This paper is an analysis of the different aspects of the music video. Music video is defined as having three meanings: an individual clip, a format, or the "aesthetic" that describes what the clips and format look like. The paper examines interruptions, the dialectical tension and the organization of the work of art, shot-scene…

This summative evaluation of two educational television programs, "The Edge" and "The Fortesque File," was based on a sample of "white" and "colored" classified respondents in the Greater Cape Town (South Africa) area. The two samples, which were divided into small panel groups of six to eight respondents…

Many current models of television viewing regard viewers either as passive receptors, active participants, or addled dupes. A study proposed a more flexible model for television viewing research. The study used the television program "St. Elsewhere," an example of "meta-television" (television programming which contains hidden…

By the time SABC TV became operational in January 1976 in South Africa, television had already been firmly established in most overseas countries. Therefore prior to the introduction of television there was the opportunity to do research work to determine the effects of television on society. Between 1974 and 1981 the Institute for Communication…

Mark Twain was a strong proponent of the superiority of the spoken word. Realizing the importance of conversational style, Twain derived from and acted in accordance with the principles of communication effectiveness which subsequently formed theoretical bases for communication instruction by such scholars as James Winans and Charles Woolbert. An…

The mythical community of Lake Wobegon, created by Garrison Keillor and presented each week through the public radio show "A Prairie Home Companion," is the place to which everyone wants to return. A town devoid of newfangled technology, where life goes on pretty much as it always has, Lake Wobegon offers respite to listeners who daily…

Academic discourse, which takes its definitive characteristics from the papers written by professors to those in a particular discipline for the purpose of solving problems or furthering knowledge, is sustained by disciplinary rhetorical exigencies that prompt, shape, and convene an audience for such writing. The phrase "rhetorical…

Recent criticism of rhetorical invention faults the discipline for not promoting "advanced literacy," defined as the use of critical reading and writing abilities to serve social ends. Aristotle's vision of rhetoric has contributed significantly to a cognitive view of invention, but Aristotle also acknowledged the importance of social…

Electronic databases have become important resources for researchers in many disciplines. While there is no single database designed to cover the field of communications, there are several databases which include material that is of interest to investigators in the field. An experiment was performed to determine which databases would be most…

A research project investigated the relationship between cognitive development in college students and their rhetorical maturity. Viewing the problem of audience in composition instruction in terms of cognitive development reveals that it may not be enough to tell students that they must consider audience if they do not have the cognitive maturity…

To determine people's use of media during the 1984 presidential campaign, telephone interviews were conducted with 630 heads of households in Dane County, Wisconsin. It was hypothesized that persons with different political orientations would have significantly different media use and attention patterns. The data analysis proceeded in two stages.…

This analysis of the British domestic situation comedy (sitcom) as a genre begins by noting that it is considered basically taxonomical, using the categories of character, narrative, and theme to develop understanding of its discursive strategies. Considered to be preliminary and tentative, the results of this analysis suggest that: (1) the sitcom…

This study was conducted to record and evaluate, through a questionnaire and discussion, a young audience's perception of a quiz type television program with school age children as participants. The question under investigation was how the fundamental principle of a quiz show--in which knowledge is bartered for material gain--could be measured…

A controlled experiment was conducted to test the extent to which nonverbal behavior between a journalist and a politician in a televised interview influences the way in which they are perceived by a television audience. Nine test films were produced that showed different versions of an interview in which the participants exhibited aggressive or…

In addition to determining the value of television viewing as a teaching tool for reading, a study examined the relationship between reading achievement and the amount of time spent watching television. During a 10-week period, 21 fourth grade students of various races and ethnic backgrounds recorded their television viewing schedule. The Step…