The mass media and especially television pose problems for teachers in humanities disciplines traditionally associated with leisure, time for reflection, and the quiet contemplation of the good, true, and beautiful. Although other media have been criticized for their deleterious effects, television most affects humanists in their mission because…

By first describing the historical stance of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) toward ownership of broadcast facilities and then describing the FCC's most recent policy statements, this report compares the differing viewpoints and recognizes that the new value or goal that seems to have been established conflicts with the past emphasis…

A study assessed the effect of the telelvision drama "The Day After" on attitudes toward (1) defense spending, (2) a nuclear freeze, (3) nuclear disarmament, (4) the likelihood of war, (5) the severity of such a war, (6) personal political efficacy on the issue of war and peace, and (7) the likelihood of nuclear war under the presidency…

Swedish consumer use of video recording equipment and software was surveyed through interviews with 10,700 people; the interviews were conducted by the field research staff of the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation's Audience and Programme Research Department between December 1981 and April 1982. The study focused on possession (ownership, leasing,…

The 40 papers in this collection cover a wide variety of topics within the broad field of visual literacy. Three preliminary papers discuss visualization through film. The second section, which emphasizes visualization in a social context, contains 10 papers addressing cultural, political, social, and psychological issues, touching upon such…

This examination of the reactions of women who are binge eaters to television advertising tested three hypotheses: (1) women who binge experience more negative emotional reactions to television ads, especially ads emphasizing food or weight control; (2) highly feminine women, or women with large real-ideal sex role gaps, react negatively; and (3)…

This paper presents a typology of terrorism which is grounded in how media differentially cover each type. The typology challenges some of the basic assumptions, such as that the media "allow" themselves to be exploited by terrorists and "encourage" terrorism, and the conventional wisdom about the net effects of the media's…

This study of the images of women as portrayed on new television programs in 1984 not only compared them with the images of the last season, but examined the similarities and differences between these characters and real life women. Each continuing female character on every new show was coded for race, age, occupation, marital and socioeconomic…

This study of the images of women as portrayed on new television programs in 1985 not only compared them with the images of the last season, but examined the similarities and differences between these characters and real life women. Each continuing female character on every new show was coded for race, age, occupation, marital and socioeconomic…

This paper describes Learning Link, a pilot project interactive communications system which provides support materials for the instructional television program of WNET/Thirteen, the New York Metropolitan area public television station. Features of the system are described, including databases, bulletin-board-like conferences, information…

This study investigated several questions concerning the amount of viewing and types of programs children and parents watch alone and together. Patterns of children's viewing with and without parents were examined, as well as how parent-child coviewing affects individual family members' viewing. Children 3 to 5 and 5 to 7 years old, and their…

The image of the family as a secure refuge against a threatening outside world has persisted in the television sitcom since its inception in the early 1950s. Although some television programs have dealt with major problems directly, most, including the sitcom, have completely ignored them. Harnessing hysteria over the possibility of a nuclear…

The purpose of this review is to determine the scientific status of the proposition that viewing television in general or viewing "Sesame Street" in particular affects children's attentional skills, abilities, or behaviors. It has been frequently claimed that television viewing negatively affects children's attentional abilities. The…

The use of satellite telecommunications for educational and other public service purposes has been restricted by educators' lack of awareness of the potential that exists. While industry actively promotes its own interests, educators rarely even realize that international policies being made today will affect critically the options available for…

The role of library media specialists in teachers' utilization of instructional television (ITV) in Maryland schools was examined, using data from the earlier Maryland ITV study (1982), which used separate questionnaires for principals, library media specialists, and five randomly chosen teachers from each of 200 schools. The current study…