows that nearly 90 percent of the
time, the common goal of the three newspapers was to keep tribal members
informed of activities of the tribal government, elected tribal officials and
tribal members.
Teresa Trumbly Lamsam
Univ. of Missouri School of Journalism
Doctoral student
1C Broadway Village Dr.
Columbia, MO 65201
[log in to unmask]
"Like the sun piercing the clouds: Native American tribal newspapers and
their functions"
Introduction
At their inception, tribal newspapers of the 1800s reflected an
intra-tribal unity of thought and mission that would be envied by American
Indian leaders of today. When those early leaders could no longer stave off
white encroachment by traditional means, they attempted to stop the
hemorrhaging of their social heritage and very existence by turning to a new
storytellerDthe tribal newspaper. The primary function of the early
newspapers was to fight and warn against encroachment of the white society.
In terms of ideology, the emerging Indian newspapers of the mid-1800s,
which existed until the Oklahoma land runs began in 1889 (Champagne, p.239),
were stalwart advocates of Indian rights and for a while, formidable
fortresses against white encroachment. More than a century later, today's
tribal press fights more for its self-preservation than for societal rights
and tribal survival. Today's press would seem to fight not against
encroachment of the outside world but rather against disinterest by Native
Americans in their own tribal government.
The current American Indian tribal press is probably best known among mass
media practitioners for its shortcomings, not its accomplishments. Perhaps
this is because only a handful of scholars have examined this faction of the
ethnic minority media or because Indian journalists are the medium's most
vocal critics. These journalists are quick to point out the illegitimacy of
the tribal press: censorship by the tribal government (Fitzgerald, 1994;
Stein, 1992, 1994).
If the functions of the tribal press are for nothing other than
dissemination of official propaganda and to serve as extollers of
officialdom's accomplishments, then the label of "illegitimate" may have
merit. But clear, delineated functions of the tribal press are not known.
Unfortunately, before tribal governments will again use their tribal
newspapers as advocates of their culture and fortresses against encroachment
of the dominant society, whether political or economic, the question of
function has to be addressed.
This study attempts to take a step in the direction of answering the
question by conducting a functional analysis of the U.S. tribal press using
content analysis. The content of selected newspapers will be measured and
categorized for function, and this will be done to test the thesis that the
content of each paper will fall into four categories of function as
articulated by Lasswell (1960) and Wright (1986): 1) surveillance, 2)
correlation, 3) transmission of culture and 4) entertainment.
Using accepted functions of mainstream media, this study will extend
existing knowledge by exploring the extent to which the four functions
appear in a subculture's communication medium. Also, the study will
compliment and expand the historical analyses of the tribal press and their
forays into the function and role of the early day tribal press. However,
another rationale, although not scholarly in concept, also underlies this
study. Before tribal governments will see their communication media as havi
ng potential for beneficial functions, tribal officials and elders must
view their newspapers as an untapped resource and to achieve that end
requires a change in their mindset. This change may not occur unless the
tribal press is seen as something other than a corporate newsletter or a
propaganda tool for elected officials.
Literature Review
For more than four decades, the pioneering functional analysis of mass
communication by Harold Lasswell (1948, 1960) and later contributions by
Charles Wright (1986) have guided research on the functions and structure of
press systems. Since then, others have built onto the basic four functions
with varying degrees of success.
To study a communication system in relation to its roles in social process,
Lasswell distinguished three functions: (1) surveillance of the environment;
(2) correlation of the parts of society in responding to the environment;
and (3) transmission of the social heritage from one generation to the next.
(1960, p. 118) Wright (1986) further clarified the functions and added the
fourth, entertainment. He explained surveillance or handling of news as
"the collection and distribution of information concerning events in the
environment, both outside and within any particular society" (1986, p.9).
Correlation was expanded to include "prescription for conduct in reaction"
to events in the environment (editorial and propaganda) and transmission of
social heritage clarified to mean "communicating of knowledge, values, and
social norms from one generation to another or from members of a group to
newcomers (educational activity). The fourth function, entertainment,
serves to provide respite from problems and to fill leisure time (Severin &
Tankard, 1992, p. 295).
The contributions by Lasswell and Wright served as springboards for a
plethora of studies and theories on the origins or causality of the
functions. Lasswell paved the way with his analogy of biological
equivalencies. He suggested that the communication functions were an innate
process present at every level of life (1960, p. 118-119). Just as the
single-celled organism requires stimuli to respond to changes in the
environment to maintain internal equilibrium, so do animal and human
societies, in which certain members act as sentinels.
On a sociological level, Lasswell examined the functions in relationship to
values. In society, values are shaped and distributed by institutions,
which include communications. The communications are referred to as the
ideology (1960, p. 123). Functions are therefore evolved in support of that
societal network.
Scholars have continued to address pertinent sociological questions in the
field, such as the effects of the functions on the individual and society.
Others have searched for what determines and even creates the function and
structure of mass mediaDall trying to answer the age-old question: What came
first; was it the chicken or the egg?
A generalization that can be drawn from this seems to be that the function
and structure of a press system emerge from integration with a
socio-economic and political system.
In a collection of essays encompassing press systems across the globe, Four
Theories of the Press , (Siebert, Peterson, & Schramm, 1956), sought to
answer the question: Why does the press serve different purposes and appear
in widely different forms in different countries? This research yielded the
theory that "the press always takes on the form and coloration of the social
and political structures within which it operates." Therefore
"philosophical and political rationales or theories" create the function and
structure of a press.
A year after Four Theories, Daniel Lerner (1957, 1960) studied the
interaction of information flow within a social system. He specifically
addressed the transition of communication from an oral to a media system and
found that it correlated with behavioral changes in a social system (1960,
p. 133). Lerner skirted the chicken and egg question and proposed that a
press system was both the index and agent of change. To test the
hypothesis, he created a correlation matrix that aligned types of
communication systems with a profile of economic, political and cultural
variables. However, the relationships between the variables and system did
not test correlation with function and structure but rather against change
in communication type.
