Noting that the press was criticized during the 1960s for failing to convey to white readers the problems and injustices experienced by black Americans, a study analyzed the nature and amount of civil rights coverage in five newspapers from 1963 through 1980. News coverage concerning blacks was examined in 66 issues from four major newspapers in different geographical areas of the country: the "New York Times,""Atlanta "Constitution," Boston "Globe," and the Chicago "Tribune." The Youngstown (Ohio) "Vindicator," a medium-sized paper, was also studied for contrast. Each newspaper's coverage of black problems as a percentage of total coverage of black Americans was recorded. The results showed that the papers ignored problems experienced by black Americans in the issues sampled from the early 1950s; increased their problem coverage in the 1960s; and provided a great deal more coverage in the 1970s. News coverage from the 1950s, however, indicated the existence of severe injustices that could have been explored, and in the 1960s news coverage focused exclusively on racial discrimination in the South. During all three periods the papers failed to explore the ghetto residents' grievances. Finally, much of the 1960s problem coverage concerned the difficulties of local blacks, but this local emphasis decreased sharply in the 1970s. (HTH)