Product Description:
#11082 Journalism & Society - A Changing Industry: The New News (Run time 27 min.) DVD $69.95
Technological advances are rapidly redefining the news industry-and raising critical ethical concerns. Is the Internet's ability to deliver instant news and to track audience behavior resulting in lower news standards? And is TV news blurring the line between hard news and infotainment? In this two-part NewsHour program, syndicated columnist Richard Reeves; former broadcaster Marvin Kalb, of the Shorenstein Center; Ann McDaniel, Washington bureau chief of Newsweek; David Talbot, of Salon.com; and Fox news anchor Bill O'Reilly discuss these and other questions, as well as the intriguing view that today's ultra-vigilant media is actually raising the ethical bar, exposing scandals that formerly went unreported. (27 minutes)
#11083 Journalism & Society - Vying for Viewers: The Cable News War (Run time 13 min.) DVD $69.95
When CNN debuted, a 24/7 TV news channel seemed like a radical idea. Two decades later, the spread of 24-hour news networks has validated the concept while generating intense inter-network competition for audience share and advertising revenue. In this program, NewsHour correspondent Terence Smith reports on the infighting between CNN, MSNBC, and the Fox News Channel. CNN's Reese Schonfeld, the father of 24-hour news; Judy Woodruff, CNN's prime anchor; MSNBC anchor Brian Williams; Fox News' Kim and Brit Hume; and others discuss the evolution and future prospects of "news on demand." (13 minutes)
#11364 Journalism & Society - News Media Convergence: The Key to Synergy or Mediocrity? (Run time 14 min.) DVD $69.95
Thanks to favorable regulatory changes and the lure of greater profits, newspapers, broadcasters, and cable outlets are merging in an effort to tap each other's resources in the print, TV, and Internet news arenas. Will merger mania pave the way for faster and more dynamic reportage? Or will a slackening of competition allow news to become bland and homogeneous? In this program, Al Tompkins, of The Poynter Institute; Bob Haiman, of The Freedom Forum; and others air their views with NewsHour correspondent Terence Smith. They also share concerns over the danger to democracy of a free press stripped of editorial diversity. (14 minutes)
#11741 Journalism & Society - Why We Do What We Do (Run time 22 min.) DVD $69.95
Beginning with a concise history of the media, this program explores the effects of TV and other information and entertainment sources on personal attitudes and actions as well as on public opinion. The impact of how appearance, language, and behavior are portrayed is considered. Tips on becoming a more critical viewer are included. A Cambridge Educational Production. (25 minutes)
#11742 Journalism & Society - Why We Buy What We Buy (Run time 18 min.) DVD $69.95
In a consumer culture, the pressure to buy can be as subtle as it is relentless. This program introduces the craft of advertising, explaining the difference between needs and wants while analyzing the power of celebrity endorsements, the psychological advantage of product placement, and other aspects of the business of steering wallets to cash registers. A Cambridge Educational Production. (25 minutes)
#29250 Journalism & Society - Local News: To Work a Miracle (Run time 58 min.) DVD $69.95
When a wave of bomb threats hits Charlotte's schools, newly hired WCNC-TV news director Keith Connors reins in his reporters while the competition rushes to air with misinformation. Connors loses the big story but hopes he is building viewer trust. The station confronts a different ratings dilemma when several white families sue to overturn the city's landmark 1971 school busing plan. As reporters and producers argue over the amount of trial coverage, racial tensions in the newsroom are revealed and Connors must try to reconcile the demands of business, journalism, and community. (58 minutes)
#29251 Journalism & Society - Local News: Changes and Consequences (Run time 58 min.) DVD $69.95
The banking industry is turning Charlotte, North Carolina, into a boomtown; for WCNC-TV news, the city's growth brings its share of problems. Veteran reporter Bea Thompson became the city's first black female TV news journalist 22 years ago. Now on the verge of being fired, she touches off a protest that escalates into picketing and boycotts. News director Keith Connors and general manager Rick Keilty must scramble to avert a public relations disaster and boost sinking morale at the station. (58 minutes)
#29252 Journalism & Society - Local News: A Working Team (Run time 58 min.) DVD $69.95
Months after his arrival, WCNC-TV news director Keith Connors feels he has assembled a winning team, but beneath the surface the newsroom family is riven by tensions. Promotions and demotions cause the reporters to question their director's motives. One reporter openly rebels after having to cover a story he felt was beneath him. Connors experiences the isolation of leadership's tough decisions as his team's cohesion crumbles. (58 minutes)
#29253 Journalism & Society - Local News: Grace Under Pressure (Run time 58 min.) DVD $69.95
In response to pressure from the station management for higher ratings, WCNC-TV news gets a reformatted program, a new anchor, and a new emphasis on breaking stories, especially in crime coverage. Once again, ethical conflicts arise as news director Keith Connors and his reporters try to determine how much information regarding an ongoing murder case they can air without jeopardizing the police investigation. At the same time, Connors' education reporter confronts the most divisive scene yet in the school busing debate and can barely go to air with the story. The 5 o'clock broadcast is a debacle and Connors must lead as never before. (58 minutes)
