Is time of the essence? A temporal meta-synthesis of seven media effects theories.

The media effects discipline has bequeathed scholars with an endlessly pliable set of theories helping establish the field of communication. Recent decades, however, witnessed a growing chorus of criticism pointing to theories' anachronistic nature to suggest that ideas once known for their original...

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Publicado en:Journal of Communication Vol. 76; no. 1; pp. 8 - 20
Autores principales: Walter, Nathan, Dobmeier, Christopher, Rains, Stephen A, Feeley, Thomas Hugh, Noar, Seth M
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Feb2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: Is time of the essence? A temporal meta-synthesis of seven media effects theories.
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          Walter, Nathan
          Dobmeier, Christopher
          Rains, Stephen A
          Feeley, Thomas Hugh
          Noar, Seth M
        affil:
          Department of Communication Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, United States
          School of Communication, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, United States
          Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
          Department of Communication, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, United States
          Hussman School of Journalism and Media, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States
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        Media effects theory (Communication)
        Mass media influence
        Frames (Social sciences)
        Communication methodology
        Communications research
        Meta-synthesis
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          Media effects theory (Communication)
          Mass media influence
          Frames (Social sciences)
          Communication methodology
          Communications research
          Meta-synthesis
      keyword:
        copyrightHolder:International Communication Association
        copyrightYear:2026
        effect sizes
        inLanguage:en
        media effects
        meta-analysis
        p-curve analysis
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf032
        time
        copyrightHolder:International Communication Association
        copyrightYear:2026
        effect sizes
        inLanguage:en
        media effects
        meta-analysis
        p-curve analysis
        publisher:Oxford University Press
        sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf032
        time
      ab: The media effects discipline has bequeathed scholars with an endlessly pliable set of theories helping establish the field of communication. Recent decades, however, witnessed a growing chorus of criticism pointing to theories' anachronistic nature to suggest that ideas once known for their originality and conceptual heft overstayed their welcome. If there is intellectual disagreement, it is in fact a propitious moment to infuse the marketplace of ideas with critical data. To this end, meta- and interrupted time series-analyses of seven key media effects theories (K  = 588, N  = 525,670) identify a decline in effect sizes over time, while moderation analyses point to methodological and technological culprits. As it turns out, effect sizes linked with media effects theories get smaller but more statistically significant. Optimistically, this may signal that, just like humans, theories that grow long in the tooth lose some of their youthful spark but gain stability.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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