In 1928, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) developed a voluntary code of ethics to reduce public criticism of radio. Critics claimed that these NAB efforts at self-regulation were either too lenient or so strong that they posed antitrust problems. Still others focused on the issue of accountability in the code making process,…

A fifteen-item Likert scale and indepth personal interviews were used to collect data in a study that examined whether five individuals who held both the role of editor and public official were perceived as able to perform in a socially responsible manner as editors of their community newspapers in their estimation and in the estimation of a…

A study sought answers for seven questions about the public's orientation toward television news. Television interviews were conducted with 823 adult residents of Dane County, Wisconsin, during October 1983 by trained graduate students and advanced undergraduates as part of a communications research methods course. Results showed that the public…

A quantitative analysis of 40 years of articles appearing in the "Public Relations Journal" was made to determine how the journal has responded to ethical criticism of public relations over the years. While 17% of the articles during one eight-year period discussed questions touching on ethics in some way, quantitative analytical tools…

Approximately 200 residents new to the Seattle, Washington, metropolitan area were interviewed in a study to discover the interrelationships between information needs and newspaper use under conditions of dislocation. Five major areas of concern to new residents were identified (home, neighborhood, community, work, and leisure) and described in…

A survey of 900 residents of Gainesville, Florida, conducted in April and May 1974 assessed their opinions on a number of statements regarding advertising and programing on children's television shows. Of the 14 statements used, 6 were worded so that the television advertiser might be regarded as a "good guy" or his "commercial as hero." The other…

Provides an overview of recent Presidential requests for network time for addressing nationwide television audiences, examines the network responses to these requests, and notes the extent to which network access has enabled the Presidents to influence public opinion. (MH)

Reports on a study that explored two dimensions of Canadian attitudes toward the political integration of Quebec into the rest of Canada: (1) the front page and editorial output of the country's newspapers with respect to integration issues, and (2) the feedback on these issues, measured by the content of letters to newspaper editors. (Author/GT)

Reports on an investigation focusing on the interrelationships of certain media and nonmedia variables (including newspaper, television, and candidate image variables) that appeared to be operating in a way that influenced the outcome of 23 Texas mayoral races. (Author/GT)

A survey of 266 adults supported previous findings that television is perceived to be a more credible, truthful, and important source of local news than the newspaper. (GT)

Discusses a survey designed to assess the impact of publicity following the arrest of Patricia Hearst and concludes that pretrial publicity may not affect public opinion in a criminal case to the extent previously believed. (MH)

States that media effects are largely long-term and indirect, and that lay publics associate more risk with science and technology in their social context than with the underlying science itself. Uses biotechnology to explore media effects issues. Concludes that the scientific community's interests would be better served by news addressing…

Examines the relative influence of six communication modalities on voters' perceptions of lesser-known candidates during contested presidential primary campaigns. Indicates that interpersonal communication dominates all modalities in influencing voters' perceptions in the "distant phase" and persists into the "localized phase."…

To derive a model for testing, research questions were formulated which asked how long news coverage viewed in the past continues to influence the perceived salience of issues and the rate at which the influence drops off. To do this, some common factors that have been shown to affect public perceptions of issue salience, such as the prominence of…

Standard histories of public relations privilege the field's association with business enterprise, and traditionally place the origins of the field in the press agentry of the 19th century and in the rise of corporate concern with public opinion in the first decade of the 20th century. However, the roots of public relations reach both farther and…