Compares a 1950s Ford television commercial with a 1990s Volvo commercial. Discusses three major aspects of cubist television exemplified in the Volvo commercial: the destruction of Aristotelian viewer-to-stage distance using close-ups, the flattening of Renaissance deep-background perspective using telephoto zooms, and the implementation of an…

Investigates similarities in how people respond to mediated presentations and nonmediated experience in the realm of social interaction. Finds that viewing distance manipulation failed to support predictions and watching larger television screens led to more positive emotional responses, in which subjects selected a viewing position that…

Finds clear patterns of differences in nature and number of commercials during children's programs on three different types of television channels: broadcast networks, independent stations, and cable networks. Examines themes/appeals employed in commercials, disclosures/disclaimers used, and other content attributes. (SR)

Defends the importance for media study of a descriptive and evaluative scholarship grounded in old-humanist perspectives. Uses the television miniseries "Lonesome Dove" as a case study to argue that media texts, like literary works, can and should be evaluated according to the criteria of "formal mastery" and "intellectual coherence." (SR)

Discusses interest in studies of media and the family; the creation of social meaning for media consumption; and in children's interpretation of television. Notes that the emergence of qualitative investigations represent a challenge to the assumption that the paradigm of media consumption is an individual viewer positioned before a screen in a…

Tests the proposition that message structure (cuts) affects attention to television differently, depending on whether the cuts link related or unrelated content. Finds cuts in unrelated sequences require more attention than cuts in related sequences. (NH)

Examines the relative contributions of both verbal ability and prior knowledge to comprehension and memory for a televised movie, in both immediate and delayed recall conditions. Suggests that, although both factors aid in the comprehension process, they do so in different ways. (SR)

Students are exposed to group interaction long before they reach the college classroom through their living, social, and educational groups. As a result, they bring preconceived notions about group interaction effectiveness. Students also receive a great deal of exposure to group interaction from television. Situation comedies, students' favorite…

A study examined the differences in perceived credibility of male and female television news broadcasters. News directors' attitudes concerning what makes a newscaster believable were surveyed by telephone. Their descriptions were converted to semantic differential scales. Next, two videotaped newscasts were produced, one with a male and one with…

A study was undertaken in 1981 to evaluate the telecourse campaign supported through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). This report contains a summary of promotional strategies used in six selected markets and an evaluation of the effectiveness of these strategies. The objectives of the study…

To investigate the factors behind the overall lack of success of televised public service announcements (PSAs), five Marine recruitment PSAs were studied using 138 college undergraduate students (75% male and 90% freshmen and sophomores). Results indicated the following: in general, the PSA messages were perceived as alienating by the students;…

The performance of local television stations with regard to programming and employment practices is a topic that lends itself well to investigation by journalism educators and their students. This paper examines the purposes of such a study and tells how to define the scope of the study and how to start it. It then offers suggestions for…

In research reported in this paper, an attempt was made to isolate arousal components due to the "form" of a television program from arousal components due to the "content" of the program. The following hypotheses were formulated: (1) emotional arousal will take place in programing segments depicting violent acts, (2) arousal due to the cognitive…

The objective of this study was to compare an information processing based measure of television program form to a measure of form based on the perception of the organization of program production elements. Three hypotheses were set up to test the presumption that the two program measures are related to the same underlying dimension: show scores…

This paper is a case study of a documentary produced by WHAS-TV entitled "Louisville: Open City?" The purposes behind the documentary are examined, and an attempt is made to evaluate whether these purposes were achieved. More importantly, this paper illustrates the social and political changes which can result when a locally-produced…