Journalism Quarterly · 1960 · 34 citations · 0 references
Social SciencesPsychologySocial PsychologyCommunication TheoryMedia MessagingSensemakingSensory PerceptionMessage InterpretationMessage ReceptionPerceptual SemanticsSemantic Differential ScalingSensationalism In Media
Definitions and analyses of what is sensational have varied markedly. Using an empirical approach, the authors (1) identified dimensions of the judgment of “sensationalism” and (2) developed a semantic differential index of the sensationalism of messages. They describe their “Sendex” technique and its use.