Suggests avenues to close the schism between research methodology and theory in mass communication. (RB)

Concludes 70 percent of all stories reported on weekday newscasts during a two-week period were covered by at least two networks and duplication was higher during the week than on weekends. (RB)

Presents research on the nonverbal aspects of messages conveyed by news and advertisements on television during the 1972 Presidential election campaign. (RB)

Describes the use of television in teaching introductory psychology, presents a brief survey of the techniques used, enrollment figures, an evaluation of the experience, the present status of the course, and suggestions for the future. (Author/JR)

The Science Communication Interest Group section of the proceedings contains the following five papers: "Accounting for the Complexity of Causal Explanations in the Wake of an Environmental Risk" (LeeAnn Kahlor, Sharon Dunwoody and Robert J. Griffin); "Construction of Technology Crisis and Safety: News Media's Framing the Y2K…

Finds that "PM Magazine" emphasized and promoted a dominant personal success value system revolving around recognition, achievement, financial success, excitement, and physical attributes. Argues that this value system existed because it appealed to a particular demographic, making the program highly marketable to national advertisers,…

Describes the development and pretest of a content analytic category scheme for objectively measuring the sexiness of women's business attire in media presentations. Finds the television samples significantly more provocative than real world attire. Finds a significant positive correlation between the degree of sexiness as measured by the content…

Opines that the study of video production is important in better understanding the aural/visual aspects of television, especially since television production is undergoing a digital revolution. Assesses the impact of new technologies by examining a "cutting-edge" program, "American Gothic." Finds that digital technology offers…

Examines articulations of "egalitarian" courtship in romantic comedy films of the 1930s and 1940s and recent television series resurrecting their conventions. Gauges the extent to which such texts are open to a negotiated reading that recontextualizes heterosexual monogamy in anarchic rather than patriarchal terms. Suggests that the…

Proposes a view of music video as persuasive argument. Presents results from a study of viewers' perceptions of music videos, finding that viewers discriminate between persuasive argument videos and nonargument videos. Reveals that viewers see social and political content in videos, and videos' potential to influence viewers. (SR)

Views competition in terms of a corporate drive for profit and as a way in which television news workers make sense of their jobs and socially construct their world. Argues that through these competitive norms and practices, news workers inadvertently help legitimate the societal status quo and perpetuate corporate control of the media, with…

Argues that effects of emotional visuals accompanying television news broadcasts are reflected not in the exact recall of text but through specific kinds of errors in recall and the relation of these errors to certain parts of the item. (SR)

Explores communication strategies and styles used in television advertising by female U.S. Senate candidates for the 1986 elections. Finds that they focused on issues and stayed away from negative advertising in their ads, tending to highlight their competency as political officials and their past accomplishments. (SR)

Examines the relative power of visual, audio, and audiovisual television messages on people's understanding of political issues. Shows that audio alone is just as effective as a combined audio and visual presentation for conveying information. Shows little difference between the effective responses to audio and video channels. (SR)

Examines associations between local news viewing motives and attention to government reports or to sports reports. Identifies significant connections between need for cognition, utilitarian local news viewing motives, and attention to government news reports. Finds attention to sports news explained only by respondent sex. Discusses implications…