The funnies are a serious business: how local newspaper editors make decisions concerning diverse and controversial comic strips

Abstract

Media theorists have identified five models explaining media content: reflection, media routines, personal characteristics, extrinsic forces and manipulation. This study looks at diversity and controversy in newspaper comic strips to test the models that 1) media content is determined by personal characteristics of the decision maker; and 2) media content is determined by forces extrinsic to the decision maker. It was found that in the majority of cases the personal characteristics of the newspaper editor were more important in determining which diverse and controversial comic strips he/she will publish. However, it was found that no single model completely explains how editors make decisions concerning controversial and diverse material, but instead a variety of decision making models, including reflection, media routines, personal characteristics, and extrinsic forces, influence editor’s decision making.