Explores the existence of a cognitive bias that affects an individual's processing of political advertisements. Finds that whether voters see messages as issue or image material depends on their predisposition. (RS)

Examines the agenda-setting impacts of electronic text news (ETN) and reactions to ETN as a news medium. Finds that electronic news viewers have nearly the same agenda as do users of traditional media. (MM)

Examines the electronic polling process (telephone polling that uses synthesized or digitized voice). Compares the process with two similar telephone polls and provides a basic cost efficiency comparison between the polls. Finds that digitized systems place more calls but get lower response rates than regular phone surveys. (MM)

The author describes an educational radio series developed for the British Broadcasting Corporation that aimed to provide informed discussions of community issues with interaction between experts and a live audience and to reach a wider audience via radio. The author concludes that the series was generally successful. (CH)

In small towns throughout the Midwest, families would gather on nights for an evening of broad comedy, melodrama, and music. Jackson Community College has kept this dying art alive every summer since the Rosier Players troupe was donated to the college in 1976. (MLW)

Presents a theoretical description of public relations for scholars, practitioners, and students. Suggests it is useful to view public relations as an area of study. Describes how the public relations process has applications in research and theory development, pedagogy, and practice. (MS)

Examines the performance of texts ("trigger scripting") as a method of modifying sexual attitudes and assertiveness in a dating context in order to prevent date rape or unwanted sexual aggression. Suggests that live performance alone and live performance plus discussion cam modify sexual attitudes and increase awareness of the issues.…

Focuses on three widely publicized sermons given by the Reverend Jedidiah Morse to examine the role of the jeremiad (or political sermon) in shaping public attitudes toward political dissent during the Franco-American Crisis of 1798-1799. (MM)

Notes that hypermedia may place additional cognitive loads on audiences and may change the way information is processed. Argues that those who write for hypermedia applications may need to change the way they look at the writing process, and those who teach writing may need to reconsider what they teach and what they choose to emphasize. (SR)

In a series of workshops, a women's writing group published books with sophisticated design and graphics aimed at an audience beyond the group itself. The value was not in publishing per se, but in learning, confidence, achievement of educational objectives, and relationships generated with the wider community. (SK)

Finds that root organizational metaphors significantly influence writers' rhetorical choices and perception of their communication role. Shows that 23 staff writers described their communication activities in mechanistic terms, which complements their organization's view of itself as a smoothly operated machine, and explains why writers were not…

Investigates similarities in how people respond to mediated presentations and nonmediated experience in the realm of social interaction. Finds that viewing distance manipulation failed to support predictions and watching larger television screens led to more positive emotional responses, in which subjects selected a viewing position that…

Argues that female students, especially those in cultures expecting women to be humble and nonassertive, often need a special venue for developing their writing voices. Describes a teaching method for writing instructors that encourages females to develop their voices and audience awareness. (HB)

Discusses a role-playing scenario designed to introduce the concepts of audience and purpose to business and technical communication students. Notes that, although the scenario has reduced the frequency of the question "Did I miss anything important?" from absentee students, the scenario has not helped the instructor to understand why…

Argues that an anthology of professional essays (because of its intellectual demands) can impede rather than facilitate mastery of basic writing skills. Suggests that the main criterion in selecting readings should be a good match between the audience assumed by the chosen texts and the actual audience in the classroom. (SR)