Communication Commons^™

Priming Past The Primary: Mass Media, Issue Salience And Candidate Evaluation In A Race Governor, Robert J. Griffin Ph.D., Jim Pokrywczynski

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Past research indicates that voters have begun to rely less on party affiliations and more on candidates' images and positions on issues in making voting decisions. Through using the mass media, voters can learn about issues and candidates, and form images of the candidates.

Our study concerns the effects of mass mediated election news, and of political advertising, on voters' choice of candidates. In particular, we examined the roles of media agenda-setting and priming, and of negative political advertising, in the development of voter’s evaluations of candidates. An important trend in agenda-setting research is to look beyond issue saliences as …

Peer Reviewers Describe Success In Grant Writing, James Pokrywczynski

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This article presents a comment on success in grant writing. According to the survey of 92 administrators of mass communication programs, successful grant applications rank in the top 10 in importance to successful faculty performance. To increase the success rate of grant proposals, many universities hold faculty seminars with representatives from a research support or graduate studies office making presentations. The objective of the author is to obtain specific criteria on acceptable grant proposals from the people who review proposals in mass communication research. According to reviewers, grant proposals in the communication area are almost exclusively quantitative.

The Effects Of Community Pluralism On Press Coverage Of Health Risks From Local Environmental Contamination, Robert J. Griffin, Sharon Dunwoody

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Based on the conflict/consensus model of Tichenor, Donohue and Olien, we proposed that mass mediated information signalling that local agents are contaminating the local environment and posing health risks is conflict-generating information and, therefore, will be controlled in the interest of community stability. Such control would be expected to vary by community structure. A content analysis of nine months of coverage by 19 newspapers supported the hypothesis that papers in more pluralistic communities were more likely than papers in less pluralistic communities to link contamination from local agents to threats to human health in the community, and to frame stories …

Environment Reporting In The U.S Media: Press Coverage Of Risk From Environmental Contaminants, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

In this study, we explore the impact of community structure on the behaviors of journalists and their media organizations as they construct messages about health risks from environmental contamination for their audiences. We concentrate on community structure for two main reasons: (1) community structure has been shown to have important effects on media coverage of environmental and other issues, and (2) many risk communication programs assume incorrectly that "one message fits all," and therefore do not take macro-level variables such as community structure into account. As Grunig (1989) notes, public information efforts must be directed to carefully selected "segments" of …

Review Of Advertising Realities By Wes Perrin, James Pokrywczynski

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Broadcasts Of Basketball, Tennis Events Provide Greatest Exposure To Courtside Advertisers, According To Research, James Pokrywczynski

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

In-Arena Signage Registers Brand Names With Sports Fans; Rotating Signage Has Higher Sponsor Recall Than Still Signs, James Pokrywczynski

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Theo-Political Conspiracy Discourse In The Wanderer, Steven R. Goldzwig

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This study undertakes an intensive analysis of The Wanderer, an ultraconservative Catholic weekly newspaper. It is argued that conspiracy discourse in The Wanderer provides a continuous series of "god" and "devil" terms that playoff one another as "generic warrants" authorizing a domino effect that solidifies an overarching rhetorical vision, which ultimately affects the interpretation of U.S. Roman Catholic Church doctrine and its application to a number of contemporary sociopolitical issues. Discourse emanating from this particular publication is representative of a "paranoid style" and provides a case study for tracing operant terms in an ongoing "backlash movement."

Communication Ethics Pedagogy, Steven R. Goldzwig

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Profiling "Refusers" In Political Polling, James Pokrywczynski, Robert J. Griffin, Robert Craig

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Nonresponse has long been recognized as a major problem with telephone surveys and polls. (Wiseman and McDonald, 1979; Steeh, 1981; Goyder, 1987). It biases estimates and inferences from them. According to Strubbe, Kernan and Grogan (1986), “responders hold different beliefs that are more conducive to participation than those held by non-responders.” If beliefs are related to differences in participation, beliefs related to other issues and behaviors are likely to differ as well. Nonresponses include: refusers, not-at-homes, continual busy signals, answering machines and other screening devices (e.g., distinctive rings on telephones) and early terminators. Depending on the survey subject, nonresponse bias …

The Impact Of Risk Message Content And Construction On Comments About Risks Embedded In "Letters To Friends" (Presentation), Sharon Dunwoody, Kurt Neuwirth, Robert J. Griffin, Marilee Long

