Efficacy of the family viewing concept: A test of assumptions

This article examines two implicit assumptions on which the family viewing concept appears to be based: (1) children's viewing will subside after the end of the family viewing period, and children will be less likely to be exposed to later, more “mature” programming; (2) broadcasters can and do provide programs toward which children and parents share preferences and which are “appropriate” for the family viewing period (6:00‐8:00 p.m. CST, 7:00‐9:00 in other time zones).

Data gathered in a 1976 survey confirmed the first assumption. However, while the peak period of children's viewing occurred between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m., substantial numbers of the children continued to view television beyond the family viewing period. Less consistent support was found for the second assumption. Above‐average percentages of both parents and children considered thirty‐one of sixty‐eight programs listed on the questionnaires to be “favorites” or “all right,” and nineteen of the thirty‐one were broadcast during the family viewing period. While parents and children may share attitudes toward certain programs, however, it does not necessarily follow that parents consider those programs appropriate for their children. The results of the survey suggest the need for further study of what constitutes “appropriate” programming for family viewing.     

The effect of responsibility attributions on message source evaluation

Concepts from Heider's “Attribution of Responsibility” theory were used to investigate the process of message source evaluation. The results of a role‐playing experiment indicate that: (1) When a message source's previous behavior has had favorable consequences for a receiver, the source will be rated more “safe,” “qualified,” and “dynamic” to the extent that responsibility for those consequences are attributed to the source; and (2) when the source's previous behavior has had unfavorable consequences for the receiver, the source will be judged less “safe” but more “qualified” and “dynamic” to the extent that responsibility for those consequences are attributed to the source.     

John Morley and the Irish question: Chart‐prayer‐dream

Attempts to circumscribe “the Burkean method” of rhetorical criticism can be frustrating. Critics more profitably might use Burke as an example and a prod, appropriating—as was done in this study—whichever of Burke's concepts, methods, and metaphors seem applicable to a given rhetorical event. Burke's “chart‐prayer‐dream” trilogy, together with his understanding of “strategies,” was employed to examine Morley's “Home Rule” speech before the Oxford Union in 1888. Morley's reply to Randolph Churchill abandoned propositional argument in favor of reviv‐alistic‐exhortation early in the speech; his strategies of form, argument, labelling, style, and mimesis are best understood as those of the High Priest seeking a confessional and an act of expiation from his auditors.     

Contamination and Camouflage in Euphemisms

The study reports a factor analytic investigation of the interpersonal attraction construct. Two‐hundred and fifteen subjects completed 30 Likert‐type, seven‐step scales concerning an acquaintance. Factor analysis indicated three dimensions of the interpersonal attraction construct which were labeled “task” “social” and “physical.” The results of this study and four replications suggest that the resulting 15‐item instrument can be expected to measure reliably three dimensions of interpersonal attraction.     

The relative effects of timing of suspicion and outcome involvement on biased message processing

The propensity to believe information to be predominately truthful has been called the truth-bias (e.g., McCornack & Levine, 1990), although the lie-bias is the tendency to believe that information is mostly false. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect that timing of suspicion and outcome involvement has on biased message processing. A two-way interaction between timing of suspicion and outcome involvement is hypothesized. Specifically, suspicion induced prior to communication will make receivers more suspicious of the communicator and therefore encode more of their nonverbal cues as “suspicious” or “fishy.” This effect is predicted to be magnified in conditions of high outcome involvement. If receivers are already suspicious, and carefully scrutinizing the message, it will be likely that they will note more “fishy behaviors” and demonstrate a heightened lie-bias. In two studies, Participants (Ps) were asked to view videotaped segments of a confederate making true or false statements. The Ps were induced to feel suspicious before or after viewing the videotaped interview. They were also induced to perceive high or low levels of outcome involvement. Results of Study 1 indicated that timing of suspicion has little effect on biased processing, but perceived suspicion did influence biased processing. Results of Study 2 indicated that the timing of suspicion did influence the strength of the truth-bias but did not create a lie-bias. Both studies demonstrated the strong effect of perceived outcome involvement on honesty perceptions.     

