| This study examines the attitudes of journalists at small or community newspapers toward the concept of market-driven journalism, and its implications for content diversity in their newspapers.;The researcher queried 29 journalists with differing editorial responsibilities and experience at a convenience sample of nine community newspapers throughout the state of Missouri. The study presents the attitudes and beliefs of those journalists in their own words; relates their understanding of market-driven journalism and its effect upon audience diversity, the extent to which market considerations, audience diversity and the demographics of the newspapers' circulation area are reflected in the content of their newspapers.;The author employed qualitative method using several data sets to examine the possible relationship among certain phenomena related to the question of market-driven journalism at small newspapers.;The study concludes that journalists at small newspapers do have an understanding of the impact of market-driven journalism even when they do not identify it by that term, that financial considerations do have an impact on news coverage by these newspapers to varying degrees depending on the resources of the newspaper, and that community newspapers do not adequately represent the composition of their communities, particularly new and growing population segments. |
