Lang, Gladys Engel (1919—)

Gladys Engel Lang is a sociologist trained at the University of Chicago. A researcher for the Offices of War Information (OWI) and Strategic Services (OSS), her contributions to political communication revolve around media effects on public perceptions and collective behavior. Lang's research in this area of scholarship began with her doctoral dissertation on television coverage of the 1952 Democratic and Republican conventions. Her study, parts of which were published in Public Opinion Quarterly (1955) and as a chapter in Politics & Television (a book cowritten with husband Kurt Lang, 1968), illustrated how televised commentary can define ambiguous events and create and emphasize action where none would exist otherwise.

Lang's focus on media effects, particularly those of television, is reflected in studies of presidential debates, Watergate, candidates'television ...