Mass Communications Research Resources

An Annotated Guide

Christopher Sterling, James K. Bracken, Susan M. Hill, Christopher H. Sterling, Susan B. Hill

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781136694547
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Communication Studies
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

This reference book is designed as a road map for researchers who need to find specific information about American mass communication as expeditiously as possible. Taking a topical approach, it integrates publications and organizations into subject-focused chapters for easy user reference. The editors define mass communication to include print journalism and electronic media and the processes by which they communicate messages to their audiences. Included are newspaper, magazine, radio, television, cable, and newer electronic media industries. Within that definition, this volume offers an indexed inventory of more than 1,400 resources on most aspects of American mass communication history, technology, economics, content, audience research, policy, and regulation.

The material featured represents the carefully considered judgment of three experts -- two of them librarians -- plus four contributors from different industry venues. The primary focus is on the domestic American print and electronic media industries. Although there is no claim to a complete census of all materials on print journalism and electronic media -- what is available is now too vast for any single guide -- the most important and useful items are here. The emphasis is on material published since 1980, though useful older resources are included as well. Each chapter is designed to stand alone, providing the most important and useful resources of a primary nature -- organizations and documents as well as secondary books and reports. In addition, online resources and internet citations are included where possible.

1

General Reference

This first chapter identifies major resources for research on mass communications in general. More importantly it includes selected standard general resources that place media in a larger context. Among the most useful general works is Balay’s 11th ed. of the standard GUIDE TO REFERENCE BOOKS (0001). Likewise, we have identified several electronic services recently made widely available in the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) bibliographic utility as well as by newer service providers, like GaleNet. We are also pleased to provide information about the electronic index, COMINDEX (0033), published by Communication Institute for Online Scholarship, which surely represents one of the first attempts in the United States to make the literature of mass communications more readily accessible. Likewise, COMMSEARCH95 (0034) offers an expanded CD-ROM replication of Matlon and Ortiz’s 4th ed. of INDEX TO JOURNALS IN COMMUNICATION STUDIES THROUGH 1990, published by the Speech Communication Association.

In general, data about the availability of online, CD-ROM, floppy disk, and other electronic services are from the products themselves, supplemented by the standard GALE DIRECTORY OF DATABASES (0042). For more recent information, researchers should consult the web pages for particular databases and services. Although only a few of these standard printed and electronic reference resources can be regarded as specific to mass communications, each covers far more than media literature, organizations, or personalities. General resources like many of those in this chapter serve to measure inevitable integration and convergence of mass communications into many aspects of daily life.

We give particular attention in the last section of this chapter to statistical resources published by both government and industry. By far the most useful guidance to mass communications statistics is provided by STATISTICAL MASTERFILE (0109). Researchers with access to its accompanying microfiche collections should consider themselves very fortunate indeed.

1-A. Bibliographies

1-A-1. General

0001 Balay, Robert, and Vee Friesner Carrington, eds. GUIDE TO REFERENCE BOOKS. 11th ed. Chicago: American Library Association, 1996, 2,020 pp. This supersedes Eugene Sheehy’s 1986 10th ed. and Balay’s supplement of 1992. This is once again the authoritative guide to standard reference materials (bibliographies, indexes, dictionaries, handbooks, guides) in all subjects and fields. Particularly strong coverage of directories, catalogs, and union lists of domestic and international newspapers and serial publications (journalism is covered in “Newspapers”). Relevant classified annotated entries in chapters on mass media and radio-television. Author, title, and subject index. Particularly useful for advanced researchers attempting comprehensive literature searches.

0002 Block, Eleanor S. and James K. Bracken. COMMUNICATION AND THE MASS MEDIA: A GUIDE TO THE REFERENCE LITERATURE. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1991, 198 pp. Covers electronic mass communications as well as organizational, political, and speech commmunication and rhetoric. Some 500 entries, with many other resources cited within long annotations, arranged in 10 sections by type of information source (e.g., bibliographies, periodicals, research centers). Author/title and subject indexes.

0003 Blum, Eleanor and Frances Goins Wilhoit. MASS MEDIA BIBLIOGRAPHY: AN ANNOTATED GUIDE TO BOOKS AND JOURNALS FOR RESEARCH AND REFERENCE. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1989 (3rd ed.), 344 pp. Some 2,100 indexed entries on general communications, book publishing, broadcasting, editorial journalism, film, magazines, and advertising. International in scope but limited to English-language materials. Basic source for items published before 1988 with commonsense evaluations. Author, title, and subject indexes.

0004 COMMUNICATION BOOKNOTES QUARTERLY. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1998 (Vol. 29)–date, quarterly. Brief reviews of new books, periodicals, documents and other monographs in mass communications, telecommunication and information, with contributions from an active board of contributing editors. Reviews several hundred publications each year. Continues COMMUNICATION BOOKNOTES (1980–1997), MASS MEDIA BOOKNOTES (1973–1980), and BROADCASTING BIBLIOPHILE’S BOOKNOTES (1969–1972).

