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Mass Media (mass + media)
Selected AbstractsGoverning in the Media Age: The Impact of the Mass Media on Executive Leadership in Contemporary Democracies1GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 1 2008Ludger Helms The effects of old and new media on governing and executive leadership have remained curiously under-studied. In the available literature, assessments prevail that consider the media to have developed a strongly power-enhancing effect on incumbent chief executives. A careful reconsideration of mass media effects on the conditions and manifestations of political leadership by presidents and prime ministers in different contemporary democracies suggests that the media more often function as effective constraints on leaders and leadership. Overall, the constraining effects of the traditional media have been more substantial than those generated by the new media. While there are obvious cross-national trends in the development of government,mass media relations, important differences between countries persist, which can be explained to some considerable extent by the different institutional features of contemporary democracies. [source] The Social Capital of Blacks and Whites: Differing Effects of the Mass Media in the United StatesHUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006Christopher E. Beaudoin This study relied on telephone survey interviews of adults in two U.S. metropolitan areas to examine whether the relationship between mass media use and social capital varies according to ethnicity. A multigroup approach taken with structural equation modeling validates a four-factor model of social capital for Blacks and Whites and then, with the implementation of a comprehensive model that also includes mass media inputs, tests for structural variance between the ethnic groups. A well-fitting comprehensive model is achieved, with significant differences between Blacks and Whites in terms of the mass media use structures. In support of the two hypotheses, the relationship between news use and social capital is less positive for Blacks than for Whites and the relationship between entertainment TV viewing and social capital is more negative for Blacks than for Whites. These findings are discussed in terms of literature involving mass media effects on social capital, news coverage of ethnic groups, and ethnic differences in self-conceptualization and media responses. [source] Shakespeares after Shakespeare: An Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture by Richard Burt, EditorTHE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN CULTURE, Issue 1 2008Ray B. Browne No abstract is available for this article. [source] Minorities in Children's Television Commercials: New, Improved, and StereotypedJOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2003HAE-KYONG BANG Mass media is one means by which consumers learn how to behave as consumers. Consumers' beliefs about minorities as consumers are also influenced by mass media, and the impact is likely highest among young children. A content analysis of 813 commercials in children's television programming reveals that while Caucasians continue to be the predominant models in terms of numbers and in the types of roles they play, the numerical representation of minorities, especially Blacks, has improved. However, the study found that minorities are more likely than Caucasians to have minor roles and to be portrayed in certain product categories, settings, and relationships. Societal impacts and implications for minority consumers are discussed. [source] A match,mismatch test of a stage model of behaviour change in tobacco smokingADDICTION, Issue 7 2006Arie Dijkstra ABSTRACT Aims An innovation offered by stage models of behaviour change is that of stage-matched interventions. Match,mismatch studies are the primary test of this idea but also the primary test of the validity of stage models. This study aimed at conducting such a test among tobacco smokers using the Social Cognitive Stage Model. Design A match,mismatch field-experiment was conducted in which smokers and ex-smokers in different stages were assigned randomly to one of three information conditions. Participants Smokers in the pre-contemplation stage, the contemplation stage and the preparation stage, and ex-smokers in the action stage (n = 481), who were recruited through mass media, were assigned randomly to one of three information conditions. Intervention In each of the three information conditions, participants received a four- to six-page computer-tailored letter designed to: (1) increase the positive outcome expectations of quitting, (2) decrease the negative outcome expectations of quitting or (3) increase self-efficacy. Measurements Forward stage transition was the primary outcome measure, which was assessed 2 months after the participants received the information. Findings At the 2-month follow-up, the matched interventions were significantly more effective in stimulating forward stage transition (44.7%) than were mismatched interventions (25.8%; odds ratio = 2.78; confidence interval = 1.85,4.35). Conclusion The present study provides experimental support for the benefits of stage-matching and for the validity of the Social Cognitive Stage Model. [source] Drug wars in the post-Guttenberg galaxy: mass media as the next battlegroundADDICTION, Issue 3 2001Dwayne Proctor First page of article [source] How news content influences anti-immigration attitudes: Germany, 1993,2005EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009HAJO G. BOOMGAARDEN Immigration is an increasingly important political issue in Western