“Listening in,” our new national pastime

The current emphasis placed by the television industry on the development and production of public affairs programing has led to increased reliance upon perhaps the oldest, most simple, and least costly form of informative programing: the interview. This recent attention should not be allowed to obscure two facts: 1) the average interview program, valuable as it may be, rarely attracts audiences (and sponsors) to the same extent as does an “entertainment” program; and 2) some programs are exceptions. For eight years the “Paul Coates Show” has fascinated a loyal audience that has amply repaid the program's sponsors. Why has this particular program done so well? Mr. Coates, a widely‐read newspaper columnist, does not fit the stereotype of a television “personality,” neither are his questions so probing as those of some other television interviewers. In an attempt to uncover the factors underlying the popularity of the “Paul Coates Show,” Dr. Borgers has analyzed the structure of a number of programs and has arrived at some useful conclusions.     

An experimental study of the relationship between opinionated leadership and small group consensus

This study examined the relationship between the opinionated quality of leaders’ statements and small group consensus. Confederates trained to exhibit differing levels of opinionatedness served as “appointed” leaders of policy‐making groups. Groups with unopinionated leaders came closer to total consensus than groups whose leaders exhibited deliberately opinionated communication behavior. In addition, unopinionated leaders were rated more competent and more objective by their group members than were opinionated leaders. Findings relating opinionated leadership to maintenance of influence and member satisfaction were inconclusive.     

The influence of mode,sub‐mode,and speaker predilection on style

With four basic assumptions about the nature of style as orientation, this study focuses on six subjects across two general modes and six sub‐modes of discourse. After discussing “style markers” such as sentence length, word length, TTR, cloze scores, ratios related to extent of qualification, AVQ, PTQ, and psychogrammatical features across modes and sub‐modes, the study sketches a “stylistic profile” of the subjects including not only these style markers but editing behaviors as well. Although subjects appear to have been influenced by modal and sub‐modal dimensions of style, individual predilections appear also to have been heavily influenced by factors relating to “epistemic stance.”     

Television production training

For many years, there has been controversy between the so‐called “liberal arts”; and the “vocationsal”; approach to broadcasting instruction. In this article, Jack Warfield points out that the resulting compromise has been unsatisfactory, and offers a partial solution.     

Library Anxiety and Emotion Perception Among the Undergraduate Social Sciences Students: A Relationship Study

ABSTRACT

Previous research has mostly focused on the demographic and academic correlates of library anxiety. This study focused on the “library anxiety” and “emotion perception” of students, with the objective of examining the relationship between these two concepts. In total, 279 self-reporting questionnaires were used for analysis. The results confirmed the existence of the phenomenon of library anxiety, with these students being more anxious regarding the “user education” and “user knowledge” factors. They showed greater skills of emotion perception. A negatively significant relationship appeared between library anxiety and emotion perception. The results suggest that user education and emotion perception training programs should be developed to overcome students' problems.     

Bringing a Small Academic Library Back from the Brink

Abstract

When Villa Madonna College moved from Covington to Crestview Hills, Kentucky in 1968 to become Thomas More College, the designers of the new campus knew that the library would be a vital component of academic success for future students. As Thomas More transitioned from “College” to “University” in 2018, the library had unfortunately endured a long slow decline. With a recent renaming to the “Benedictine Library” in 2017, administration knew that more substantial changes were needed. In April 2018, the library started a new course with the 16^th Library Director in institutional history. This column illustrates the ambitious first two years of the new library administration, and details the work completed in the library’s “digital modernization plan”.     

The Problem Patron

Summary

Library staff and other patrons encounter patrons who are one or a combination of the following: mentally ill/disturbed, homeless, street persons, angry, aggressive, unreasonable, rude. Commonly referred to as “problem patrons,” they appear in any type of library: public, academic, institutional, corporate and special. Most of them behave poorly because of their own troubles. The history of “problem patrons,” various types of problem patrons and their identifying behaviors are discussed in this paper. In attempting to define “problem patrons” the information provides a framework for understanding the problems of challenging patrons and for learning to discriminate between problem patrons and patrons who have problems.     

