More high school students watch television regularly than read newspapers. Newspapers in Education coordinators should be involved in teaching their students critical viewing skills. The essential concepts that students need to learn are to: (1) understand what mass media and popular culture mean; (2) understand how the media shape attitudes and…

The purpose of a mass media study was to (l) identify mass media types (patterns of exposure to mass media content) among seventh graders, high school juniors, and adults in a given geographic area; (2) show similarities and differences in the mass media types isolated for these three age groups; (3) pinpoint demographic variables most strongly…

To see whether the subject matter of magazines of general circulation and the subject matter of public concern coincide, a study examined the volume of coverage of United States-Soviet relations, communism, and issues of nuclear warfare between the two nations in twentieth century popular magazines. The "Reader's Guide to Periodical…

The 33 essays that make up this volume examine the history of literature in performance from five perspectives: (1) language, (2) popular culture, (3) teaching, (4) theory, and (5) entertainment. The essays in the first section explore the basic perspective of oral performance as a factor in the development of languages themselves and their…

Designed to show that highly participatory, engaging, entertaining, and locally understandable communication forms can be used not only to liberate but also to domesticate, this paper presents case studies of several nonformal education projects in Botswana that attempted to follow the approach of Paulo Freire by using popular theatre to encourage…

This booklet contains resources and suggestions to help secondary social studies teachers use popular music in the classroom. The ideas presented in popular songs should be examined in social studies classes because of the impact that contemporary songwriters have had on the shaping of American culture. The attitudes and values portrayed in modern…

This annotated bibliography lists approximately 300 American books representative of current, popular, and readily available publications. Because the intent is to give people in the Soviet Union an idea of America's current amusements, arts, and concerns, the books have been considered on their basis of being accessible to those unfamiliar with…

The theme of this month's issue is "Images"--from early paintings and statuary to computer-generated design. Resources on the theme include Web sites, CD-ROMs and software, videos, books, and others. A page of reproducible activities is also provided. Features include photojournalism, inspirational Web sites, art history, pop art, and myths. (AEF)

Explicates the fascinating origins (and conflicting versions thereof) for a number of well-known folk songs including, "Casey Jones,""John Henry,""Frankie and Johnny," and "Tom Dooley." Notes that source material on these and other songs is widely available through liner notes, folk song periodicals, and folklore journals. (MJP)

Summarizes a wealth of evidence establishing a causal relationship between television viewing and violence. Outlines a series of corrective measures available within the fields of media literacy, public policy, and education. Briefly discusses related issues such as government versus self-regulation, and First Amendment protections. (MJP)

Discusses graphic novels and visual literacy and notes the increases in the graphic novels budget at Downers Grove (Illinois) Public Library. Outlines seven steps to developing a graphics collection. Sidebars highlight popular titles, award-winners, and Web sites for librarians just learning about graphic novels. (AEF)

Examines fictional television representations of Black middle class success in "The Cosby Show" and nonfictional representations of Black urban poverty in a CBS news documentary. Suggests that these representations operate intertextually to produce an ideology which explains both by privileging individual attributes and middle class…

Investigates the viewer perceptions of female and male television characters as a result of viewer sex and sex role orientation, based on the responses of 677 young adults to the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Viewer gender had an impact on the rating of female characters. (FMW)

Data were collected on the media exposure of between 64 and 101 Moroccan adolescents and their use of media images in social behavior, choice of mate, and career aspirations. Although males had more exposure to Western media, both sexes were eager to reconcile traditional Islamic and contemporary media-relayed values. (SLD)

This article suggests ways that professionals might utilize general public literature about learning disabilities. A rationale for use of general public literature is offered, a five-step procedure for discussing books with students is described, the use of bibliotherapy and reciprocal questioning is discussed, and questions to generate…