democracies and a crucial question relates to the antecedents of public attitudes towards immigrants. It is generally acknowledged that information relayed through the mass media plays a role in the formation of anti-immigration attitudes. This study considers whether news coverage of immigrants and immigration issues relates to macro-level dynamics of anti-immigration attitudes. It further explores whether this relationship depends on variation in relevant real world contexts. The models simultaneously control for the effects of established contextual explanatory variables. Drawing on German monthly time-series data and on ARIMA time-series modeling techniques, it is shown that both the frequency and the tone of coverage of immigrant actors in the news significantly influence dynamics in anti-immigration attitudes. The strength of the effect of the news, however, depends on contextual variation in immigration levels and the number of asylum seekers. Implications of these findings are discussed in the light of the increasing success of extreme right parties and growing opposition to further European integration. [source] May the weak force be with you: The power of the mass media in modern politicsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006KENNETH NEWTON Television is often said to undermine democratic government popular support for leaders and institutions. In spite of all that has been written about media malaise, however, both theory and evidence suggests that the media are a comparatively weak force whose effects can be deflected, diluted and diffused by stronger forces. These include bedrocks political values associated with class, religion, age, gender and education, as well as social networks and discussions, distrust of the mass media, and personal knowledge and experience. Equally, the variables that mediate the media may also magnify its effects so that what appears to be a large media effect is, in fact, the result of an interaction between the media and other forces. This article lays out the argument of the media malaise literature that covers government and politics, then outlines the social forces that mediate the media, and finally provides some evidence to illustrate the argument that the media are generally a weak force in society. [source] The Social Capital of Blacks and Whites: Differing Effects of the Mass Media in the United StatesHUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006Christopher E. Beaudoin This study relied on telephone survey interviews of adults in two U.S. metropolitan areas to examine whether the relationship between mass media use and social capital varies according to ethnicity. A multigroup approach taken with structural equation modeling validates a four-factor model of social capital for Blacks and Whites and then, with the implementation of a comprehensive model that also includes mass media inputs, tests for structural variance between the ethnic groups. A well-fitting comprehensive model is achieved, with significant differences between Blacks and Whites in terms of the mass media use structures. In support of the two hypotheses, the relationship between news use and social capital is less positive for Blacks than for Whites and the relationship between entertainment TV viewing and social capital is more negative for Blacks than for Whites. These findings are discussed in terms of literature involving mass media effects on social capital, news coverage of ethnic groups, and ethnic differences in self-conceptualization and media responses. [source] Information sources used by older adults for decision making about tourist and travel destinationsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 5 2007Ian Patterson Abstract Over the past decade, the older market has emerged as an extremely important one because of its increased purchasing power for most consumer goods and services. The tourism and leisure industry is also targeting people aged 65 years and older, because many possess a relatively large share of discretionary money that they want to spend on travel. This has resulted in increasing attention by the mass media and the advertising industry in particular. This paper discusses the main types of information sources that are used by older adults when they make decisions about tourist and travel destinations, and particularly focuses on the importance of word-of-mouth sources and personal experiences. It also explores the influence of the mass media on trip decision making for older adults, and discusses the importance of brochures, magazines and television as information sources for older adults. Finally, it critiques the lack of senior models in advertising campaigns for travel products that are aimed at the older market. [source] Consumer attitudes and acceptance of genetically modified organisms in KoreaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 3 2003Hyochung Kim Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were first used to designate micro organisms that had had genes from other species transferred into their genetic material by the then-new techniques of ,gene-splicing.' Cultivation of GMOs has so far been most widespread in the production of soybeans and maize. The United States holds almost three-fourths of the total crop area devoted to GMOs. Because many crops have been imported from the US, there is a large possibility for consumers to intake the products of GMOs in Korea. The safety of GMOs is not scientifically settled at this time, however. Additionally, the research regarding the GMOs issue of consumers has rarely been conducted in Korea. This study therefore focused on the consumer attitudes about GMOs and willingness