Reports on a study of the frequency of occurrence of moving image versions, the types of differences that can occur in intellectual and artistic content from one version to another, and the visible indicators, such as mention in reference sources, appearance, and length of production associated with these differences. A list of films in sample is…

Presents a mathematical model to explain the public's issue priority by integrating media agenda-setting and social interaction. Finds that the public's issue priority was influenced by both media and social interaction. (RS)

Summarizes the perceptions of Virginia school officials regarding media coverage and analyzes newspaper coverage of school district budgeting processes. Questionnaire responses from 72 (54%) school board chairmen and 80 (60%) board of supervisors chairmen reveal that newspapers are the most important method of transmitting information from school…

Patterns in the content of three commercial magazines ("Sassy,""Seventeen," and "Young Miss") oriented toward adolescent female consumers were analyzed by three trained raters. Findings are discussed in terms of print media utilization by adolescents; themes of self-improvement, identity development, and achievement;…

Discusses why communications studies are not well poised to deal with some of the issues of the new information order that is emerging or to have an impact on it. Identifies some issues and trends for the future. (SR)

Theoretical and research literature on learning from books, television, computers, and multimedia environments is examined. The media are distinguished by cognitively relevant characteristics of their technologies, symbol systems, and processing capabilities. The relative cognitive effects of learning with different media--particularly those…

Finds that community pluralism predicted both exposure to sources of heart disease prevention information and diversity of source exposure in three upper Midwest cities. Notes that community differences in both outcomes narrowed. Suggests that the sheer amount of information about the topic of heart disease prevention and the proliferation of…

Contributes to scholarship on political communication by examining the extent to which heavy users of the Internet and other non-traditional media differ from heavy users of traditional media in their knowledge of issue stances of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. Finds that non-traditional media had little influence on political knowledge; and few…

Contributes to scholarship on agency building (how sources influence media agenda). Shows that President Jimmy Carter's elevation of human rights to a major foreign policy concern brought more news coverage to the region, more coverage of human rights, and measurable changes in the caliber of the reporting. (SR)

Identifies four key emphases in life-long radical journalist I. F. Stone's approach to reporting: his strategic approach to documents, his commitment to history, his devotion to on-the-scene research, and his independence from sources. Considers limitations and adaptations of Stone's approach for the practice of reporting and for understanding the…

Presents findings of a comprehensive 1999 survey of advisers and administrators, which showed that the high-school student press is not free, is controlled mostly by advisers, but also by principals, and views editing of the newspaper by its faculty adviser as the norm. Notes that only 27% of the principals and advisers say their papers are not…

Observes a sample of high school students and teachers to learn the educators' beliefs about the sort of effect the daily exposure to Channel One has on students. Discusses how the critics believe Channel One creates an environment that interferes with critical thinking skills threatening the educational process. Suggests that almost all educators…

A study examined the promises and limitations of the entertainment-education strategy used in development communication and charted some future directions for this approach. The approach began in the 1970s with the recognition that mass media has its limitations in fostering national development; a more participatory development theory emerged…

Although Latino youth have slightly lower rates of alcohol use than Anglo youth, evidence suggests that as Latinos acculturate their rates of use increase to match those of the Anglo adolescent population. In light of these cultural patterns, a study examined the reactions of young adult males of Latino origin to television beer and non-beer…

More specifically than the general concept of "development," the use of entertainment media as a tool for social intervention implies the purposive utilization of the mass media to engineer specific changes in knowledge, attitudes, or practice. Thus, this type of use of the entertainment media is inseparable from the notion of "what…