Information available suggests that the media are rarely a major influence on the amount of violence and that they function as much to deter as to incite violence. Yet, if reports of violence affect expectations, then the nature of public protest as well as of official response will be influenced. (Authors)

Unlike most of the regulatory constraints which have impact on the media, libel, slander, and invasion of privacy are common law concepts developed from the precedents of previous court decisions and from reasoning employed in the written judicial opinions of appellate courts. Since common law is thus both traditional in nature and subject to…

This volume presents the findings of several research studies related to jury verdicts in felony cases and pretrial publicity. The studies include: "Trial Judges' Opinions on Prejudicial Publicity" by Fred Siebert, an attempt to learn whether or not judges thought that pretrial publicity had ever resulted in miscarriage of justice in…

An essay on the responsibilities of news media discusses the priorities of network news coverage, distorted editing, and the need for consumer awareness and concern about mass media inadequacies. (FG)

This report discusses the background, advantages, and disadvantages of the televised presidential press conference, citing the opinions of numerous newspaper and magazine writers. After presenting a brief overview of the presidential press conference from the administration of Theodore Roosevelt to that of Eisenhower, the report discusses the type…

Based on responses from 1130 interviews in black and white neighborhoods, perceptions of what occurred relating to an incident in Detroit were linked to reports from mass media. Different media combinations were associated differently with how whites and blacks relying on these sources perceived the incident. (Author)

The United States is a major exporter but a minor importer of films and television programs; this situation has been described as a one-way flow of information from the United States to other nations. Although the official United States position is one of dedication to the two-way flow of communication, the "majority" view is that the…

This paper presents a conceptual analysis of bias and outlines the complexity and subtlety of the questions engulfing bias by sorting out views of bias that have been implicit in debates about the media, assessing the scientific value of these competing views in identifying and understanding bias in the media, offering an alternative view which is…

Recognizing that mass media--now at a stage of viewing critically its effects and responsibilities--and society at large are interdependent, this casebook reviews the many facets of the media and mass communication as they relate to both producers and consumers of messages. The 23 chapters include discussions of the media's responsibility toward…

The nature and extent of the news media coverage of political advertising in the presidential campaign of 1972 was shallow and spotty at best. The candidates' political advertising strategies received limited coverage by reporters and commentators. Even the "prestige" press--16 major newspapers--provided limited coverage to the nature…

The skills required by the television journalist--writing, editing, filming, broadcasting--are fully described and analyzed in this detailed guide and textbook. Among the topics treated are sources of news stories, interviewing techniques, filming of breaking news, newsfilm editing, clear and colorful writing, and graphics presentation. A…

The objective of the Aspen Program on Communication and Society is to identify issues dealing with communication in a free society and to develop policy and actions in four areas: 1) government and media; 2) public broadcasting; 3) television and social behavior; and 4) cable television and other new technologies. In accordance with this goal, a…

This selection of readings, primarily intended for a college journalism course, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the major sources of the public news--the wire services, newspapers, and television. The first part of the book deals with the context of mass news and serves as an introduction to some of the crucial ideas shaping thinking…

After discussing the need for message pluralism in a democracy, this report focuses on a three-stage research strategy conducted to study the effects of newspaper/television cross-ownership on news homogeneity. The three stages consist of: an analysis of questionnaire data obtained from 214 newspaper managing editors and television news directors;…

Covered in this handbook is the craft of reviewing from multiple points of view: the established critic on a metropolitan newspaper, a national magazine, or a television station; the newcomer who is trying to review all forms of entertainment for a small-town daily paper; the New York drama critic; and the freelance reviewer whose work appears in…