In a broader sense, Wright presented the functions as the activities of
social communication (1986, p. 23). A press system was simply an
institutionalized form of social communication and did not exist in
isolation from other social institutions, such as government.
Although an empirical functional analysis of the American Indian press has
yet to be performed, historical overviews of the press have provided
descriptive insights of the purposes of the early Indian press system. What
we know is that 19th Century Indian nations threw money at tribal
publications as though they were an army in themselves. Tribes would often
send editors on trips to the North to raise funds from wealthy whites and
religious groups. At one time, tribal governments viewed the press as their
most powerful weapon against the outside society that threatened their
existence.
One of the prolific writers of tribal press history, Sharon Murphy (1977)
placed the development of the newspapers in terms of social context and
examined functions in an in-depth analysis of a few publications, which
included the Cherokee Phoenix, the first tribal newspaper. She found that
the primary function of the first newspapers (mid-1800s) to be educational.
They were designed specifically to promote among Indians a better chance for
successful encounters with a world increasingly populated by whites. In
general, she found the functions of the tribal press to be: watchdog
(surveillance), teacher, advocate (correlation), and booster of heritage
(transmission of culture) and accomplishments.
Reading those first (1800s) Native American papers, one senses that
the editors seemed aware of the inevitable: it was only a matter of
time before tribal lands were surrounded and stolen. So their people
needed to be able to read, write and converse in white society's
language, in order to stand a chance for survival in the collision of
cultures (1977, p. 79).
In Murphy's assessment, the birth of the Cherokee Phoenix grew out of the
Cherokee Council's recognition that they needed a fast-acting educational
program to survive or fight removal from their homelands. Apparently the
council's strategy was effective. In 1832, Georgia authorities seized the
Cherokee "weapon" and used the newspaper until 1834 to encourage emigration
to the new territory (1977, p. 79-82).
An agent in Oklahoma regarded the tribal newspapers as the main educational
influence among the Indians. Robert L. Owens, the agent, wrote in 1888: "I
regard this tendency to public discussion like the sun piercing the clouds.
...Public discussion will eradicate error and educate the public. It will
create intelligent public opinion and moderate partisanship..." (1977, p.
79).
From another perspective, more forces were at work than just those seen
from the tribal viewpoint. In her biography of Cherokee editor Elias
Boudinot, Luebke (1982) wrote about the outside political and social forces
that brought about the birth of the Cherokee Phoenix. Religious, racial,
and labor oppression had already given birth to the specialized press in
America. From 1801 to 1833, the number of newspapers rose from 200 to 1200,
and included among that number were the anti-slavery, labor, religious, and
literary newspapers, all created to counteract prejudice, provide
information and to offer inspiration (Luebke, 1982, p. 124).
Tribal press historians have served as the vanguard, clearing a path for
research into today's Indian media, including studies that may lead to
assessments of the effectiveness of tribal newspapers, in turn providing a
prescription for change. A description of the communication activities of
the tribal press could serve as a cornerstone in the field of tribal media.
This study begins building that foundation by examining only a small number
of tribal-government newspapers. However, commonalities among functions of
these newspapers are expected and hypothesized.
: H1: The press function of "transmission of culture" will occur most often
in Native American newspapers.
Dispersion of members, which varies per tribe, and assimilation into
mainstream society make this necessary. Whereas in the 1800s, cultural
norms did not have to be taught because the tribal communities were still
intact, this is no longer true. Today, few tribes have the majority of
their membership living on the reservation or within council jurisdiction.
For example, the Osage Nation (Oklahoma) has a dispersion rate (members
living off the reservation) of nearly 70 percent. Also, dispersed members a
re more likely to have interest in cultural concerns rather than political.
Culturally-related stories are less likely to draw criticism from the
government. In other words, this is a safe area for the editor.
H2: Within the function of correlation, content will more often fall into a
subcategory of internal rather than external correlation and within the
booster subcategory rather than exposer.[1]
These papers are owned by tribal governments who have a history of
censoring the newspapers, promoting themselves and discouraging close
examination of government activities.
H3: Within the function of surveillance, content will more often fall into a
subcategory of internal rather than external surveillance and within
instrumental rather than exposure.
Tribal newspapers do not have adequate staffing, training or resources to
report extensively on external surveillance issues.
Sample
The sample consisted of three tribal newspapers of the nations of Cherokee,
Creek, and Sac and Fox. The issues were chosen from a three-year time
period, 1993-95. The ability to obtain copies of the same time period for
each newspaper played the deciding role in choosing the year range. The
sample was further stratified per year by seasonal division:
Winter: December, January, February
Spring: March, April, May
Summer: June, July, August
Autumn: September, October and November
Instead of breaking the year into quarters of subsequent months, a seasonal
division was used because most tribal ceremonies and culturally-related
events (which impact government activity) are based on seasons. Also, each
tribe would have different ceremonial and election months. The
stratification controlled for the possibility of the researcher being sent
the year's "best" editions.
Availability of issues differed in each tribe, so a random drawing of
months was made for each newspaper. The request for issues was faxed to the
tribal newspaper editor with the criterion that if a substitution was
necessary, then the substitute should come from the same season. The
following sample resulted:
The Muscokee Nation News: April, August, November, and December.
Sac and Fox News: May, August, October, and December.
Cherokee Advocate: February, March, June, and October.
The three newspapers chosen for the study come from a common geographical
region but differ greatly in terms of size, both in membership and in terms
of the structure of the publication itself. Other considerations, such as
budget, structure and history, were also used when selection of the papers
was made. Another determinant was availability of the papers. Many tribes
do not keep a significant number of back issues of their newspapers, and
then only special editions are normally saved.
The Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma and its newspaper, the Cherokee Advocate,
is the largest tribe (second largest in the United States) and newspaper
examined in this study. The Cherokee's size, prominence and press history
make this newspaper a given in importance to a study of the tribal press.
