Explores children's ability to understand formal features of television and film by investigating their reactions to a televised dream. Indicates that children are able to recognize dreams in mass media programing and that prior knowledge of an upcoming dream can influence children's interpretations of and emotional reactions to dreamed events in…

Argues that most public-opinion research results from an implicit metaphor of citizens as "political consumers" and media messages as "hypodermic injections." Offers an alternative "conversational" metaphor. Describes a focus group project examining the relationship between television and public opinion. Presents…

Explores research done in Latin America concerning audiences of telenovelas. Examines critically the methods employed and the kinds of knowledge generated. Finds that most of the 26 studies examined are severely flawed from a methodological perspective. Suggests that much research still needs to be done. (SR)

Examines developmental changes in children's ability to comprehend visual and verbal narrative. Finds that understanding and integrating temporal aspects of a narrative is more difficult for young children when the story is presented visually than when presented verbally, whereas older children comprehend narratives in both formats equally well.…

Examines adolescents' television and radio use. Finds that (1) Blacks and girls use television and radio more than Whites and boys; (2) television use declines with age while radio use increases; (3) access to cable television and VCRs is not related to frequency of use; and (4) lack of access to parents increases use. (KEH)