Considers television viewing practices during special events. Examines how audiences organize around such programing and whether this organization changes the understanding of audience connectiveness. Considers connectiveness and privatization in conjunction with conceptions of the public sphere, reviews literature on media events, and applies…

Examines the characteristics of school television programs used in British primary schools in light of attainment targets for the National Curriculum. Describes four case studies that investigated what made the programs a useful teaching and learning aid and how they influenced students' reactions and facilitated their learning from the programs.…

A series of studies are underway at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Audience Research Facility to examine the impact of interactivity on informational and entertainment based television viewing. In order to examine the learning of spatial skills from videogames, the first study compared the learning of spatial content from interactive…

Expanding communications technology now offers a wide spectrum of instructional resources for the off-campus and extension student. Broadcast television and public television provide a delivery system for many higher education extension programs. Radio, videotape cassettes, and video discs offer additional instructional potential. Broadcast…

A survey project carried out by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) measured the effects of viewing the television series, "Feeling Good." The survey was one of four studies undertaken to assess the impact of the "Feeling Good" series. This project was a field experiment designed to ascertain the effects of viewing of…

The articles, in this issue, by more than 40 authors, are divided into five parts: the first two parts provide an historical perspective of radio and television (both commercial and educational) and a basis for judging the impact of broadcasting on society; the third part concerns the teaching of broadcasting in the school and the uses of radio…

A survey was made in 1967 concerning children's viewing of television in Shizuoka, Japan. Although this survey was a follow-up to one made from 1957 through 1959, no comparisons are made between the two in this booklet. Third, fifth, and seventh graders, preschool children, and mothers of children in school were asked about: how they spent their…

Research conducted on El Salvador's educational reform program during the 1970 school year is summarized. The primary focus is on the effect of instructional television on that reform. The administrative history of the 1970 school year is briefly reviewed. Learning patterns in the seventh- and eighth-grade television classes are compared with…

Research conducted on El Salvador's educational reform program during the 1970 school year is summarized. The primary focus is on the effect of instructional television on that reform. The administrative history of the 1970 school year is briefly reviewed. Learning patterns in the seventh-and eighth-grade television classes are compared with those…

The literature of film and literature of television are, to a large extent, two separate entities. The major film theorists have not had much to say about television, and television has inspired few theorists of its own--few, that is, whose major concern, like the film theorists', is aesthetics. One of the earliest forms of commentary on…

Television has a pervasive presence in our lives and connects us to a larger world. Children spend more time watching television than any other activity (except sleeping). According to Bernard Percy, television can have a positive effect on children: it can build vocabulary, stimulate interests and motivate actions. Parents should consider doing…

A study examined the family communication of two television families: the Huxtables, on "The Cosby Show," and the Simpsons. Content analysis was used to analyze communication behaviors in 9 episodes of "The Cosby Show" and 12 episodes of "The Simpsons," and behaviors were coded as to type of communication. Results…

The public receives a large percentage of its information about mental health issues from media sources. Research has shown that the portrayal of occupational roles is often distorted and unrealistic. Cultivation theory predicts that television's version of reality helps influence or "cultivate" viewers' beliefs about the world. This cultivation…

A study assessed the variable amounts of attention that are required for a viewer to process two kinds of interruptions that commonly occur in television: the shift from one message to a different, unexpected message; and the reference to previously presented material that follows an interruption. Twenty-six subjects recruited from an…

This document presents witness testimony and supplemental materials from a Congressional hearing called to examine Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, a cartoon designed to teach children about the danger of substance abuse. Opening statements are included by Senator Joseph Biden, Jr., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and by Senators Strom…