Pamela J. Shoemaker - Böcker

Published in 1989, Communication Campaigns About Drugs is a valuable contribution to the field of Communication Studies.

What's news? A front-page news story in the United States might not appear in a newspaper in China. Or a minor story on German television may be all over the airwaves in India. But News Around the World shows that the underlying nature of news is much the same the world over and that people--no matter what their jobs or their status in society--tend to hold similar notions of newsworthiness.In this richly detailed study of international news, news makers and the audience, the authors have undertaken exhaustive original research within two cities--one major and one peripheral--in each of ten countries: Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia, South Africa, and the United States. The nations were selected for study based on a central principle of maximizing variation in geographic locations, economic and political systems, languages, sizes, and cultures. The remarkable scope of the research makes this the most comprehensive analysis of newsworthiness around the globe:10 countries studied, each with a university country director2 cities in each country examined, one major and one peripheral60 news media studied (newspapers, television, and radio news programs), resulting in 32,000+ news items analyzed80 focus groups with journalists, public relations practitioners, and audience members2,400 newspaper stories ranked according to newsworthiness and compared with how prominently they were published.News Around the World provides remarkable insight into how and why news stories are reported, testing and improving a theory of cross-cultural newsworthiness and is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand international media and journalism.

What's news? A front-page news story in the United States might not appear in a newspaper in China. Or a minor story on German television may be all over the airwaves in India. But News Around the World shows that the underlying nature of news is much the same the world over and that people--no matter what their jobs or their status in society--tend to hold similar notions of newsworthiness.In this richly detailed study of international news, news makers and the audience, the authors have undertaken exhaustive original research within two cities--one major and one peripheral--in each of ten countries: Australia, Chile, China, Germany, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia, South Africa, and the United States. The nations were selected for study based on a central principle of maximizing variation in geographic locations, economic and political systems, languages, sizes, and cultures. The remarkable scope of the research makes this the most comprehensive analysis of newsworthiness around the globe:10 countries studied, each with a university country director2 cities in each country examined, one major and one peripheral60 news media studied (newspapers, television, and radio news programs), resulting in 32,000+ news items analyzed80 focus groups with journalists, public relations practitioners, and audience members2,400 newspaper stories ranked according to newsworthiness and compared with how prominently they were published.News Around the World provides remarkable insight into how and why news stories are reported, testing and improving a theory of cross-cultural newsworthiness and is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand international media and journalism.

Gatekeeping is one of the media’s central roles in public life: people rely on mediators to transform information about billions of events into a manageable number of media messages. This process determines not only which information is selected, but also what the content and nature of messages, such as news, will be. Gatekeeping Theory describes the powerful process through which events are covered by the mass media, explaining how and why certain information either passes through gates or is closed off from media attention. This book is essential for understanding how even single, seemingly trivial gatekeeping decisions can come together to shape an audience’s view of the world, and illustrates what is at stake in the process.

Gatekeeping is one of the media’s central roles in public life: people rely on mediators to transform information about billions of events into a manageable number of media messages. This process determines not only which information is selected, but also what the content and nature of messages, such as news, will be. Gatekeeping Theory describes the powerful process through which events are covered by the mass media, explaining how and why certain information either passes through gates or is closed off from media attention. This book is essential for understanding how even single, seemingly trivial gatekeeping decisions can come together to shape an audience’s view of the world, and illustrates what is at stake in the process.

Hailed as one of the "most significant books of the twentieth century" by Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Mediating the Message has long been an essential text for media effects scholars and students of media sociology. This new edition of the classic media sociology textbook now offers students a comprehensive, theoretical approach to media content in the twenty-first century, with an added focus on entertainment media and the Internet.

Hailed as one of the "most significant books of the twentieth century" by Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Mediating the Message has long been an essential text for media effects scholars and students of media sociology. This new edition of the classic media sociology textbook now offers students a comprehensive, theoretical approach to media content in the twenty-first century, with an added focus on entertainment media and the Internet.

Click 'Additional Materials' to read the foreword by Jerald HageAs straightforward as its title, How to Build Social Science Theories sidesteps the well-traveled road of theoretical examination by demonstrating how new theories originate and how they are elaborated. Essential reading for students of social science research, this book traces theories from their most rudimentary building blocks (terminology and definitions) through multivariable theoretical statements, models, the role of creativity in theory building, and how theories are used and evaluated. Authors Pamela J. Shoemaker, James William Tankard, Jr., and Dominic L. Lasorsa intend to improve research in many areas of the social sciences by making research more theory-based and theory-oriented.

The book begins with a discussion of concepts and their theoretical and operational definitions. It then proceeds to theoretical statements, including hypotheses, assumptions, and propositions.  Theoretical statements need theoretical linkages and operational linkages; this discussion begins with bivariate relationships, as well as three-variable, four-variable, and further multivariate relationships.  The authors also devote chapters to the creative component of theory-building and how to evaluate theories.

How to Build Social Science Theories is a sophisticated yet readable analysis presented by internationally known experts in social science methodology. It is designed primarily as a core text for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in communication theory. It will also be a perfect addition to any course dealing with theory and research methodology across the social sciences. Additionally, professional researchers will find it an indispensable guide to the genesis, dissemination, and evaluation of social science theories.

Click 'Additional Materials' to read the foreword by Jerald HageAs straightforward as its title, How to Build Social Science Theories sidesteps the well-traveled road of theoretical examination by demonstrating how new theories originate and how they are elaborated. Essential reading for students of social science research, this book traces theories from their most rudimentary building blocks (terminology and definitions) through multivariable theoretical statements, models, the role of creativity in theory building, and how theories are used and evaluated. Authors Pamela J. Shoemaker, James William Tankard, Jr., and Dominic L. Lasorsa intend to improve research in many areas of the social sciences by making research more theory-based and theory-oriented.

The book begins with a discussion of concepts and their theoretical and operational definitions. It then proceeds to theoretical statements, including hypotheses, assumptions, and propositions.  Theoretical statements need theoretical linkages and operational linkages; this discussion begins with bivariate relationships, as well as three-variable, four-variable, and further multivariate relationships.  The authors also devote chapters to the creative component of theory-building and how to evaluate theories.

How to Build Social Science Theories is a sophisticated yet readable analysis presented by internationally known experts in social science methodology. It is designed primarily as a core text for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in communication theory. It will also be a perfect addition to any course dealing with theory and research methodology across the social sciences. Additionally, professional researchers will find it an indispensable guide to the genesis, dissemination, and evaluation of social science theories.

Published in 1989, Communication Campaigns About Drugs is a valuable contribution to the field of Communication Studies.