IMPACTS OF INFORMATION SUBSIDIES AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE ON LOCAL-PRESS COVERAGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION

An analysis of 373 daily newspapers in the Midwest found that communit y structure and an information subsidy from an environmental group aff ected press coverage of a story about pollution from industrial toxins . A press kit the group sent to some newspapers appears to have influe nced the papers to run a story on industrial toxic releases, but it pr imarily prompted editors to delegate local staff to cover the story. R esults indicate that the press' function to report or raise issues con cerning industrial toxic releases and related health risks is tempered by community structure and particularly by community reliance on manu facturing.