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Understanding how individuals make sense of messages is of great importance to scholars of risk communication. If, as policy makers suspect, we derive much of our information about risks from both mediated and interpersonal channels rather than from personal experience, then exploring the ability of individuals to comprehend information embedded within those channels is of value. In this manuscript we describe a study that evaluates the impact of risk information from mediated channels by asking subjects to recall the information in ways that may reflect their appraisal of the risk. Specifically, we manipulate both attributes of the ways in which …

Applying The Fishbein-Ajzen Theory Of Reasoned Action To A Study Of Message Impacts On Responses To A Health Risk, Robert J. Griffin, Kurt Neuwirth, Sharon Dunwoody

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

A laboratory experiment, using a 2x2x2x2 design, investigated the effects of four characteristics of risk news stories on behavioral beliefs about risk. Based on the Fishbein-Ajzen Theory of Reasoned Action, amended to include perceived behavioral control, we expected that changes in these cognitive structural variables would alter attitudes toward actions taken to alleviate risk, and that attitudinal change would affect intention to take subsequent action. Results indicate that information about risk probability affected the behavioral belief that drinking infested tap water would lead to personal illness. This belief combined with other components of cognitive structure to affect attitudes toward drinking …

"Causal" Communication: Media Portrayals And Public Attributions For Vietnam Veterans' Problems, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

A study of "causal" communication, the communication of attribution-related information, investigated the relationship of exposure to mass media (especially film) depictions of Vietnam veterans to perceived causes for the problems facing a number of Vietnam veterans. The study further extends attribution theory to social interaction and communication contexts. A sample survey of 355 adults (age 18 and over) in the Milwaukee metropolitan area was conducted by telephone in April 1988. A content analysis found some mass media and interpersonal communication relationships with internal and external attributions for Vietnam veterans’ problems. Attributions for the cause of a problem do seem related …

Sex And Social Status: Television Use And Occupational Desires Among Adolescents, Robert J. Griffin, Shaikat Sen

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

A sample survey of 542 high school students examined the relationship of sex, social status, and identification with television characters to the desired occupations of these adolescents. The study was conducted in the context of an increase in the proportion of female television characters being depicted in non-traditional occupational roles for women. Findings indicate that sex and social status interact to affect occupational desires, such that higher status females desire occupations that are more traditionally male than do their lower status female counterparts. Identification with male and female characters in domestic and occupational roles still follows traditional lines overall, and …

Energy, Education, And Media Use: A Panel Study Of The Knowledge Gap, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

A three-year panel study found education related to knowledge gain, and to some maintenance of a knowledge differential, in regard to the energy issue. Use of various public affairs media was stronger among the more highly educated, although use of energy communication media was about equal across education groups. Reading of newspaper energy stories bore the most consistent relationships with energy knowledge among the more highly educated, and viewing of energy commercials bore the most consistent relationships with energy knowledge among the less educated.

Sixty-Five: Communication And The Adoption Of Energy Conservation Measures By The Elderly, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

A three-wave panel study was conducted in successive years in a Midwest suburban community to determine the relationship of communication to adoption of energy conservation behavior among homeowners. Special attention was paid to the communication and energy use constraints faced by the elderly. Analysis indicates that younger respondents adopted actions to save energy in the home at a faster rate than did the older respondents. This study found that energy-related content in the mass media bears stronger relationships with the perceived importance of the energy problem and energy conservation attitudes than with energy conservation behavior. The latter is associated more …

Computer Software Applications In Key Areas Of Broadcasting, James Pokrywczynski

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The computer age has not left the broadcast industry untouched. Computer software has been developed to influence many aspects of the broadcast industry, including programming, news, sports and sales. Five computer applications have been reviewed for the National Association of Broadcasters by researchers at the University of Georgia.

The Effectiveness Of Advocacy Advertising Relative To News Coverage, Charles T. Salmon, Leonard N. Reid, James Pokrywczynski, Robert W. Willett

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The use of advocacy advertising by corporations and special interest groups attempting to influence social policy has increased dramatically in the past decade. Yet little research has been conducted to gauge the effectiveness of advocacy advertising relative to other forms of mass communication. Conventional wisdom suggests that because advocacy material presented in the form of an advertisement is inherently paid-for communication, it will be less effective than the same information appearing in news columns as a published news release. This study uses a factorial design to examine the impact of format (advertisement versus news article) and source (commercial versus noncommercial) …

The Effectiveness Of Advocacy Advertising Versus Publicity In A Public Relations Situation, Charles T. Salmon, Leonard N. Reid, James Pokrywczynski, Robert W. Willett