In terms of tribal press history, more is published on the Cherokee
newspapers and editors then any other Indian press. The Cherokee Phoenix,
the first Indian newspaper, was established in 1828, a few years after the
first formal petition by colonists to the U.S. government for the removal of
the Cherokees (Champagne, 1994, p.140). The U.S. Congress voted for Indian
removal on May 28, 1930, but the Cherokees persisted for eight years,
despite the discovery of gold on their land in 1829 (1994, p. 145), which
only served as a stronger motivator to remove the Indians. In 1835, the
governor of Georgia used state militia to seize the Cherokee presses. Soon
after, bands of the Cherokee began leaving, but formal removal did not occur
until May 1838 (1994, p. 162).
The membership of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma exceeds 175,000, however
fewer than half of the tribal members live in Oklahoma (Reddy, 1993). The
tribe's public affairs department, under the direction of Director and
Editor Dan Agent, produce the monthly Advocate, which circulates to nearly
5,000 subscribers. Twice yearly, the paper reaches 75,000 members in a mass
mailing.
Agent reports directly to the Cherokee Administration Office (under
direction of the chief). His staff includes two reporters, two
photographers, publication coordinator and a part-time graphic artist. The
staff also doubles as the public relations staff of the tribe. Salaries are
budgeted at $300,000 annually. The paper's mission, as orchestrated by the
administration, is to "maximize the positive image of the nation in serving
the Cherokee membership" (personal communication, Agent).
The Advocate is an 11x13 tabloid averaging 24 pages per issue, including
paid advertising.
At an 8,100 circulation (one per household), The Muscogee Nation News,
published by the Creek Nation in Oklahoma, nearly doubles the Cherokee
monthly circulation, and the Creek membership, 40,675 citizens, is less than
25 percent of the Cherokee membership. The cost per year to publish the
Muscogee News is $220,000, including salary for three full-time employees.
A reporter and administrative assistant report to Editor Jim Wolfe, who is
responsible to the tribal administration. The Creek paper is also an 11x13
tabloid with normal runs of 8 to 12 pages with no advertising.
The Creek Nation, who refer to themselves in their language as Muscogee, is
now headquartered in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, on 4,061 acres of land. Unlike the
Cherokee, the majority of Muscogees, 31,922, live in Oklahoma (personal
communication, Nov. 5, 1996). Their aboriginal lands were located in states
of Alabama and Georgia. Beginning in 1836, nearly 15,000 Creeks, of which
3,500 died, walked the forced journey to Indian Territory (Leitch, 1979, p.
141).
The Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma publishes a monthly 11x14 tabloid with
normal runs of 8 pages, including paid advertising. The Sac and Fox News
circulates to 1,700 of the 2,500 membership. Dispersion statistics of the
membership are unknown. An annual budget of $25,000 covers costs of
mailing, printing and salary of one reporter. An additional $37,000 for
Editor Michael Dodson comes from a tribal administration budget. Dodson
also functions as the spokesperson for the tribe.
The Sauk (now spelled Sac) and Fox developed a political and cultural
association in the early 1700s. Both tribes were forced to their Illinois
lands by the French and other tribes (Leitch, 1979, p.411). They later
accepted a reservation in Kansas, and in 1867, they were moved to Indian
Territory.
METHODOLOGY
Content analysis was used to evaluate quantitatively the extent to which
these tribal newspapers fulfilled the four functions of surveillance,
correlation, transmission of culture and entertainment. The study
considered manifest or apparent content per unit of analysis appropriate for
measurement. Units were not analyzed in a qualitative framework in which
interpretation by the researcher, who has an inherent knowledge of issues
relevant to the tribal press, would bias coding results.
To control for interpretation bias, the researcher used the functional
definitions as determined by Lasswell and Wright and then further defined
the basic four functions with sub-categories.
Categories of Function
I. SURVEILLANCE: Informs and provides news.
A. WarningDNews of natural danger or threatening situation. (Examples:
health stories on diabetes or alcoholism; U.S. congressional bills
attacking
sovereignty; livestock or crop diseases.)
B. InstrumentalDNews essential to the economy, tribal entities or
members written in informative rather than interpretive tone. (Examples:
Notice of social services such as commodities programs, elections,
scholarships, schedules, tribal council meetings.)
C. ExposureDNon-essential informative units that expose the reader to
personalities, events, or entities. (Examples: personality profiles,
event
promotions, student news or appointments to office.)
A unit of surveillance was coded as either Warning, Instrumental or Exposure
and then further coded as Internal or External, as defined below:
Internal Surveillance: A unit was marked as "internal" if it concerned only
intra-tribal issues, events or personalities. For instance, if an article
discussed registration for an upcoming tribal election, it was marked as
internal. In cases such as health articles concerning diabetes or other
illnesses common to Native Americans as a whole, the coder considered the
unit as internal.
External Surveillance: A unit was marked as "external" if it concerned
inter-tribal issues or relationships outside the tribal culture and
administration, such as dealings with state and federal agencies and outside
businesses and organizations. If an article discussed availability of
scholarships at a university or highlighted an outside court case that could
affect the tribe, that unit was marked as external.
II. CORRELATIONDSelection and interpretation of information about the
tribal socio economic environment (editorial and propaganda content). An
article may enforce tribal social norms by consensus or exposing deviants;
confer status by highlighting opinion leaders; operate as a check on
government; impede threats to social stability; and manage or monitor public
opinion (Severin, 1992, p. 296).
A. BoosterDPreserves or extends power of tribal government by:
y Creating pseudo-events (an event contrived to obtain publicity) (Weiner,
1990), images or personalities;
y attributing political, economic or societal power/stability to tribal
government, party or leaders; or
y depicting officials or opinion leaders as moral, intelligent, lawful or
right-thinking. B. ExposerDUnits that attribute political, economic
and
social conflict, disorganization, instability and/or weakness to a
government, its leaders or citizens. Depicts government leaders or
citizens
as immoral, unlawful or wrong-thinking.
