From August 2006 through August 2007, Elvira Arellano, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, lived in a church on Chicago's West Side with her U.S.-born 7-year-old son, Saul, to avoid a deportation order. Her plight played out in Chicago-area and national media, piggybacking on a nationwide debate on immigration. This study focuses on one piece of…

Much of the advertising content children see is adult-oriented. However, research has focused on commercials designed for child audiences. Also, whether advertising is commercially successful or not, it constitutes a "form of acculturation". However, research is mainly focused on perception of the commercial dimension of advertising, and…

The mass media contribution to education politics is explored through the application of a pluralistic theoretical framework to evidence connected with the making of an episode of a U.K. current affairs television program. The episode addressed a politically contentious educational issue but proved controversial in itself. Several sources…

States that conceptions of the hero, and the importance of appearance, have altered with changes in visual communication technologies. Discusses the celebration of models and "attractiveness" as fame depends on media whose function is to attract audiences. Concludes that this both democratizes and trivializes the hero, but also, through…

A study examined the effects of several structural and individual variables on the perceived role of the media by media representatives and the general public. The focus of the study was on public perceptions of the media as "watchdog," but the images of the media as "guide dog,""rabid dog,""lap dog" and…

Critics contend American public television has failed to realize the potential envisioned by the Carnegie Commission on Educational Television. Using Ernest Bormann's theory of fantasy theme analysis as a framework to examine public TV reveals that American public television has been unable to develop a coherent rhetorical vision or a clear…

Responds to an article in a prior issue of this journal. Argues that "South Park" is a deconstruction of the reality of American constructions of media, fame, and pop culture, and that more adolescents than adults understand that "South Park" is about the adult world of media. Includes a response by the author of the earlier article. (SR)

The pro-German American newspaper "The Fatherland," published shortly before the United States entered the First World War (1914-1917), displayed a failure of public relations in terms of defining and offering themes likely to convince a target audience to side with Germany. By looking at a public relations campaign undertaken by the…

Chinese television started in 1958 but variety in programming and production of sets priced within reach of individuals were slowed by the Cultural Revolution. Since the economic and political reform movement began in 1979, Chinese television has been maturing as an important cultural and political force. The People's Republic of China is a Third…

Attempts to elaborate the cultivation hypothesis by examining some proposed subprocesses, especially learning and construction with first- and second-order measures. Examines the relationship between first- and second-order measures. Argues that cultivation theory needs to be extended. (SR)

Illustrates both the need and a reasoning method for normative social ethics in communication by applying Reinhold Niebuhr's concept of justice to advertising as a preliminary case study. (KEH)

Explores the effects of terrorism by approaching it as a persuasive form of communication rather than a dysfunctional sociological act. Describes the rhetorical functions of terrorism, evaluates the persuasive appeal of a mediated narrative, and applies narrative theory to analyze the 1985 TWA Flight 847 hijacking and its terrorist spokesman. (KEH)

Finds a small, but statistically significant, association between exposure to U.S. entertainment programs and attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of foreign audiences. Finds also that, when taking study characteristics into consideration, only language of the questionnaire produced a significant difference in correlation size; and that the…

Presents the results of a two-wave experiment designed to examine how journalistic news frames can facilitate the communication of advocacy frames (to undergraduate students) designed to influence audience perceptions of a political issue. Discusses the implications of these results for journalism, issue advocacy, and the study of issue framing.…

Public information campaigns serve a primary role in contemporary American society to promote more active citizen involvement. When the U.S. government seeks to influence its citizens, it can use mass media to help produce systematic social change, particularly visual communication derived from rhetoric. Rhetorical criticism includes…