Weaver, David H. (1947–)

David H. Weaver is primarily known for his theoretical work on media agenda setting and his landmark studies of American journalists. Weaver's most significant [Page 828]contribution to the original agenda-setting hypothesis is the psychological concept of need for orientation, which he developed with Maxwell E. McCombs in the 1970s. The need for orientation explains how political interest and uncertainty influence people's tendency to seek information about political issues in the news media. Weaver's representative survey studies of American journalists conducted in 1982, 1992, and 2002 provide exclusive insights into the changing demographic and educational backgrounds, working conditions, and professional and ethical norms that have characterized journalists in the United States during the past 3 decades. His coauthored book The American Journalist in the 21st Century is based on the latest survey conducted in 2002 and features interviews with almost 1,500 print, television, radio, and online journalists. Weaver is also the editor of the book The Global Journalist, which brings together surveys of journalists from more than 20 countries around the world.

Weaver earned his Ph.D. in mass communication research from the University of North Carolina in 1974, after working as an editor and reporter at four daily newspapers in Indiana and North Carolina and serving as an information officer in the U.S. Army. His bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism are from Indiana University. In 1974, he joined the School of Journalism at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he has been lecturing mainly in the areas of research methods, political communication, and public opinion. In 1988, he accepted his current position as the Roy W. Howard Professor in Journalism and Mass Communication Research.

Weaver's professional achievements, among many others, include serving as president of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research (MAPOR) from 1986 to 1987 and as the president of the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (AEJMC) from 1987 to 1988. His honors include the 1983 Krieghbaum Under 40 Award for excellence in teaching, research and service in journalism and mass communication from the AEJMC, the 1986 Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for research about journalism (with G. Cleveland Wilhoit) for the book The American Journalist, the 1993 Fellow Award for significant contributions to public opinion research from the MAPOR, the 1996 Sigma Delta Chi Distinguished Service Award for research about journalism (with Wilhoit) for the book The American Journalist in the 1990s, the 2000 Fellow Award from the International Communication Association, the 2005 Trayes Award for outstanding contributions to mass communication scholarship from the AEJMC, and the 2006 Presidential Award (with Wilhoit) for 3 decades of research on journalists also from the AEJMC.

Weaver's studies on professional journalism are unique in the field of mass communication because they have provided empirical findings about the work of journalists that can be easily compared across time. Moreover, his studies have brought together communication scholars from different countries who have enriched his research with an international perspective lacking in so many other communication studies.