The highlights of articles evaluating the results of media research over the past 25 years are briefly reviewed, and the constructionists' and the reductionists' approaches to media research are described. It is pointed out that for the researcher in media, the implications of a constructionist approach are quite clear, at least from a…

Noting that the technique of content analysis has become a useful tool for mass communication researchers, this annotated bibliography explains how the field evolved. The annotated bibliography's introduction suggests that: first stage issues (from the 1890s to the mid-1930s) involved efforts by journalists and educators to develop systematic…

This paper examines the tradition of research within the field of educational technology and cites problems endemic to the dominant research methods. It is suggested that a reexamination of the history of the field has intrinsic merit and is necessary at this time; furthermore, historical analysis may assist in the development of new research…

Two pioneering public radio stations--WOSU-AM, licensed to the Ohio State University in Columbus, and WHA-AM, licensed to the University of Wisconsin in Madison--conducted audience research as early as the 1920s. The challenge for early education broadcasters became to adapt the existing audience research paradigm to their purposes, or to develop…

The seeds of mass communication research in broadcasting were extracurricular, not academic, inspired by experimental campus radio stations. Prior to the mid-1930s, radio research was scarce. Until World War II, radio speech was the most important topic, followed by articles on how to use radio for improving instruction. There are three…

Reviews the history of the most widely used device for measuring mass media audience reactions. Notes that competition and the expensive media environment have led communication scholars and policymakers to a revived interest in this device and qualitative audience measurement. (PD)

"Bosstown Sound" was a slogan used to promote several Boston (Massachusetts) rock bands in 1968. In theory, the Bosstown Sound was a logical development to follow the San Francisco "sound," which included the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape, and other Bay Area bands that had been commercially successful in 1967.…

The use of promotional films by the Hampton (Virginia) Normal and Agricultural Institute between 1900 and 1917 is examined in this paper. The paper first traces the problems faced by Hampton and other private southern black schools during the early twentieth century and describes Hampton's extensive promotional efforts designed both to improve…

The Advertising section of the proceedings contains the following 16 papers: "Ethics of Advertising Practitioners: An Explanation Based on a Classical Theoretical Framework" (Cornelius B. Pratt and E. Lincoln James); "Sex Roles in Frightening Film Newspaper Advertisements: An Overview of the Past 50 Years" (Melissa M. Spirek);…