The eugenicists of the 1920s and 1930s aggressively pursued media attention and sought policy change for their cause of improving the human race by selective breeding. Eugenics gained momentum in the United States when the American Eugenics Society (AES) was organized in 1921. Policy formation and information dissemination were central to the…

This paper examines the Philippine transition of power as a communication event where the role of the print and electronic media is juxtaposed to cultural and political-economic determinants. The paper attempts to describe the similarities and differences between culture and communications in the Philippines and the United States. An…

In an effort to document the historical evolution of journalists' political involvement and determine when it began to affect journalistic behavior, a case study examined the personal and professional lives of journalists in Minnesota practicing in the 1920s and 1930s. The study investigated whether these journalists (1) were elected to public…

This paper situates the institution of copyright in the historical context of the rise of capitalism. The purpose is to provide a critical analysis of the philosophy of copyright and of the received history of copyright. A class analysis of copyright reveals the essential nature of copyright as the basis for the private ownership of intellectual…

This paper discusses how "The Ladies' Home Journal" was used by its editor, Edward Bok, in his crusade for food and drug regulation in the United States between the years 1890 and 1906, and whether these efforts were influential in bringing about the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. The first section describes "The Ladies' Home…

Colonial printers were more or less forced to take sides during the Revolutionary era. As they did so, their social status changed from that akin to mechanics to that of spokespersons of a social movement. From this time on, the gradual separation of editor from printer formed a social basis for defining a journalist's tasks as editorial, not…

This paper examines the tradition of research within the field of educational technology and cites problems endemic to the dominant research methods. It is suggested that a reexamination of the history of the field has intrinsic merit and is necessary at this time; furthermore, historical analysis may assist in the development of new research…

Discussion of the relationship between education and broadcasting in the United States focuses on a historical review of periodical literature published between 1919 and 1924 relating to the educational use of radio, and literature published between 1937 and 1974 relating to the educational use of television. (35 references) (LRW)

Standard histories of public relations privilege the field's association with business enterprise, and traditionally place the origins of the field in the press agentry of the 19th century and in the rise of corporate concern with public opinion in the first decade of the 20th century. However, the roots of public relations reach both farther and…

Two pioneering public radio stations--WOSU-AM, licensed to the Ohio State University in Columbus, and WHA-AM, licensed to the University of Wisconsin in Madison--conducted audience research as early as the 1920s. The challenge for early education broadcasters became to adapt the existing audience research paradigm to their purposes, or to develop…

News and editorial coverage of the Ponca controversy of 1879 was investigated in an effort to discover why and how this particular Indian story became a national crusade. The Ponca campaign helped promote reform-minded legislation which conferred new rights on the Indians and promised to speed their assimilation into mainstream society. The Dawes…

This paper examines the government's authority to regulate indecent broadcasts, beginning with a historical overview of the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) involvement with broadcast indecency and its application in case law. First Amendment considerations are discussed and some suggestions are made regarding how the Commission should…

A comparison of photographs in four German magazines published from 1926 to 1933 with photographs appearing in "Fortune" and "Life" from 1930 to 1938 reveals specific patterns and techniques by German photographers, who later emigrated to the United States, that served as models for "Life" and for subsequent American…

An analysis of 1938 newspaper editorials about Orson Welles' notorious "War of the Worlds" broadcast reveals that they explained audience reaction on the grounds of gullibility, the ominous threat of war, and the technique of the broadcast, and that they offered radio a rather stern lecture on the relationship between freedom and responsibility.…

Examines whether Roosevelt's condemnation of electric utility public relations represented a fair interpretation of the Federal Trade Commission investigation into the issue as authorized by Senate Resolution 83 in February, 1928. Concludes that the condemnation was campaign rhetoric, but constituted a successful public relations campaign for the…