Previous studies conclude that the assassination attempt on George C. Wallace was a news event of high, but not maximum, importance, implying that the majority of respondents in any sample would report first learning of the attack via mass media sources. The authors interviewed 144 persons in Ann Arbor, Michigan, regarding their awareness of the precipitating news item. The original hypothesis was proved invalid. The findings of Hovland and Weiss, that untrustworthy sources bearing counter-informational tidings are most easily forgotten, were tested in a second survey, to determine whether this "sleeper effect" mechanism accounted for the differential rates of "reported media first hearing of certain news events." Data obtained by the authors were compared with and contrasted to earlier findings by other investigators. (EE)