Deals with an open-government innovation that many cities are adopting: television coverage of city council meetings. Survey data show that less-educated, lower-income, and minority individuals watch the coverage at least as much as the more-advantaged segments of the community. Reasons for television viewing are explored. (PD)

Indicates that (1) affinity, selectivity, and involvement predicted intentionality; (2) pass time motives, perceived realism, and reduced intentionality predicted nonselectivity; (3) pass time motives and reduced affinity predicted distractions; (4) information and nonentertainment motives, perceived realism, and intentionality predicted…

Discusses how the tradition of studying the word-of-mouth diffusion of news was established in 1945 and came to mature during the 1960s after the Kennedy assassination. Notes that the pace of this research slowed substantially in the 1970s and has all but stopped in recent years. Outlines six broad generalizations resulting from studies conducted…

Describes the basic method of using naturally occurring settings for research on media effects. Suggests research questions that could be studied and identifies settings (and media markets) most promising for such research. (PD)

Indicates greater attention to televised news was related to subsequent increased fear, concern, and avoidance activity in the public's behavior. Finds no such effects for newspaper crime news attention, although greater concern was related to subsequent increased readership. (JD)

Concluded that (1) reliance on television news correlated negatively with knowledge of issues; (2) reliance on newspapers did not correlate at all; (3) focused television news correlated more highly with knowledge of issues than did general television news use; and (4) for newspapers, both focused and general use had strong correlations with…

Although communication research in China is in an early stage of development, an increasing number of training/research activities exist in universities and institutes. The 1982 Beijing Audience Survey, the first large-scale communication field study in China, reports how mass media audiences (newspaper, radio, and television) are rapidly…