A content analysis of 2,077 articles randomly sampled at five distinct points in the past
decade (2000, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2010) from five mass communication trade magazine titles
was conducted to determine how professional-focused publications cover academic research
and how specifically the PR trade press address scholarly work. The analysis revealed that
academic research appeared in 10 of the total articles sampled (0.5%) while industry research
was more prevalent and discussed in 125 of all articles (6.0%). The lack of research coverage,
however, was not consistent across the trade journals. While publications targeting
professionals in advertising, newspaper, magazine and broadcast all mentioned research in less
than 10% of articles, PR News articles detailed research nearly 25% of the time