A study examined newspaper coverage of the United States' withdrawal from Unesco to determine whether the public was given a balanced picture of the issues involved and to examine the degree of impartiality of the coverage of one specific issue, the New World Information Order. The study analyzed reports that appeared in American daily newspapers from the Associated Press, United Press International, the New York Times News Service, and the Washington Post/Los Angeles Times News Service. Approximately 4,000 news stories, editorials, and columns dealing with the withdrawal were identified for the period from December 1983, when the U.S. announced its intention to withdraw, to December 1984, when the withdrawal formally took place. The stories were entered into a computer data base to determine patterns and orientation of coverage. The results indicated that of the nation's approximately 1,700 daily newspapers only 289, or about 17%, appeared to have carried any news reports at all on the withdrawal. Three-quarters of the published news reports were credited to one of the four agencies analyzed, the largest number from the Associated Press. The reports were highly critical of Unesco and supportive of the withdrawal. The newspapers followed the news agency agenda, and tended to select from the agency files those reports most critical of Unesco, while ignoring those that supported the organization or opposed the withdrawal. The results suggest that readers relying on their local paper for news on which to base their opinion about the merits of the withdrawal would have received a very one-sided picture of the issues involved. (HTH)