0005 DIRECTORIES IN PRINT. Detroit: Gale, 1989–date, annual. Formerly DIRECTORY OF DIRECTORIES (1980–1988). Included in online GALE DATABASE OF PUBLICATIONS AND BROADCAST MEDIA available from Dialog and GaleNet: covers current edition, updated semiannually. Diskette version available from Gale. Volume I of 13th ed. for 1996 includes classified descriptions of professional, trade, and other listings of membership, personnel, or companies, buyer’s guides to services, products, ratings and rankings lists, and other kinds of directories. Relevant entries included in chapters on publishing and broadcast media arts and entertainment. Volume II includes title and keyword index and subject index; useful headings include radio broadcasting, television broadcasting, and video industry.

0006 Hoffman, Frank W. AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE: A GUIDE TO THE REFERENCE LITERATURE. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1995, 286 pp. Concentrates on reference works, special collections, societies, associations, and journals. Entries are fully annotated. See also: Inge (0099).

0007 Kwiatek, Kathy Krendl, ed. FROM PREHISTORY TO PRESENT-DAY: A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF COMMUNICATION. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Howard R. Marsh Center for the Study of Journalistic Performance, Department of Communication, 1980, 20 pp. A short bibliography, with an introduction by Wilbur Schramm. Developed by members of an informal seminar led by Schramm at the University of Michigan, its value is in selectivity—57 books covering broad communication topics intelligently and accurately. Schramm’s essay explains that the books chosen are useful for grasping the “broad sweep of Human communication…”

0008 Orenstein, Ruth M., ed. FULLTEXT SOURCES ONLINE: FOR PERIODICALS, NEWSPAPERS, NEWSLETTERS, NEWSWIRES & TV/RADIO TRANSCRIPTS. Needham Heights, MA: BiblioData, 1989–date, semiannual. Gives locations of fulltext computer files for U.S. and foreign periodicals, newspapers, newsletters, newswires and television and radio transcripts. Fulltext is defined to mean complete articles are found online, not that a publication is found cover-to-cover in the database (features like tables, charts, graphics, illustrations, and photographs are excluded). Covers major vendors.

0009 Rubin, R.B. et al. COMMUNICATION RESEARCH: STRATEGIES AND SOURCES. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1996 (4th ed.), 353 pp. A step-by-step guide to use of many types of media reference materials, combined with solid annotated bibliography. Offers substantive advice on research methods and resources.

See 1159. Sova, COMMUNICATIONS SERIALS.

0010 Sterling, Christopher H. TELECOMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRONIC MEDIA, AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS: A SURVEY BIBLIOGRAPHY. Annandale, VA: Communication Booknotes, 1996 (2nd ed.), 30 pp. About 500 references (mostly after 1990) in subject and format arrangement, with further topical subdivisions: dictionaries, encyclopedias, glossaries; directories and yearbooks; bibliographies; development; technology; industry, economics; content; impact, effects; policy and regulation; area studies. Concise critical annotations. Cumulates and updates Sterling’s previous separate bibliographies, based on COMMUNICATION BOOKNOTES (0004), and formerly issued about every 2 years (last revised in 1991): FOREIGN AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS: A SURVEY BIBLIOGRAPHY; BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MASS COMMUNICATION AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA; and TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY: A SURVEY BIBLIOGRAPHY.

See 0230. University of Illinois. CATALOG OF THE COMMUNICATIONS LIBRARY.

0011 ULRICH’S INTERNATIONAL PERIODICALS DIRECTORY. New York: Bowker, 1932–date, annual. Available online from DIALOG and other services. CD-ROM version—ULRICH’S PLUS—available from Bowker. Premier international descriptive source for magazines, newspapers, annuals, and irregularly issued publications. All publications are classified by subject, fully described (publisher, address, frequency, date first published, editors, circulation, price, indexes, publishing code, abstracting services, Copyright Clearance Center registrations, document delivery suppliers). Since the 1993/94 edition, it has included over 7,000 daily and weekly U.S. newspapers, providing “comprehensive worldwide newspaper coverage.” In addition to the subject classification, all entries are indexed by title.

1-A-2. Print Media and Journalism

0012 Cates, Jo A. JOURNALISM: A GUIDE TO THE REFERENCE LITERATURE. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1997 (2nd ed.), 225 pp. More than 700 annotated sources divided by type of publication, with good author/title and subject indexing.

0013 Paine, Fred K., and Nancy E. Paine. MAGAZINES: A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THEIR ANALYSIS, WITH ANNOTATIONS AND STUDY GUIDE. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1987, 690 pp. Most comprehensive guide on the industry; includes some 2,200 items in more than 30 topical sections, with indexes. Part 1 includes an annotated list of popular, trade, and scholarly journals and articles that cover magazines and the industry, all annotated, and also lists reference books (bibliographies, directories, handbooks, statistical sources, and indexes to material published in and about magazines). Part 2 is a bibliography of over 2,000 magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, as well as books and dissertations about magazines.

