This paper is the result of a research carried out under the umbrella of the "UNESCO UniTWIN Network on Media, Gender, and ICTs" Project, and it tries to determine the presence of subjects with a specific focus on gender in the current Communication Degrees offered at Spanish universities. The inclusion of subjects about gender equality…

For English-speaking researchers, French doctoral dissertations can represent a "terra incognita." For this reason, a retrospective bibliometric study of French dissertations in press and media studies offers a useful profile of available research to researchers concentrating in studies of the press and other media. The present study…

Contends that the trouble with communication research is fragmentation and too much low-quality and very little high-quality work. (PD)

Develops a framework to examine the communication goals of interacting partners and how these affect media choice. States that 70 people were presented with different communication situations, and were asked which mode of communication they would use. Finds that in situations of relational competitiveness, relational control was a significant…

This edition of the public relations annotated bibliography (approximately 950 entries) contains titles published in 1986 and 1987 and includes books, magazines, master's theses, and doctoral dissertations that pertain to the practice and analysis of public relations. Among the extensive list of topics covered in the bibliography are: (1) business…

Supports the hypothesis that exposure to nonmediated information that conflicts with information gained from a media source would cause an increase in media skepticism. Suggests that media skepticism may be a useful construct for future research in communication processes and effects. (NKA)

Reviews the past five years of community ties research. Examines recent research for evidence of progress in resolving important conceptual issues, and discusses problems that still persist despite previous cautions. (RAE)

Argues that scholars from other communication disciplines could learn much from public relations research. Discusses public relations research at the micro level (individual public relations programs), the meso level (managerial), and the macro level (what makes excellent public relations possible). Offers an integrative theory explaining the…

Argues that the discipline of communication has not progressed for two reasons: because scholars talk more to each other than to those outside the field, and because they have not clearly defined what they are about to themselves, their colleagues, their students, and the general public. (SR)

This paper argues for a synthesis between the major competing paradigms of empirical positivism and critical theory, into a multiperspective methodology. Citing recent efforts to incorporate such a merger, the paper concludes that, though such a copula appears necessary, it remains problematic when considered within the context of an immutable…

A telephone survey of 10 Minnesota communities was conducted to examine media use. The results indicated a pattern of metropolitan dominance throughout the suburbs and general dominance of metropolitan media for nonlocal news. Dominance of the two Minneapolis daily newspapers was reflected in their circulation, followed by the two St. Paul…

Relates the history of the focus group as a research tool, explores its recent revival, and reappraises the method and its appropriateness for media and communications research. Argues that the focus group discussion should be regarded as a socially situated communication. Discusses the various relations this may bear toward different approaches…

Outlines four factors that account for the relative lack of integration between mass communication and interpersonal communication researchers. Cites several forces that support segregation of the two research areas, yet notes that the recent turn to cognitive explanations of communication in both fields may create the climate for meaningful…

Subjective comments from veteran news reporters, media critics, and the public give the impression that bad or negative news is becoming a major problem in this country. This impression raises major questions concerning how much is really known about bad news, including whether the media present an accurate or distorted picture of reality in…

To learn whether the problem of misunderstanding in brand names might be caused by the content of advertisements or whether it stemmed from a failure in the exposure-processing chain with respect to the effect of the ads on consumers, a study investigated the extent to which marketers provide information in their advertising that clarifies the…