Using cable television in the classroom allows teachers to include the latest news and current events in class discussions. However, many educational practitioners are uninformed about the concept and lack the knowledge to implement the technology in the classroom. This digest describes how cable television can be integrated into elementary and…

A study examined the visual presentation of characters on five prime time network dramas, popular with the elderly, which star elderly actors. The title sequences of each show ("Murder, She Wrote,""The Golden Girls,""Matlock,""Jake and the Fatman," and "In the Heat of the Night") were analyzed. Results indicated seven significant interrelated…

This dossier is intended to serve as the main preparatory briefing document for participants in the Public Broadcasters International (PBI) symposium, and to stimulate thought and discussion on all facets of public broadcasting. The first of four sections provides an overview of the current broadcasting environment, the challenges facing public…

The South Dakota Public Television Overnight Service was created to utilize the late night and early morning hours for the distribution of instructional, informational, cultural, and educational television programming throughout the state, including continuing legal education. Intended to provide a means for members of the legal profession in…

This study focused on the television viewing behavior of a sample of 277 two- and three-year-old children, who were observed by their mothers as they watched a children's studio variety television program entitled "With Mother." The program consists of skits by performers disguised as animals, songs and games, exercises, an animation…

A study was conducted to determine (1) if the gratifications sought and obtained model were applicable to local television news viewing, and (2) if the scales constructed from factor analyses of gratifications sought and obtained could predict television news viewing. The focus of the study was a new television station in central Illinois that…

An investigation of structural aspects of television messages focused on the interaction between structure and content in the creation of meaning. A preliminary study using quantitative data analyzed 137 television news stories from the commercial networks on the fighting in El Salvador to determine how structural elements were used by…

This report documents the first year of a 3-year evaluation which was designed to (1) determine the status of small-format (1/2" reel-to-reel, 3/4" U-Matic, 1/2" VHS, and 1/2" Beta) videotape in the schools; (2) reveal what impact such videotape has on educational television utilization; and (3) examine the distribution of…

Authors looked at ways in which children's interest in and knowledge of 'media culture' provided a basis for classroom learning. (Editor/RK)

Conducted to investigate copyright questions that have arisen from the development of new communications technologies which were not foreseen when the copyright law was rewritten in 1976, these hearings are particularly concerned with the areas of low-power television (LPTV) and satellite communications. Following session opening remarks,…

Visual communication media technologies, particularly television, hinder rather than enhance viewer perceptual processes, understanding, and aesthetic appreciation of visual messages transmitted by means of such technologies. Emerging technologies, including high-definition, interactive, and holographic television, will not necessarily improve or…

This report describes the telecommunications systems currently available in Virginia to deliver educational materials and conduct administrative meetings and training in a cost effective manner. Examples are provided of how state agencies and institutions in Virginia are using each of the technologies and the future potential of each system is…

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is Canada's publicly-owned broadcast network that provides programming to both English and French national television and AM/FM radio networks. While the CBC was not designed to fill a formal education role in Canada, it does broadcast informative radio and television programs on a complete range of…

A study examined the relationship of the frequency of viewing sexual content on television and the sexual activity among a sample of adolescents. Approximately 600 junior high school students filled out a questionnaire in their homes. Eight items measuring frequency of sexual intercourse and the number of partners formed one factor, which served…

A study examined television reporters and photographers as a journalistic unit to see if their perspectives about news coverage coincided, weighing also the visual component of television news. Subjects, 793 reporters and 438 photographers culled from 200 randomly chosen network affiliates, completed questionnaires about working conditions, job…