Coverage of the New Bedford Massachusetts "Big Dan's Tavern Rape Trial" by Cable News Network (CNN) television cameras was ostensibly for educational purposes, to examine how rape victims are treated in court and how the judicial process works in general. However, the sensational nature of the trial strongly suggests that it was…

A similarity exists in the way minority groups in the sixties and in the seventies used media coverage to achieve recognition. The poor and the blacks in the 1960s and the aged and the handicapped in the 1970s turned to the media as they sought freedom to move, rejected separation and isolation, and sought access and independence by breaking the…

A telephone survey was conducted in an attempt to test the veracity of some of the traditional questionnaire items commonly associated with the assessment of the Public Television image. The results of the survey indicated that items commonly used in these assessments (production competency, worthwhileness of minority programing, interest of the…

The findings of research studies that come from a variety of sources and concern newspapers, some aspects of television news, and news media audiences are summarized briefly. Among the topics are audience characteristics, content of stories, readership, headlines and makeup, editorial policy, and editorial administration and personnel. Most of the…

It is commonplace to lament the lack of knowledge about world issues and events exhibited by U.S. citizens. Communication scholars criticize the mass media's poor coverage of world affairs and stereotypic portrayals of distant lands and leaders. Despite sophisticated communications networks, U.S. mass media provide only a limited window on the…

The Spiral of Silence theory (Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, l973) suggests that highly consonant media content has a strong impact upon individuals' perception of the opinion climate as well as upon their opinion expression. Noting that the theory lacks empirical investigation, a study took advantage of a controlled media system in Cheongju, South…

A compilation of papers from a joint Finnish-Russian seminar on problems of communication research, this collection presents diverse opinions and results from researchers and observers in both countries. The titles of the papers and their authors are as follows: (1) "Role of Research and Training in Mass Communication and Public Opinion"…

Data obtained from 22 surveys conducted from 1974 through 1981 in Louisville, Kentucky, were used in a study that explored the agenda setting hypothesis, which states that heightened coverage of issues by the media causes increased perceptions of that issue as salient among the public. The research addressed (1) the extent to which both issue…

As jazz music found its way onto the public agenda between 1921 and 1929 the "New York Times" became a major forum for the controversy surrounding the new music form. Although jazz was played mostly by black musicians, this fact was seldom reflected in the newspaper's stories, and the specter of racism loomed just beneath the surface of…

Noting that the 1984 presidential campaign was the most heavily polled election in United States history, a study examined the use and abuse of opinion polls by five print media ("Newsweek,""Time,""U.S. News and World Report," the "New York Times," and the "Washington Post") and by the three major…

Focusing on the role of the international mass media, these essays stress the urgency of building confidence in the relations among European states and populations in order to secure peace on a world-wide scale and to stop the arms race on the earth and prevent its extension to outer space. Titles and authors are as follows: (1) "Welcoming…

A study investigated whether exposure to news media coverage of the 1988 Presidential campaign would be positively related to awareness of and perceptions of the saliency of the Southern regional primary. Subjects, 822 eligible voters from three locations (Arkansas; Memphis, Tennessee; and Birmingham, Alabama) were polled to determine their…

The rejection of the "Great Forces" and "Great Man" theories of newspaper history allows a middle-range view that seeks to discover the uniqueness of the newspaper business and to explain how that uniqueness shaped the business values of the editors and proprietors. An examination of three Chicago, Illinois, newspapers--the…

Examines local community radio stations in rural regions of Bolivia. Finds that active miners' radio has flourished as an entertainment and political medium and that, through their radio stations, miners' organizations have played an important role in shaping the political position of the Bolivian union movement. (KEH)

Describes two parallel studies conducted shortly before the Kyoto conference on climate change: (1) an examination of media portrayals of global warming and the certainty with which information was reported; and (2) a telephone survey to assess public knowledge and attitudes about global climate change. Findings do not support a hypothesis that…