A bibliography of rhetoric and public address for the year 1958

Drawing upon role theory, this essay examines Will Rogers’ use of rhetorical irony as a means of persuasive influence. Through dramatic and Socratic irony, this rhetor “coached” audience members in the assumption of the “god‐role” of superiority. With enactment of the role, audience members theoretically and momentarily transformed their perceptions and modified their adherence to American cultural values, including technological progress, fair play, support for the underdog, anti‐imperialism, self‐determination by small nations, democratic manners, individualism, and anti‐intellectualism. Although attitude change from such role assumption is theoretically fleeting because of the transitory, non‐pervasive nature of the role, more lasting effects may be produced by repeated role assumption and enactment.     

Programmer's choice: Eight factors in program decision‐making

In the introduction to Charles Woodliff's “Catch Me if You Can” in the Fall, 1965 issue of the Journal it was, prophesied that it would be not “the last that will be published on the question of the proper curriculum for training professional broadcasters.” In this issue, on the preceding pages, is an article by Professor John Pennybacker answering Professor Woodliff's article disagreeing with the one that started it all, Pennybacker's “Working with Universities.” The following comment by Woodliff is intended only as a brief comment upon Pennybacker's “Leadership and the Educator: The Middle Way” and does not, of course, attempt to make full reply in this brief form. Professor Woodliff (Assistant Professor in the Department of Radio‐Television‐Film at the University of Denver) hopes that the dialogue between him and Dr. Pennybacker represents their respective points of view fairly—and that other positions will be heard from in the future. The airing of these points of view is not just another rehash of the old “liberal arts vs. professionalism” debate. Recent surveys have shown that broadcasting education has not yet made its mark on the industry—if it is to do so in the future, teachers of broadcasting must constantly reassess their goals and the means to achieve these goals.     

The ‘scholar's anthology”: An introduction

These introductory comments preview this issue's new feature, “The Scholar's Anthology,” and its subject‐matter, “cultural criticism.”     

Graduate theses—an index of graduate work in speech XVIII∗

This study attempts to summarize selected concepts from the theory of Kenneth Burke and test their applicability in a formal organization. Semantic differential scales and the paired‐comparison technique were used to gather data on “order,” “mystery,” and “identification” as perceived by members of all levels of the hierarchy within a university.     

German communications

(1. Press)

DEN WANDEL GESTALTEN: NEUE STRUKTUREN UND PROZESSE IN TAGESZEITUNGSVERLAGEN / ORGANIZING THE CHANGE: NEW STRUCTURES AND PROCESSES IN DAILY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHING by Robert Becker and Hans‐Peter Erlemann (Bonn: ZV Zeitungs‐Verlag Service [Riemenschneiderstr.10, D‐53175 Bonn], 1997—DM 78,00, ISBN 3–929122–36–7, 270 pp.)

POLITISCHE ZEITSCHRIFTEN IN DEUTSCHLAND: MEDIENÖKONOMIE UND REDAKTIONSFORSCHUNG/POLITICAL JOURNALS IN GERMANY: MEDIA ECONOMICS AND EDITORIAL RESEARCH by Bernd Putter (Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitätsverlag, 1997—DM 68,‐, ISBN 3–8244–4265–5, 312 pp., tables, charts, notes, annexes)

PRESSEVERTRIEB IN OSTDEUTSCHLAND: DIE WIRTSCHAFTLICHEN UND POLITISCHEN INTERESSEN BEIM AUFBAU EINES PRESSEGROßHANDELSSYSTEMS NACH DER OKTOBERWENDE 1989 / PRESS DISTRIBUTION IN EASTERN GERMANY: ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL INTERESTS IN DEVELOPMENT OF PRESS WHOLESALE TRADE AFTER THE CHANGE OF OCTOBER 1989 by Bernd Klammer (München: Saur “Dortmunder Beiträge zur Zeitungsforschung, vol.56,”; 1998—DM 54,00, ISBN 3–598–21319–0, 255 pp., tables, charts, notes)

