Examines memory for visual narratives as a function of cinematic structure. Identifies two important principles (establishing shots and directional continuity) for restructuring real-world activities into coherent filmed sequences. (SR)

Analyzes the double or mirrored scene of the Centers for Disease Control's AIDS education campaign and the responses to that campaign, basically, the dominant, heterosexual, televised discourses' defensive erasure of those semiotic objects that represent illicit and nonreproductive sex. (RS)

Investigates whether the intensity and scope of media system dependency (MSD) relations are positively related to perceptions of threats in the environment. Finds that higher perceptions of threat are associated with more intense MSD relations; threat perceptions are strong predictors of the intensity of MSD relations when demographic variables…

Investigates effects of undergraduate students' physiological arousal induced by physical activity on schematic priming effects from music videos. Finds that in high-arousal conditions priming effects were more extreme and more closely resembled music video content than in low-arousal conditions. (SR)

Finds that base-rate information (general statements about the range or importance of a problem) had little impact whereas exemplars (less valid but more vivid individual cases) had a strong effect on the perceived distribution of public opinion about news story problems, and also had a moderate impact on undergraduate students' personal opinions…

Examines the ironic "problems" of the 1989 Hollywood film "Fat Man and Little Boy" (portraying the construction of the atomic bomb at the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II) to demonstrate the ideological operations of nuclear texts, and the role of the nuclear weapons organization as a symbolic form in cultural…

Examines uses and gratifications of college-age respondents regarding media use. Finds that (1) respondents rely on the media to fulfill basic human needs but that the media are only moderately helpful in accomplishing this; (2) respondents do not always trust the media; (3) young adults have not abandoned the newspaper; and (4) television was…

Draws upon overlapping disciplines (the sociology of interaction, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, and the pragmatics of philosophy of ordinary language) with a common interest in the intelligibility of the social practices of everyday life, to investigate how it is that television and radio appear as unproblematically and meaningfully…

Investigates the relationship between candidate sex and the issues and image messages existing in the media during the 2000 Senatorial and Gubernatorial mixed-gender campaigns. Finds significant results concerning the types of issues discussed and the images portrayed when correlated to the gender of the candidate. Extends previous research by…

Investigates the media's potential to affect audiences' interpretations of news events. Compares perceptions of the causes of the 1996 presidential election outcome among listeners to Rush Limbaugh, listeners to other political talk radio, consumers of mainstream news media, and nonconsumers of news media. Finds Limbaugh listeners were more likely…

Presents preliminary findings from a needs assessment study of undergraduate communication and media training in Singapore. Content analyzes 372 relevant employment ads for 1998 and 1999. Finds nearly 60% were for marketing research, public opinion polling or other kinds of applied research. Suggests an exploding demand for graduates with…

Argues that the information-processing paradigm can both revitalize so-called strong-effects theories in mass media research and make them more inclusive. Discusses how the four previous studies in this issue show the use of simple solutions to problems that have plagued mass-media-effects research and call out for further inclusion of discussions…

A study explored the research agenda of "Public Relations Review," the oldest scholarly journal in the public relations field. To provide a descriptive and inferential analysis of the content of the journal from 1985 to 1994, four volumes were selected at random (1985, 1987, 1991, and 1993) and all the articles in them were analyzed.…

This special report discusses journalism in Germany, focusing especially on the training of journalists. The report is presented under the following headings: In retrospect (a brief description of journalism in the former East Germany); The media range in the Federal Republic of Germany; Journalist--a dream profession?; Freedom of the press and…

Based on searches of over 200 periodicals, this annotated bibliography of books and journal articles presents material related to the knowledge and practice of public relations published in 1992. The annotated bibliography is subdivided into more than 30 different categories ranging from business ethics to writing techniques. The largest…