to purchase them. The data were collected from 506 adults living in Seoul, Daegu and Busan, Korea, by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Frequencies and chi-square tests were conducted by SPSS. The results of the survey were as follows. First, the consumer concerns about GMOs were high but recognition was low; many respondents answered they did not have exact information about GMOs, although they had heard about them. Second, almost 93% of the respondents desired the labelling of GMOs. Third, the level of acceptance of GMOs was high; two-thirds of the respondents showed that they were willing to buy GMOs. Finally, many respondents worried about the safety of GMOs in that 73% of the respondents primarily wanted to be informed about safety of GMOs. This study suggests that the consumer education about GMOs should be conducted through mass media and consumer protection organisations. [source] Getting them to forgive and forget: cognitive based marketing responses to terrorist actsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006Peter A. Taylor Abstract The context for the article is crisis management and the recognition of the essential role of the mass media in the strategically constructive diffusion of information. The paper introduces the relationship in the media between perception and reality specifically as it relates to the tourism industry. Building on this context, the elaborate likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion is creatively applied to strategies for attitude intervention and manipulation to affect market recovery from acts of terrorism. Additionally the model is applied to non-affected but competitive destinations as an opportunistic strategy. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The Great Non-Communicator?JCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 5 2004The Mass Communication Deficit of the European Parliament, its Press Directorate This article was prompted by the poor turnout for the 1999 European Parliament elections and the failure of MEPs since to address effectively key causes of electoral apathy. It focuses on the extent to which the Parliament's press and information directorate, DG-III, and to a lesser extent, MEPs, are successful in handling their relationships with the mass media, given that the latter is a crucial means of communicating images of the Parliament to the electorate. Having unearthed serious inadequacies in the communication performance of the Parliament, the article investigates the causes of these and the likelihood of their being addressed. The article largely reflects the situation with regard to press and information policy as far as it could be discerned up and until March 2002 (with the exception of the website and external office updates which were undertaken during 2003). Among other things, it paves the way for further studies of the relationship between the European Parliament and the media which will focus on the recent 2004 elections. [source] Presumed Influence on Peer Norms: How Mass Media Indirectly Affect Adolescent SmokingJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 1 2006Albert C. Gunther In the context of adolescent smoking adoption, this study examined the presumed influence hypothesis, a theoretical model suggesting that smoking-related media content may have a significant indirect influence on adolescent smoking via its effect on perceived peer norms. That is, adolescents may assume that smoking-related messages in the mass media will influence the attitudes and behaviors of their peers and these perceptions in turn can influence adolescents' own smoking behaviors. Analyzing data from a sample of 818 middle school students, we found that both pro- and antismoking messages indirectly influenced smoking susceptibility through their perceived effect on peers. However, this indirect effect was significantly stronger for prosmoking messages than for antismoking messages, an outcome that most likely increases adolescents' susceptibility to cigarettes. [source] "I Know I'm a Freierit, But,": How a Key Cultural Frame (En)genders a Discourse of InequalityJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 1 2005Linda-Renée Bloch This article investigates how a key frame of interaction establishes and reinforces gendered social relations within a given culture. It analyzes how the concept of the freier (roughly glossed as "sucker") is used in Israel, interpersonally and via the mass media, to demonstrate how gender is constructed through communication and inextricably bound to the specific cultural context in which it is located. This work exposes how the frame reinforces the underlying dynamics of gender inequality in society, examines the oppositional ways in which it is employed by women, and argues that its use in any form further entrenches the social bias. The article calls for analyses of discourse focusing on nondominant groups, within their specific cultural context, in order to examine the practical distribution of power in society. [source] Social Influence of an International Celebrity: Responses to the Death of Princess DianaJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 4 2003William J. Brown When Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in 1997, a massive public outpouring of grief occurred. Six years after her death, the public and the tabloids still debate whether the paparazzi were to blame for her fatal car accident. Previous studies of celebrities suggest that psychological involvement with a celebrity will determine to what extent stories of the celebrity and their subsequent social influence will affect the general public. The same process was