Subject Guide: Communications
Databases Nonverbal Communication General Communications Sites Online Periodicals Advertising Images Public Relations Ethics Speech Gender and Communications Writing Resources Databases
Gender Watch - focuses on how gender impacts broad subjects areas and offers an historical perspective on women's movement and gender roles. It includes scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, books, as well as NGO, government and special reports (log-in required for off-campus access).
Lexis-Nexis - Academic Universe provides full-text of many newspapers as well as full-text of magazines and journals (log-in required for off-campus access).
ProQuest Research Library - full-text articles and citations to articles relevant to many subjects including political science (log-in required for off-campus access).
General Communications Sites
American Radio Works (ARW) - Documentary Journalism on Public Radio and the Internet - "ARW is public radio's largest documentary production unit; it creates documentaries, series projects, and investigative reports for the public radio system and the Internet". Also features extensive background materials on various topics including justice, history, country reports, and more. Viewers can either read transcripts or listen to real audio versions.
FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) - is a "national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986."
Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. - grassroots nonprofit organization aims to provide "educational services to reporters, editors and others interested in investigative journalism." Offers access to a government database collection, sstate-by-state campaign contribution tracking, information on current issues and more.
Mass Comm, an Online Textbook - companion website to John Vivian's The Media of Mass Communication (6th ed.). Offers online quizzes, information on various media types and more.
Media and Communication Studies - is a British-based gateway to Web resources useful in the academic study of media and communication. Includes theory, advertising, TV& radio, media influence and more. Developed by Daniel Chandler at the University of Wales (Aberystwyth).
Media History Project - aims to: "discover and understand certain trends and practices in historical media"; "to encourage educators to train their students how to use the Internet, how to write for it, and how to report on it." Offers examination of media throughout history from "petroglyphs to pixels", online journals, syllabi, email discussion lists, links and more.
Newslink - comprehensive site for newspapers with links to local, regional and international newspapers.
Poynter - "Everything you need to be a better journalist." Over 200 journalism links, research links with full text articles by faculty and others, news, commentary, and discussion and much more. "The Poynter Institute is a school for journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalism."
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press - created to help journalists with First Amendment cases, the site offers news and updates on freedom of the press issues, operates a hotline to assist journalists with first amendment issues, concerns, or legal cases. Also offers online publications, employment and internship opportunities and much more.
Web Journal of Mass Communication Research - offers full-text scholarly articles in the field of mass communication.
www.theory.org.uk - offers media, gender, and identity resources with information on various theorists (Foucault, Butler, Adorno & Gramsci), role models, media effects, and much more. By David Gauntlett at the Professor of Media and Audiences at the Media School, University of Bournemouth.
Advertising Images
About Face Gallery of Offenders ("Sexist" Ads) - website featuring image galleries of ads that invites the user to determine if the contents are demeaning, dehumanizing, objectifying, demoralizing or sexualized. From About Face, "a media literacy organization focused on the impact mass media has on the physical, mental and emotional well being of women and girls".
19th Century Advertising History - a collection of ads that appeared in Harper's Weekly, from 1857-1872.
The Commercial Closet - over 700 examples from 3 decades of commercials and advertising that reflect society's changing view of the gay community with the marketers' best and worst efforts from around the world. Offers images, still, video clips, and an online feature article section. From the Commercial Closet is a unique, non-profit education and journalism project that proactively reaches out to ad agencies, corporations and the world-at-large to create change through reflection on its collection.
Vintage Cigarette Advertisements -a collection of vintage cigarette advertisements, powered by "the white-hot bitterness of long-term Nicotine withdrawal."
Ethics
American Society of Newspaper Editors - comprehensive site featuring codes of ethics of different newspapers across the United States as well as ethics of professional news associations and news organizations.
Society of Professional Journalists: Ethics in journalism - Features ethics code, ethics news, ethic hotline and listserv, and links to other ethics sites.