0014 Schwarzlose, Richard A. NEWSPAPERS: A REFERENCE GUIDE. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1987, 417 pp. Nine topical chapters detail what is known of and published about the industry, with references for each chapter. Schwarzlose describes, evaluates, and provides a context for the abundant literature about newspapers and news people. Extensive bibliographies. Topics include histories; newspaper people before the 20th century; newspaper people during the 20th century; newspaper work; producing newspapers; newspapers and society; newspapers and the law; newspapers and technology; and references and periodicals about newspapers. Appendices provide a chronology of newspapers and descriptions of major research collections of newspapers and about newspapers. Index.

0015 Wolseley, Roland E., and Isabel Wolseley. THE JOURNALIST’S BOOKSHELF: AN ANNOTATED AND SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF UNITED STATES PRINT JOURNALISM. Indianapolis, IN: R.J. Berg Co., 1986 (8th ed.), 400 pp. Some 2,400 items are included in this indexed volume, which first appeared in 1939.

1-A-3. Electronic Media

0016 BCTV: BIBLIOGRAPHY ON CABLE TELEVISION. San Francisco: Communications Library, 1984–date, annual. Compilation of selected materials on cable television published during a given year. Entries arranged by format: book, dissertation, thesis, ephemera, magazine, newspaper, and trade press. Appendix provides a master cross-reference index to books and dissertations from 1975 to the year of publication. The cross-reference index features the following subject headings: access, advertising/marketing, audience/subscribers, business/finance, international, legislation/regulations, operations, programming-local, programming-network, satellites, social effects/education, technical, teletex and videotex. This series was inaugurated by a volume that annotated cable television from 1975 to 1983.

0017 Carothers, Diane Foxhill. RADIO BROADCASTING FROM 1920 TO 1990: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. New York: Garland, 1991, 564 pp. Very wide coverage—probably the most inclusive listing with some 1,800 resources on radio—with chapters on background, economic aspects, production, programming, international, public, regulation, amateur and ham radio, women and minorities, careers, and reference sources. Author/title indexes. (See Greenfield, 0298a.)

0018 Cassata, Mary, and Thomas Skill. TELEVISION: A GUIDE TO THE LITERATURE. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1985, 148 pp. Ten topical chapters (including history, reference, process and effects, children, television news, television and politics, the industry, criticism, and anthologies of television writing) offer discussions and listings of several thousand titles with good author and title indexes.

0019 Chin, Felix. CABLE TELEVISION: A COMPREHENSIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY. New York: Plenum Publishing, 1978, 285 pp. The first book-length survey of the medium’s literature, this includes some 650 annotated entries (about 10% of what the author estimates to have appeared prior to publication), plus appendices on the 50 largest cable systems, large cable system owners, a chronology, major federal agencies concerned with cable, FCC rules, glossary, and indexes. (See Garay, 0021, for an update.)

0020 Fisher, Kim N. ON THE SCREEN: A FILM, TELEVISION, AND VIDEO RESEARCH GUIDE. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1986, 209 pp. Annotated and indexed guide to more than 700 publications and associations, arranged by subject. Author/title and subject indexes.

0021 Garay, Ronald. CABLE TELEVISION: A REFERENCE GUIDE TO INFORMATION. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1988, 177 pp. Comprehensive narrative discussion about, and citations on general sources, business and industry/economic resources, program services and content as well as cable uses and effects, cable law and regulations, and videotex. Appendices on association and agency addresses. Index. (See Chin, 0019, for earlier material.)

0022 Hill, Susan M. BROADCASTING BIBLIOGRAPHY: A GUIDE TO THE LITERATURE OF RADIO & TELEVISION. Washington: National Association of Broadcasters, 1989 (3rd ed.), 74 pp. More than 500 items are listed (not annotated) under topical headings. Indexed.

0023 McCavitt, William E. RADIO AND TELEVISION: A SELECTED, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, and SUPPLEMENT ONE: 1977–1981. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1978, 229 pp.; 1982, 167 pp. First attempt since Rose (0156) at a comprehensive bibliography of broadcasting, this includes some 1,500 items in both volumes, topically divided and indexed. Many items are not annotated and there is some confusion in topical arrangement. Indexes. See Pringle and Clinton (0024) for update.

0024 Pringle, Peter K, and Helen H. Clinton. RADIO AND TELEVISION: A SELECTED, ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY, SUPPLEMENT TWO: 1982–1986. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1989, 249 pp. Another 1,000 items are added to the wo...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 General Reference
• Chapter 2 History
• Chapter 3 Technology
• Chapter 4 Industry and Economics
• Chapter 5 Content
• Chapter 6 Research and Audiences
• Chapter 7 Policy and Regulation
• Chapter 8 International
• Chapter 9 Periodicals
• Chapter 10 Audiovisual Resources
• Appendix A Library Guide for Mass Communication Subjects
• Appendix B Library of Congress Subject Headings for Mass Communication
• Index by Author of Main Entries