Page 10 - Media Effects Advances in Theory and Research

Preface

We hope that your responses to the chapters that make up the second edi-
tion of Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research are similar to ours
when we initially read the material as draft chapters. Obviously, an edi-
tor’s evaluation of any foot-tall stack of chapter manuscripts is iterative
and cumulative. In this instance, as the pile of unread, unedited drafts
shrank, and the stack of edited manuscripts grew, we became happier and
happier—and not entirely because the end of the arduous editing task
was at hand. The bulk of our euphoria can more accurately be attributed
to our convergent appraisals of the chapters: “This is undoubtedly the
finest set of chapters we have ever had the opportunity to edit!”
To our wonderful contributors, who individually and collectively went
the extra mile to ensure that each chapter is a work of art, we are exceed-
ingly grateful. To our book adopters and readers, let us assure you that
the contributors have presented not only the state of the art in their
respective areas of expertise in media effects but also the art of the state.
Depending on how you count it, this is either the second or third edi-
tion of Media Effects. First there was Perspectives on Media Effects (1986), the
progenitor of the clan. Designed primarily as a scholarly volume and ref-
erence text, the 16-chapter Perspectives received rather widespread adop-
tion as a textbook. Therefore, when we updated the volume, we revised it
considerably to better accommodate classroom use, and the offspring was
renamed Media Effects: Advances in Theory and Research (1994). But, despite
the name change, Media Effects owed much to its direct ancestor, including
its 16-chapter format.
Eight years later, when it was time (or, as some adopters have sug-
gested, long beyond time) to edit a new edition, we found it impossible to
limit Media Effects to 16 chapters; in fact, we found it incredibly difficult to
limit the volume to the 22 chapters you hold in your hands. Why? Media
effects is a burgeoning field. Moreover, as new research domains have
emerged and their traditions have matured, few have withered and died.
It’s an editor’s and publisher’s nightmare! On the other hand, the bounty of
research certainly qualifies as marked progress in this important area of

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