Describes how values are portrayed on prime-time network television. Looks at the prominence of values incidents in a story line and at how fully the values are explained. Examines how values incidents are structured and linked. Concludes that values incidents play an integral, if not principal, role in television programs. (RS)

Identifies and discusses some reasons why using periodical index subject categories as indicators can produce misleading results. Discusses methodological difficulties arising from historical and idiosyncratic changes in index subject category headings and subheadings. Argues that researchers using an index's subject categories should test not…

Despite burgeoning literature that acknowledges the importance of the principalship in achieving and maintaining school effectiveness, principals have been depicted unfavorably in film and television as insecure autocrats, petty bureaucrats, and classic buffoons. This paper presents findings of a study that not only catalogued images of principals…

The Magazine section of this collection of conference presentations contains the following nine papers: "Davids and Goliaths: The Economic Restructuring of the Postwar Magazine Industry, l950-l970" (David Abrahamson); "The Global Economy as Magazine News Story: A Pilot Study in the Framing of News" (Elliot King);…

A comparison of the current television series "Miami Vice" with the "film noir" genre of American movies from the forties and fifties reveals many similar elements, such as visual style, mood, theme, and sensibility. "Miami Vice" is set in a large city whose art deco architecture provides an ironic contrast to noir's…

Analyzes the character portrayals of foreigners as they are depicted in the juvenile literature that was popular during the first half of the twentieth century. See CS 702 316 for availability information. (RB)

Noting that the choice of people for the covers of weekly news magazines can yield much information about the kinds of people a society finds influential and powerful, and because it has been found that women are under-represented on news magazine covers, a study analyzed the women presented on the cover of "Time" magazine between 1923…

Shared conventions of the modern radio industry should allow radio announcers and other producers of radio content to distinguish "good radio" from "bad radio." To help in making this distinction, a study delineated some of the basic conventions used in the production of radio content and analyzed the frequency of their…

Noting that daytime television serials have been used to teach a variety of subjects, including writing and language skills, this paper reviews literature on the nature of soap operas so that instructors can use them more effectively. Following an introduction citing studies on the educational uses of soap operas, the paper explores the following…

Depictions of evil in the modern American vigilante film of the 1970s and 1980s fall into several categories. Modern vigilante film may be defined as film concerning the efforts of a private citizen in the late twentieth century urban environments of New York City or Los Angeles to operate outside the law in ridding the streets of evil and crime.…

The image of the family as a secure refuge against a threatening outside world has persisted in the television sitcom since its inception in the early 1950s. Although some television programs have dealt with major problems directly, most, including the sitcom, have completely ignored them. Harnessing hysteria over the possibility of a nuclear…

A study of the lyrics of popular music was conducted to test the hypothesis that from the 1950s through the 1970s such songs placed a progressively greater emphasis upon physical as opposed to emotional love. Researchers analyzed the lyrics of the five most popular songs listed in "Billboard" magazine during every year from 1950 to 1980.…

The mythic structure of the popular television melodrama, "Dallas," may be analyzed in order to shed light on the reasons underlying the program's wide appeal. First of all, "Dallas" combines the conventions of the crime formula in such a way as to create a new mythology of crime for television, one similar to that found in the…

Discusses the technique and appeal of ten best-selling books, concluding that other mass media may be a better source of the qualities and values represented in the books. (AA)