To explore the relative roles played by news views and public relations efforts in determining amount of news coverage, a study assessed the independent roles of public relations efforts, research productivity, and school prestige in securing science news coverage for American medical schools. Data consisted of archival and survey data obtained from 85 university affiliated medical schools for 1979. Media visibility scores for each medical school were developed by analyzing the content of two major classes of mass media--national news magazines and major metropolitan newspapers. Scores reflecting public relations efforts were developed using survey data obtained from medical school public information offices. Findings revealed that both school prestige and research productivity had significant independent associations with media visibility. Contrary to expectations, public information efforts were found to have no significant independent relationships with or effect on media visibility. What these data suggest is that public relations efforts, defined as number of public information initiatives, may not be having an effect on national media coverage independent of the news value of the organization conducting the efforts. (HOD)