The Effects of Mass Communication

By J. D. HaUoran (Leicester University Press, 7s. 6d.) Mr. Halloran's working paper prompted me to look up the record of that seminal conference on "Popular Culture and Personal Responsibility" which the National Union of Teachers organised five years ago, to see whether much progress has been made since. Stanley Reed, of the British Film Institute, said then that it was amazing how little we know about the psychology of people watching moving pictures. We still need to know more as communicators, as educationists, and as sociologists; we ought especially to know more about the effects of the mass media on the mental health of children and adults. Mr. Reed said: "We need research into the effects of cinema, the effects of television, the effects of mass media generally. .. . We need this over a long time, backed with adequate money and done at a proper professional level." We