A correlation unit was categorized as either Booster or Exposer and then
determined as internal or external as defined by the following definitions:
Internal Correlation: A unit was marked as "internal" is it concerned only
intra-tribal issues, persons or organizations. For instance, an article might
expose corrupt management practices of a tribal business, such as bingo
(Exposer). Or, an article might highlight an elected official's accomplishments
(Booster).
External Correlation: A unit is marked as "external" if it concerns inter-tribal
issues or relationships outside the tribal culture, such as dealings with state
and federal agencies and outside businesses or organizations. For example, a
story might criticize the state for its stance on the Indian fuel tax (Exposer).
III. TRANSMISSION OF CULTURE: Communicates information, values and norms from
one generation to another, from member to member or from the members of a
society to newcomers by (Severin, 1992, p. 296). Culture was defined as the
indication of a particular way of life of a people or a group (Williams, 1976,
p.7).
y increasing social cohesionDwidens base of common experience;
y reducing anomie or sense of estrangement; or
y by continuing socializationDbefore and after education, aids integration
(Severin, 1992, p. 296).
A unit determined as "transmission of culture" was placed in only one of the
following categories:
Storytelling: The written accounts of orally-transmitted histories, legends or
myths.
Language: Primary purpose of a unit is to teach tribal language or the unit is
such that the reader must be a native speaker. For example, cartoon strips or
crossword puzzles in tribal language.
Religion: A tribal or clan system of spiritual attitudes, beliefs and practices.
References to the Native American church would not be included because it is an
inter-tribal religion, such as Baptist in the Christian religion.
Social Structure: Units devoted to traditional societal arrangements (roles,
clans); traditional systems of governance; ceremonies; and principles and
qualities (values) distinctive to the tribe.
History: Unit focuses on significant figures and events that have effected the
tribe or its members.
Food: Explanation of traditional foods, their preparation or ceremonial use.
Health and Medicine: Persons, rituals or medicines by which individuals
traditionally maintained health or treated illness.
Arts and Crafts: Any traditional craft or modern interpretation of that craft,
including artistic decorations of functional items.
Functional Artifacts: Objects created for a practical purpose. Examples include
explanations or photos of clothing, pottery, weapons for non-ceremonial use.
Life cycle Artifacts: Objects used to hallmark transitions in the life cycle.
Examples include war honor tattoos, weapons given to mark the coming of age and
ceremonial clothing.
Some categories in the preceding list would not likely appear in article form
but rather in a photograph or illustration.
Articles in their entirety and free-standing photographs and illustrations were
each considered as a unit in the analysis. Articles were defined to include
columns as well as the standard news and feature stories. Photographs and
illustrations accompanying stories were considered part of the article unit and
were not coded separately. Free-standing photos and illustrations were coded as
a unit, because often they are historical in context or featured members in
tribal dress, which would be significant in the coding of the culture function.
Along with coding for function, the units were measured for length using the
standard of column inches. Column inches per page was calculated for each
newspaper on the basis of their standard column formatting.
Pretests
Categories used to define cultural content were pretested separately from the
other three functions, mainly because of the number of categories and the
possibility of overlapping definitions. The researcher used the tribal
newspapers of the nations of Osage, Choctaw and Oklahoma Band Pottawatomi to
pretest the culture categories. The categories were altered according to the
results of the pretest and found to be mutually exclusive, exhaustive and
reliable. The modified categories were used in this study.
Pretests for the functions of Surveillance, Correlation and Entertainment
involved issues of the three newspapers used in this study; however, sample
issues were not used for the pretests. The researcher chose three issues each
of the Cherokee, Sac and Fox and Creek papers to conduct a coding analysis. The
subcategories of Surveillance and Correlation were developed in this pretest.
The pretesting for the Surveillance and Correlation functions did alter some
original assumptions of the researcher, who originally had considered
surveillance as a narrow function. However, the function as defined by Lasswell
(1992) and applied in the coding pretest represented a broad spectrum of news,
too general to provide insight of the function in the tribal press setting.
Breaking Surveillance down into the three sub-categories aided in determining
whether its performance was essential or non-essential, a beneficial result in
terms of the goal of this study.
The breakdown of surveillance allowed the researcher to show the difference
between articles such as a teenager winning a track meet and an expansion in
services for the food commodities program. The expansion story would be
essential to many tribal members already receiving commodities and those in need
of the service. The coding does not make a judgment in the importance of the
subcategories, but rather makes clear the type of surveillance performed.
Correlation did not need the same type of defining as the surveillance
function. It did, however, need categories that would distinguish between
self-criticism or self-praise and the criticism or praise of other peoples or
entities. If correlation were to appear as a significant function in the
newspapers, then was its function internally directed or tuned to the outside
society? Was it portraying the government/tribe in a positive way or was it
self-critical? Was it making judgments about mainstream society? And were
those judgments positive or negative? Creating the sub-categories of Booster
and Exposer, along with internal and external, resolved those questions in a
second pretest.
The pretesting stage also established the exclusivity between correlation and
surveillance, the two functions with the highest risk of overlapping. The
pretest showed that although the two functions might overlap in terms of
content, correlation's distinction as a function of "interpretation" set it
apart from surveillance. For instance, an article highlighting Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) budget cuts by the U.S. Congress could either be coded as
surveillance or correlation. How the story was written made the difference. If
the story stated that the tribal education department would downsize its summer
youth program because of BIA budget cuts, then the story was surveillance.
However, if the story also included value judgments such as the repercussions of
the downsizing on tribal youth already disadvantaged by an inequitable federal
government, then that story functioned as correlation (exposer), external. This
was because the article was no longer serving a purely informational role nor
was it providing a warning of reduced funding.
From the pretesting, the researcher developed instructions for content analysis
and a coding system. The researcher trained each coder using the instructions
and coding sheet for the analysis of non-sample issues of tribal newspapers.
