An examination of 600 items in the local press coverage of environmental conflictduringa ten-yearperiodshowed thata communitydaily inasmall, but heterogeneous system (1) did indeed favor governmentlindustry sources rather than activistslcitizens through allfive stages of the conflict;(2) supported local industry in editorials and staff opinion columns in only two stages (Mobilization and Confrontation); and (3) legitimized local industry and marginalized its opponents through all five stages.There is a rich tradition of research on the mass media and community conflict in small, homogenous and large, pluralistic communities, but far less attention has been paid to environmental issues in "fragmented communities.' In the rural south where such groupings are situated between smallhomogenous and large-pluralistic metropolitan areas, the existence of such "fragmented communities poses an important yet unanswered question about how news media function in covering the conflict of protracted environmental struggles.American environmentalism in the 1990s has been credited with precipitating "a collision with long-dominant political and economic values."2 Whenever there are angry citizens in debate, whether it is about a nuclear power plant, an urban renewal project, or location of a chemical waste disposal site, it often becomes a question of whose ox is being gored.3 In a Community conflict case involving a meat packing plant, for example, residents with little to lose if the plant were to close were most supportive of efforts to stop that town's largest employer from dumping raw sewage into a river?Residents of small communities experiencing high unemployment tend to welcome new industry that promises to create hundreds of jobs and pour millions of dollars into the stagnant economy. When it involves hazardous waste, however, community reaction often divides residents into two groups: those who applaud the windfall of new employment opportunities and those who point ominously at the potential health and safety risks. The size and fabric of such a community, the level of local journalists' interest, and the parent company's attempts to mold public opinion also influence the development and outcome of such conflicts?By tracing the evolution of one "fragmented" community's experience during a ten-year period, it is possible to discern how coverage of an environmental dispute over a planned hazardous waste incinerator was framed in terms of the powers involved at different stages during the community conflict. By doing so, we attempt to assess how the local press Claire E . Taylor is a writer for The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, Louisiana. This research article is based upon her graduate thesis conducted under the supervision of the lute lung-Sook Lee. It is submitted with the assistance of William R. Davie, who directs the broadcasting program at the University of Louisiana at Lufayette.

No abstract

This study of duplication and differentiation in local television news indicates that local producers show a preference for sensational stories that feature acts of sex and violence and are easy to explain. Local television news shows little differentiation in topical areas of these stories built of concrete fact, but it tends to differentiate more in soft news topics.

No abstract

Results from an experimental study show that the audience recall of AIDS PSAs is related to message appeal types, cultural identity, and gender. PSA messages with strong emotional appeals are better remembered by college students than the rational appeal messages. The U.S. viewers recall more of the AIDS prevention messages than the international participants. Results also show that college women recall more AIDS PSA messages than college men in general, and emotional AIDS message appeals in particular. The pattern indicates an exact reversal of differences between two message-appeal types for each gender.