This book emphasizes the role of critical thinking and reading skills in the development of persuasive writing. The book also introduces several different methods to teach argument (for example, those of Aristotle, Stephen Toulmin, and Carl Rogers) as a way of giving students the freedom to find the systems that work best for them and to find ways…

A study examined the effectiveness of the Children's Television Act of 1990 in altering the marketplace for informational and educational children's programming on commercial broadcast television. Producers and distributors of nationally available series that commercial broadcasters were using in 1993 to meet the requirements of the Act were…

Three empirical studies focused on viewer reactions to ethical issues in television news, and on actions audience members felt were appropriate to control possibly unethical behaviors in television broadcasting. The first study was a 12-minute telephone survey of 293 randomly selected adults in Minneapolis-St. Paul (Minnesota) in 1989 to determine…

If forensic oral interpretation selections are to communicate to audiences, forensics educators must first help their students discover the messages that exist within texts and are communicated through programming and performance. The concepts of relevancy, significance, and depth of insight provide a general background for which aesthetic…

Zitkala-Sa, a 19th century Native American woman who won second place in an 1896 Midwestern oratorical contest, resembles many students who daily cross borders--geographical, economic, linguistic, and cultural--balancing on a tightrope of assured losses and uncertain gains. Known as Gertrude Simmons before and Gertrude Bonnin after her marriage,…

A stylistic device that has been used by many authors over the years is to alternate the point of view between two or more characters. Authors of young adult novels choose this technique of multiple narrative voices for a variety of reasons. Multiple voices offer a challenge to many young adult readers because the point of view is much more…

The use of video images, tempered with good judgment and some restraint, can serve a stage play as opposed to stealing its thunder. An experienced director of university theater productions decided to try to incorporate video images into his production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." The production drew from the works…

This paper examines the origins of "dissoi logoi" (or twofold arguments) as a sophistic concept and pedagogical practice. A rationale is offered to explain why "dissoi logoi" should be adopted as a conceptual base for teaching invention in contemporary public speaking courses. Aristotelian and Protagorean perspectives on…

This paper attempts to develop a theoretical framework to better understand the role of people's theater in bringing about social change. First, the paper provides a historical perspective on how people's theater evolved in Europe and the United States. The paper then investigates the rise of people's theater in such Latin American countries as…

Approximately 500 people participated in a study that examined the relationship between generalized uses-and-gratifications statements and specific magazine reading behaviors. The subjects responded to a telephone survey that elicited information concerning demographics, media usage, and reactions to 14 uses-and-gratifications statements that had…

Just as all perceptions are of figures differentiated from a larger background, a play takes place against the background of the audience's knowledge and feelings. While audience members generally bring to a performance a large body of background information--they evaluate the storyline, for example, using a lifetime of personal experience--at…

Article included some suggestions from television station operators regarding the proper method for students to use in writing effective correspondence as criticism of commercial television programing. Advice for the teacher who wished to implement those suggestions was also presented. (Author/RK)

Black-oriented radio stations are a valuable resource for the white teacher needing familiarity with Black idioms. (JH)

Proposes the use of cable TV public-access channels for internal communication among community organizations. (MH)

This paper explores how economic developments in the United States communication industry have altered the scope and meaning of two central sociological concepts, the commodity form and charisma. The first section describes the economic structure of the public sphere in a theory of commodity relations. This theory is then used to review, in the…