A study was conducted in the Washington, D.C., area to test mass media effects in a community controversy. Five possible theories were hypothesized to explain the effects media have on a community: indirect and direct effects, null effects, agenda setting, reverse effects, and reverse agenda setting. During the 16-month test period of the British and French Concorde supersonic jet flights into Dulles International Airport, a noise complaint telephone number was publicized and complaint calls were coded. Also, mass media coverage of the controversy was monitored by tabulating the number of Concorde-related statements appearing in the "Washington Post," on NBC, CBS, and ABC national newscasts, and on television station WTOP, which had the highest rated local news programs. After the tabulations were analyzed, it was found that three of the theories (direct and indirect effects, agenda setting, and reverse agenda setting) received some empirical support. However, expanding from statistical tests, it can be argued that the direct/indirect effects theory best explains the data. (TJ)