McGuire

McGuire challenges as unsupported conclusions regarding the media’s vast influence, or, more specifically, the notion that the media’s vast influence is supported by data. His study, not long after the Gerbner work, is still dated as to the impact of television and may even be conservative as to the overall time the average person spends with media today.
It is probably a useful approach. Given the diversity of media, before praising, condemning or drawing any conclusions regarding the effects of media, McGuire notes the need for far more precision in analysis. I find it interesting that the study mentions over-the-counter drugs, as it precedes the flood of advertising for prescription drugs. The growth in sales of heavily advertised prescription drugs might be an interesting study. Similarly, I would expect different conclusions today in evaluating political advertising, given the massive increases in political spending over 20 years.