A study employed a uses and gratifications approach to determine why people in different demographic groups read supermarket tabloids. One hundred thirty-three readers of the "National Enquirer," the "Star," or the "Globe" returned mail questionnaires distributed in three different demographic locations. The…

This paper analyzes the relationship between the press and professional wrestling. It examines professional wrestling as a business and the conflicting goals of the promoters and the press. The paper focuses on how the press covered the most widely viewed professional wrestling show of all time, WrestleMania III (looking at newspaper coverage…

This paper examines the still-video camera and its potential impact by looking at recent experiments and by gathering information from some of the few people knowledgeable about the new technology. The paper briefly traces the evolution of the tools and processes of still-video photography, examining how photographers and their work have been…

Drawing on 2 months of intensive research in a network-affiliate newsroom, this paper describes how the researcher coped with studying newswork by qualitative and quantitative methods within a naturalistic paradigm and addresses methodological issues facing the naturalistic researcher. The paper discusses the following five methodological issues:…

The 46 papers is this volume represent some of the most current thinking in educational communications and technology. Individual papers address the following topics: gender differences in the selection of elective computer science courses and in the selection of non-traditional careers; instruction for individuals with different cognitive styles;…

This report discusses the current state of research into the visual effects of screen layout design, i.e., the arrangement of design elements on a screen. First, two types of design elements are described: technical (those things that engineers work with and that users have little or no control over), and comprehensibility (those elements that a…

This paper discusses distance learning with microcomputers and describes how the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) has used and plans to utilize this technology. The paper is divided into the following topics of discussion: (1) distance learning systems with microcomputers; (2) educational needs of the U.S. Virgin Islands; (3) a profile of…

A study was conducted to determine how Washington, D.C., reporters cover business policy issues and to explain why they report this news as they do. The study used J. Grunig's situational theory of communication behavior as a basis for developing a typology of Washington reporters based upon their perceptions of four business policy issues. A…

Research in visual communication suggests that relatively complex graphics stimulate viewer interest, while relatively simple graphics facilitate learning. A study was conducted to determine whether the graphics in two science publications ("Scientific American" and "Sciences 81") would be tailored to the ways in which their…

The purpose of this study was to measure and analyze viewers' electroencephalographic reactions to motion and still pictures, and to increase knowledge on the differential impact of the two modes on brain wave production. Since beta brain wave indicates focused attention, an additional purpose was to determine whether the two media differed…

A study was conducted to clarify some of the ambiguous findings reported in the media dependency literature. Specifically, it sought to establish whether relationships between use of the media and surveillance gratifications obtained from that use were affected by an individual's medium of primary reliance or whether these relationships might be…

The growing importance of the export market for the United States television industry--specifically, the structure of the syndication industry, and the strategies developed by U.S. producers and syndicators as a response to the new economic imperatives and the disciplining force of the international media environment on programing decisions--was…

Throughout most of the 1970s, the two major competing syndicated services measuring consumer magazine audiences utilized different methodologies in gathering magazine audience measurements and released somewhat differing figures. A study was conducted to explore the historical developments of W.R. Simmons and Associates Research, Inc. (Simmons),…

Role theory, which posits that people play parts determined to some extent by others' expectations, was used in an investigation of the relationship between public relations practitioners and journalists. Twelve journalists and 14 public relations practitioners were asked to describe both roles in terms of a variety of attributes or…

Based on an examination of 90 books and journal articles, this paper provides an analysis of the interpretations historians have used in explaining American journalism during the national crises of 1917-1945 (World War I, the Depression, and World War II). The paper concludes that, in general, the historians defined three divergent approaches to…