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Critical review of work attempting to explain contemporary Arab world, relations with Israel, culture, religion, politics.

It is likely that Americans, whose attention to the rest of the world tends to be sporadic, and driven largely by immediate events or strong emotional... more

It is likely that Americans, whose attention to the rest of the world tends to be sporadic, and driven largely by immediate events or strong emotional "hooks," are now inclined to relegate Arabs and the Arab world to a sort of benign neglect. Arab oil money has long since been replaced in popular fears by Japanese economic inroads. The Persian Gulf War has faded into history, and Americans' anxious attentions are now focused on Bosnia, a largely Muslim country but not an Arab one. Palestinians and Israelis have signed a peace; an uncertain and fragile peace to be sure, but peace does not make news. Even "Islamic fundamentalists" have, for now, faded from the television news. When a federal building was blown up in Oklahoma, with heavy loss of life, the media and the public jumped at once to the conclusion that it was the doing of Arabs,

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Examines effect of TV on viewers' political attitudes & behavior. Regular broadcast news, cable news, tv newsmagazines, fictionalized political stories, political commercials.

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Introduction Does television influence viewers' political attitudes and/or affect their political behavior; and, if so, in ... more

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Introduction Does television influence viewers' political attitudes and/or affect their political behavior; and, if so, in what ways? The purpose of this report is to examine the existing research investigating this question. The reviewed research covers studies of the effects of five categories of political television: (1) Regular broadcast news; (2) Cable news; (3) Television newsmagazines; (4) Fictionalized political stories; and (5) Political advertisements. Regular Broadcast News By far, the majority of studies of television effects on political attitudes and behavior have examined for influences resulting from viewing regular local and national news

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Analyzes needs, problems & opportunities for any cable channel competing with CNN.

Introduction Can a new cable channel devoted to news be successful? The market is dominated by Ted Turner's Cable News Network (CNN), which gained no... more

Introduction Can a new cable channel devoted to news be successful? The market is dominated by Ted Turner's Cable News Network (CNN), which gained notoriety during the Gulf War when it was learned that Saddam Hussein was getting some of his intelligence from the reporters on CNN. Since its initial shaky start, CNN has grown into a respected news organization with bureaus throughout the world and with a track record which has attracted the attention of larger and sometimes better known news organization. Other companies are now considering starting direct competitors to CNN; this research considers what issues a potential competitor should consider, and whether a network that was essentially "sportsfree" could pose a serious threat to CNN. The Competition CNN poses a serious t

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Analyzes positive & negative effects, ethics, bias of media coverage of Titanic, 1992 L.A. riot, 1996 ValuJet crash.

Introduction Americans turn to the media during natural disasters and severe weather as a source of information. Radio and television provide informa... more

Introduction Americans turn to the media during natural disasters and severe weather as a source of information. Radio and television provide information on where an earthquake occurred and how strong it was, whether a tornado watch or warning is in effect, and which direction hurricanes and tropical storms are headed. Few dispute the importance of media coverage in these instances, and the Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) evolved to take advantage of the ability of mass media to quickly inform thousands and even millions of individual about potential problems in their region. However, the media's coverage of disasters extends into the aftermath of the disaster, with information about the extent and cost of the damage, speculation about who (or what) was responsible for the event, and interviews with families who have been

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Examines origins & evolution, compared to serious news, economic aspects, examples, advertising, role of govt., network vs. local issues.

INTRODUCTION Americans today are awash in news from newspapers, publications of every variety, books, broadcast television stations, radio stations, ... more

INTRODUCTION Americans today are awash in news from newspapers, publications of every variety, books, broadcast television stations, radio stations, and cable, including 24-hour cable new outlets such as CNN, C-Span, and CNN Headline News. Yet, the question is raised as to how trustworthy all this news is and especially as to how true a picture of society is presented in these many news broadcasts. The question is raised in part because of the growing apathy apparent in the electorate and because of opinion polls which indicate that "many citizens--perhaps the majority--live in a state of confusion and ignorance about government and political issues." Several reasons can be cited as to why this situation developed, but one reason has been the increasing trivialization of the news and the dedication of

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Compares TV comedies & their depiction of strong female characters in male-dominated industries in 1970s & 1990s.

