Describes a methodology used in interviewing Federal Communications Commission commissioners, legal assistants, and Cable Bureau staff members about their attitudes toward the cable industry and regulation; reports results of the interviews, noting respondents' disappointment in the lack of cable growth. (GT)

Describes a method for capitalizing on children's interest in television by developing learning activities with high classroom appeal. (Author/RK)

Examines the ways in which television situation comedies exploit, yet contain, the feminist movement. (DD)

Investigates the standards mothers use to evaluate four types of children's television programs: (1) cartoons; (2) news programs for children; (3) educational children's programs; and (4) dramatic children's programs. Three quality standards considered most important were comprehensibility, aesthetic quality, and elicitation of involvement.…

Demonstrates that television news is a relatively weak overall predictor of long-term information gain. Shows that newspapers remain America's premier source of public affairs information and more specialized cable programs such as the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour and C-SPAN have come to rival newspapers and news magazines as suppliers of long-term…

Shows that an increased level of humor in commercials was beneficial to recall and purchase intention; increased humor in the television program was detrimental to recall of products advertised; and gender interacted with program humor levels, such that products were viewed less negatively by men when they were exposed to commercials in a more…

Uses survey data from a 1994 United States Senate campaign in Missouri to show that using TV news for political and government information is positively associated with knowledge about candidates and not associated with cynicism toward politicians. Notes that results run counter to the popular notion that television news causes declines in…

Finds differences between African Americans and Non Hispanic Whites in recall of verbal and visual themes of televised AIDS public service announcements (PSAs). Notes that differences anchored in a complex relationship among emotions, attitudes, and opinions about science and society. Suggests effective healthcare communication campaigns require…

Describes the validation of a taxonomy designed to classify teacher verbal strategies to foster interaction through the Hawaii Interactive Television System operated for distance education at the University of Hawaii. Highlights include Kappa Coefficients; Z-scores; and recommendations for future use. (Author/LRW)

Reveals that 46% of the time with television was spent in some activity instead of or in addition to looking at the TV. Notes that social interaction was the most common nonviewing activity for all viewers, followed by playing and eating for children and reading for adults. Considers how nonviewing behaviors occurred most often during programming…

Describes the Virginia Tidewater Consortium for Higher Education, a consortium of 15 colleges and universities located in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, which has operated its own cable television channel for the past 21 years. The channel serves the educational needs of the community and allows strategic alliances with other agencies. (EV)

Attempts to elaborate the cultivation hypothesis by examining some proposed subprocesses, especially learning and construction with first- and second-order measures. Examines the relationship between first- and second-order measures. Argues that cultivation theory needs to be extended. (SR)

Examines ethical dilemmas associated with using entertainment television for prosocial development. Discusses the ethics of distinguishing prosocial from antisocial television content; depicting socio-cultural equality through television programs; limiting the unintended effects of television programs; and using television as a persuasive tool to…

Defines televisual experience as a complex ensemble of bodily practices. Describes three thematic categories which include the experience of the captive phenomenal body and the escape from the cognitive body, both of which combine to produce the discovery of a body-in-difference. (KEH)

Uses expectancy-value theory to untangle student perceptions of soap opera viewing. Indicates (1) that anticipated entertainment and social interaction are powerful expectations, whose effects are mediated by affective and cognitive factors; and (2) that self-concept also plays a major role in determining exposure levels. (SR)