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Marian Ty rowie z: WHITE SPOTS ON THE MAP OF OUR PRESS HI-STORY RESEARCH

The author while reeognizing at the beginning of his study considerable progress achieved on the field of investigations over Polish press history — advances a number of .important in his opinion postulates concerning the de-velopment of research.

As far as anaillary publications are concerned he mentions works over listing the sources to the history of Polish press (already started, but discon-tinued due to lack of financial support), publication of biographic referreaice book of contemporary journalists, and the bibliography of Polish press from years 1918—1939. Concerning the detailed problems he postulates a determina-tion of rules for periodization of Polish press history, deeper study into the issues of typology of mass communication media, research over the freąuent occurence of anonymity ,in Polish journalism, and cliąue-forming inclinations in this profession. In conclusion he attacks severily the lack of interest shown by press historians towards Polish emigrć press, which has developed sińce 1939 in Great Britain, France, the U.S.A, at the Near East, in Italy, nad Germany. (Author’s abstract)

Karol Jakubowicz: WANTED: A PROGRAMME OF BROADCASTING RESEARCH IN POLAND

Karol Jakubowicz begins by sayfing that Poland has yet to see a flowering of communication research, one of the reasons for it being that in Poland communication research has no share in moulding processes of communication. The powers-that-be create no real demand for communication and mass communication research, thereby impeding the development of a theory of mass communication suited to Poland’s socio-political system and able to effectively influence the practice of communication.

The author argues that both administrative and cnitical mass communication research should have room to develop in Poland and that research should be a contributing factor to the formulatkm of communication and programme policy. Research, in his opinion, ought to be oriented towards determining what in the Poliish model of mass communication should con-form to the generał model of mass culture prevalent in all developed count-ries, regardless of their political systems, and what should be typical of Po-land’s political system. The ąuestion is madę particularly important by the fact that Poland’s broadcasting system undergoes praetically no evolution, even though the same social processes which elsewhere are the driving force of decentralization and specialization of broadcasting, access and participation, unfold in Poland as well.

In conclusion, Karol Jakubowicz .points out that a lot of work still awaits Polish broadcasting researchers in such basie areas as studies of the commu-nicators, analysis of their message, and audience research. (Author’s summary and translation)

Tomasz Goban-Klas: THE HYPOTHESIS OF THE “SPIRAL OF SI-LENCE” WITHIN THE THEORY OF PUBLIC OPINION

Typical empirical research over public opinion treat it as a common collection of opinions voiced by particular members of the sooiety, which reflects well the procedurę of democratic elections relying on the principle: one person — one vote, where results are achieved through simple addimg up. It has been the contribution of Elizabet Noelle-Neumann, director of the West-German Institut fiir Demoscopie, to <introduce new integrating factors into the process of public opinion formation. First of all she discards the pu-rely distributive conception of public opinion, suggesting dnstead a collective approach, i.e. treating it as a sui generis social phenomenon, close in its character to fashion and habit. Minor/ity opinion is not public opinion. Si-multaneously Noelle-Neumann introduces the notion of „opinion climate”,