A whimsical personal narrative that explores the image educators have of prime time television and its effect on the author. (CRH)

Investigated the universality of myth and its function within the framework of television, employing examples from television news coverage and popular culture. Examined the role of the communication scholar and the artist with regard to creating and destroying mythologies. (PD)

Examines the content of daytime serial dramas to determine how the narrative structure promotes a sense of involvement in viewers. Competing plot lines, the lack of a concrete sense of resolution, the pattern of episodes, and the audience's awareness of information kept secret from characters all contribute to audience involvement. (JMF)

Finds that popular music videos of the early 1990s continued to underrepresent women, with men outnumbering women in lead roles by almost a 5 to 1 margin, and presenting women in a much narrower range of lead roles. Finds also that popular music videos portrayed women in a manor that emphasized physical appearance rather than musical ability. (SR)

Educating the youth of America has always been a significant challenge, and the present is no different. We will be more effective as educators if we integrate the study of the popular culture with traditional education. Doing so will result in making our youth's education more meaningful, more relevant to the world in which they live, and will…

This booklet presents a variety of materials concerning Neil Simon's play "Laughter on the 23rd Floor." After a brief introduction to the play, the booklet presents a profile of the playwright, several lists of his accomplishments, information on his work for television, a quiz about plays, biographical information on the producer,…

According to a new myth in the television broadcasting industry, the producer has become the representative of the show business side of news production, while the reporter has remained the protector of the more noble goals of journalism in the television newsroom. To explore the dimensions of this myth, a study examined data, available from a…

To examine how the contents of Korean television serial dramas have changed and to determine trends of their portrayals of male and female characters' lifestyles, a study analyzed Korean television dramas of 1977 and 1987. A sample of three channels' video--22 daily and 14 weekly episodes of 18 different television dramas during weekday prime time…

Contrasts the development of daytime serial dramas on television with prime time series in terms of production costs, content, and format. (JMF)

Explores the contrast between white-collar financial crime and crime as seen on shows like "Cops." Argues that conservative politicians tend to equate lower class with "true" criminals (typically with little education), whereas white-collar criminals (usually well-educated) simply made a mistake, and that this picture of crime…

The following study explored the structures and themes found in a few episodes of a popular TV sitcom ("Friends"). Drawing on James Gee's ideas about critical discourse analysis as the main analytical lens for this study, this study discussed the language found in a sitcom and analyzed the complexity of structures and vocabulary in the…

Even though television scholar Herbert Zettl singlehandedly created the term "television aesthetics" by proclaiming that TV is an art, television studies are still excluded from the respectable divisions and disciplines of knowledge. Television is considered the epitome of mass culture/kitsch, and the very idea of a TV…

The discussion in this paper is based on three conclusions drawn from a professional lifetime in the media: that limited to a choice from among information, persuasion, or entertainment, the purpose of the mass media is entertainment; that given a choice between technology and content, technology such as cable TV predominates; and that faced with…

Suggests that mass communication studies accept the critical challenges posed by fringe television--the programing that surrounds the prime-time domain of the three major networks. Identifies and maps various fringe sectors appearing on today's broadcast and cable schedules, and surveys critical imperatives involved in future studies of fringe…