Reviews U.S. court decisions on cases in which a child or young adult was the victim of violence that was said to have been induced by the media. Suggests that the courts have generally hesitated to hold media organizations accountable for inciting the violent acts of individuals. (NKA)

Argues that terrorists are so restrained by situation and purpose that their acts form a distinct rhetorical genre. Suggests that their failure to persuade or conquer makes this impotent for longterm objectives. (MS)

"If communications research is now in ferment, that ferment can be attributed to its invasion by a broader set of multidisciplinary concerns and particularly to a reunion of the social sciences with the humanities." (Author)

Affirms the third-person effect perceptual-bias hypothesis that people perceive news media coverage to exert greater influence on other people than on themselves. Finds no association between third-person perception and support for restrictions on press coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. (SR)

Examines a particular rhetorical and narrative strategy--irony--used in a particular genre of contemporary journalism--investigative reporting--to tell stories about suffering and injustice. Argues that irony "in" journalism presents several ironies "of" journalism. (RS)

Examines Barbara Sharf's article analyzing public commentary about psychiatrists generated by the Hinkley trial and finds that dominant media messages elicit undeserved negative fantasy themes concerning psychiatry. Argues that fantasy theme analysis offers rhetorical critics a framework for examining process by which the meaning of world events…

Finds that double presentation of a radio story to children did not result in fewer novel ideas than did a single presentation, thus proving implausible the faulty-memory hypothesis that radio stories elicit more novel responses than television stories because they are less well remembered. Notes that radio stories elicited more novel responses in…

Contends that television, film, and other forms of narrative fiction have often been understood as direct competitors to the traditional beliefs and values of organized religion. Analyzes several cases in which stories of the afterlife, supernatural, and paranormal in the entertainment media become an important context through which teens…

Provides data from a study indicating that a majority of U.S. adults see others as more adversely affected by pornography than they themselves (consistent with third-person perception research). Finds that peoples' support for pornography restrictions parallels the discrepancy they perceive between effect on self and effect on others. (PA)

Examines the effects on students of watching "Channel One." Finds a direct effect in that those who watch a television news show in the classroom learn more news and want to buy more of the products they see advertised than those who are not exposed to the program. (RS)

Contributes to scholarship on the media, mnemonic agents, and collective memory by examining the special role played by Israeli media in the struggle over the commemoration of Yitzhak Rabin. Shows how the media, especially television, became the main mnemonic site and the most influential mnemonic agent in these processes. Looks at how Rabin's…

Examines how news frames in campaign coverage affect an individual's interpretation of campaigns. Conceptualizes framing effects in terms of a construction of a mental model and emphasizes how news interpretation is influenced by news texts and by interpreter's social knowledge. Explores message structures of the strategy and issue frames, and…

Looks at how intellectuals in the second quarter of the twentieth century responded to the rise of radio broadcasting, recovering some rich ideas about interactivity and intimacy in mass communication. Suggests that radio and television marked the end of mass communication understood as a form of communication that constitutes its audience and…

Shows that communication and social psychology research in the past 100 years have identified 2 different aspects of reality evaluation. Outlines the critical elements to form a theory of media reality effects. Extends that theory to include virtual reality, and shows how virtual reality will be an important tool for investigating these effects.…

Argues for a more interdisciplinary approach to journalism scholarship to provide a fuller account of media power. Considers briefly the notions of performance, narrative, ritual, and interpretive community as alternative frames through which to consider journalism. (SR)