Many recent studies on computer-mediated communication (CMC) have addressed the question of orality and literacy. This article examines a relatively recent subgenre of CMC, that of written online sports commentary, that provides us with written CMC that is clearly based on firmly established oral genres, those of radio and television sports…

Traces the steps taken by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in its entry into foreign language broadcasting in the 1920s and 1930s. (FL)

Content analysis of broadcasts by Voice of America, Radio Liberty, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Deutche Welle to the Soviet Union revealed differences in political environments and purposes of sponsoring nations. (KS)

Provides an overview of the local radio phenomenon in Western European countries. Examines opportunities for access, control, and economic realities for three types of local radio (national, independent, and community), each of which was influenced in some fashion by illegal pirate stations. (KEH)

A study examined the diversity of news and cultural programing sources available to the Pacific Islands news media from international broadcasting and from related activities of countries outside the region. Questionnaires dealing with the use of international broadcast programs in the Pacific Islands radio services, how managers view listener…

Noting that radio call-in programs seem to contain the elements for active audience involvement and participation, a study was conducted to examine the hypothesis that information gain and surveillance are the primary gratifications sought through call-in radio programs, especially in a culture that has a strong oral tradition and relatively few…

Eight brief research reports concerning, among other topics, the world news coverage of United States and international broadcasters, the image of the adolescent in the English press, the content of Taiwan's English and Chinese press, and newspaper inaccuracies and readers' perception of bias. (FL)

Examines the broadcasting experiences of Aboriginal radio in Australia with respect to the "cultural dependency" of a non-Western group within a Western culture. Finds a variety of problems facing a maturing media in the areas of professionalism, knowledge of audience, and communicational relationship between the majority and minority…

A Q-analysis of Egyptian elite groups identified three types of people: those oriented toward Egyptian media, particularly for entertainment value; those who distrust Egyptian media and prefer foreign media; and those who are essentially foreign-radio oriented but who get international information from Egyptian newspapers. (GW)

The Mass Media Effects section of the proceedings contains the following eight papers: "The Spiral of Static: A Multivariate Analysis of a Public Opinion Theory Applied to Perception of Radio Station Popularity" (Terry Wedel and Tony Rimmer); "More Than Just Talk: Uses, Gratifications and the Telephone" (Garrett J. O'Keefe and…

Activities concerned with children and television described in two Children's Broadcast Institute newsletters published during the International Year of the Child are summarized and discussed. Conferences, events, and symposia described include L'Enfant et Les Mass-Medias, Euro/Pan-American Convention on Television for the Young in the 80's,…

Examines the impact of background media on Dutch students' performance and time spent on paper-and-pencil and memorization homework assignments. Notes that doing homework combined with watching a soap opera interfered with students' performance on both types of assignments. Indicates that music in the background left homework performance…

A study examined the religious radio listening habits of Brazil's indigenous population. Subjects, 46 linguists (under contract to the Brazilian government to educate the population) who worked with 32 different Brazilian tribes, completed a 16-item survey. Results indicated that: (1) 13-20% of adult Brazilian Indians have access to a radio; (2)…

An overview is presented in this paper of the types of qualitative radio and television evaluations currently being undertaken in six countries: Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Japan, and Canada. An introductory section notes the value of qualitative ratings to broadcast policy makers and to those seeking broadcasting changes, and…

Concludes that the coverage of health issues in the British press is modest and lacking in information, making health less of a concern than illness among the public. (FL)