There has been a lack of studies and a failure to develop methodologies for short wave newscasts. Yet short wave newscasts are news source for journalists, writing on developments in various countries, and they are monitored by an unknown number of the North American public. This paper attempts to fill part of that gap with the selection of features common to all short wave English language newscasts, and the definition of such common aspects by categories that are quantifiable, valid, and reliable. The features are chosen to be useful in describing the style and structure of a particular service, but their primary value lies in their use as a/basis of comparison in studying other services. Five features (specification, news emphasis, immediacy, national philosophy, structure) are developed, defined, and tested in theory for reliability and validity. The features are then defined by categories. They are then applied by the use of a simple counting process to three services (Radio Moscow, Radio Peking, Voice of America) to determine if comparison is possible. The results indicate the three services can be compared and studied by the selected common features through the use of relative numerical values. Persons interested in short wave news reporting will be able to study such newscasts on a comparative basis through the use of the five selected features and their appropriate categories.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Smokey Bear Campaign is one of the most popular and recognized public communication campaigns in the United States. The Advertising Council began the Smokey Bear campaign in 1944 and it is the longest running public communication campaign in the United States. Through a rhetorical narrative methodology, this study analyzed Smokey Bear advertising pieces from its inception through the present. The analysis of the advertising pieces was organized by narrative elements of the campaign, such as narration, themes, characters, and major and minor events with a focus on philanthropic composition relating to awareness and behavior change messaging. The following question is answered: what kind of messaging focus does the Smokey Bear campaign deploy and what aspect of philanthropy does the Smokey Bear campaign seem to be achieving? Conclusions on the philanthropic aspects of public communication campaigns are drawn based on the analysis of the Smokey Bear campaign.

O objeto de estudo da tese foi a comunicação pública procedente do Ministério da Saúde e direcionada à população da terceira idade que utiliza os serviços das unidades de saúde, especificamente na cidade de São Paulo; bem como entender as atitudes constitutivas da população idosa que a recebeu. Para tanto examinamos a trajetória, desde seu planejamento até a sua recepção, da cartilha Viver Mais e Melhor. Nossas metas foram analisar a forma e o conteúdo do instrumento; sua adequação ao público alvo; avaliar qualitativamente a efetividade do conteúdo informativo da publicação para o idoso usuário das unidades públicas de saúde e, também, identificar que mídias são consideradas importantes na transmissão de informações sobre saúde, na visão do público alvo, dos técnicos de comunicação e dos técnicos de saúde. Os resultados indicam que a seleção da mídia e os modos de produção da cartilha, pelo Ministério da Saúde, seguiram procedimentos recomendados na Política de Saúde do Idoso. O órgão, em decorrência de precária pesquisa, não considerou adequadamente as especificidades do receptor, ao escolher a forma e o conteúdo das mensagens com o objetivo de contribuir para a melhoria de saúde e qualidade de vida; mas a recepção pelo idoso foi adequada, apesar dessa mídia não ser a preferida desse grupo etário. / This thesis research examines public communications carried out by the Ministry of Health targeted to the elderly population that utilizes health services in the city of São Paulo and the attitude in response to the communications of the receiving elderly population. Specifically studied was the progression from the planning process to receipt of the booklet Viver Mais e Melhor (Live Better and Longer). Our goals were to analyze the form and the content of the instrument; its suitability for the target public; qualitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the informative content of the publication for the elderly who use public health services, as well as identify the media that was considered important for the transmission of information about health, according to the vision of the target public, communications experts and health service staff. Results indicate that the selection of media and the production of the booklet by the Ministry of Health followed procedures in accordance with elderly health policy. Because of inadequate research, the organization did not adequately consider the preferences of the receiver in the choice of form and content of messages intended to contribute to improved health and quality of life. However reception by elderly was adequate, in spite of the fact that the media was not the preferred choice of this age group.