Gender and Communications
Association for Women in Communications - recognizes the relationships that exist among the various communications disciplines including "print and broadcast journalism, television and radio production, film, advertising, public relations, marketing, graphic design, multi-media design, and photography", features information on various issues and topics (some in MS Word format).
Center for Women & Information Technology - seeks to redress problems such as the underrepresentation of women in careers in Information Technology (IT) professions and to develop better information products for women, this site features information on books, journals articles, and reviews. Offers excellent web site links for Curricular Resources including syllabi, Internet Resources on Women, and Teaching with Technology. From the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
FAIR's Women's Desk - from Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting, this site "analyses sexism, racism and homophobia in the media and works with activists and media professionals to get a broad range of feminist perspectives included in the public debate". Features full-text articles.
Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in Media - features links to web resources on gender, race, and ethnicity in media with links to magazines, journals, scholarly resources on topics including African American, Advertising, Asian American, Feminist Media, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Resources, Indigenous Peoples and more. From the University of Iowa, Department of Communication Studies.
Oh What A Difference A Difference Makes: Gender In The Visual Arts - developed as a "illustrated lecture for a Bluffton College Forum", this site explores gender definition in portraits, nudes, depictions of parenthood, gendered working roles, critiques of gender roles, and includes footnotes and lists of works cited. Developed by Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffon College.
Nonverbal Communication
Annenberg School for Communication Library, University of Pennsylvania - features many links on various aspects including body posture, categories of gestures, facial expression and eye behavior, gender differences and much more.
Center for Nonverbal Studies - features numerous links on various topics and subtopics including Essentials of nonverbal communication, research links, experiments, and information on additional resources (e.g. books, journals, videotapes).
The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, & Body Language Cues - click on entries in the dictionary to get your list. Compiled by David B. Givens, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Nonverbal Studies.
Symbols Dictionary - click on the word index at the bottom of the screen to select symbols that represent various words. Informative site so long as you can ignore the annoying but small popup at the top of the screen.
Online Periodicals
American Communication Journal - "is the premier online scholarly refereed journal dedicated to the study of communication." Features full text articles, book reviews, and more for current issue and archive issues (archive dates back to 1997).
International Journal of Public Opinion Research - "is a source of informed analysis and comment for both professionals and academics...[and] a multidisciplinary forum serving the international community." Features articles from 1999 on (requires Adobe Acrobat), book reviews, journal abstracts, and more.
Journal of Interactive Media in Education - features full text articles on theory and studies of communication theories and technology particularly with respect to education. Also full-text of back issues dating from 1996/97.
M/C : A Journal of Media and Culture - "ongoing series of reviews of events in culture and the media". On-line full-text journal.
SIMILE: Studies in Media & Information Literacy - provides scholarly articles in the fields of information literacy, media culture and library instruction. Designed to assist professional on methods of incorporating media literacy concepts in their classes. Full text of current issues and full-text of back issues from Vol. 1, Issue 1, February, 2001.
Public Relations
Online Public Relations - "dedicated to helping you deliver better, faster and less-expensive online PR". Searchable site featuring numerous links for media, reference materials, public relations, career links, and more.
Public Relations Society of America - "world’s largest professional organization for public relations practitioners", their site features publications, information resources, professional development information, and more.
Speech
Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from around the World - search or browse through speeches by women. Features Nobel Lectures and information on how to cite their web page as well.
The Public Speakers' Page - offers tips, help with speech preparation, links to information on speech research, speech practice and more.
Public Speaking Website - contains five modules to help one to prepare an effective speech.
Writing Resources
Trinity's Writing Center - is available to provide assistance in writing your papers and preparing your documentation.
Plain Language - "government-wide group of volunteers working to improve communications from the federal government to the public." Offers help to write "user-friendly documents", reference library, example library, and more. A FirstGov website.
PlainTrain: Plain Language Online Training Program - consists of eight topic sessions including introduction, purpose, organizing ideas, simple sentences, examples and more. From the National Literacy Secretariat - Human Resources Development Canada.