Discusses media coverage of public relations topics. Describes a census of television news stories about public relations. Finds increased coverage from 1980 through 1995, and that politicians and foreign governments are the most commonly reported on users. States that stories generally have a neutral tone and assume the "press agentry"…

Suggests newspaper editors and television producers do not have much use for scholars or scholarship. Discusses ways major United States newspapers responded to the publication of the National Reading Panel's report. Suggest the relatively few stories published on the report was due to the fact that the message of the report was not new to…

Examines coverage of several infectious diseases and teenage suicide to see whether television news favors covering illness where it clusters or when it occurs near major news centers where it is easier to cover. Finds that television news did go to where the illness broke out but tended to favor reporting urban over rural suicides. (RS)

Assessed impact of television commercial based on controlled-drinking principles. Measures were taken 12 months prior to start of campaign and 3 weeks after campaign from regular drinkers of general public whose drinking behavior was known to be unaffected by previous antidrug advertising campaign. Found that advertisement reduced intake provided…

Examines the role of media coverage in providing political legitimacy for United States Senators. Introduces into the analysis two new variables: senators' attitudes towards an issue, and their voting behavior regarding that issue. Finds that the amount of senators' television news coverage is a function of their power and stance. (RS)

Examines the three major critical works that have documented the role of children in a consumer culture and the specific role of advertising in the creation of that culture. Discusses perspectives from political economy, textual analysis, and cultural studies. (SR)

Argues that James Blue's complex documentaries had a limited effect on television viewers, but the films were a success nonetheless. States that it is vital to think of the complex documentary in terms of process, holding it accountable neither to the demands of the media's market economy nor to the stakes of political infighting. (PA)

Argues that the symbolic annihilation of gay and lesbian youth exhibited by network television contributes to a dysfunctional isolation supported by the mutually reinforcing invisibility of homosexual adolescents on television and in the real world. Suggests that the spiral of silence also partially accounts for the inefficacy of oppositional…

Discusses the debate on reading and the relationship between children's reading and television viewing habits. Describes a multimedia class project that produced an animated film which included dialogue, sound effects, and music. Posits that children are empowered through "reading" in a wider selection of media. (PA)

Reviews the historical national and international context of distance education, evolution of terminology, Penn State's distance education programs, and potential effects of telecommunications and their commercialization. (SK)

Tips for human resource professionals using televised instruction include rehearsing, observing others, being physically and emotionally prepared, trusting the director, dressing in appropriate colors, using variety and graphics, being oneself, and discussing logistics with trainees before beginning to teach. (JOW)

Notes that media have become involved in creating programs and addressing issues that have been historically exclusive purview of mental health and human services agencies. Explains how time-limited hot line has been used to address specific issues raised by these programs. Provides overview of this type of hot line, offering triangular model of…

Discusses how a growing number of states and school districts are using public service announcements (PSAs) to recruit students. Describes how a world-class decathlete appeared for free in a PSA for the Idaho Division of Vocational Education. (JOW)

Notes that studies have shown that murder rates have risen in response to televised violence, not only in the United States but elsewhere as well. Contends that, despite this correlation, the broadcast industry continues to saturate children's programing with violence. (Author/NB)

This study examined preferences of 207 deaf students and adults concerning video-captioning preferences using videodisc examples of various captioning-feature combinations. Results suggest that current features that should be retained include white letters and speaker-dependent placement, while new features that should be adopted include…