In March 1997 Marshal Applewhite and his band of 40 "web site building multidimensional New Agers" committed ritual suicide to pass through where physical bodies cannot go. A folklorist who belongs to an Internet current events newsgroup had been reading Applewhite's posted comments since 1995. On his web page, Applewhite noted how…

Noting that different audiences have constructed widely varying interpretations of the figure and work of Margery Kempe ("The Book of Margery Kempe" dates from the beginning of the 15th century), this paper examines the subversiveness of Margery's rhetoric for medieval audiences and for modern audiences and students. The paper first…

The goal of persuasive writing is to move the reader to action or to get the reader to refrain from action, and most of the secrets of persuasion can work either way. To get readers to take action, a writer has to appeal to the emotions as much as possible. To get readers to refrain from action, a writer must appeal to the intellect. The secrets…

Television aesthetics is the study of the compositional principles pertinent to the television medium in which basic elements of the television picture such as light, color, framing, space, time, motion, editing, sound, etc. are examined in relation to the finished product, the television program. The major areas covered by television aesthetics…

Most art is approached by reviewers who evaluate and critics who explicate, a dichotomy that has yet to characterize film. But now that film has entered the academy, a change seems imminent, and potentially destructive. (Editor)

Continual repetition by a speaker may signal his need for recognition and understanding. (JH)

Focusing on oral communication and presentational speaking, this 34-item annotated bibliography contains sources of information that are primarily concerned with communicating in contemporary business and professional settings. The bibliography is divided into four sections: presentational, general, organizational communication, and miscellaneous.…

While not dismissing the "uses and gratifications" approach to research, this paper attempts to increase the theoretical and practical utility of gratifications measures by approaching them through a more phenomenological and longitudinal tack. The paper suggests that any "gratification unit" is given a unique meaning by the…

A study investigated whether positive response to humor in a speech would enhance audience evaluation of the speech/speaker. A short informative speech on "listening" which included nine relevant jokes was audio tape-recorded in two versions, one in which each joke was punctuated by laughter, and one in which a stony silence greeted each…

A study examined the influence of viewers' backgrounds on their interpretation of "associational montage" in television advertising (editing which seeks to imply an analogy between the product and a juxtaposed image possessing desirable qualities). Subjects, 32 television professionals from two urban television stations and 95 customers…

Tom Metzger and his white supremacist movement, the White Aryan Resistance, attempt to build support with working class whites and youth to create white working class solidarity and racial separation. Metzger uses videotapes as one of the methods of bringing his racist and conspiratorial message to his audience. One such vehicle is "Race and…

A study investigated the kinds of content total market coverage (TMC) publications carry, the role of the newsroom in publishing them, and how closely identified they are with the parent newspaper. These TMC publications, begun only a few years ago, are designed to cover the total market with selected, preprinted advertisements inserted into…

A study was conducted to determine if interest in business and financial news could be predicted from factors other than demographic variables. It was hypothesized that the type and number of personal financial investments the reader had would predict interest in business and financial news. In a telephone survey, 376 adults in a large,…

A survey of 155 midwestern movie viewers was conducted to determine the factors of the selective exposure and appeal of horror films. Audience members leaving the theatre after viewing "Halloween II" were interviewed using a questionnaire that contained measures of specific reasons for liking horror films as well as measures of several…

"Dust Tracks on a Road," author Zora Neale Hurston's autobiography, is not a typical black autobiography. Hurston is a complex woman and author who addresses both black and white audiences, shifting the cadences of her voice to invoke a readership that can hear the textures of many voices and respond to an underlying call to a world…