Compares the day-to-day work routines of commercial radio with the principles of a theoretical communication model. Illuminates peculiarities of the conduct of communication by commercial radio. Discusses the application of theoretical models to the evaluation of practicing institutions. Offers assessments of commercial radio deriving from…

Presents a dialog between two communication scholars on communication as an academic discipline. Discusses whether communication is a discipline, the legacy of Wilbur Schramm, and specialization and diversity within the field. (SR)

Compares three theories examining the role of communication in producing and coping with subjective uncertainty. Notes that uncertainty reduction theory offers axioms and derived theorems that describe communicative and noncommunicative causes and consequences of uncertainty. Compares meanings of "uncertainty" in the three theories as…

This study of jury selection and verdicts is a part of a symposium on legislative and judicial communication. (CH)

This study of juror decision-making is part of a symposium on legislative and judicial communication. (CH)

Introduces six articles comprising a symposium on dynamic social impact theory--a theory discussing the creation, maintenance, structuring, and alteration of attitude, beliefs, and belief systems; the dynamics of social influence; and the role of human ecology in the formation of belief and belief systems. Discusses theoretical premises and…

Discusses not only the procedures, assumptions, and applications of advanced categorical statistics, but also covers some common misapplications, from which a great deal can be learned. Addresses the use and limitations of cross-tabulation and chi-square analysis, as well as issues such as observation independence and artificial inflation of a…

Entails a shift in focus from measuring level of uncertainty to examining multiple and potential conflicting meanings of uncertainty, a shift from measuring communication behaviors to evaluating communication practices, and a shift from predicting what people will do to predicting and explaining the effectiveness and appropriateness of what they…

Discusses the concepts of new journalism in terms of the writers who have dominated the movement. (MH)

Discusses the critical sociology of communication of the Frankfurt School suggesting that theorists such as Lowenthal, Adorno, and Habermas have outlined both the political economics of manipulation and the social psychological interaction between the audience and the media. (MH)

Reflects on the status of communication study since 1959 when Bernard Berelson announced that communication research was "withering away." Addresses the development of the discipline and the issue of "ferment in the field." (PD)

Evaluates McLuhan's contribution to the theoretical literature on rhetoric and communication. Reviews some of the ontological and normative tenets of his early and late periods in order to place him within contemporary intellectual circles. (PD)