Although television is highly dependent on language and semiotic analysis, its form can best be analyzed through the structural notion of transformation. The critic's task becomes the articulation of structural laws intrinsic to television. One such law has to do with how television structures time. Television programming transforms action into…

One of a series of units introducing secondary school students to business issues, this packet focuses on the television industry and its social and political influence. A teacher's guide and student materials are provided in two separate sections. Following an overview of objectives and activities, the teacher's guide outlines five daily lessons.…

Television commercials that deal with interpersonal communication fall into two types--those whose interpersonal dynamics convey the message and those in which the interaction expressed is part of the background setting. Among the former are scenarios by American Telephone and Telegraph whose emphasis is on building and maintaining relationships,…

The extensive television coverage of the Opening Ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games was a vital lead-in for a television network as it sought to generate audience interest over the course of the games. This coverage models an unfolding international news event in its presentation style and is analyzed from that perspective in a content…

Although schools in many countries have initiated mass media education, American schools still give little consideration to any systematic study of the mass media. Students are particularly in need of learning how to apply basic critical viewing concepts to watching television, the most powerful and ubiquitous of the mass media. Most researchers…

A study compared the three major American television networks' early evening newscast coverage of 1984 vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro's financial status, specifically examining the emphasis placed on the story and seeking to determine whether coverage was objective or biased. Early evening network newscasts (excluding weekends) for…

This study investigated learners' preconceptions of interactive video (IV), instructional television (ITV), and television (TV), and compared three treatment groups on learners' perceptions of invested mental effort and achievement on a test of recall and inference. The three treatments consisted of an IV lesson that included practice questions…

This manual is designed to encourage older people to take an active role in local television program production and to design and produce programs that will enhance the quality of life for other older Americans. It is noted that locally produced television offers older people a voice at the local level, the opportunity for making new friends and…

The purpose of this study was to collect baseline information about public knowledge of and opinions toward the Great Lakes and to measure the impact of a television news program in educating adults about the Great Lakes. Survey questionnaires containing multiple-choice knowledge items and Likert scale opinion statements were completed by 570…

This study examined the influence of the affective nature of television news on satisfaction with an individual's own life as well as on an individual's outlook regarding good fortune and misfortune. Subjects, 30 male and 30 female undergraduates at Indiana University, viewed a variety of news stories and completed two questionnaires, one rating…

This paper discusses current practices in the use of communications technologies to deliver distance instruction as they were reported by respondents to a survey of 70 postsecondary educational institutions in the United States. Results of the 1987 survey indicate that non-interactive open-broadcast television, cable television, and videocassettes…

Projections for a possible scenario for a television broadcast newsroom in 2001 would include a nearly completely computerized system, one which will write scripts, select and create graphics, organize newscasts and visuals, keep records, do research, and manage the newsroom from terminals. This computer system will generate many more newscasts…

The basic purpose of this study, which updates a study conducted in 1975, was to present higher education with recommendations for telecommunications curriculum from commercial broadcasters. Data were collected from 71 respondents via questionnaires distributed at the Indiana Broadcasters Association Conference in 1983. Respondents were asked to…

This review of the relevant literature and data reports on the availability and use of telecommunications technologies in the home was intended to provide a base for a household-based study focusing on those technologies that have a potential for instruction or learning within a home environment. The information provided includes household…

This study of the role of television in the presentation and cultivation of public conceptions of science and technology investigated these issues: (1) the types of representation and information about scientists, science, and technology that are embedded in television programs; (2) types of images and beliefs about science that television tends…