Examines the discursive construction of audience identity at a public radio station in New Mexico by investigating listener letters printed in the radio station's newsletter. Shows how the letters frame the audience in particular ways. Discusses listener letters as an ongoing text, and spatial discourse as metacommunication. (SR)

"Slacker Astronomy" is a weekly podcast that covers a recent astronomical news event or discovery. The show has a unique style consisting of irreverent, over-the-top humor combined with a healthy dose of hard science. According to our demographic analysis, the combination of this style and the unique podcasting distribution mechanism allows the…

Indicates that readers were in substantial agreement on their impressions of the subjects of news stories, as were other readers who viewed only the mugshots associated with those stories. Finds that these judgments correlated significantly with one another. (JD)

Noting that previous research on avoidance fails to explain adequately the forces behind reading or not reading, a study examined the avoidance gratifications of southern Illinois newspaper readers and nonreaders. Data for the study were collected during the course of a more general newspaper readership survey in Carbondale. In telephone…

Examines some of the theoretical implications for public relations campaign planning. Finds evidence that audience complexity affects the outcome of a campaign and suggests it should be one of the factors taken into consideration when laying out initial strategy. (MS)

Examines pictures used in "USA Today" and its readership data and concludes that it is edited primarily for men. (FL)

Argues that, in terms of demography of attention, broadcast economics, the excitation of wide public commentary, and First and Third World media dependency issues, American Olympic television is a worthwhile object of scrutiny for mass communication researchers. Appraises two studies by Thomas Farrell and Eric Rothenbuhler (same issue). (SR)

A study was conducted to assess the dimensions of a National Public Radio (NPR) audience's interests in programing, and how these interests define subaudience groups. Telephone surveys were conducted with 276 persons who were over 18 years of age and who usually listened to the local university operated NPR station at least one day per week. The…

This paper explores three audience models which have traditionally animated American communications policy: the Effects Model, in which the audience is victim; the Marketplace Model, in which the audience is consumer; and the Commodity Model, in which the audience is a coin of exchange. In separate sections, the models are defined, their varying…

A study investigated the kinds of content total market coverage (TMC) publications carry, the role of the newsroom in publishing them, and how closely identified they are with the parent newspaper. These TMC publications, begun only a few years ago, are designed to cover the total market with selected, preprinted advertisements inserted into…

A study was conducted to determine if interest in business and financial news could be predicted from factors other than demographic variables. It was hypothesized that the type and number of personal financial investments the reader had would predict interest in business and financial news. In a telephone survey, 376 adults in a large,…

A survey of 155 midwestern movie viewers was conducted to determine the factors of the selective exposure and appeal of horror films. Audience members leaving the theatre after viewing "Halloween II" were interviewed using a questionnaire that contained measures of specific reasons for liking horror films as well as measures of several…

A statistical summary of the newspaper industry for 1984 and previous years is presented in this brochure. Focusing primarily on the United States newspaper industry, the brochure also contains some information on Canadian newspapers. The brochure presents statistics in the following categories: (1) number of daily newspapers, (2) daily newspaper…

Tests relationships between trust in television news and newspaper coverage and each of four attitude components: direction, intensity, closure, and involvement. Finds significant relationships for all four components. Notes that existing hypotheses relating credibility to attitude have not anticipated that credibility might be related to more…

Although many campus radio stations try to copy or emulate their commercial counterparts, determining who is listening to the station is often difficult. It is not odd for stations to undertake in-house listener surveys, which are often conducted by classes studying audience research. Results of the 1995 College Radio Survey highlight significant…