DIE JÜDISCHE PRESSE IM DRITTEN REICH: ZWISCHEN SELBSTBEHAUP‐TUNG UND FREMDBESTIMMUNG / THE JEWISH PRESS IN THE THIRD REICH: BETWEEN SELF‐ASSERTION AND FOREIGN INFLUENCE by Katrin Diehl (Tübingen: Niemeyer “Conditio Judaica, Vol.17,”; 1997—DM 142,00, ISBN 3–484–65117–2, ISSN 0941–5866, 363 pp., tables, notes, bibliography, index)

(2. Broadcasting)

BIBLIOGRAPHIE ZUR DEUTSCHEN PRIVATFUNK‐ENTWICKLUNG: LIT‐ERATUR‐NACHWEISE AUS 25 JAHREN, 1970–1995 / BIBLIOGRAPHY OF GERMAN PRIVATE BROADCAST DEVELOPMENT: 25 YEARS OF LITERATURE, 1970–1995 / by Olaf Jubin (Bochum: Brockmeyer “Bochumer Studien zur Publizistik‐ und Kommunikationswissenschaft, Vol. 88,”; 1997—DM 49,80, ISBN 3–8196–0540–1, 267 pp.)

PROGRAMMBERICHT ZUR LAGE UND ENTWICKLUNG DES FERNSE‐HENS IN DEUTSCHLAND 1996/97 / REPORT ON THE STATUS AND DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS IN GERMANY 1996/97 edited by Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Landesmedienanstalten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Berlin: Ullstein, 1997—DM 48,00 [free of charge for libraries from the editor: Turmstrasse 8, D‐67059 Ludwigshafen], ISBN 3–550–06962–6,352 pp., tables, charts, index)

WAS SIE ÜBER RUNDFUNK WISSEN SOLLTEN: MATERIALIEN ZUM VERSTÄNDNIS EINES MEDIUMS / WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BROADCASTING: TOWARD UNDERSTANDING A MEDIUM edited by ARD/ZDF‐Arbeitsgruppe Marketing (Berlin: Vistas, 1997—DM 28,00 [free of charge for libraries from: Süddeutscher Rundfunk, Marketing, Neckarstrasse 221, D‐70190 Stuttgart], ISBN 3–89158–204–8, 444 pp., tables, charts, glossary)

WIRTSCHAFTLICHKEITSANALYSEN FÜR BALLUNGSRAUMFERNSE‐HEN: MODELLTHEORETISCHE UNTERSUCHUNGEN AUS SICHT POTEN‐TIELLER INVESTOREN / ANALYSES OF ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF TV CONCENTRATION: MODEL‐THEORETICAL STUDIES FOR POTENTIAL INVESTORS by Rolf Nafziger (Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitäs Verlag, Gabler, 1997—DM 118,00, ISBN 3–8244–6511–6, 339 pp., tables, charts, notes, bibliography)

PROGRAMMGESCHICHTE DES HÖRFUNKS IN DER WEIMARER REPUB‐LIK / HISTORY OF RADIO PROGRAMMING IN THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC edited by Joachim‐Felix Leonhard (München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag “dtv, 4072,”; 1997—DM 64,00, ISBN 3–423–04702‐x, two vols. [621 and 623 pp.], pictures, charts, notes, bibliography, index)

WIRTSCHAFTSGESCHICHTE DES RUNDFUNKS IN DER WEIMARER REPUBLIK / ECONOMIC HISTORY OF BROADCASTING IN THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC by Karl Christian Führer (Potsdam: Verlag für Berlin‐Brandenburg “Veröffentlichungen des Deutschen Rundfunkarchivs, Vol.6,”; 1997—DM 48,00, ISBN 3–930850–39–7, 240 pp., charts, notes, bibliography, index)