First, the researcher and coder jointly analyzed content of an issue; then, the
coder and researcher separately analyzed a second issue and compared coding.
The comparison resulted in a fine-tuning of the instructions. Analysis of the
actual sample was conducted by two coders per newspaper with the researcher as
the control for reliability. Comparisons of coding between coder and researcher
showed 90 percent agreement as the lowest percentage of agreement and 100
percent agreement as the highest. Disagreements were reconciled via discussion,
and the results provided the final coding.
RESULTS
D Overview
The functionsDSurveillance, Correlation, Culture and EntertainmentDare
presented as percentages of either counts of each unit or number of column
inches. Count refers to the number of units scored for a particular function.
The unit refers to the unit of analysis, which is either an article or
photograph. For
instance, in the Cherokee issues, 514 units were scored under surveillance. The
results are also tabulated in column inches. Those 514 units in the Advocate
represent 6,647 column inches.
Advertising space and some editorial space were not included. Of the total
column inches available, 72 percent was analyzed in the Sac and Fox paper, 70
percent of the Creek, and 53 percent of the Cherokee.
The units and inches of a particular function were further divided into their
sub-categories (classifications of function), meaning that the results also show
how those 514 units and 6,647 inches were divided among the ten sub-categories
of surveillance.
Figure 1 D Overall Appearance of the Four Functions
Overall, the function of surveillance dominated in count and column inches.
The culture and entertainment functions were rarely performed in any of the
newspapers. In fact, combined, culture and entertainment counted for less than
10 percent of total category measurement in count and inches. Correlation was
double the combined appearance of culture and entertainment. Eighty-four
percent of the units scored across the three newspapers fell into the general
category of surveillance. In column inches, the percentage of surveillance was
slightly higher at 89 percent (Figure 1).
Narrowing the analysis to the classifications that further define the
functions, surveillance remained dominant. Focusing on the individual
classifications of the functions changed the picture slightly. Correlation made
it into the top five, significantly edging out the "warning" classifications
of surveillance (Figure 2). The warning component of surveillance was not
common. The internal warning classification was not among the ten most common
functions, and external warning accounted for less than one percent of the
overall unit count and slightly over one percent in column inches.
Correlation as internal booster accounted for only 4 percent of the total
classification in count and 6 percent in inches. Correlation still showed up as
one of the top five functions, even when broken down into the classifications.
Surveillance Exposure Internal accounted for 44 percent of the overall units
counted. Surveillance Instrumental Internal was only half as common as
Surveillance Exposure Internal. Surveillance Instrumental Internal appeared 26
percent of the time for units counted and accounted for 24 percent of the total
column inches (Table 1).
D Page One results
Page One results refer to the categorization of units on the front
page of each issue. In both count and inches, two classifications of
Surveillance, Instrumental Internal and Exposure Internal were most frequent.
Surveillance, as a whole, dipped to 80 percent of Page one count and 74 percent
of Page One column inches because of an increase in the role of correlation
(Figures 3-4).
Correlation accounted for 16 percent of units counted and 23 percent of inches
on combined Page One results. Within correlation, Correlation Booster Internal
appeared most in frequency and space. The Culture classifications and
Entertainment appeared the least (Table 2).
The Muscogee Nation News
Surveillance was the most common function in the Creek Nation newspaper (Figure
5). In terms of the percentage of news space, this function was performed more
in the Muscogee than the other two tribal newspapers. The difference was,
however, only a few percentage points. Overall, in the Creek paper,
Surveillance Exposure Internal dominated both the unit count and column inches.
But on Page One, the classification of Surveillance Instrumental Internal
occurred 13 times compared to one occurrence of Surveillance Exposure External
(Table 3). Surveillance occurred 74 percent of the time and occupied 76 percent
of the front page news hole.
Front page Surveillance Instrumental Internal units included such articles as
"Miss Mvskoke Nation contestants sought for June Pageant" and "Voters approve
amendments." In a later issue, a Page One photo of Miss Mvskoke attending an
Indian pageant was coded under the exposure (internal) classification of
surveillance. Both the "contestants sought" story and the pageant photo were
about internal subjects; however, the article provided an informative function
in that tribal members were notified about how and when to participate. In
addition, the photo provided exposure to a Creek personality. A Miss Mvskoke
photo also appeared on Page One of two other issues in the sample.
Instrumental surveillance stories, on Page One of the Creek paper, were mostly
internal and tended to be about tribal government elections, grants, or
meetings. In two of the sample issues, all front page units were coded as
Surveillance Instrumental Internal.
Correlation appearing on Page One fell into the booster internal classification
and all units but one ribbon-cutting photograph were articles rather than
photographs. A few of the bordered on surveillance and the headlines seemed to
indicate news stories. For example:
y "Chief hosts tribal leaders summit," April 1995
This story was written by the chief about an annual meeting. The obvious
desired effect was to boost tribal image and pride.
Although Surveillance Instrumental Internal was the dominant classification of
the surveillance function on Page One of The Muscogee Nation News, adding the
data from inside pages puts Surveillance Exposure Internal in front for both
count and column inches. Also, other classifications of surveillance,
correlation and culture played significant roles as calculated by inches if not
unit count (Table 4).
For instance, Culture Language had three unit counts but occupied nearly 50
column inches. Two units were crossword puzzles and one was a comic strip. All
of these were written in the Creek language. The most recent year of the
sample, 1995, had no units coded as Culture Language.
DSac and Fox News
As in the other two newspapers, surveillance neared 90 percent in both column
inches and count in the Sac and Fox newspaper. Culture played a larger role in
this paper, accounting for 5 percent of count and 7 percent of column inches.
This meant that transmission of culture was the second most common function,
with entertainment third and correlation fourth (Figure 6). However, the three
functions combined represented just more than 10 percent of both count and
column inches. Considering the same data in terms of column inches, culture,
entertainment and correlation units tended to be 50 percent longer on average
than the surveillance units. Only two functions, surveillance and correlation,
appeared on the front pages of the Sac and Fox issues. In unit count,
surveillance accounted for 93 percent and 90 percent of the column inches.
