I. The Mass Media And The Structure Of American Society.

This article presents a response to an academic paper by Raymond Bauer and Alice Bauer in which they attempt to assess the relationship of the mass media of communication to American society, published in the September 1960 issue of the scholarly "Journal of Social Issues". The Bauers have made a careful and informative review of empirical research studies on the determinants and effects of the mass media. Beyond this, the evidence they have adduced has led them into a critique of the so-called theory of mass society, which they speak of as the only available attempt at a generalized interpretation of the phenomena involved. They note that in general, the proponents of the theory of mass society operate both as commentators on the empirical state of the society and as evaluative critics of it.