Offers a clarification of the original uses of the word "stereotype" and argues that the current failure to account for evaluative and historical aspects of stereotypes has diluted the usefulness of the concept for critics and teachers. (MS)

Compares minutes of TV coverage of natural disasters outside the U.S. to the number of deaths officially reported in the country affected. Finds that Western European disasters receive most coverage and Asian disasters receive least. (MS)

Examines the determinants and consequences of the Korean "Family Reunion Program" aired in June 1983. Compares the medium and audience involved to current definitions of media events. (MS)

Examines the structural rules governing the presentation and resolution of problems that serve as premises for prime-time fictional programs. Offers demographic data on character types and matching problem types. (MS)

Concluded that the children in this study (ages 10-14) played video games in arcades for some of the same reasons they watched television: (1) escape; (2) a sense of personal involvement in the action; and (3) a source of or substitute for companionship. (PD)

Reviews the history of the most widely used device for measuring mass media audience reactions. Notes that competition and the expensive media environment have led communication scholars and policymakers to a revived interest in this device and qualitative audience measurement. (PD)

Examines research on media effect on children over three epochs: film (1904-1939), radio (1930-1944), and television (1949 through the 1960s). Observes an overwhelming similarity in the research studies, concluding that earlier studies may have set the agenda for research and that the same concerns exist with each new technology. (PD)