Analyzes 13 daytime serial dramas broadcast during 1977 for the occurrence and distribution of health-related conditions and resultant deaths, according to age and sex. (JMF)

Continues questioning the position of the ethnographer as filmmaker in relation to those of whom the filmmaker speaks, while arguing that attention be given to the position of those to whom the filmmaker speaks. Refocuses attention on the effects of the ethnographic film in the place of its reception. (PRA)

A deconstruction of music videos that makes visible their aesthetic rules or grammar is necessary before an overall theoretical understanding is possible. Content-analytic studies usually divide music videos into two groups: "performance" and "concept" videos. Concept videos, in turn, can be subdivided into two different kinds:…

Discusses the development of characters in daytime serials in terms of love, marriage, and personal happiness. Considers how these developments are designed to fit middle-class values. (JMF)

The Magazines section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following 15 papers: "'National Geographic Magazine' and the Vietnam War: Did We Just Get Pretty Pictures?" (John W. Williams); "Free Speech at All Costs: A Short History of 'The Masses'" (Chris Lamb); "Newspapers Locally Edited Magazines…

Proposes a study of "Citizen Kane" in high school using a somewhat simplified version of post-modern literary critical theory. Chooses this film because of its familiarity and accessibility and because the ambiguity and indeterminacy of its text allow room for exploration by students. (NKA)

Examines how sportswriters reveal, organize, and reaffirm some of the diverse cultural values that baseball, as an American institution, represents. (PD)

Examined the origin of music content on radio stations in the Windsor, Ontario, area. Concluded that American recordings and radio broadcasts are strongly preferred by canadian youth despite government policies. (PD)

Describes a technique which requires beginning students in an interpersonal communication course to analyze and evaluate the advice given on interpersonal relations as stated in the lyrics of popular songs. (PD)

Television situation comedies have been criticized for their portrayal of dysfunctional family behavior. An exploratory content analysis study assessed the extent of relationship-enhancing communication skills in family-oriented, prime-time situation comedies, a genre frequently targeted for both scorn and praise. Three episodes each of five shows…

The oldest of the mass communication technologies, books, needs to be examined in mass communication research. Accordingly a study analyzed the structure and format of the "New York Times Book Review" to identify its dual roles: evaluating books and providing information crucial to book marketing. Also explored was how the text of the…

This study assessed the readability of popular print material (newspapers, magazines, and books) published in 1920. Selected passages from these books and articles were analyzed using the Flesch Reading Ease test and other, more theoretically interesting and relevant, readability formulas. Results indicated that "highbrow" publications…

A study examined the lyrics of the lovesongs of the musical partnership Eurythmics (David Stewart and Annie Lennox), a popular music group. The method used was based on the James Chesbro study, which classified lyrics using a critical paradigm that combined Northrop Frye's hierarchy of communications systems (Ironic, Mimetic, Leader-centered,…

An analysis of "Century" magazine from November 1919 to April 1920 reveals that women were most likely to be characters in a short story or serialized novels. The stereotypic portrayal of the American female in the nonfiction pieces as "schoolmarm,""silly school girl," or "wife/mother" seems strange when one…

Analyzed the 15 best-selling single records for each year between 1955 and 1982, according to trend, content, decade, and musical era. Concluded that popular music is an expression of younger Americans who have become increasingly ironic in their view of human relationships. (PD)