Charles K. Atkin

Effects of negative political advertising on the political process

An experiment was conducted to explore the effects of negative political advertising on several variables important to the political process. Results indicated that negative commercials may lead to greater candidate image discrimination and greater attitude polarization than their positive counterparts. Negative and positive commercials did not differ, however, in their effects on involvement in the election, communication behavior regarding the election, and likelihood of turning out to vote in the election.

Differences Between Formal and Informal Communication Channels

This research compares formal and informal organizational communication structures, specifically focusing on salience, channel factors, and channel usage. The major hypotheses of this research were partially supported with data collected from a large, technically oriented governmental agency (n = 380).

The Role of Alcohol Advertising in Excessive and Hazardous Drinking

Based on a nationwide survey of 1,200 respondents predominantly in the twelve to twenty-two age range, alcohol advertising appears to contribute to certain forms of problem drinking. There is a moderately positive correlation between the amount of day-to-day exposure to beer, wine, and liquor ads and both excessive alcohol consumption and drinking in hazardous contexts such as automobile driving. These relationships remain significant when demographic attributes and interpersonal influences are controlled. The evidence indicates that advertising stimulates consumption levels, which in turn leads to heavy drinking and to drinking in dangerous situations. When respondents are shown specimen advertisements depicting excessive consumption themes or hazardous drinking situations, these concepts are readily perceived and many infer an implicit endorsement of such behavior by the sponsoring companies. These results have implications for designing alcohol abuse education messages that can effectively counteract the impact of advertising.

A review of national television PSA campaigns for preventing alcohol-impaired driving, 1987-1992

We present a content analysis of 137 public service announcements (PSAs) focused on alcohol-impaired driving that aired nationally on U.S. television between 1987 and 1992. Our findings include the following: 1) Most PSAs were intended to reach an undifferentiated general audience, not necessarily those who are at greatest risk for driving after drinking. 2) Most PSAs were designed to create awareness of the problem of alcohol-impaired driving or to promote individual behavior change. 3) More PSAs were developed on the use of designated drivers than on any other subject. 4) About two-thirds of the PSAs included one or more celebrities who speak directly to the audience. Past media campaigns have tended to ignore the fact that peoples behavior is profoundly shaped by their environment, which in turn is shaped by public policy. We recommend that future mass media campaigns against alcohol-impaired driving focus on building support for changes in institutional structures, public policy or law that will motivate, support, and sustain the efforts of individuals to alter their behavior. Television PSAs can play an important but somewhat limited role in support of this effort. Greater emphasis will need to be given instead to media advocacy strategies, including paid radio advertising. We further recommend that the principal organizations concerned about alcohol-impaired driving share their plans and develop a common communications strategy that will advance the public policy agenda proposed by the Surgeon Generals Workshop on Drunk Driving.

Effects of televised alcohol messages on teenage drinking patterns

This paper presents an overview of theoretical perspectives applicable to the effects of television drinking portrayals on adolescent audiences, focusing on the influence of beer and wine advertising and entertainment depictions of drinking behavior. A critical review of survey research evidence indicates that alcohol commercials contribute to a modest increase in overall consumption by teenagers and may have a slight impact on alcohol misuse and drunk driving. There are no studies measuring the effects of entertainment programming on adolescents, but content analyses suggest the potential for increased prodrinking attitudes and behaviors. Policy implications for addressing the deleterious effects of televised drinking are discussed, and priorities for future research are identified.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Breast Cancer News Coverage in Leading Media Outlets Focusing on Environmental Risks and Prevention

Breast cancer has a high profile in the news media, which are a major source of information for cancer patients and the general public. To determine the nature of breast cancer news coverage available to audiences, particularly on the topics of environmental risks and prevention, this content analysis measured a broad array of dimensions in 231 stories appearing in nine leading newspapers, newsmagazines, and television networks in 2003 and 2004. One fourth of all stories reported on various risks such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use. Very few items specifically addressed risks related to controllable lifestyle practices such as prepubertal obesity or chemical contaminants in the environment. About one third of the stories included prevention content, primarily focusing narrowly on use of pharmaceutical products. Little information described risk reduction via other individual preventive behaviors (e.g., diet, exercise, and smoking), parental protective measures, or collective actions to combat contamination sites. The more traditional categories of prevalence, detection, and treatment were featured in one third, one quarter, and two fifths of the news items, respectively. There were twice as many stories featuring personal narratives as statistical figures, and two thirds of all the news items cited expert medical professionals, researchers, or organizations. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are addressed.

A Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking Tests Focusing on a Technical Organization

Individual information seeking has become increasingly a critical determinant of the success of individual organizational members and of an organization as a whole. This study tests a Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS) that contains three primary classes of variables: Antecedents, which provide the underlying imperatives to seek information; Information Carrier Characteristics, which shape the nature of specific intentions to seek information from particular carriers; and Information Seeking Actions, which reflect the nature of the search itself and are the outcomes of the preceding classes. The CMIS was tested and refined in tests related to the informal channel in a large, technically oriented governmental agency (N = 380), then the refined model was confirmed by tests on the formal channel. Both tests of the revised model were supportive, suggesting that the most important variables were those related to an individuals existing information base, those associated with an individuals need for programmed information seeking, and those dealing with information carrier characteristics.

Mass Communication and Political Socialization: Specifying the Effects

STUDIES examining the role of mass communication in young peoples learning about politics indicate that the media contribute to political socialization, but the research does little to unravel the complexities of the process. By treating the media exposure patterns, the criterion variables, and the audience as unidimensional concepts, these studies fail to tease out the more specific effects that might exist for certain media, certain variables, or certain audience categories. The present study attempts to address these shortcomings by comparing the socialization effects of exposure to four media sources of political information-television news, radio news, newspaper news, and newsmagazines-on several specific types of political knowledge and behavior. The study also explores differences in effects for certain subgroups of young people.

News Media Exposure, Political Knowledge and Campaign Interest.

Examines the causal flow among three variables using cross-lagged correlation techniques.

QUALITY VERSUS QUANTITY IN TELEVISED POLITICAL ADS

Political candidates have relied increasingly on television advertising over the past decade, with expenditures by major office-seekers reaching