Approximately 500 people were interviewed in a study designed to assess the effectiveness of and response-motivation to a public action campaign in a developing country. It focused on Nigeria's voter registration drive conducted in preparation for that country's first political elections in more than 13 years and explored some factors that…

In a 1978 followup to a 1977 survey of Louisiana legislators' perceptions about news media coverage of the annual legislative session, the legislators ranked the four major news media (daily/weekly newspapers, television, and radio) in terms of ten coverage factors. These factors included alertness, completeness, fairness, accuracy, interest,…

As a result of the Bruno Richard Hauptmann trial in 1935, the American Bar Association enacted Canon 35 (amended in 1952 and 1963 to incorporate stricter standards) that recommended the banning of certain media coverage in the courtroom. Subsequent surveys conducted among the legal community in Oklahoma, Illinois, and Florida regarding Canon 35…

Past studies of media credibility have yielded contradictory results. In some research, television has the most credibility, while in others, radio or newspapers have the most. A probable reason for this is the way survey questions are phrased. In asking for a "major source of news," some questions focus on the "most likely medium" for news in…

Offers summaries of studies that investigated many topics, including the following: (1) images of the United States in Jordanian media; (2) television terms, such as "radiovision," that did not last; (3) how newspapers in Alaska cope with staff turnover; (4) newspaper design preferences among students; and (5) the problem of libel for…

Explores the role of memory in mediating mass communication effects. Examines (1) the nature of memory, (2) issues in retention and recall of media messages, (3) methods of promoting retention and recall of media messages, and (4) implications of memory processes for mass media effects. (PD)

Summarizes recent research on the following topics: media coverage and information-seeking behavior, newspaper treatment of state government releases, magazine evaluations and readership, motivation for viewing television programs, sex differences in bylines, photojournalism, advertising on children's television, television editorial themes,…

Takes an integrative look at the correlates of newspaper school students from Dallas, Texas. Suggests that the most important predictor of nonreadership is perception of time and effort needed to read the newspaper, with nonreaders having neither time nor interest. (MG)

A study examined, through comparison, The "New York Times'" coverage of the 1995 women's and men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournaments. The study sought to answer three questions: (1) Does the "Times" frame the women's event as unimportant?; (2) If so, how?; and (3) What does this say about…

The Minorities and Communication section of the proceedings contains the following 10 papers: "A Content Analysis of Advertising Techniques in Mass Market and African-American Magazine Advertisements" (Jan S. Slater and others); "Political and Racial Adversaries: Southern Black Elected Officials and the Press" (Daniel Riffe and…

The Mass Media Effects section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following 13 papers: "The Nature of the Public's Objections to Television Programs: An Examination of Third-Person Effects" (Guy E. Lometti and others); "An Examination of the Relationship of Structural Pluralism, News Role and Source Use with…

The Minorities and Communication section of these Proceedings contains the following 10 papers: "L'affaire Jake Powell: The Minority Press Goes to Bat against Segregated Baseball" (Chris Lamb); "Strategies for Surveying Small, Urban Publications on Patterns of Writing Staff Racial Diversity" (Yvonne Laurenty); "Sensing,…

This paper discusses the issues involved and presents an overall picture of attempts to censor the April 11, 1938 issue of "Life" magazine featuring a four-page spread of 35 pictures from the film "The Birth of a Baby." It examines contemporary news accounts from newspapers published in New York, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, New…

To determine the relationship of various forms of communication to adoption of energy conservation behavior among homeowners, and to compare the energy conserving behavior of those under 65 with those over 65, a three-year panel study was conducted in a Midwest suburban community. Heads of households who owned single family dwellings were…

A study was conducted to determine whether newspaper coverage of black Americans diminished after the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and whether new images of blacks have begun to emerge in the media. Items concerning black Americans in 66 issues each of the "New York Times,""Boston Globe,""Chicago Tribune," and…