Persuasion theories typically attempt to account for attitude change, but mass media reviews infl... more Persuasion theories typically attempt to account for attitude change, but mass media reviews influence more ephemeral variables, the chief of which is "interest" in attending or otherwise consuming a cultural event or object. Reviewing and other forms of "evaluative journalism"-including much sports, consumer, and political reportage-affect interest primarily through variation in two variables: information and evaluation. A study examined the processes that accompany audience reaction to reviews. Subjects, 226 students enrolled in large introductory mass media courses for majors and non-majors at a state university, after a pretest, were randomly assigned to one of seven film-review treatments of different evaluative directions and information levels: (1) negative, mixed, and positive reviews with a low level of information; (2) negative, mixed, and positive reviews with a .high level of information; and (3) a "non-review" which contained a high level of information but no evaluative adjectives or phrases. A posttest was also administered. Results indicated that a high level of neutral information increased interest in a film compared with a low level, but information level as not as powerful as evaluation direction. Neutral information alone, however, increased interest almost as much as a positive, high-information review. (Nineteen notes, four tables of data, and one figure are included.) (MS)
Do audiences question negative reviews? Are they more interested in praise than in pans? Do they ... more Do audiences question negative reviews? Are they more interested in praise than in pans? Do they find one kind of review more credible than another? This experiment assessed subjects' interest in positive, mixed or negative reviews and their perceptions of review credibility. A “non-review” containing no evaluative adjectives served as a control. Positive reviews and non-reviews were found significantly more interesting than mixed and negative reviews but not significantly more credible.
Despite the pervasive presence of popular music in society and the continued controversy over its... more Despite the pervasive presence of popular music in society and the continued controversy over its effects on children and teen-agers, the recording industry has received only fragmentary (though increasing) attention from mass media researchers. To gain evidence of the level of literacy of today's music critics, a study examined the tastes, prejudices, and predispositions of an important group of gatekeepers of popular taste--the music critics. Subjects, 160 magazine and newspaper critics (20% of the population originally surveyed) representing every major metropolitan area in the nation, responded to a questionnaire. Findings revealed that: (1) newspaper and magazine music criticism differs significantly in one particular way, i.e., though the numbers are small, magazines exclude negative reviews as a matter of policy significantly more than do newspapers; (2) whether by policy or not, music critics estimate that they write few negative reviews, categorizing only about one-fift...
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 2000
Scholars have examined how specific opinion climates affect political discourse, but little atten... more Scholars have examined how specific opinion climates affect political discourse, but little attention has been given to how perceived freedom to talk in general is related to congenial political conversation in ordinary spaces or willingness to argue with an opponent—or how each mode of talk affects civic participation. Respondents in a nationwide survey felt free to talk about politics. Freedom to talk, issue-specific news, and newspaper use were most strongly related to ordinary political conversation. With argumentation, issue-specific news, issue-specific talk, and local opinion climate dominated. Ordinary political conversation was significantly related to conventional participation; argumentation was not.
Advertising Council produces highest evaluation but lowest behavioral response of three sources u... more Advertising Council produces highest evaluation but lowest behavioral response of three sources used for PSAs
ABSTRACT Although journalists, public relations practitioners, and the general public have common... more ABSTRACT Although journalists, public relations practitioners, and the general public have common interests in protecting media rights, public support for those rights is historically weak. The boundary-spanning function of public relations—which relies in part on First Amendment rights—implies that practitioners might bridge the gap between the public's and the media's perspectives. To better understand support for media rights, we surveyed samples from all three groups. The public was least likely to support the 26 media rights addressed in the survey. Public relations practitioners' support fell between that of the public and journalists.
... It is unfortunate that the two scholars demonstrate no awareness of each other's work: A... more ... It is unfortunate that the two scholars demonstrate no awareness of each other's work: Alvarez's hypotheses could easily fit Holbrook's broader frame of analysis ... Demonstrating the relation between information and learning will, he argues “show that campaigns do mat-ter” (p. 51 ...
