Expanding and Validating Applications of the Willingness to Self-Censor Scale: Self-Censorship and M...

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Expanding and Validating Applications of the Willingness to Self-Censor Scale: Self-Censorship and Media Advisers' Comfort Level with Controversial Topics;
Authors and Corporations: Filak, Vincent F., Reinardy, Scott, Maksl, Adam
In: Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 86, 2009, 2, p. 368-382
published:
SAGE Publications
Media Type: Article, E-Article

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further information
Physical Description: 368-382
ISSN: 1077-6990
2161-430X
DOI: 10.1177/107769900908600207
published in: Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
Language: English
Subjects:
Collection: SAGE Publications (CrossRef)
Table of Contents

<jats:p> Research on the Willingness to Self-Censor (WTSC) scale posits that the desire to withhold one's opinion is an intrinsic, as opposed to situational, trait. This study of high school media advisers (N=563) revealed that advisers who rated high on WTSC were more likely to state lower levels of comfort with the coverage of five controversial topic areas in their student media. These findings held even when accounting for key demographics, fear of reprisal for running the stories, job enjoyment, and the advisers' perception of their principal's comfort level with the topic. </jats:p>