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The use of advocacy advertising by corporations and special interest groups attempting to influence social policy has increased dramatically in the past decade. Yet little research has been conducted to gauge the effectiveness of advocacy advertising relative to other forms of mass communication. Conventional wisdom suggests that because advocacy material presented in the form of an advertisement is inherently paid-for communication, it will be less effective than the same information appearing in news columns as a published news release. This study uses a factorial design to examine the impact of format (advertisement versus news article) and source (commercial versus noncommercial) …

Media Use And Energy: A Panel Study Of Education, Knowledge, And Conservation Behavior, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

A panel study of single-family homeowners in a Midwestern suburban community measured relationships among educational level, Public Affairs Energy Knowledge, Practical Energy Knowledge, reliance on information sources, and energy conservation behavior. Consistent with the Knowledge Gap Hypothesis, there is a positive association between educational level and gain in Public Affairs Energy Knowledge over time. Practical Energy Knowledge (measured at time-two only) also correlates positively with education. Respondents with higher levels of Practical Energy Knowledge had stronger correspondence between energy conservation attitudes and energy conservation behavior than did respondents with lower levels of that type of knowledge. Analysis of media use …

Communication And Energy Conservation: Social Status In A Tale Of Two Cities, Jack M. Mcleod, Carroll J. Glynn, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

A decade has passed since the Arab oil embargo forced Americans into the realization that our standard of living and perhaps our form of government were endangered unless energy availability and consumption could be brought under control. In the interim, government program and research priorities in energy have stressed technological solutions and largely ignored social research perspectives on energy use despite the large energy savings that could result from changes in consumer energy behavior.

Ecology And Environment: They've Been Integrated Into J-Education Thinking, Clay Schoenfeld, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The article focuses on the impact of ecology and the environment on journalism education. Environmental concerns have measurably affected curricula, internships, public service programs and professional liaisons in journalism education. Environmentally-related breadth courses are required or primarily, optional in 28 percent of the programs, with about 68 percent of those programs requiring or recommending traditional, natural science-oriented environmental courses, and 45 percent including those with social science orientation, perhaps reflecting the social overtones of environmental problems made salient by the environmental era.

Refining Uses And Gratifications With A Human Information Processing Model, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

A study was conducted as part of a program to develop and test an individual level communications model. The model proposes that audience members bring to communications situations a set of learned cognitive processing strategies that produce cognitive structural representations of information in memory to facilitate the meeting of the various goals or needs that motivate media exposure. Among these strategies are imagery usage, total or partial avoidance, cross-contextual recoding, making inferences, active repetition, and memorizing. The model also proposes that an individual's exposure goals in a given situation may delineate task constraints on the cognitive processing system. In the …

Communication: A Human Factor, Clay Schoenfeld, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Constructing A Social Problem: The Press And The Environment, A. Clay Schoenfeld, Robert F. Meier, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The U. S. daily press might seem to be in a strategic position to function as a claims-maker in the early construction of a social problem. But in the case of the manufacture of environmentalism as a social reality in the 1960's and 70's, the press was fairly slow to adopt a holistic environmental lexicon. Its reporting of environmental news even now only partially reflects concepts promoted by positive environmental claims-makers, such as planet-wide interdependence, and the threats to it by destructive technologies. The movement of environmental claims seems to have started with interest-group entrepreneurship using interpersonal communication and independent …

Information Seeking And Usage By Milwaukee Area Catholics, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The study, according to the report, ’’arose out of the conviction of the officers of the Catholic Press Association that ’editors, circulation and promotion directors must understand the thinking, feelings, fears and ideals of their audience and potential audience before meaningful communication and growth in circulation can take place. The view of the CPA, according to the Gallup report, is that "the Catholic press can provide understanding and explain religious values. It can bridge the gap between generations. It can cushion and clarify change. But to communicate effectively, it must understand its audience."

Information Seeking And Usage By Milwaukee Area Catholics, Robert J. Griffin

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

In 1978, the Gallup Organization released the results of a nationwide survey of adult Catholics conducted on behalf of the Catholic Press Association (Gallup, 1979). The study, according to the report, "arose out of the conviction of the officers of the Catholic Press Association that 'editors, circulation and promotion directors must understand the thinking, feelings, fears and ideals of their audience and potential audience before meaningful communication and growth in circulation can take place.'" The view of the CPA, according to the Gallup report, is that "the Catholic press can provide understanding and explain religious values. It can bridge the …