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 teacher of reading across the curriculum uses stories, many based on the television show "Star Trek" or its derivatives "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (STNG) and "Deep Space 9," to illustrate educational theories and practices. The teacher began a discussion of the nature of language, meaning and the significance…

Despite the pervasive presence of popular music in society and the continued controversy over its effects on children and teen-agers, the recording industry has received only fragmentary (though increasing) attention from mass media researchers. To gain evidence of the level of literacy of today's music critics, a study examined the tastes,…

This book takes an up-close and personal look at elementary school boys and their relationship to sports, movies, video games, and other avenues of popular culture. The book views these media not as enemies of literacy, but as resources "for" literacy. It contains a series of interviews with young boys and girls who describe the pleasure…

Argues that people are affected by the pervasive images of advertisers who use signs to imbue products with specific realities. Examines how people use this information about various consumer products in making judgments of other people. (MS)

Argues that the Public Broadcasting Service's science series "NOVA" dramatizes science for an elite audience. Notes that a variety of devices are used to maintain dramatic tension and to define the scientist as a special type of person. Argues that the failure of "NOVA" to demystify science has ideological significance. (RS)

Investigates "Fandom" (exaggerated commitment to some aspect of the music industry, cinema, television, or sports) by looking at two adolescents and their musical preferences. Argues that connecting adolescents' musical fandom to critical media literacy in the classroom can get students interested in school literacy practices, assisting students'…

Aims to build upon the existing home literacy practices of a group of three- and four-year-old children living in the United Kingdom. Develops literacy materials and resources which could be borrowed from nursery and used within the home to promote children's literacy development. Indicates that much of children's reading was focused on popular…

The media have a lot to do with how people think and what people think about. The line between popular culture and news has virtually disappeared, giving rise to what some have labeled "infotainment." At the same time, "fake news" in the form of publicity that promoters provide to media outlets under the guise of legitimate…

To gain insight into how critical standards for broadcast drama evolved with time, this paper examines the critical response to the development of broadcast drama in the first two decades of radio (1920-1940), as reported in the periodical press. The paper is based on two underlying assumptions: (1) that the stories a society tells are indicative…

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…

Explores the issue of privacy focusing on informational privacy and how it could be jeopardized by new technologies. Provides contexts of privacy and discusses privacy and celebrity in U.S. culture, privacy abuses, and privacy as a common value. Includes teaching activities by Michelle Parrini and Jennifer Kittlaus. (CMK)

Argues that television convention mitigates against depictions of technology as socially destructive. Argues that the presentation of science as television fiction is a conservative act. Concludes that television reinforces the socially constructed technological imperative of industrial societies, effacing its own role in the preservation of the…

Examines television's impact on children, discussing how much television children watch, what children watch and how it influences their world view, how parents dispel mass media misconceptions and fears, and whether children would get better grades if they watched less television. Suggestions for making television an educational resource are…

Argues that adolescents have tacit understandings about television as a system of communication with specific values and purposes. Suggests that students' everyday, informal knowledge of popular media can be an informal resource for developing more of their critical and creative sensibilities and expressiveness. Offers strategies to help students…