Media Impact Assessment: The Search for Measures of the Social Value of Public Interest Media Initiatives Abstract

• In Event: Clarifying and Advancing Theory in Mass Communication Research (TOP PAPER ENTRY)

Abstract

This paper seeks to map the contours of the emergent field of media impact assessment. The first section of this paper seeks to establish a concrete understanding of the inherently broad and somewhat ambiguous concept of media impact; and to differentiate it from the much more recognized and better understood concept of media effects. The second section provides a critical analysis of the range of performance metrics that are being employed to assess media impact. The third section provides a discussion of some of the key challenges and tensions inherent in this kind of impact assessment, and their implications for future research. The concluding section considers the opportunities that media impact assessment represents for academic research to contribute to professional practice.

Authors

• Philip M. Napoli, Rutgers University

• Bryce Renninger, Rutgers University