AGENDA BUILDING ROLE OF NEWS RELEASES IN CORPORATE TAKEOVERS

This study examines how particular characteristics of news releases in fluence the media's news decisions. The hostile takeover attempt by Tu stin, California-based MAI/Basic Four (MBF) to acquire a controlling i nterest in Natick, Massachusetts-based Prime Computer provides an aren a in which to study journalists' use of companies' press releases. In order to measure the effectiveness of each company's press releases, t he study, using an agenda setting framework, considered the number and types of press releases against subsequent press clippings in terms o f length and content. Both quantity (number of column lines and averag e articles per company) and quality (lead and point of view) of newspa per coverage were examined. Supplementary explanatory information was also developed through interviews with the reporters who wrote the new spaper stories. J. David Pincus has been a Professor at California Sta te University at Fullerton for 12 years and will soon become the Direc tor of the MBA Program and Research Professor of Communication at the University of Arkansas. Coral M. Ohl and Tony Rimmer are Professors at California State University at Fullerton. Denise Harrison is a freela nce public relations consultant and received her MA from California St ate University at Fullerton.