A study examined the mass media usage of deaf Nebraskans. Two categories were formulated to aid in selection of respondents: "experts," composed of individuals who have special training to teach deaf persons or to teach interpreters for the deaf; and "non-experts," consisting of individuals who have had no special deaf…

This digest addresses the question of health information and reporting in the mass media, focusing on its accuracy and on some researchers' ideas for improving the quality of the health information that is disseminated. The digest discusses accuracy in reporting, the role of commercial television, advertising, and the audiences for health…

A language-centered social interactionist approach toward writing and written communication involve writing and reading as acts of negotiation. Effective writing, which enables writers and readers to construct and share understanding, is a process of interpersonal contextualization. An analysis of the working drafts and revision of the…

Concludes that relatives were the most important factor for high culture music listeners while radio was the most important factor for mass culture music listeners. (RB)

A study examined the efficacy of Q-methodology as a tool to explain perceptions of the American public regarding international terrorism, seeking to identify through this methodology distinct views of terrorism and the significant variables characterizing those views. To develop their instrument, researchers interviewed 16 individuals and based…

Transformational, charismatic leadership occurs in a conflict-ridden situation, where attendant emotional travail is so uncomfortable that macro and micro structures will admit to change in efforts to relieve the tension. An inspirational message that redefines and reprioritizes deeply cherished values and the leader's role-modeling influence…

Ronald Reagan's rhetorical presidency can be summarized as a leader attempting, at virtually every occasion, to stem the dissolution of the American spirit by celebrating the country's mythic past. Such attempts were Reagan's celebration of nationalism through a particular discussion of the interrelationships between liberty, freedom, democracy,…

Since educational criticism aims to reeducate teachers' perception in order to improve or illuminate educational practices, the audience's role is particularly important. In many ways, the intended audience determines the evidence presented. The evaluator must write the criticism in language which is meaningful to the audience (for example…

After students' interest in literature has been stirred by journal writing, it is time for them to turn their private journal writing into writing for an audience. Instead of having students write the usual responses to literature, vary their assignments by offering them creative responses, either occasionally or as an individual alternative to…

Speech writing can be an excellent vehicle for helping students develop writing skills. The course described in this paper blends rhetorical principles and practices from public speaking, speech composition, persuasion and public relations with "real world applications." Students work on developing purposeful communication, a consistent…

Some critics of Robertson Davies' three novels that comprise the Salterton trilogy, "Tempest-Tost" (1951), "Leaven of Malice" (1954), and "A Mixture of Frailties" (1958) complain of their creaky novelistic machinery, suggesting that they merely show an essayist, or journalist, becoming a novelist. These three novels,…

All-news radio is an important journalistic voice for large audiences. To maximize the size of audiences, all-news programing avoids specific partisan appeals. Three aspects of the objective journalistic style are important in forming the discourse of "newsradio": legitimatization, the creation of hierarchies of values; dramatic…

Using Barry Kroll's distinction of the three perspectives of audience dominant in the field of composition, this paper presents methods for teaching audience awareness in freshman composition. The theories underlying the rhetorical, informational, and social perspectives of audience are discussed; and the methods typical of each perspective are…

A study tested a causal model of international communication media appraisal using audience evaluations of tests of two films conducted in the Philippines. It was the fourth in a series of tests of the model in both developed and developing countries. In general the model posited determinative relationships between three exogenous variables…