This introduction to the special issue describes the impetus for a review of the merger of mass and interpersonal communication processes in light of recent developments in communication technologies. It reviews historical arguments about the need for integration in theorizing about communication processes. Then, it discusses the potential for communication technologies to combine mass and interpersonal communication in ways that obviate the traditional distinction between both types, and how interactive communication technology offers unprecedented analytic approaches for research. Finally, it previews the 11 essays that follow by identifying 4 types of convergence of mass and interpersonal communication: concurrence, integration, transformation, and evolution.

中文翻译：

---

通过交互式通信技术合并大众和人际通信：一个研讨会

本特刊的引言描述了根据通信技术的最新发展对大众传播和人际传播过程合并进行审查的动力。它回顾了有关交流过程理论化中是否需要集成的历史论点。然后，它讨论了通信技术以消除两种类型之间传统区别的方式将大众通信与人际通信相结合的潜力，以及交互式通信技术如何为研究提供前所未有的分析方法。最后，它通过确定大众与人际交往的四种融合类型（并发，整合，转化和进化）来预览接下来的11篇论文。