(3. Telecommunications)

ZUR ÖKONOMIE DER INFORMATIONSGESELLSCHAFT: PERSPEKTIVEN, PROGNOSEN, VISIONEN / ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY ECONOMY: PERSPECTIVES, PROGNOSES, VISIONS edited by Enquete Kommission “Zukunft der Medien in Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft, Deutschlands Weg in die Infbrmationsgesellschaft, Deutscher Bundestag”; (Bonn: ZV Zeitungs‐Verlag Service “Schriftenreihe ‘Enquete Kommission: Zukunft der Medien,’ Vol. 2,”; 1997—DM 78,00, ISBN 3–929122–34‐X, 269 pp., tables, charts, bibliography)

TELEKOMMUNIKATIONSWIRTSCHAFT IN DER EUROPISCHEN UNION: INNOVATIONSDYNAMIK, REGULIERUNGSPOLITIK UND INTERNA‐TIONALISIERUNGSPROZESSE / TELECOMMUNICATION ECONOMICSIN THE EUROPEAN UNION: DYNAMICS OF INNOVATION; POLICIES OF REGULATION AND PROCESSES OF INTERNATIONALISATION by Cornelius Graack (Heidelberg: Physika Verlag “Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Beiträge, Vol. 160,”; 1997—DM 120,00, ISBN 3–7908–1037–1, 404 pp., tables, charts, notes, bibliography, index)

KONFLIKT UND ORDNUNG IN DER GLOBALEN KOMMUNIKATION: WETTSTREIT DER STAATEN UND WETTBEWERB DER UNTERNEHMEN / CONFLICT AND ORDER IN GLOBAL COMMUNICATION: COMPETITION AMONG STATES AND COMPETITION AMONG ENTERPRISES by Klaus W. Grewlich (Baden‐Baden: Nomos Verlagsges “Law and Economics of International Telecommunications, Vol. 33,”; 1997—DM 89,00, ISBN 3–7890–4983–2, 307 pp., notes, bibliography)

(4. Public Relations)

GESCHICHTE DER ÖFFENTLICHKEITSARBEIT IN DEUTSCHLAND / HISTORY OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN GERMANY by Michael Kunczik (Köln: Böhlau “Public Relations, Vol. 4,”; 1997—DM 68,00, ISBN 3–412–04997–2, 402 pp., notes, bibliography, index)

DIE ÖFFENTLICHKEITSARBEIT DER EUROPÄISCHEN KOMMISSION 1952–1996: PR ZUR LIGITIMATION VON INTEGRATION?/PUBLIC RELATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION 1952–1996: LEGITIMIZING INTEGRATION? by Marc R. Gramberger (Baden‐Baden: Nomos Verlagsges. “Nomos Universitätsschriften Politik, Vol.75,”; 1997—DM 89,00, ISBN 3–7890–5050–4, 398 pp., tables, charts, notes, bibliography)

(5. Law)

ZWISCHEN MEDIENFREIHEIT UND ZENSUREINGRIFFEN: EINE MEDIEN‐UND RECHTSSOZIOLOGISCHE UNTERSUCHUNG ZENSORISCHER EINFLUßNAHMEN AUF BUNDESDEUTSCHE POPULÄRKULTUR / BETWEEN MEDIA FREEDOM AND CENSORSHIP: THE SOCIOLOGY OF MEDIA AND LAW ON CENSORSHIP INTERVENTIONS IN GERMAN POPULAR CULTURE by Roland Seim (Münster [Im Sundem 7–9, D‐48157 Münster/Westfalen]: Telos Verlag, 1997—DM 59,80, ISBN 3–933060–00–1, 556 pp., photos, notes, bibliography, index)

