What is the biggest social problem in the news today? Who makes issues newsworthy and important? Why do some issues receive more attention than others? Social issues that are widely recognized in the media's agenda often demand attention on the public agenda and in turn, slide up the policy agenda, creating policy changes. James W. Dearing and Everett M. Rogers's research on social issues that hit the top of the media agenda--the war on drugs, drunk driving, the Exxon Valdez, AIDS, and the Ethiopian famine--provides important theoretical and practical insight into the agenda-setting process and its role in effecting social change. This reader-friendly volume introduces students to an important area of communication research and offers them direction for further inquiry. Researchers and professionals in political and mass communication, media studies, research methods, and marketing will appreciate this volume's insightful approach to agenda-setting and policy. "Agenda-Setting is a very useful introduction to the topic as well as a through review of the stream of research. . . . This book introduces a number of ideas that are useful in public relations strategic planning such as the concept of an issue life cycle. A lag/lead analysis of issue development is discussed that would also prove useful to campaign planners. The concept of framing is introduced as a technique that brings meaning to an issue." --Public Relations Review "Authors James W. Dearing and Everett M. Rogers explain the importance of the agenda-setting hypothesis in mass communication research and suggest how research can be advanced in the future. . . . In the book's most impressive character, the authors raise 12 research issues to advance agenda-setting, including the need for more international, comparative approaches. A very complete list of references and a separate list of suggested readings are helpful to scholars. Highly recommended for all serious collections in journalism, mass media, mass communication, political science, and public policy research." R. A. Logan in Choice

Entertainment-Education and Social Change introduces readers to entertainment-education (E-E) literature from multiple perspectives. This distinctive collection covers the history of entertainment-education, its applications in the United States and throughout the world, the multiple communication theories that bear on E-E, and a range of research methods for studying the effects of E-E interventions. The editors include commentary and insights from prominent E-E theoreticians, practitioners, activists, and researchers, representing a wide range of nationalities and theoretical orientations. Examples of effective E-E designs and applications, as well as an agenda for future E-E initiatives and campaigns, make this work a useful volume for scholars, educators, and practitioners in entertainment media studies, behavior change communications, public health, psychology, social work, and other arenas concerned with strategies for social change. It will be an invaluable resource book for members of governmental and non-profit agencies, public health and development professionals, and social activists.

A classic since its first appearance in the 1980s, this comprehensive reference continues to be the history of the spread of new ideas, for academics and professionals alike. In an age of ever-increasing technological innovation, this renowned volume--which has sold more than 30,000 copies in each edition--is more important than ever. Diffusion of Innovations lucidly explains how inventions and new concepts spread via communication channels over time. As professor Everett Rogers explains, such innovations are almost always perceived as uncertain or even risky. To overcome this, most people seek out others like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. The diffusion process, then, is most often shaped by a few individuals who spread the world amongst their circle of acquaintances, a process that typically takes months or years. But there are exceptions: use of the Internet in the 1990s, for instance, may have spread more rapidly than any other innovation in human history--and it continues to influence the very nature of diffusion by decreasing the significance of physical distance between people. As thought-provoking as it is instructive, this fully updated, widely acclaimed work of scholarship is itself a great idea that continues to spread.

Entertainment-Education and Social Change introduces readers to entertainment-education (E-E) literature from multiple perspectives. This distinctive collection covers the history of entertainment-education, its applications in the United States and throughout the world, the multiple communication theories that bear on E-E, and a range of research methods for studying the effects of E-E interventions. The editors include commentary and insights from prominent E-E theoreticians, practitioners, activists, and researchers, representing a wide range of nationalities and theoretical orientations. Examples of effective E-E designs and applications, as well as an agenda for future E-E initiatives and campaigns, make this work a useful volume for scholars, educators, and practitioners in entertainment media studies, behavior change communications, public health, psychology, social work, and other arenas concerned with strategies for social change. It will be an invaluable resource book for members of governmental and non-profit agencies, public health and development professionals, and social activists.