examined in this study of Princess Diana. To study this phenomenon, a survey administered immediately after her fatal car accident compared people's level of involvement with Princess Diana to their viewing of stories about her funeral and their attitudes toward the press. Results showed that gender and age similarities predicted involvement with Princess Diana. This involvement, in turn, predicted people's media use in response to her death and their attitudes toward the press. This finding reinforces previous studies that have shown involvement is an important variable that influences both media consumption and media effects. The authors consider implications of this research for investigating the growing international influence of celebrities through mass media. [source] Setting the agenda of attributes in the 1996 Spanish general electionJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 2 2000M McCombes We advance the central proposition of agenda-setting theory - that elements prominent in the mass media's picture of the world influence the salience of those elements in the audience's picture - through the explication of a second level of agenda setting: attribute agenda setting. This preliminary research on candidate images during the 1996 Spanish general election simultaneously examined 2 attribute dimensions - substantive and affective descriptions - to test the hypothesis that media attribute agendas influence the voters' attribute agenda. Empirically, a high degree of correspondence was found between the attribute agendas of 7 different mass media and the voters' attribute agenda for each of the 3 candidates. The median correlation from these 21 tests of the hypothesis is +.72. Sixth-order partial correlations in which the influence of the other 6 mass media are removed from the correlation between a medium's agenda and the voters' agenda for a particular candidate have a median value of +.73. Additional analyses of the attribute agendas of each medium's primary audience in comparison with its principal competitor also yielded evidence of second-level agenda setting. Future research should pursue complex longitudinal designs tracing the impact of media content on voters' images at both the aggregate and individual levels as part of the continuing scholarly dialogue on competing approaches to framing research and attribute agenda setting. [source] A predictive model for psychological reactions to crime in Italy: an analysis of fear of crime and concern about crime as a social problemJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2005Piero Amerio Abstract In this study a model for predicting fear of crime (FC) and concern about crime as a social problem (CC) in Italy has been built, using three sets of independent variables concerning: (a) the sociodemographic and criminal victimization domain; (b) the psychosocial domain; and (c) the mass media. A secondary analysis on data gathered by the Observatory of the North-West (N,=,3262, a mail panel that is representative of the Italian population over 18) has been performed. Results showed that FC and CC are related yet distinct constructs: FC is less widespread than CC, and has different predictors. FC predictors are sociodemographic, psychosocial and, above all, victimization variables; whereas mass media and psychosocial variables predict CC. Results were compared with the literature on the topic. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Third-Person Perceptions and Online Games: A Comparison of Perceived Antisocial and Prosocial Game EffectsJOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 2 2009Zhi-Jin Zhong The popularity of online games has inspired controversial discussion on the effects of game-play in both mass media and academia. However, we know little about ordinary people's opinions about the effects of game-play. The current study applies the theory of the third-person effect (TPE) to examine people's perceptions of game effects on self and on others, and detects significant third-person perceptual discrepancies. The results show that the magnitude of third-person perceptions is influenced by the social desirability of the message, the social distance between self and others, and by differential exposure to online games. The data supports the hypotheses that Internet efficacy and interdependent self-construal are significant antecedents of third-person perceptions, and partially supports the interaction effect of self-construal with Internet-efficacy and the interaction effect of self-construal with media social desirability. [source] Minorities in Children's Television Commercials: New, Improved, and StereotypedJOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2003HAE-KYONG BANG Mass media is one means by which consumers learn how to behave as consumers. Consumers' beliefs about minorities as consumers are also influenced by mass media, and the impact is likely highest among young children. A content analysis of 813 commercials in children's television programming reveals that while Caucasians continue to be the predominant models in terms of numbers and in the types of roles they play, the numerical representation of minorities, especially Blacks, has improved. However, the study found that minorities are more likely than Caucasians to have minor roles and to be portrayed in certain product categories, settings, and relationships. Societal impacts and implications for minority consumers are discussed. [source] Relocated Citizens' Perceptions and Attitudes Regarding Indoor Application of Toxic Agricultural PesticidesJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2000Olurominiyi O. Ibitayo This study investigates the