A study investigated whether the amount of "soft news" coverage for the three major American broadcast television networks increased during the period from 1972 to 1987. A total of 558 broadcasts were analyzed. Each news story was coded and placed into one of four categories concerning its timeliness and whether it was "hard"…

One of the few broadcast interpretationists recorded in the history of radio, Frank Alden Russell--whose Ted Malone programs spanned three decades on local stations and national networks--perhaps best represents both the initiation and prime of broadcast interpretation. Born in 1908, Russell became interested in oral performance when he was…

In recent years a new event called "Interpretation Analysis" has appeared at certain forensic events. The objective is for the student, through analysis and performance, to study a piece of literature and to communicate his or her understanding of that literature to a specific audience. Perhaps there is room within the established…

In the past decade, contest persuasive speaking has become a product that student competitors produce and perform. A perversion of the contest formula has removed the element of persuasion from the formula. Competition rules suggest that a student's purposes in participating in forensics events should include inspiring, reinforcing, or changing…

Given a choice of one argument, most Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) competitors would choose the nuclear war scenario, which attempts to capitalize on apocalyptism. A three-stage methodology can be applied to apocalyptic appeals. First is an application of the concept of universal audience, composed of all reasonable and competent…

People involved in debate often encounter apocalyptic appeals but seldom look at how these arguments affect debate beyond their ability to influence winning. Debaters use nuclear war apocalyptism, for example, by capitalizing on the human desire to sustain its own story, by appealing to the universal drive for control and power inside all humans,…

The 1988 presidential race was predicted to be one in which women voters would determine the winner. In most polls taken prior to the nominating conventions, George Bush trailed Michael Dukakis and much of the difference was attributable to women voters. At the Republican convention in August, Republicans began a well-orchestrated effort to create…

Stephen Duncombe has written one of the only book-length studies examining the phenomenon of "zines.""Note from Underground: Zines and the Politics of Alternative Culture" traces the historical rise in zine popularity beginning with fanzines of the 1930s, fueled in the 1970s by the punk movement, and reaching a height in the 1990s. In his…

When a class of lethargic college students showed no enthusiasm for their reading assignments in English class, one instructor turned to drama. She assigned a collaborative script, and the students' enthusiasm and motivation relegated her to a "pleasant oblivion." She thought that the novelty of the play genre might enliven the class,…

This overview of an English course, "Writing for Government, Business, and Industry" (listed as English 339 at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota), emphasizes the essential elements of audience and voice. Composition theorists' assertion that the absence of voice is symptomatic of a profound developmental deficit (suggesting an…

Noting that the state of Illinois mandates that community colleges address cultural diversity in their curriculum, this paper presents a proposal for a day-long in-service faculty education program to make faculty aware that cultural diversity exists at Rend Lake College (Illinois). The paper begins with a schedule for the in-service day, offering…

The business communications teacher helps the student learn to write the proposal that wins a promotion or the sales letter that wins new customers. Students poised to enter the business world need language theories as much as students studying literature, for the corporate language culture is as unpredictable and ambiguous as any literary text.…

A national study was conducted concerning factors which influence the funding of college and university noncommercial radio stations as perceived by station directors. A pilot-tested mailed collection questionnaire was sent to a random sample (415) of the 1192 stations designated as noncommercial. A follow-up mailing and phone calls to…

Part of the limitation of educational radio stations rests in the lack of adequate funding, although college and university noncommercial radio stations annually seek funding on campuses throughout the United States. Extending the results of a national survey concerning factors which influence the funding of college and university radio stations…

Over the last several years the increased speed of delivery in debate tournaments has made it difficult for judges to keep up with a debate during a round of competition. The responsibility for communication should be upon each debater to deliver his or her arguments, with intelligence, to the judge or critic. Debate is an oral communication…