Contributes to scholarship on values and ideologies in the media by analyzing five years of ABC's "Person of the Week" segments to identify prominent types of people and values endorsed by mainstream news media. Finds that individuals most frequently selected for ABC's honor lived in the United States; worked in politics and…

Reports findings on user avoidance of the help menu. Identifies five characteristics that may make any help-access method attractive to users. Examines dialog-box help, pop-up help for tools, and several other help-access methods. (PA)

Finds that news organizations chose expert sources to interpret the news during the Persian Gulf War according to how well their specialized knowledge conformed with television's "operational bias," or an emphasis on players, policies, and predictions of what will happen next. Argues that these processes undermine the ideals of balance…

Uses a manipulated news report on the family farmers' plight to create differing versions--selective exemplification featured only stories of failing farms, representative exemplification featured stories of failing and successful farms proportional to their actual occurrence. Questions readers about their own views after reading. Finds accuracy…

Examines the often attacked television commercial, its messages, and its effects. Considers commercials a contemporary art form, positing that they are deeply linked with the structure of poetry, and compares the TV director with the poet. Suggests that commercials are a "perfect" expression of the television medium--short, intensive,…

This paper illustrates the intensified engagement that youth are having with digital technologies and introduces a framework for examining "digital fluency"--the competencies, new representational practises, design sensibilities, ownership, and strategic expertise that a learner gains or demonstrates by using digital tools to gather, design,…

This paper has arisen from a concern that much recent policy-related research on markets displays misogynistic tendencies. In both the media and academic accounts it would appear as though the blame for social and educational inequalities can now be laid at the door of women--particularly middle-class mothers. Through examining competing…

A study explored the differences in consumer perceptions of product attributes for national brand and generic grocery products as they related to the frequency of generic purchases. It was hypothesized that consumers perceive national brands more favorably than they do generics, but that the more frequently they purchase generics, the more…

Provides a definition for the history of communications that will aid those who are researching the media. (RB)

A description of the aptitude-treatment interaction concept is followed by some examples of ATI studies. (Author/HB)

Contradicts chain spokesmen who insist that their endorsement policies during elections are independent of chain direction. (RB)

Concludes that the extent of reporters' agreement with messages from an information source affects the choice of supportive items. (RB)

Raises questions concerning the percentage of responses necessary to obtain accurate results from a survey. (RB)

A description of a media experiment in which the data indicate that film stimuli alone appears to be the significant variable. (Author/HB)