viewpoints of relocated citizens regarding the effects of relocation, perceptions of the potential hazards of indoor application of a toxic agricultural pesticide , methyl parathion , and the efficacy of the risk information emphasizing the adverse health effects of this inappropriate use of the pesticide. The surveyed citizens were those relocated because the levels of the pesticide contaminant in their homes were high. Despite the extensive information , through the mass media and face-to-face warnings and activities such as assessment of contamination levels, decontamination of homes and relocation , the respondents, regardless of race, consistently perceived relatively low levels of risks from the indoor application of methyl parathion. The disruption of family life, loss of peace of mind and the loss of contaminated property were the most mentioned problems caused by the relocation. In contrast to past research, the disruption of social ties or networks was hardly mentioned. The results of this study suggest that the perceived personal benefits of home-use of methyl parathion, and the voluntariness and controllability of exposure may have been the overriding factors of the respondents' risk perception, more than the clarity, content, consistency, and credibility of the risk information. The fact that the relocation was temporary must have contributed to the low level of importance attached by the respondents to the disruption of social ties as one of the adverse effects of the relocation. [source] Sharing our Experiences with Writing-for-Learning Techniques in a Large Introductory Course: The Popular Press CritiqueJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE EDUCATION, Issue 2 2002S.J. Schmidt ABSTRACT: The Popular Press Critique was a 2-page, out of class writing-for-learning assignment. The purpose of the assignment was to help students learn how to analyze and critically evaluate the validity of published popular press articles in the context of accurate scientific research versus the demands of the mass media. The assignment included a peer evaluation component that provided feedback to the students and exposed them to the perspectives and writing styles of others. Overall, we observed that the assignment helped the students become more critical readers of popular press food science and nutrition news. The peer evaluation component encouraged the students to reflect on and improve their thinking and writing skills. The majority of students reported that they felt the assignment helped them learn how to appropriately interpret popular press articles. [source] New ideas and fertility limitation: The role of mass mediaJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 5 2004Jennifer S. Barber This article investigates the mass media as a social change that shapes individual behavior primarily via ideational mechanisms. We construct a theoretical framework drawing on social demography and social psychology to explain how mass media may affect behavior via attitudinal change. Empirical analyses of 1,091 couples in the Chitwan Valley Family Study, using detailed measures of social change from rural Nepal, show that exposure to the mass media is related to childbearing behavior, and to preferences for smaller families, weaker son preferences, and tolerance of contraceptive use. This result should motivate greater research attention to the influence of changing ideas on behavioral changes, particularly in the study of families. [source] The third age of political communicationJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2001Jay G. Blumler Abstract The author discusses the historical development of political media communication. The first age was a time of relatively easy access to the media; the second age showed the growing power of the media through access to television; and the third suggests an increasing proliferation of information channels within and beyond the mainstream mass media. Four current trends are analysed, with speculation of the subject of their future development. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications [source] Trends in self-reported sleep duration and insomnia-related symptoms in Finland from 1972 to 2005: a comparative review and re-analysis of Finnish population samplesJOURNAL OF SLEEP RESEARCH, Issue 1 2008ERKKI KRONHOLM Summary A hypothesis concerning habitual sleep reduction and its adverse consequences among general population in modern societies has received wide publicity in the mass media, although scientific evidence supporting the hypothesis is scarce. Similarly, there is an extensively distributed belief, at least in Finland, that the prevalence of insomnia-related symptoms is increasing, but evidence for this is even sparser. These issues are important because of the known increased risk of mortality and health risks associated with sleep duration deviating from 7 to 8 h. To reveal possible trends in self-reported sleep duration and insomnia-related symptoms, we reanalyzed all available data from surveys carried out in Finland from 1972 to 2005. The main results were that a minor decrease of self-reported sleep duration has taken place in Finland, especially among working aged men. However, the size of the reduction (about 4%) was relatively small, approximately 5.5 min per each 10 years during the 33 years' time interval under study. The proportion of 7 h sleepers has increased and, correspondingly, the proportion of 8 h sleepers has decreased, but the extreme ends of the sleep duration distribution remained unchanged. Tentative evidence suggesting an increase in insomnia-related symptoms among working aged population during the last 10 years