Correlation continued to follow the trend of a lesser count and longer units
with a 7 percent count and 10 percent of the column inches (Table 6).
Table 6
Sac and Fox Page One
Classification
Unit count
Inches
Surveillance Exposure Internal
25
233
Surveillance Instrumental Internal
24
514
Surveillance Exposure External
3
30
Correlation Exposer Internal
2
51
Correlation Booster Internal
1
18
Correlation Booster External
1
15
Surveillance Exposure Internal and Surveillance Instrumental Internal had the
majority of count and inches on the front page. But Surveillance Instrumental
Internal more than doubled Surveillance Exposure Internal's column inches even
though their count differed only by one unit. The Surveillance Exposure on Page
One tended to focus on internal events (three external) rather than individuals,
for example:
y an employee holiday
y a traditional dance gathering
y a tribal Halloween carnival
Instrumental surveillance was all internal on Page One and mainly reported on
Sac and Fox government activities, legislation and economic endeavors. Articles
included:
y tribal-supported community initiatives
y the chief's reports on the General Council
y meeting agendas
The lone Correlation Exposer Internal on Page One was an article and photo
about a prayer vigil on the Bureau of Indian Affairs budget cuts. The story was
an emotional focus on the plight of Indians rather than specific Washington
budget cuts. The Correlation Booster External unit praised a city's chamber of
commerce for their cooperation with the Sac and Fox Nation. Criticism of tribal
officials began the chief's report, but in general, the article focused on funds
brought in by the current tribal administration (Correlation Booster Internal).
Overall, in the Sac and Fox sample, Surveillance Instrumental Internal was
dominant in count but not inches; Surveillance Exposure Internal, without Page
One data, had 35 more units but nearly 200 fewer column inches than Surveillance
Instrumental Internal. All classifications of surveillance appeared at least
once in the sample (Table 7).
Within culture, the history units tended toward both ends of the spectrum in
length. Seven of the 13 units scored for history were three inches or fewer,
serving as fillers at the end of other articles. In three units, the lengths
were more than 50 column inches. In the May, 93, issue, the center spread was
devoted to two historical pieces, both about family matriarchs.
Only one Culture Language unit was fewer than 20 column inches, and it was the
only one that was not a lesson in the Sauk language. Both of the storytelling
units were book reviews. The Culture Arts & Crafts was an illustration by a
tribal college student.
The internally-critical correlation, Correlation Exposer Internal, included
criminal activities of tribal members (one notice of banishment) and an article
lamenting tribal divisions. The booster units on inside pages were mostly
internal praise for officials or their decisions; however, one unit featured a
tribal employee.
Table 7
Sac and Fox classification
Classification
Unit count
Inches
Surveillance Exposure Internal
164
1939
Surveillance Instrumental Internal
128
2412
Surveillance Exposure External
30
356
Surveillance Instrumental Internal
23
447
Culture History
13
285
Entertainment
11
280
Correlation Exposer Internal
6
148
Correlation Booster Internal
4
103
Culture Language
4
109
Culture Storytelling
2
28
Surveillance Warning External
2
24
Culture Arts & Crafts
1
22
Correlation Booster External
1
15
D Cherokee Advocate
The overall surveillance percentages for the Cherokee paper were near copies of
the Sac and Fox. Surveillance was 88 percent of units counted and 84 percent of
column inches (Figure 7). But Advocate surveillance articles did differ
somewhat from the other two tribal newspapers in that they often bordered on
correlation. Frequently, Surveillance Instrumental Internal units included
"booster-type" quotes from tribal leaders. For example, in the March, 1995,
issue a page 9 story on upcoming elections devoted two paragraphs out of nine to
the chief who talked about the importance of voter participation in tribal
elections.
Correlation was the second most significant function with 9 percent count, 13
percent inches. Combined, culture and entertainment just captured a few
percentage points (Figure 7).
More so than the other two papers, the Advocate frequently included special
sections in an issue. The pull-out sections were either heavy in advertising
space or devoted to articles about political candidates. Also, the Advocate
used much of their regular editorial space to publish minutes, official
expenses, and legislation.
But the main difference between the Advocate and the other papers was found in
the Page One data. Surveillance lost significant ground on the front page to
correlation; and in terms of column inches, correlation exceeded surveillance by
four percent (Table 8). But calculating percent using unit count, surveillance
topped correlation by 27 percent. Story length accounted for the difference.
Correlation units on average are two and a half times longer than surveillance
units.
Table 8
Cherokee Page One
Classification
Unit count
Inches
Surveillance Exposure Internal
6
68
Correlation Booster Internal
5
137
Surveillance Exposure External
4
66
Surveillance Instrumental Internal
3
51
Surveillance Instrumental External
3
48
Correlation Exposer External
2
63
Correlation Booster External
2
54
Entertainment
1
13
On the inside pages, Surveillance Exposure Internal stories, which topped the
count and column inches, often featured Cherokee members who were appointed to
boards or who garnered awards. Each issue also featured a "Student Corner,"
Surveillance Exposure Internal. The June, 1993, issue featured a special
"Student Corner" that accounted for 648 of the total SEI column inches. The
warning division of surveillance played a stronger role in the Advocate than the
other papers, with external more significant than internal (Table 9). One
Surveillance Warning External story with photo warned of the dangers of
cancer-causing radon gas and gave information on an EPA grant for radon test
kits.
Table 9
Cherokee classification totals
Classification
Unit court
Inches
Surveillance Exposure Internal
254
3695
Surveillance Instrumental Internal
109
1430
Surveillance Exposure External
100
906
Correlation Booster Internal
41
796
Surveillance Instrumental External
41
398
Surveillance Warning External
7
190
Entertainment
13
175
Correlation Booster External
5
98
Correlation Exposer External
3
87
Culture Language
2
64
Culture History
3
37
Correlation Exposer Internal
3
34
Surveillance Warning Internal
3
28
Culture Functional Artifact
7
1
Culture Arts & Crafts
6
1
DComparison of the newspapers
A chi-square test did not show a significant difference in the number of units
for each function across the three tribes (X2=3.13, p=.54). Also, the test did
not show any significant difference in the amount of column inches (X2=3.02,
p=.56). For each of the tribes, surveillance was the most common function.
