This study tests whether the impact of alcohol advertising exposure on intentions to drink and actual consumption is mediated by cognitive responses to advertising messages and positive expectancies about alcohol use. The model was tested using survey data of two important age cohorts, 15 to 20 years (n=608) and 21 to 29 years (n=612). The findings show that alcohol advertising was influential in shaping young people's attitudes and perceptions about alcohol advertising messages. The attitudes and perceptions predicted both positive expectancies and intentions to drink of those under the legal drinking age, but did not affect the young adults' expectancies and consumption. Positive expectancies were powerful predictors of intentions to drink and consumption for both groups. The effects of alcohol advertising on intentions to drink of those aged 15 to 20 years were mediated by cognitive responses to advertising messages and positive expectancies. The mediation effect was not evident among those between 21 and 29 years.
The relationship between local news media and public perceptions of food safety was examined in a statewide telephone survey (n = 524). The theoretical framework of the study was based on a review of the social and psychological factors that affect public concerns about food safety, the relationship between mass communication and risk perception, and the thesis of information-processing strategies and its impact on learning from the news. The results show that information-processing strategies substantially mediated the relationship between local news media and public perceptions of food safety, with elaborative processing being more influential than active reflection in people's learning from the news media. Attention to local television had an independent effect, after demographics, awareness of food safety problems, and perceived safety of local food supply were statistically controlled. Other important predictors included gender, education, ethnicity, and perceived safety of local food supply.
What is the status of media ethics as a specialty in the journalism and mass communication (JMC) programs of North American colleges and universities at the turn of the century?This article is the fourth in a series in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator that addresses major parts of that question-the current goals, content, and key issues in media ethics instruction. The article also reports on classroom practices and summarizes the research and creative activities of media ethics teachers.' More broadly, the series of articles has sought to serve as a continuing progress report on the academy's search for ways to develop applied ethics as a liberal arts component in the education of journalists and mass communicators. An important aspect of that effort is the status among
The purpose of this research is to contrast a traditional audience segmentation model that uses demographics and health evaluations against a model that uses these same variables plus media usage variables. The goal was to determine whether media usage variables - typically not used in health segmentation studies - add predictive power in determining health behaviors and attitudes. The results of the analysis showed an increase in the ability to predict health behaviors such as aspirin use, vitamin use, diet, and exercise, and suggest that there is predictive value for including media variables as part of the segmentation process. Implications for public health education and campaign planning are discussed.
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