O objeto de estudo da tese foi a comunicação pública procedente do Ministério da Saúde e direcionada à população da terceira idade que utiliza os serviços das unidades de saúde, especificamente na cidade de São Paulo; bem como entender as atitudes constitutivas da população idosa que a recebeu. Para tanto examinamos a trajetória, desde seu planejamento até a sua recepção, da cartilha Viver Mais e Melhor. Nossas metas foram analisar a forma e o conteúdo do instrumento; sua adequação ao público alvo; avaliar qualitativamente a efetividade do conteúdo informativo da publicação para o idoso usuário das unidades públicas de saúde e, também, identificar que mídias são consideradas importantes na transmissão de informações sobre saúde, na visão do público alvo, dos técnicos de comunicação e dos técnicos de saúde. Os resultados indicam que a seleção da mídia e os modos de produção da cartilha, pelo Ministério da Saúde, seguiram procedimentos recomendados na Política de Saúde do Idoso. O órgão, em decorrência de precária pesquisa, não considerou adequadamente as especificidades do receptor, ao escolher a forma e o conteúdo das mensagens com o objetivo de contribuir para a melhoria de saúde e qualidade de vida; mas a recepção pelo idoso foi adequada, apesar dessa mídia não ser a preferida desse grupo etário. / This thesis research examines public communications carried out by the Ministry of Health targeted to the elderly population that utilizes health services in the city of São Paulo and the attitude in response to the communications of the receiving elderly population. Specifically studied was the progression from the planning process to receipt of the booklet Viver Mais e Melhor (Live Better and Longer). Our goals were to analyze the form and the content of the instrument; its suitability for the target public; qualitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the informative content of the publication for the elderly who use public health services, as well as identify the media that was considered important for the transmission of information about health, according to the vision of the target public, communications experts and health service staff. Results indicate that the selection of media and the production of the booklet by the Ministry of Health followed procedures in accordance with elderly health policy. Because of inadequate research, the organization did not adequately consider the preferences of the receiver in the choice of form and content of messages intended to contribute to improved health and quality of life. However reception by elderly was adequate, in spite of the fact that the media was not the preferred choice of this age group.

This thesis is a replication of a study conducted at Oklahoma State University in 1986. This study measures the percentage of Brigham Young University press releases published in Utah newspapers during a four month period in 1989. The results of the two studies are analyzed and compared.Additionally, personal interviews were conducted with thirty Utah newspaper editors to help determine any additional factors that may affect publishing decisions among Utah's newspaper editors.

Les médias font-ils les décisions publiques ? Cette conception d’un pouvoir du journalisme sur les politiques publiques est répandue parmi les « décideurs ». Elle est aussi présupposée par les théories de l’agenda et de la construction sociale des problèmes. La réalité du phénomène est cependant plus complexe : ce pouvoir n’est ni uniforme ni unidirectionnel. Il repose sur la contribution active et variable des agents politiques et administratifs qui produisent ces décisions. La question s’en trouve alors reformulée : dans quelle mesure la production des décisions publiques peut-elle se faire en fonction du champ journalistique ? Pour y répondre, la thèse propose une sociologie des logiques spécifiques de prise en compte de la médiatisation dans les activités décisionnelles au sein des champs politique (dans les cabinets ministériels et au Parlement) et administratif (dans les administrations centrales des ministères). L’élaboration de ce cadre théorique, au croisement de la sociologie du journalisme et de celle de l’action publique, s’appuie sur l’analyse de la gestion politico-administrative de la maladie de la « vache folle » en France dans les années 1990. Il s’agit de restituer l’importance que les responsables de l’exécutif (en particulier les ministres de l’Agriculture, de la Consommation, de la Santé, mais aussi le Premier ministre et le président de la République), les parlementaires et les hauts fonctionnaires ont pu accorder aux enjeux médiatiques jusque dans leurs pratiques décisionnelles. Il apparaît ainsi que les décisions les plus « médiatiques » sont le produit de la prise en charge des dossiers les plus emblématiques selon les logiques d’action des agents les plus dépendants des enjeux de légitimation dans le champ journalistique : les principaux ministres et leurs conseillers / Are public policies made by the media? This would-be influence of journalists over public decisions is common place among “decision-makers”. It is also assumed by Agenda-setting as well as social problems theorists. Yet, the real nature of the phenomenon is more complex: it follows different paths along several directions. It rests on the active and variable engagement of the politicians and high civil servants who produce decisions. Thus, the question needs to be rephrased: to what extent does the production of public decisions depend on the journalistic field? In order to elucidate this question, this doctoral thesis offers a sociological analysis of the specific logics which lead decision-makers (i.e. ministers’ personal staff, and representatives aswell as high civil servants,) to pay attention to media coverage in decision-making processes. The elaboration of this theoretical framework, at the crossroads of the sociologies of journalism and public action, is based on ananalysis of the handling of the mad cow disease by French officials during the 1990s. The ambition is to account for the very attention the holders of the executive power (namely, the Ministers of Agriculture, Consumption,Health, but also the Prime Minister and the President), the members of Parliament and high civil servants paid to media-related challenges within the practice of decision-making. Thus, it appears that the most “media dependent”decisions are the result of the handling of the most symbolic issues according to the logics of action of the most dependent agents on legitimization stakes in the journalistic field: the principal ministers and their advisers