Compares identical studies of the uses of leisure, culture, and communication in Israel in 1970 and 1990, to infer possible long-run effects of the introduction of television broadcasting. Finds a drop in attendance at "spectacles" of all kinds (whether theater or sports) and a rise in activities that are interactive, time flexible, and…

Conducts interviews with nine groups of South African women, examining their responses to episodes of "Suburban Bliss," a South African television sitcom that attempted to use humor as a catalyst to transcend the aftermath of apartheid. Evaluates whether "cultural reconciliation" is possible through harnessing the varying…

According to recent research studies, watching television has become the number one leisure activity among both children and adults. The effect of excessive television viewing on the cognitive development of children is reported. Solutions and suggestions for parents and teachers to help children integrate television into their lives in the most…

Uses the violence of "The Road Runner" cartoon series as a starting point for a mythico-rhetorical analysis of the message system contained in the cartoon. Explores how the cartoon re-enacts the myth of Sisyphus in the context of the post-World War II technological boom. Discusses insights into the meanings of cartoon violence, and into…

Comparisons of television shows along genre lines suggest significant elements of aural/visual richness as well as valuable categories of comparison for future use in other comparisons. An examination of two sitcoms and two police shows produced roughly 25 years apart--"Make Room for Daddy" with "The Cosby Show" and "Naked…

Ways in which instructional design specifications for television production may be extended into a more precise domain, where forms of representation may be cataloged and culturally defined, are suggested in this study. Differences between film and television are discussed, and a distinction is made between format codes (i.e., culturally and…

Edward R. Murrow is considered by many to be the first serious practitioner of broadcast journalism. In the 1950s he pioneered in developing the television documentary form with the "See It Now" series. A second series, "Person to Person," played a large part in popularizing the televised celebrity interview. Characterizations…

The Anik-B project is part of the two-year communications experiments for which the Anik-B satellite is being used. The project was designed to explore the possibilities of using Interactive Instructional Television (IITV) to provide distance postsecondary education for people living in widely scattered and sometimes inaccessible areas of British…

A study examined viewer recall of television commercial content as influenced by both commercial spot positioning within breaks and the congruence or dissonance of the affective (emotionally evocative) formats of the program contexts and commercials. Objectives were to determine whether commercials will have greater rates of viewer recall if: (1)…

Argues that the Public Broadcasting Service's science series "NOVA" dramatizes science for an elite audience. Notes that a variety of devices are used to maintain dramatic tension and to define the scientist as a special type of person. Argues that the failure of "NOVA" to demystify science has ideological significance. (RS)

Presents a literature review that addresses sexism and gender misrepresentation on "Sesame Street," the world's most popular children's television program. Discusses the show's content and the correlation between increased exposure to "Sesame Street" and viewers' changes in attitude and behavior. Suggests the presence of gender…

This paper provides a framework for developing an approach to understanding soap opera's appeal as a direct function of both the genre's form and of its fans' viewing behavior. The paper suggests that while this analysis is largely critical, other studies from both critical and social scientific approaches can be based upon the framework and…

The ways in which, and the extent to which, changes in viewer positioning mediate the diegesis of commercial television news is problematic, since television news is generally considered to be "non-fiction." Diegesis can be defined as the depicted real-world. The choices made in depicting the scene have implications as to the positioning…

These two volumes of a 5-volume report on commercial broadcaster compliance with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 1974 policies on programming and advertising to children provide an overall analysis of children's television, as well as a detailed analysis of broadcast industry compliance. The first volume reviews the social, cognitive,…

This study describes the development of an innovative instructional technique, peculiar to television, that presents information in a dramatic form through televised skits. Primary concerns of the project were the measurement of student attitudes toward receiving instructional television material in skit form, the measurement of the amount of…