was found. In conclusion, the Finnish data during the past 33 years indicate a general decrease in self-reported sleep duration of about 18 min and an increase of sleep complaints, especially among the employed middle-aged population. [source] Uncommonly good: Exploring how mass media may be a positive influence on young women's sexual health and developmentNEW DIRECTIONS FOR CHILD & ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT, Issue 112 2006L. Monique Ward This chapter discusses several ways in which the media may serve as a positive force in young women's sexual health and development through the information and models they provide and the opportunities they offer for validation and self-expression. [source] The trouble with issues: The case for intentional framingNEW DIRECTIONS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, Issue 124 2009Susan Nall Bales Although framing as a process is value neutral, since it can be put to any political, commercial, or ideological purpose, this article shows how it can be used to engage Americans in discussions of public life and how it might be improved. By offering readers a deeper understanding of the pictures in people's heads that often prevent engagement in issues, the author roots framing in a long history of social and cognitive science scholarship that has addressed the impact of mass media on democratic participation. This article argues that intentional framing can serve as an essential corrective to patterns of thinking in American culture that often preclude considerations of context, systems, and policies and instead advantage explanations of individual effort and worth. [source] West Turns East at the End of HistoryNEW PERSPECTIVES QUARTERLY, Issue 4 2009Octavio Paz Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1990, Octavio Paz was Latin America's great poet, essayist and critic whose most enduring work was The Labyrinth of Solitude. We would often meet in the late afternoon over scotch on ice at his apartment on Reforma in Mexico City, the warm afternoon rain pounding against the windows of his book-lined study, gazing out toward the Angel of Independence column in the center of that daunting megalopolis. Over the years, we collaborated on several issues of Vuelta, a small but influential journal like NPQ. Paz believed that "the most important things can be said at the margins beyond the entertainment and commercial imperatives of the mass media." Though petty literary politics sometimes intruded, Paz was a truly magnanimous soul whose entire life was an exploration. Everything interested him, from Surrealism to the Indian caste system (he was the Mexican ambassador to India before resigning in 1968 to protest the student massacre at Tlatelolco). He liked to quote Baudelaire, saying that poets were universal translators because they translate the language of the universe,stars, water, trees,into the language of man. Paz died in 1998. We held this conversation in 1992. It also appeared in Vuelta as "La Transformacion del Tiempo: El Encuentro de Oriente y Occidente." [source] Hollywood Must Portray Point of View of OthersNEW PERSPECTIVES QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2007ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITU Oscar-nominated director of Babel. In the age of globalization we are no longer home alone. Migration brings other worlds into our own just as the global reach of the mass media transmits our world into the hearts and minds of others. The resulting clashes and fusions are shaping the soul of the first global civilization in the making. In this section, one of Hollywood's top producers, Mike Medavoy, and the Oscar-nominated director of Babel, Alejandro González Iñárritu share their thoughts with NPQ. [source] The importance of news media in pharmaceutical risk communication: proceedings of a workshop,,§PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 5 2005Felicia E. Mebane PhD Abstract In response to mass media's role in the national and global system of pharmaceutical risk communication, the Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) convened a ,think tank' session on the ,Importance of Media in Pharmaceutical Risk Communication'. Prominent journalists and experts from the pharmaceutical industry, academia, medical practice and government were invited to consider the benefits and challenges of improving the way we communicate the benefits and risks of therapeutics via mass media, especially news media. Workshop discussions revealed a paucity of systematic research directed towards understanding how and why news media report on therapeutic risk, the impact of this coverage and how coverage can be improved. Consequently, participants produced a research agenda capturing the key aspects of the flow of information around this topic, including the meaning of risk, how news audiences process and use therapeutic risk information in the news, how and why news organizations report on therapeutic risk, and the role and impact of the pharmaceutical industry, government officials and academic researchers as sources of therapeutic risk information. The workshop ended with a discussion on action items addressing what news professionals, representatives of regulatory agencies and the medical products industry, and academic researchers can and should do to enable news media to effectively report therapeutic risk information. In sum, this proceedings report provides an outline for developing mass media risk communication research, influencing the practices of journalists and expert sources and ultimately, improving the quality of the public's life. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||