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An exploratory survey (part of a larger study) examined the relative effectiveness of news versus advertising as sources of product information. Subjects, 140 undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory public speaking course or a course in visual communication, completed a 5-page media interest survey. Results indicated that news rates favorably, based on belief and attitudinal measures. However, mixed results were obtained when respondents were asked to specify which sources of information they were likely to use when purchasing a product or service. Findings suggest that although individuals might be positively predisposed toward news versus advertising, the effect is probably conditional in nature. The next stage of the research project is designed to test claims about the superiority of news within the context of a variety of variables that might moderate its effects in a controlled setting. (Contains 44 references and 5 tables of data.) (RS)

This study profiles William Lyon Mackenzie King's role as a counselor to John D. Rockefeller Jr. in the aftermath of the bitter 1913-1914 Colorado coal strike. Mackenzie King--not his more recognized counterpart, publicist Ivy Lee--provided many of the modern public relations ideas that Rockefeller eventually adopted to alleviate tensions and improve labor relations. These included the development of the Colorado Industrial Representation Plan, a prototype company union structure that was designed to facilitate employee communications. Mackenzie King, who later served 22 years as prime minister of Canada, also advised Rockefeller on a wide range of public relations activities, including testimony before government hearings, meetings with union leaders, community philanthropy in Colorado, and Rockefeller's historic visit to Colorado in September-October 1915. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the ways different Ukrainian media -- three television channels, one newspaper, and one Internet site -- framed the Ukrainian political crisis of 2001. Dominant media frames and framing devices (Gamson & Lasch, 1983) were identified by content analysis of 829 news stories. Frames were compared across these news outlets as well as across different time periods to analyze the role of framing in public deliberation (Simon & Xenos, 2000). The study found that there was a strong influence of ideology on the way different Ukrainian media framed the news, and that this influence distorted the deliberation pattern. The study found that there were two main patterns of frames used by Ukrainian media: the overt propagandistic pattern and a pattern of hidden attempts at manipulation. The former consisted of the combination of two or more negative frames toward political opponents; the combination of one or more neutral frames and one negative frame toward the opponents comprised the latter. Metaphors and depictions were the dominant devices of framing the crisis among the Ukrainian media. Constructing the discourse, media tried to heavily exploit cultural values shared by Ukrainians: feelings associated with fascism, Civil War, Cold War, Stalin's repressions, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey (n=187) of professional staff members in the Cooperative Extension unit at a major western university examined adoption of a new web-based electronic performance reporting and assessment system (e-Power) within the context of Everett Rogers' model of the adoption of innovations (Rogers, 1995). Consistent with the model, adoption was positively related to staff members' attitudes toward computing in general, self-reported familiarity and experiences with the system, and adherence to organizational norms that stressed the importance of accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay draws upon previous theorizing in public relations (Broom, Casey & Ritchey, 1997; J. Grunig & Huang, 2000) to outline a model of antecedents, processes and consequences of using web sites to build and maintain organizational-public relationships. A variety of organizational, systems and user factors influence the process. Users become aware of and access a site, learn about content and the source, interact with the system and possibly other people, and form attitudes about the content and system. The effects or consequences of online communications can be measured terms of a user's knowledge of content or the source, attitudes toward the organization, subsequent communications activities, and engagement in behaviors that benefit the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]