INTRODUCTION Television comedy reflects the social setting in which the show is produced, for writers, producers, and directors know that images ref... more

INTRODUCTION Television comedy reflects the social setting in which the show is produced, for writers, producers, and directors know that images reflecting the lives of the viewers have the power to evoke laughter more than images that are completely alien to the life experiences of the viewers. Comic styles on television have changed along with the times. This does not necessarily mean that the comedy is dated as some charge--I Love Lucy is no less funny now than it was in 1955, for example--but viewers look at these episodes with somewhat different eyes just the same. Consider just one element and how it has changed over the years, that element being the way women are depicted on television comedies. Lucy in I Love Lucy may be the star of the show, but in the context of 1950s society, she is subordinate to her

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Presents analysis of media influence on the development & implementation of foreign policy.

The media has an influence on the development and implementation of foreign policy just as it does on every other aspect of American political life. ... more

The media has an influence on the development and implementation of foreign policy just as it does on every other aspect of American political life. That influence may differ from situation to situation and may be seen as positive, negative, important, or negligible. However, it is clear that those in the foreign policy establishment know that the media has this role and that at times it can be manipulated to effect some change, just as at other times it will prove to have its own power to force a change or influence a decision. Alexis de Tocqueville noted the influence of the media at a time when Americans were more unified and homogenized than they are today. De Tocqueville worried about excesses in collective action and behavior in society. He saw a nation of individuals gathered around a central authority and a central idea, and this is becoming less

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Analysis of sociologist Herbert Gans' book, Deciding What's News, on news gathering and reporting. Main ideas and themes. Author's methodology. Contends that book's concepts are valid, but some information is outdated.

Herbert Gans' study of the national news media Deciding What'sNews A Study of CBS Evening News NBC Nightly News Newsweek and Time is acultural sociolo... more

Herbert Gans' study of the national news media Deciding What'sNews A Study of CBS Evening News NBC Nightly News Newsweek and Time is acultural sociologist's analysis of news practices and production Theauthor's concern is with the social construction of news what getsreported what doesn't and why The book is divided into three sections Part describes how America is reported in the popular domestic newsmedia Part discusses why the news is reported the way it is This isthe section of the book devoted

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This paper provides a response essay to the sentiments of Ed Bradley, who claims that broadcast news programs are undermining substantive news content in favor of more gossip and entertainment-oriented news in order to keep ratings high to ensure profits. The response provides recent examples of why Bradley’s sentiments are accurate.

News and Gossip Introduction There are a number of pressures on news broadcast producers tocompete with entertainment shows One if the plethora of hug... more

News and Gossip Introduction There are a number of pressures on news broadcast producers tocompete with entertainment shows One if the plethora of hugely popularreality TV shows that combine reality and fiction in entertaining ways Another is the need to generate revenues through advertising rates based onviewer ratings Respected news journalist Ed Bradley maintains thatanother pressure on news broadcasts to entertain is the appeal of gossipand celebrity news to audiences something that often gives sway to moresubstantive news for the sake of

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This paper discusses the social networking boom and why it has become so popular for expanding one's network of friends and for marketing products and services.

The Social Networking Boom Social networking is one of the hottest crazes to hit Internet usersof all ages and backgrounds MySpace boasts million memb... more

The Social Networking Boom Social networking is one of the hottest crazes to hit Internet usersof all ages and backgrounds MySpace boasts million members and hasbecome the digital equivalent of hanging out at the mall for today'steens while Facebook appeals to college students LinkedIn targetsprofessionals and Xanga is a community site based on blogging Knowledge Wharton There is even a high school network called StudyBreakers Knowledge Wharton Twitter is enjoying aresurgence now that it can be set to share the user's entries