#29254 Journalism & Society - Local News: There's No Place Like Home (Run time 58 min.) DVD $69.95
When news director Keith Connors goes home to Ashtabula, Ohio, for Christmas, he is struck by the contrast with booming Charlotte and realizes why he left to cover news in other people's communities. His former reporter, Bea Thompson, made the opposite bargain, forsaking opportunities elsewhere to serve the city in which she grew up. After Connors orchestrates his news team's coverage of the turn of the millennium, he and the viewers are left to wonder: is WCNC's experiment a shining hope for television journalism or an impossible dream? (58 minutes)
#33439 Journalism & Society - Calling All Liberals! Air America Radio (Run time 22 min.) DVD $69.95
Can liberal talk radio succeed? What is the right mix of humor and political advocacy that turns airtime into market share? In this ABC News program, Chris Bury evaluates the liberal radio network Air America Radio-and the undeniably enormous success of conservative radio, an integral part of the Republican Party infrastructure. Will The O'Franken Factor beat Rush Limbaugh and his colleagues at their own game and balance the political airwaves? A panel discussion moderated by Ted Koppel follows the report. (23 minutes)
#35945 Journalism & Society - Hot Off the Press: Inside a Daily Newspaper (Run time 26 min.) DVD $69.95
Believe it or not, print journalism is alive and kicking in the digital age. This video takes viewers behind the scenes at a large daily newspaper, exploring in detail how staff members fulfill their writing, illustration, and assembly duties, and how the paper-based periodical has adapted to high-tech documentation, communication, and delivery methods. News and feature reporters, sub-editors, photographers, and the paper's news editor and print manager all discuss their challenges and responsibilities in detail-shedding light on how newsworthy events are tracked, stories are assigned, fieldwork is accomplished, pages are digitally laid out, and other aspects of journalism. A viewable/printable instructor's guide is available online. (26 minutes)
#2720 Journalism & Society - Extra! Extra! See All About It! (Run time 58 min.) DVD $89.95
With its principal focus on Boston's two giant newspapers, the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald, and with lesser glances at two smaller regional suburban papers, this program looks at the faces behind the bylines and examines the exhilaration and frustrations of the newspaper industry. The program talks with columnists, general assignment reporters, and beat reporters; examines the differences between the two major papers; and describes the competition between reporters in the race for exclusives and scoops. It also examines design and formatting. How do special sections, zoned editions, and classifieds attract advertisers? What is the relationship between the two giants and the smaller suburban papers? The program offers a fast-paced yet detailed analysis of how newspapers, which play so influential a role in our society, come to be what they are. (58 minutes)
#2922 Journalism & Society - War Reporters (Run time 52 min.) DVD $89.95
Competitive journalism makes reporters take greater and greater risks in order to satisfy the public's appetite for more dramatic reality. Why do they do it? And how? Michael Nicholson, ITN's most prolific war reporter, considers the fears and ethical dilemmas that confront the war correspondent daily; Martha Gellhorn, the first American woman war reporter, speaks of the need to "keep a record"; Robert Fisk recalls the discredit that the coverage of World War I brought to the journalism profession, and stresses the need to "stay in the front line in Beirut"; Tim Page, photographer extraordinaire and war junkie turned pacifist, speaks of the trauma of Vietnam; Nick Downie, cameraman/reporter, considers the difficulty of convincing news organizations of the need to analyze as well as film blood and death; and reporter/cameraman Neil David describes his work in Vietnam and Cambodia, which ultimately cost him his life. (52 minutes)
#4932 Journalism & Society - Consuming Images (Run time 60 min.) DVD $89.95
This program looks at a society inundated with visual images. From billboards to bus stops, from rock videos to newsstands, mass-produced images have become the very air we breathe. What is this cultural atmosphere saying to us and about us? Why should we care? Ever since the pioneers of public relations and advertising spoke about the "engineering of consent," social critics have analyzed its effects. For some, it reveals pure manipulation-the appropriation of language and meaning, the trivializing of life and thought. For others, it is the dawning of a new era-the printed word is dead and art and commerce are now joined in ever more sophisticated ways. (60 minutes)
#4933 Journalism & Society - Leading Questions (Run time 60 min.) DVD $89.95
This program examines the power of professional pollsters to influence public opinion. Public opinion pollsters and market researchers serve virtually every facet of American culture. Nearly everyone-from the makers of cake mix to television executives and candidates for public office-seeks to become the intimate of our private opinions for the purposes of their own strategies. In the hands of campaign consultants, the sophisticated techniques of market research become tools of political persuasion and "leaders" wind up finding out what we think, so they can tell us what they think is what we think, too. "If the toothpaste doesn't live up to your dreams, you are out a dollar fifty-seven," notes one observer. "With political candidates, the stakes are much higher." (60 minutes)
