ABSTRACT
With the introduction of each new medium during the past century, a pattern of research begins; it typically starts with a description of the content and users and then moves toward understanding the effects of the medium (e.g., see Cantril & Allport, 1935, in the case of radio and Charters, 1933, in the case of movies). The same process occurs when new forms within a given medium are introduced or become popular. About a decade or so ago, for instance, considerable research attention was paid to understanding the content and effects of, and listeners to, political talk radio (e.g., Davis, 1997; Hofstetter, Donovan, Klauber, Cole, Huie & Yuasa, 1994). Later, the focus of attention shifted to the next new medium: the Internet and world wide web (e.g., D’Alessio, 1997).
