Discusses how to teach critical thinking about television and describes methods used in a college class on television analysis. Two approaches are examined: television content analysis, with an example of sports commentary; and analyzing television viewing, including a questionnaire developed by students. (five references) (LRW)

The vast majority of crime reporting occurs on local television news and in newspapers. Although crimes are extraordinary events, they assume an ordinariness that only daily reporting can give them. The obvious question is what does the news tell us about crime. This article compares the coverage of adult crime and the coverage of what the author…

This article reports the results of a content analysis of the debut season of the reality television show, "The Apprentice." All 15 episodes were examined to determine the role that communication competencies played in competitors' success or elimination. Results indicate that the ability to persuade effectively was most critical to winning tasks,…

This digest reports recent findings on violent television content, highlights the recently developed television ratings system, and offers suggestions for parental mediation of children's television viewing. The National Television Violence Study has demonstrated that not all violence is equal. Certain plot elements in portrayals of violence are…

Provides background information and learning activities for six areas of inquiry concerning media literacy and violence. These are (1) "Monitoring 'Action' in TV Cartoons"; (2) "To Market, To Market (Share)"; (3) "What's 'Educational' Anyway"; (4) "Rating the TV Rating System"; (5) "Nine Risks of TV Violence"; and (6) "Teenagers in the News." (MJP)