What is the biggest social problem in the news today? Who makes issues newsworthy and important? Why do some issues receive more attention than others? Social issues that are widely recognized in the media's agenda often demand attention on the public agenda and in turn, slide up the policy agenda, creating policy changes. James W. Dearing and Everett M. Rogers's research on social issues that hit the top of the media agenda--the war on drugs, drunk driving, the Exxon Valdez, AIDS, and the Ethiopian famine--provides important theoretical and practical insight into the agenda-setting process and its role in effecting social change. This reader-friendly volume introduces students to an important area of communication research and offers them direction for further inquiry. Researchers and professionals in political and mass communication, media studies, research methods, and marketing will appreciate this volume's insightful approach to agenda-setting and policy. "Agenda-Setting is a very useful introduction to the topic as well as a through review of the stream of research. . . . This book introduces a number of ideas that are useful in public relations strategic planning such as the concept of an issue life cycle. A lag/lead analysis of issue development is discussed that would also prove useful to campaign planners. The concept of framing is introduced as a technique that brings meaning to an issue." --Public Relations Review "Authors James W. Dearing and Everett M. Rogers explain the importance of the agenda-setting hypothesis in mass communication research and suggest how research can be advanced in the future. . . . In the book's most impressive character, the authors raise 12 research issues to advance agenda-setting, including the need for more international, comparative approaches. A very complete list of references and a separate list of suggested readings are helpful to scholars. Highly recommended for all serious collections in journalism, mass media, mass communication, political science, and public policy research." R. A. Logan in Choice

From Simon & Schuster, History of Communication Study is Everett M. Rogers' in-depth and fascinating biographical approach. Everett Rogers' History of Communication Study offers an in-depth treatise on the history of human communication with archival interviews and research of those who have studied it as an intrical part of the social sciences.

This resource is an excellent overview of six health communication campaigns emphasizing insights gained and recommendations from actual experiences. . . . A total of 17 specialists with an impressive diversity of backgrounds and expertise (i.e., campaign experts, management, scientists, etc.) have contributed to this book--one that is loaded with invaluable lessons and insights for future health communications campaigns. . . . The bottom line: If you or your organization is (or will become involved) in such campaigns, this is a book worth reading. It is of interest and value to scholars, students, and professionals across a diversity of fields ranging from media studies and health education, to community policy and social work. --American Journal of Health Promotion "This is useful for its real-life examples." --Communication Booknotes With the steady rise in drug abuse, AIDS, and heart disease, those who devise health communication campaigns have been forced to become more aggressive and efficient in their agendas to promote health and prevent disease. This unique volume investigates the organizational dimensions of health campaigns, bringing together campaign experts and leading management scientists. How do organizations--universities, television and radio networks, advertising agencies, voluntary groups, advocacy and community organizations, and federal agencies--collaborate to make a campaign successful? How do organizational dynamics or structures influence campaign outcomes? Six case studies of some of the most visible campaigns in the last 20 years detail the history, development, operation, and evolution of health communication campaigns. Each case is followed by a commentary from a management expert. Readers will learn to better inspire, design, implement, and evaluate campaigns in various health areas by considering organizational factors. This extensive and accessible volume will be of interest to scholars, students, and professionals in media studies, public opinion, public health, community policy, health education, policy issues, and social work.

Advances in health care have made extraordinary changes in the life expectancy and level of vitality of the average American. Still, according to the U. S. Surgeon General, a full one-half of all premature deaths are due to lifestyle and, therefore, preventable. This important collection presents a comparative synthesis of what works and what does not in mass media health campaigns. High priority is given to coverage of substance abuse prevention campaigns, but programs on AIDS, smoking, teenage pregnancy, heart disease, Alzheimer's Disease, and vehicle seat belt use are also reviewed. Designing Health Communication Campaigns deepens our understanding of how to design, implement, and evaluate mass media campaigns by highlighting the contributions of media experts who add a human element to the various campaign experiences they describe. This work is indispensable in a fast-evolving field where it serves as both a reference and a concordance for interpreting many other analytic sources. Campaign designers, researchers, communications scholars and graduate students as well as policymakers and program funders will find the book to be valuable in helping make critical decisions about effective mass communication campaigns. "This volume is valuable because it emphasizes actual experiences, and is thus recommended as an adjunct to classic texts in the field. Graduate; faculty; professional." --Choice

The Series in Communication Technology and Society is an integrated series centering on the social aspects of communication technology. Written by outstanding communications specialists, it is designed to provide a much-needed interdisciplinary approach to the study of this rapidly changing field.

The industrial nations of the world have become Information Societies. Advanced technologies have created a communication revolution, and the individual, through the advent of computers, has become an active participant in this process. The "human" aspect, therefore, is as important as technologically advanced media systems in understanding communication technology. The flagship book in the Series in Communication Technology and Society, Communication Technology introduces the history and uses of the new technologies and examines basic issues posed by interactive media in areas that affect intellectual, organization, and social life. Author and series co-editor Everett M. Rogers defines the field of communication technology with its major implications for researchers, students, and practitioners in an age of ever more advanced information exchange.

CONTENTS

The Changing Nature of Human Communication
What Are the New Communication Technologies?
History of Communication Science
Adoption and Implementation of Communication Technologies
Social Impacts of Communication Technologies
New Theory
New Research Methods
Applications of the New Communication Technologies