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An attempt is made to compare the functionalist & behaviorist approaches to mass communications research & examine their respective policymaking implications & limitations. There has been a debate as to whether TV is too influential on man's thinking or whether man needs TV for relaxation. In the deterministic image of man, he is perceived as essentially weak, & the media as essentially all-powerful. There is also the view of man as an initiating actor within a social milieu, Marx, Tonnies, Simmel, Mannheim, Tarde, & LeBon all asserted that society cannot exist without communication & that communication cannot exist without society. European sociologists asserted the dysfunctional potentialities of the media in manipulating the masses against their wills. US sociologists were mainly concerned with the 2-way flow of communications between the people & their leaders in the active reciprocal exchange of ideas, values, & beliefs. The functionalist orientation to mass communications grew out of the US tradition. No matter what guise they may take on, the major policy implications derived from behavioristic mass communication's research invariably converge at one ultimate point--censorship. It is possible that all media do not stimulate all audiences equally. Because behavioristic research in mass communications can only point to dysfunctions, it cannot offer constructive policy recommendations that will result in more functional mass communications efforts other than suggesting censorship. A far better understanding is needed of precisely what roles the media play in the full process of socialization; more insight is needed into the integrative-disintegrative functions of the media in relation to groups & communities. L. DeForge.

Although the mass media by themselves may be relatively powerless to bring about consequential att change, soc sci res can render them more effective by determining appropriate targets, themes, appeals, & media vehicles. It is shown that at the Communication Arts Center at the U of Denver, Colo, close collaboration between soc sci'ts & communications specialists was achieved & led to successful public information campaigns on alcohol & traffic safety. An entirely diff campaign designed to ameliorate certain life-problems of Mexican-Amer's in the Los Angeles area was equally successful. This involved creation of a TV series Cancion de la Raza. 66% of the viewers, queried immediately after the series went off the air, indicated that they had learned something from watching it. The major task facing the communicator is to recognize, understand, & attempt to overcome public apathy. Here, solid soc sci res can be of aid in determining appropriate targets, themes, appeals, & media vehicles. Their findings should then be turned over to the communications practitioners. Attention must be paid to delineating specific elements of success. Modified HA.

It is sought to determine the extent, it any, of the attect on voting behavior in the West Coast of radio & TV announcements of a Johnson-Humphrey victory before the closing of the polls in the 1964 presidential election. The results of 2 extensive studies are reported. There is agreement that early declarations of victory had little effect on voting turnout or vote switching. Considerable information is provided on procedures used & problems encountered in trying to measure the effects of such announcements. Prior commitment to candidates & its influence on terminal voting choices are explored. Time & salience of voting are considered as influences on exposure to election broadcasts. The effects of exposure are examined. Informal pol'al persuasion & abstention are discussed re informal attempts at personal persuasion & decisions to abstain. It is clear that there were no signif discrepancies between prior commitments & ultimate choices. M. Farber.

The mass media, by simply reporting the news, produce public anxiety. They must also exercise a standard-of-judgment function and provide an entertainment relief from pressures of anxiety for readers and listeners, the author argues.