Persuasion theories typically attempt to account for attitude change, but mass media reviews infl... more Persuasion theories typically attempt to account for attitude change, but mass media reviews influence more ephemeral variables, the chief of which is "interest" in attending or otherwise consuming a cultural event or object. Reviewing and other forms of "evaluative journalism"-including much sports, consumer, and political reportage-affect interest primarily through variation in two variables: information and evaluation. A study examined the processes that accompany audience reaction to reviews. Subjects, 226 students enrolled in large introductory mass media courses for majors and non-majors at a state university, after a pretest, were randomly assigned to one of seven film-review treatments of different evaluative directions and information levels: (1) negative, mixed, and positive reviews with a low level of information; (2) negative, mixed, and positive reviews with a .high level of information; and (3) a "non-review" which contained a high level of information but no evaluative adjectives or phrases. A posttest was also administered. Results indicated that a high level of neutral information increased interest in a film compared with a low level, but information level as not as powerful as evaluation direction. Neutral information alone, however, increased interest almost as much as a positive, high-information review. (Nineteen notes, four tables of data, and one figure are included.) (MS)
Do audiences question negative reviews? Are they more interested in praise than in pans? Do they ... more Do audiences question negative reviews? Are they more interested in praise than in pans? Do they find one kind of review more credible than another? This experiment assessed subjects' interest in positive, mixed or negative reviews and their perceptions of review credibility. A “non-review” containing no evaluative adjectives served as a control. Positive reviews and non-reviews were found significantly more interesting than mixed and negative reviews but not significantly more credible.
Despite the pervasive presence of popular music in society and the continued controversy over its... more Despite the pervasive presence of popular music in society and the continued controversy over its effects on children and teen-agers, the recording industry has received only fragmentary (though increasing) attention from mass media researchers. To gain evidence of the level of literacy of today's music critics, a study examined the tastes, prejudices, and predispositions of an important group of gatekeepers of popular taste--the music critics. Subjects, 160 magazine and newspaper critics (20% of the population originally surveyed) representing every major metropolitan area in the nation, responded to a questionnaire. Findings revealed that: (1) newspaper and magazine music criticism differs significantly in one particular way, i.e., though the numbers are small, magazines exclude negative reviews as a matter of policy significantly more than do newspapers; (2) whether by policy or not, music critics estimate that they write few negative reviews, categorizing only about one-fift...
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 2000
Scholars have examined how specific opinion climates affect political discourse, but little atten... more Scholars have examined how specific opinion climates affect political discourse, but little attention has been given to how perceived freedom to talk in general is related to congenial political conversation in ordinary spaces or willingness to argue with an opponent—or how each mode of talk affects civic participation. Respondents in a nationwide survey felt free to talk about politics. Freedom to talk, issue-specific news, and newspaper use were most strongly related to ordinary political conversation. With argumentation, issue-specific news, issue-specific talk, and local opinion climate dominated. Ordinary political conversation was significantly related to conventional participation; argumentation was not.
Advertising Council produces highest evaluation but lowest behavioral response of three sources u... more Advertising Council produces highest evaluation but lowest behavioral response of three sources used for PSAs
ABSTRACT Although journalists, public relations practitioners, and the general public have common... more ABSTRACT Although journalists, public relations practitioners, and the general public have common interests in protecting media rights, public support for those rights is historically weak. The boundary-spanning function of public relations—which relies in part on First Amendment rights—implies that practitioners might bridge the gap between the public's and the media's perspectives. To better understand support for media rights, we surveyed samples from all three groups. The public was least likely to support the 26 media rights addressed in the survey. Public relations practitioners' support fell between that of the public and journalists.
... It is unfortunate that the two scholars demonstrate no awareness of each other's work: A... more ... It is unfortunate that the two scholars demonstrate no awareness of each other's work: Alvarez's hypotheses could easily fit Holbrook's broader frame of analysis ... Demonstrating the relation between information and learning will, he argues “show that campaigns do mat-ter” (p. 51 ...
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Papers by Robert Wyatt