Correlation was second, but much less common. There were few Culture and
Entertainment units.
A chi-square test was also used to compare the number of surveillance and
correlation units across the three tribes for Page One data (tribe (3) x
function (surveillance, correlation)). The chi-square test was significant for
both column inches (x2(2)=48.12, p<.005) and unit count (x2(2)=25.84, p<.005).
For the unit count and column inches, the Sac and Fox use of surveillance was
highest, with the Creek intermediate and the Cherokee lowest. For the
correlation function, the order was the opposite, with Cherokee highest, Creek
intermediate and Sac and Fox lowest (See Tables 10-11).
A chi-square test was also significant for unit count (x2=11.55, p<.05) and
column inches (x2=14.53, p<.05) when three sub-categories of surveillance were
considered across the three newspapers: Surveillance Exposure Internal,
Surveillance Instrumental Internal, and Surveillance Exposure External (See
Tables 12- 13).
Table 10
Page One column inches*
Sac and Fox
Creek
Cherokee
Surveillance
90
74
47
Correlation
10
18
51
Table 11
Page One unit count*
Sac and Fox
Creek
Cherokee
Surveillance
93
74
62
Correlation
7
17
35
Table 12
Classification totals, unit count*
Sac Fox
Creek
Cherokee
Surveillance Exposure Internal
42
47
43
Surveillance Instrumental Internal
33
29
18
Surveillance Exposure External
8
6
17
Table 13
Classification totals, column inches*
Sac Fox
Creek
Cherokee
Surveillance Exposure Internal
31
45
47
Surveillance Instrumental Internal
39
31
18
Surveillance Exposure External
6
5
11
*Data for the three newspapers represents percentages used in the chi-square
test.
DISCUSSION
Results show surveillance to be the dominant function in The Muscogee Nation
News, Sac and Fox News and the Cherokee Advocate. Surveillance occurred most
frequently and occupied the most space in every issue analyzed in all three
newspapers. Breaking the data down into Page One results also indicates
surveillance to be the top function. The Page One and overall results mirror
each other in count and inches for the sequence of the other three functions:
second highest function, correlation; third, transmission of culture; and
fourth, entertainment. It should be noted, however, that culture and
entertainment were at nearly identical levels.
Although the design of this study produces quantitative results, some valid
statements and generalizations can be made about the findings. This discussion
finds validity in the experience of the researcher as a tribal press editor,
insights gained from the study, five years of input from those in the tribal
media, and a lifetime of exposure to tribal politics.
Although the main expectation was that culture would be the most common
function, it was not.
The present analysis showed that the common goal of the three newspapers was to
keep tribal members informed of issues and activities, a goal that generally
translates into news about the tribal government and other members. Newspaper
goals are formed at the tribal administration level, usually by the office of
the chief or president, and not by an analysis of the uses or needs of the
readership. The structure of the newspaper produces an environment in which
political concerns supersede cultural ones. For example, in the Cherokee tribal
organization, the Advocate is administered by the public affairs department,
which, in turn, is administered by the chief. The director of public affairs is
also the editor of the paper. The newspaper's mission statement, which includes
creating a positive image of the tribe, also reflects the political emphasis.
Another possible explanation for the modest presence of cultural content was
story structure and the unit of analysis selected here. Transmission of culture
may have played a larger role in the results if the unit of analysis had been a
smaller unit, such as the paragraph. Many of the history features had
paragraphs that would have fallen under the culture category; however, taken as
a whole, the historical articles were not specific to tribal culture. Their
"history" was often a profile of an individual recalling the old days, but the
reminiscence contained only a few paragraphs that would be considered culturally
valuable, such as references to a social structure, to values, or to clan
hierarchy.
In general, however, opportunities to write culturally-relevant historical
pieces were bypassed for a news slant, thus creating the surveillance function.
For example, the Advocate covered a history convention (October, 1993) and a
Trail of Tears art show (June, 1994) as event-based informative articles or
Surveillance Exposure Internal, which was in keeping with the newspaper's
purpose. Another Surveillance Exposure Internal article (June, 1994) described
the Cherokee Heritage Center. Even though the events and center were covered
appropriately, an opportunity was missed to provide culturally-related material
as a sidebar (relevant and secondary to the main story) or as a main story with
the informative article as the sidebar.
The Surveillance Exposure Internal classification of surveillance dominated the
inside pages of the sample issues but not the front pages, where Surveillance
Instrumental Internal tied Surveillance Exposure for highest unit count and
exceeded its presence in column inches. One of the hypotheses led to the
expectation that Surveillance Instrumental Internal would be more frequent that
Surveillance Exposure Internal. Within the function of surveillance, it was
expected that content would more often fall into a subcategory of internal
rather than external surveillance and within the instrumental rather than the
exposure subcategory. The rationale for the expectation was that tribal
newspapers do not have adequate staffing, training or resources to report
extensively on external surveillance issue. Instrumental stories require less
resources and often come from press releases.
One possible explanation for the increase in Surveillance Instrumental Internal
on Page One again stems from the structure of the papers. Instrumental units
tended to focus on tribal government activities, and a function of the public
relations department would be to prominently place such information. Also, SEI
units could be considered soft news, i.e., museum receptions, youths'
accomplishments, award winners; the type of articles easily obtained and written
with limited resources in time or personnel. These articles do not require much
news hole and accompanying photos tend to be mug shots (faces). In addition, the
information and photos are usually brought in or mailed to the newspaper.