DAS RECHT DER FERNSEHWERBUNG FÜR KINDER: RECHTLICHE REG‐ULIERUNG DER FERNSEHWERBUNG UNTER ASPEKTEN DES KINDER‐UND JUGENDSCHUTZES / THE LAW OF CHILDREN'S TV ADVERTISING: LEGAL REGULATION OF TV ADVERTISING AS AN ASPECT OF PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS by Stefan Engels (Baden‐Baden: Nomos Verlagsges “Materialien zur interdisziplinären Medienforschung, Vol. 30,”; 1997—DM 89,00, ISBN 3–7890–4823–2, 353 pp., notes, bibliography)

RUNDFUNKVERFASSUNGSRECHT / CONSTITUTIONAL BROADCASTING LAW by Reinhart Ricker and Peter Schiwy (München: Beck, 1997—DM 298,00, ISBN 3–406–40162–7, 523 pp., notes, bibliography, index)

(6. Audience)

VON DER INFORMATION ZUM WISSEN: DIE ROLLE DER REZEPTION FÜR DIE ENTSTEHUNG VON WISSENSUNTERSCHIEDEN. EIN BEITRAG ZUR WISSENSKLUFTFORSCHUNG/FROM INFORMATION TO KNOWLEDGE: THE ROLE OF RECEPTION IN THE FORMATION OF KNOWLEDGE GAPS—A CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE‐GAP RESEARCH by Werner Wirth (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag “Studien zur Kommunikationswissenschaft, Vol. 23,”; 1997—DM 66,00, ISBN 3–531–12944–9, 355 pp., tables, charts, notes, bibliography)

MEDIENREALITÄT UND REZIPIENTENHANDELN: ZUR ENTSTEHUNG HANDLUNGSLEITENDER VORSTELLUNGEN / MEDIA REALITY AND RECIPIENT REACTION: TOWARDS THE FORMATION OF ACTION LEADING IMAGES by Helmut Scherer (Wiesbaden: Deutscher Universitätsverlag, 1997—DM 89,00, ISBN 3–8244–4226–4, 426 pp., tables, charts, notes, bibliography)

(7. Journalism and Other Topics)

VERANTWORTUNG IM FREIEN MEDIENMARKT: INTERNATIONALE PERSPEKTIVEN ZUR WAHRUNG PROFESSIONELLER STANDARDS / RESPONSIBILITY IN THE FREE MEDIA MARKET: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE MAINTENANCE OF PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS edited by Ingrid Hamm (Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 1966—DM 35,00, ISBN 3–89204–185–7, 400 pp., notes, bibliography)

JOURNALISTISCHE BERUFSORGANISATIONEN IN DEUTSCHLAND: VON DEN ANFÄNGEN BIS ZUR GRÜNDUNG DES REICHSVERBANDES DER DEUTSCHEN PRESSE / PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM ORGANIZATIONS IN GERMANY: FROM THE BEGINNINGS TO THE FOUNDATION OF THE IMPERIAL ASSOCIATION OF THE GERMAN PRESS by Ariane Brückmann (Köln: Böhlau “Medien in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Vol. 10,”; 1997—DM 48,00, ISBN 3–412–05597–2, 202 pp., notes, bibliography)

WEIMAR IM BLICK DER USA: AMERIKANISCHE AUSLANDSKORRE‐SPONDENTEN UND ÖFFENTLICHE MEINUNG ZWISCHEN PERZEPTION UND REALITAT / U.S. VIEWS OF WEIMAR: AMERICAN FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS AND PUBLIC OPINION BETWEEN PERCEPTION AND REALITY by Carmen Muller (Miinster: Lit “Studien zur Geschichte, Politik und Gesellschaft Nordamerikas, Vol.7,”; 1997—DM 59,80, ISBN 3–8258–3560‐x, 514 pp., photos, notes, bibliography, index)

WIE BENUTZE ICH DEN FERNSPRECHER? DIE ANLEITUNGEN ZUM TELE‐FONIEREN IM BERLINER TELEFONBUCH 1881–1996/97 / HOW TO USE THE TELEPHONE? INSTRUCTIONS IN TELEPHONING IN BERLIN TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES 1881–1996/97 by Clemens Schwender (Frankfurt: Lang “Technical Writing, Vol.4,”; 1997—DM 48,00, ISBN 3–631–31378–0, 341 pp., tables, charts, notes, bibliography)

