Investigates static and dynamic approaches to agenda-setting research by means of cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the same data, comparing agenda-setting effects of German television news shows. Finds the static models to be unsatisfactory, while the dynamic model revealed two types of effects: television coverage caused problem…

Surveys college and university public relations directors, their presidents, and the media whom the public relations people identified as their primary newspapers. Reports what the public relations people and presidents said about themselves and what the media said about the public relations people. (MS)

Compares Hypertext researchers=FE and designers=FE metaphor of navigation in three-dimensional (physical) space with Hypertext (problem space). This paper discusses navigation concepts; physical space versus spacial and temporal relationships; navigation aids; cognitive mapping; information retrieval; and a content analysis of a screen of…

Focuses on the process by which a social problem is redefined in response to a critical events, such as economic depressions, environmental disasters, intense physical confrontations, or strategic initiatives by a social movement organization. Examines a conservative movement's attempt to redefine "the problem" of the schools at the time…

Reviews and analyzes criticisms of the design of media evaluation studies; suggests guidelines for future evaluation studies, including analyses of learning theories and desired learning outcomes; and describes the application of the evaluative guidelines to an interactive video in an English comprehensive school with 14-year-olds. (Contains 26…

Reexamines the social and legal struggles surrounding WLBT-TV in Jackson, Mississippi (1964-69) to show how conflicting consumerisms were mediated by legal institutions in an attempt to address social tensions. Reveals how the dominant discourses of liberal consumerism often displaced issues of race. (SR)

Presents media literacy research of eighth-grade students to determine the level of recognizing and understanding visual and nonvisual codes that make up motion-picture stories. Study focused on rhetoric of the film medium: trust, confidence and belief in films among children is very high; if this trust coincides with ignorance of media codes,…

Describes a study that compared two formats, traditional and distance education, for a case analysis/case writing model in a graduate course in professional development. Discusses media theory; media attributes of realism, interactivity and feedback, and interface; knowledge acquisition; skill development; confidentiality; and networking.…

Finds that Black adolescent girls were largely uninterested in teen magazines' beauty images because they conflict with African-American standards of attractiveness; that makeup and haircare products were seen as specifically intended for White girls, who consequently invest more authority in the magazines' counsel and images; and that White girls…

The United States blood plasma industry uses various rhetorics to access donors and markets its products while managing its stigma and potential legal liability. The industry includes both the public "nonprofit" sector and the private, for-profit blood collection and manufacturing businesses owned by pharmaceutical companies that rely on…

A study explored how teenage audiences interpreted brochures intended to discourage them from taking drugs, and more broadly, how readers respond to the visual and verbal messages presented through brochures that aim to inform and persuade. Over 100 brochures and handouts from national and local drug prevention agencies were collected. A subset of…

A follow-up national study surveyed 500 television and radio broadcasters to further understanding of their role as gatekeepers for public service announcements (PSAs) to educate audiences about AIDS, and to bring about "safe" behavior. Respondents were asked to provide information about their stations, and their stations' use of…

A film presented as factual may permit critical responses that question its purported factual objectivity and political neutrality. In class, Hans-Georg Gadamer's concept of effective-historical consciousness can be used to evaluate the allegedly propagandistic messages in Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will." Analysis of this 1934…

The Politics and Mass Media section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following 13 papers: "The 1992 Presidential Debates: A Cognigraphic View" (Richard F. Carter and Keith R. Stamm); "Moving to the Front of the Bus?: Network Coverage of the Invisible Primaries during the 1988 and 1992 Elections"…

The Commission on the Status of Women section of the Proceedings contains the following 12 papers: "Framing Women's Health with a Sense-making Approach: Magazine Coverage of Breast Cancer and Implants" (Julie L. Andsager and Angela Powers); "Gender Roles in 'Rumplestiltskin': The Effect of Fantasy Portrayals on Real-Life…