Is it a question of trust or why are we afraid to go to Nineveh?

Trust is an overused concept in our contemporary world. This paper explores the complex relationship of trust, efficiency, accountability, transparency and responsibility and their relationship to recordkeeping in our globalizing culture. It focuses on the profound changes that have taken place in the meaning and practice of audit within neo-liberal societies and how the ??rituals of verification?? and the ??managerialism?? may pervert the resulting record. It challenges the unthinking use of much of the rhetoric surrounding these concepts by archivists to justify their existence. It reflects on why the archival voice often remains silent or at best goes unheard in much of the discussion about these questions that have profound consequences for democratic societies. It is easy to lay the blame at the door of a perceived breakdown of trust rather than to consider whether the root of the problem lies with archivists and records managers themselves. This paper draws on my experience in directing the Information Management and Preservation MSC programme at the University of Glasgow and wide and serendipitous reading, which has sometimes been brought to my notice by students.     

Objectivity and the Other Orwell: The tabloidism of the Daily Mirror and journalistic authenticity

Rebellion in Elizabethan Ireland triggered the publication of a series of early news pamphlets in England that have been labeled as tedious military narratives celebrating English victories over native insurgents. Careful scrutiny of these pamphlets, specifically those titles that relayed news of the Second Desmond rebellion (1579–1583), suggests otherwise. Therein, it was not news of events in Ireland that was stressed, nor indeed was it the Catholicism of the Old English who had entered into rebellion. Instead, these works prioritized political obedience to queen and commonwealth above all else and employed this revolt to remind readers of the essential obligations of fidelity and virtue. As agents of persuasion rather than purveyors of news, the authors echoed official thinking by the state in cultivating the importance attached to obedience amid strains in both kingdoms that attended the Counter-Reformation.     

Setting the agenda for environmental news: The effects of media and public characteristics

This study examined the relationship between different media agendas and public agendas in the agenda‐setting process. The local and regional media agendas for environmental news in the Lansing, Michigan, area were exactly the same. It was also found that respondents could accurately assess media issue emphasis when they were asked to do so.     

The relationship of supportive communication to sex discussion in the home

Supportive communication was examined as a component of mothers’ sex discussion with children. Results demonstrated that mothers who communicated supportively were more open and disclosing when discussing sex and were more likely to provide sons with birth control information and instruction than mothers who communicated nonsupportively. The study concludes by raising several issues for future research and sex education pro‐ams for parents.     

Broadcasting

TALK RADIO AND THE AMERICAN DREAM by Murray B, Levin (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1987—$22.00)

WHO SHOT THE SHERIFF? THE RISE AND FALL OF THE TELEVISION WESTERN by J. Fred MacDonald (New York: Praeger, 1987—$29.95)

LIVE TV: AN INSIDE LOOK AT DIRECTING AND PRODUCING by Tony Verna (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1987—$22.95)

TV CAREERS BEHIND THE SCREEN by Jane Blanksteen and Avi Odeni (New York: John Wiley, 1987—$12.95, paper)

THE BROADCASTER'S DICTIONARY by James R. McDonald (Windriver Books, Box 481, Broomfield, CT 80020—$20.00 incl. postage, paper)

Three recent publications by the National Association of Broadcasters (Publications Dept., 1771 N St. NW. Washington, DC 20036)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT: THE BROADCAST &; CABLE INDUSTRIES by Barry L. Sherman (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1987—$29.95)

CHANNELS OF DISCOURSE: TELEVISION AND CONTEMPORARY CRITICISM edited by Robert C. Allen (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987—$25.00/7.95)

THE HOUR OF TELEVISION: CRITICAL APPROACHES by N.D. Batra (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. 1987—$29.50)     

Radio

RADIO: A REFERENCE GUIDE by Thomas Allen Greenfield (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1989—$39.95, ISBN 0-313-22276-2)

THE RADIO STATION by Michael Keith and Joseph Krause (Stoneham, MA: Focal Press, 1989—$24.95, paper, ISBN 0-240-80028-1)

PROGRAMMING RADIO TO WTN IN THE NEW AMERICA by John Parikhal and David Oakes (1989—$40.00 but $20 to NAB/BEA members, paper, ISBN 0-89324-062-1)

PROFITING FROM RADIO RATINGS: A MANUAL FOR RADIO MANAGERS, SALES MANAGERS AND PROGRAMMERS by James E. Fletcher (1989—$40.00 but $20 to NAB/BEA members, paper, ISBN 0-89324-065-6)

DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE MARKETING PLAN: A WORKING GUIDE FOR RADIO BROADCASTERS by John Geason and John Sutherland (1989—$20.00, paper, ISBN 0-89324-066-4)

AMERICAN RADIO SPRING 1989 by James H. Duncan, Jr. (Duncan's American Radio, Box 90284, Indianapolis, IN 46290—$79.00, paper)     

Mass Media

Communications Industry Report and Communications Industry Forecast (Veronis, Suhler & Associates, 350 Park Ave, New York, NY 10022—$500 each, paper, no ISBN numbers given)

The Annual Report Glossary: 1988 Edition by Richard Loth (FIPS Partners, 4579 Airlie Way, Annandale, VA 22003—$26.00, three-ring notebook, ISBN 0-924399-00-7)

Super Media: A Cultural Studies Approach by Michael Real (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989—$35.00/16.95, ISBN 0-8039-3313-4 hard, 0-8039-3314-2 soft)

The Olympic Movement and the Mass Media: Past, Present and Future Issues edited by R. Jackson and T. McPhail (Hurford Enterprises, PO Box 61256, 3630 Morley Trail NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 1KS, Canada—price not given, paper, ISBN 0-88953-115-3)

Historical Methods in Mass Communication by James Startt and William David Sloan (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1989—$24.50, ISBN 0-8058-0433-1)

Communication Research: Strategies and Sources by Rebecca Rubin, Alan Rubin and Linda Piele (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1990—price not given, paper, ISBN 0-534-12144-6)

“The Communication Series,”

Mass Communication: An Introductory Survey by James Harless (Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, 1990)     

Planning an Information Commons

ABSTRACT

Of the steps in implementing an Information Commons, one of the most important is the planning phase. For the planning and implementation to be a success, buy-in and support from library users and administrators is essential. The result of the planning process is a detailed planning document that will influence the success of the commons. The document should include plans for policy changes, space for the commons, staffing issues, and assessments, both before and after implementation. Even with all the planning completed, an evaluation of the viability of and desirability for a commons should determine whether a commons should be implemented on each individual campus.     

Relational Maintenance and the Influence of Commitment in Online and Offline Relationships

The study of relational-maintenance behaviors has sometimes included the impact of medium as a peripheral variable, but rarely has the impact of medium been tested directly. Participants (N = 1336) delineated themselves into four separate groups depending on the initial and continued use of mediated communication. They reported their use of relational-maintenance behaviors, as well as feelings of commitment towards the relationship. The medium had an impact on the use of relational-maintenance behaviors, primarily between people who had only met their partners in a mediated environment and those who had met them face-to-face. However, commitment level appears to strongly moderate the relationship between group and use of maintenance behaviors.