DIE RHETORIK DER FILMSYNCHRONISATION: WIE AUSLÄNDISCHE SPIELFILME IN DEUTSCHLAND ZENSIERT, VERÄNDERT UND GESEHEN WERDEN / THE RHETORIC OF FILM DUBBING: HOW FOREIGN FEATURE FILMS ARE CENSORED, CHANGED AND SEEN IN GERMANY by Guido Marc Pruys (Tübingen: Narr “Medienbibliothek, Serie B: Studien, Vol.14,”; 1997—DM 68,00, ISBN 3–8233–4283–5, 227 pp., notes, bibliography)     

An evaluative summary of quantitative research published in speech monographs from July 1, 1964, to July 1, 1965

Mexican American adults listened to samples of standard English, Spanish‐accented English, standard Spanish, and Tex‐Mex (Texas Spanish). Attitude reactions interacted significantly with the subject's ethnic self‐referent, the amount of Spanish spoken, income, level of education, and age. “Standard” dialects were generally preferred to “nonstandard” dialects in both English and Spanish.     

Persuasion in social conflicts: A critique of prevailing conceptions and a framework for future research

It is argued here that students of rhetoric and communication, along with scholars in other disciplines, have tended to reflect “Establishment” biases in treatments of persuasion in social conflicts. As a result, we have often failed to come to grips with the nature of conflict, the needs of “OUTS” and “HAVE‐NOTS,” and the utility of conflict for societies. In the place of prevailing “system orientations,” a “dual perspective” is proposed—one which would examine persuasion in conflicts from the viewpoint of both the actors attempting to maximize their interests in conflict situations and the system attempting to regulate conflict in the collective interest. The concept of “coercive persuasion” is introduced, and several suggestions for research are offered.     

Electronic media

RADIO'S NICHE MARKETING REVOLUTION: FUTURESELL by Godfrey W. and Ashley Page Herweg (Boston: Focal Press, 1997‐$37.95, paper, ISBN 0–240–80202–0, 274 pp., figures, bibliography, notes, index)

THE RECORDING INDUSTRY by Geoffrey P. Hull (Boston: Allyn & Bacon “Series in Mass Communication,”; 1998‐$24.00, ISBN 0–205–19689–6, 304 pp., Internet sources list, notes, bibliography, glossary, index)

THE CABLE AND SATELLITE TELEVISION INDUSTRIES by Patrick R. Parsons and Robert M. Frieden (Boston: Allyn & Bacon “Series in Mass Communication,”; 1998‐$24.00, paper, ISBN 0–205–20013–3, 370 pp., diagrams, tables, bibliography, index)

THE BROADCAST TELEVISION INDUSTRY by James R. Walker & Douglas A. Ferguson, with contributions by John F. Long and Kevin Sauter (Boston: Allyn & Bacon “Series in Mass Communication,”; 1998‐$24.00, paper, ISBN 0–205–18950–4, 228 pp., figures, glossary, bibliography, index)

“DENY ALL KNOWLEDGE:” READING THE X FILES edited by David Lavery, Angela Hague, and Maria Cartwright (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press “Television Series,”; 1996‐$45.00/16.95, ISBN 0–8156–2717–3 hard, 0–8156–0407–6 paper, 233 pp., notes, appendix, works cited, index)

MINORITY COMMERCIAL BROADCAST OWNERSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES by NTIA's Minority Telecommunications Development Program (Washington: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1997‐price not given, paper, no ISBN provided, 50 pp., tables)

THE BROADCASTER'S GUIDE TO RDS by Scott Wright (Boston: Focal Press, 1997‐$36.95, paper, ISBN 0–240–80278–0, 203 pp., figures, glossary, bibliography, index)