These were the type of Surveillance Exposure Internal stories found in this
analysis. The researcher originally considered exposure units to consist of the
type of feature stories and photographs that would entail extensive interviewing
and planning. Few of this type of SEI were expected. Thus, instrumental units
created from tribal government activities and reports were considered as the
most expedient and plentiful source of articles.
The data, including Page One, did support one expectation of H3, in which
internal surveillance was predicted to exceed external. Again, the rationale
was based on staffing and time restraints.
The correlation function did perform as was hypothesized, but the occurrence
of this function was so low that it rarely exceeded 10 percent in unit count or
inches. The exceptions appear in the Cherokee Advocate, in which correlation is
13 percent of overall column inches and in Page One data, it accounts for 50
percent of column inches.
As hypothesized, correlation appeared most often as an internal booster. This
would seem to support the criticisms of the tribal press as being only a
propaganda tool for the government, if it were not for the implacable domination
of surveillance. The data did not support the statement that a main function of
the tribal press is to disperse propaganda. Instead, the results indicated that
the main function of newspapers was to inform tribal members about events and
persons first and tribal government activities second.
Another deception on the face appearance of functions occurred in the
Correlation Exposer Internal classification. Overall, Correlation Exposer
Internal ranked ninth in the top 10 classifications, and for overall Page One
rankings, it appeared eighth. The purpose of Correlation Exposer Internal would
seem to be self-criticism, but that conclusion cannot be made based on the
manifest content. For instance, in the April, 1994, issue of the Creek
newspaper, a Page 3 unit, "Intent to circulate removal petitions filed by
citizen," not only reported on the removal, but also listed all the grievances
against the second chief and the attorney general. A rebuttal for the accused
was not provided until the story jumped to page 12. There, statements from the
second chief and attorney general were included. On the surface (manifest
content), the newspaper seemed more than generous in its coverage of allegations
against its own administration. An insider's knowledge may have provided a key
to whether or not this story was actually openness on the part of the tribal
government. Was it actually self-criticism, or did the chief's office take
advantage of a political situation. The chief and these other officials may
have been at odds with each other. What was dubiously missing was any statement
by the chief. Did the chief stand behind these elected members of his
administration? If so, then why no supportive statements about their
contributions to the tribe?
Further issues and implications
This study did not attempt to generalize to the tribal press as a whole. Even
if the sample were to be enlarged, some type of qualitative research would need
to accompany the analysis, such as:
y A descriptive survey of the tribal media and readers.
y In-depth interviews with tribal press staff to aid in determining the role
such variables as staff size, budgets, and government involvement played in
the
function of the newspaper.
y Interviews with tribal officials and elders to provide additional variables
other than basic demographic information. Do these variables combine to
create
the function of the newspaper?
y Some knowledge of the tribe's unique culture. Is there an awareness on the
erosion of the culture?
Nevertheless, this study can produce a general area of concern for the tribal
press and should cast doubt as to whether claimed or intended functions are
realized. Does the perception of the tribal press as being a propaganda tool
for the government come from the actual content? What are the perceptions of
the tribal government? Do tribal members and leaders perceive that their
newspapers function as assistants in communicating issues and needs to the
membership?
Tribal governments and Indian journalists obviously view the tribal newspaper
as somewhat of an advocacy press system. If that were so, correlation would
appear frequently as a function. In this study, it did not. If the criticism
of propaganda were true, correlation would also appear as a significant
function. But what does appear are the results of censorship, and in the
performance of such, tribal officials prevent not only negative news from being
published, but also sanitize content to the point of nearly excluding the
correlation function.
Critics argue that the illegitimacy of the tribal newspapers results because of
censorship and propaganda. Tribal governments rarely present an argument or take
action to the contrary. Even though this study cannot address those perceptions
in general, it should cast a seed of doubt as to whether the tribal press meets
their common perception.
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Luebke, Barbara (1982). Elias Boudinot, Cherokee editor, the father of
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[1] The sub-categories mentioned in hypothesis 2 and 3 are discussed and
defined in the
Methodology section.
Figure 5
Creek Nation newspaper functions
Figure 6
Sac and Fox Nation newspaper functions
Figure 7
Cherokee Nation newspaper functions
Table 1
Overall classification totals
Classifications
Count
% of total
Inches
% of total
SEI
585
44
7528
41
SII
341
26
5173
28
SEE
150
11
1437
8
SIE
96
7
1136
6
CBI
58
4
1132
6
E
27
2
492
3
CuH
18
1
354
2
SWE
11
.8
244
1
CEI
11
.8
258
1
CuL
9
.7
222
1
CBE
9
.7
160
.9
SWI
4
.3
32
.17
CuS
3
.23
41
.22
CuF
2
.15
10
.05
CuA
2
.15
28
.15
CEE
3
.23
87
.47
CuSS
1
.08
12
.07
CuY
1
.08
13
.07
Table 2
Page One Functions
Count
% of count
Inches
% of inches
Surveillance
94
80
1457
74
Correlation
19
16
443
23
Entertainment
2
2
28
1
Culture
2
2
38
2
TABLE 3
CREEK PAGE ONE
Classification
Unit count
Inches
Surveillance Instrumental Internal I In
13
227
Surveillance Exposure External
9
158
Correlation Booster Internal
6
105
Surveillance Instrumental External
3
52
Culture History
1
25
Entertainment
1
15
Culture Social Structure
1
13
Surveillance Exposure External
1
10
Table 4
Creek Classification Totals
Classification
Unit count
Inches
Surveillance Exposure Internal
166
1894
Surveillance Instrumental Internal
104
1331
Surveillance Instrumental External
32
291
Surveillance Exposure External
20
175
Correlation Booster Internal
15
259
Culture Language
3
49
Entertainment
3
37
Surveillance Warning External
3
34
Correlation Booster External
2
29
Culture History
2
32
Culture Social Structure
2
25
Correlation Exposer External
1
30
Correlation Exposer Internal
1
25
Culture Storytelling
1
13
Culture Functional Artifacts
1
3
|