#4934 Journalism & Society - Illusions of News (Run time 60 min.) DVD $89.95
This program looks at the impact of the visual image on news and politics in the electing of Presidents and the governing of America. While projecting a self-serving image has long been an understandable part of American politics, the 1980s produced a marriage of sophisticated news manipulation by political candidates and a willingness of the news media to dance to the candidate's tune. To what extent has this manipulation contributed to political apathy on the part of the American public? The program looks at the changing values in journalism, including the increasing monopolization of the media and the use of pictures over ideas by television news. Says Michael Deaver, a former advisor in the Reagan White House, "The media, while they won't admit it, are not in the news business. They're in the entertainment business." (60 minutes)
#4935 Journalism & Society - The Truth About Lies (Run time 60 min.) DVD $89.95
The public mind is often deceived by those who manipulate it, and it deceives itself, as well. This program examines how deception has influenced some of the major events of our recent past and how self-deception shapes our personal lives and the public mind. Why do trusted people in public life lie to us and to themselves? Can a society die from too many lies? Do our institutions demand loyalty at the expense of the truth? The program explores such events as Watergate, the war in Vietnam, and the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, and reveals the pressures that led to the denial of truth and the distortion of reality. Among those interviewed are John Dean, former counsel to President Nixon, and Roger Boisjoly, a Morton Thiokol engineer who tried to postpone the launch of the Challenger. (60 minutes)
#4966 Journalism & Society - Hollywood's Role in Shaping Values: David Puttnam (Run time 52 min.) DVD $89.95
Those who stand outside our culture often view it with a lens made more accurate by distance and perspective. An Englishman on intimate terms with America, film producer David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire and The Killing Fields ) sees in our movies the reflection of a nation at odds with itself. In this age of the visual image, popular culture can make attractive the vice or virtue that politics then imitates. During his tenure as chairman of Columbia Pictures, he was known as the conscience of Hollywood, a champion of quality and moral standards in an industry corrupted by money. In this program with Bill Moyers, Puttnam discusses the stories we tell about ourselves in the movies and how watching them reflects and shapes our society. (52 minutes)
#4974 Journalism & Society - Tom Wolfe (Run time 52 min.) DVD $89.95
It's the nature of journalism to occupy itself with the bad news in life, the fires and traffic jams, depressions and wars. It's the nature of some journalists to turn a sharp eye and a biting pen on the follies and vanities of everyday life. It's all the more surprising, then, to hear one of those acidic journalists tell us, in this program with Bill Moyers, that there has never been a greater moment to be alive or a greater country to be alive in. Tom Wolfe helped invent the New Journalism in the 1960s and became the guru of popular culture. His beat ever since has been scrutinizing America's obsessions, while his books and essays have become icons of our times. (52 minutes)
#5003 Journalism & Society - Eyewitness to History: William L. Shirer (Run time 50 min.) DVD $89.95
In the course of his long career as a journalist, William L. Shirer was an eyewitness to the history of our times. Fresh out of college, he started as a reporter in Europe in the 1920s, went to India to cover Mahatma Gandhi, and then joined the pioneers of radio broadcasting. He reported for CBS from Berlin on the rise of Hitler, and watched the surrender of France to Germany from the front lines. When Nazi censorship made honest reporting impossible, Shirer returned to the U.S., broadcasting a weekly news analysis on CBS, and publishing his first novel. His best-selling books, among them Berlin Diary, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and a trilogy of memoirs, have given readers a front-seat view of major events. In this program with Bill Moyers, Shirer discusses his experiences as a journalist in Europe, his firsthand impressions of Hitler, and expresses his concerns about the reunified Germany. (50 minutes)
#5204 Journalism & Society - Covering the World: Reports Without Borders (Run time 30 min.) DVD $89.95
This program ventures past American shores to experience what "covering the world" really means. Although television journalists can rarely provide sustained coverage of a specific international story, we have begun to realize that we need to cover international news with more of a world view, not just from our own geopolitical perspective. Driven in part by CNN's international reportage, the networks are showing greater interest in news from abroad, and local stations, too, have witnessed a tremendous growth in their global reach. Narrated by Peter Jennings. (30 minutes)
#5205 Journalism & Society - Health and Medicine: On the Cutting Edge (Run time 30 min.) DVD $89.95
This program takes us on a tour of what has become one of the most popular and prolific beats in television, on both the network and local levels. The depth and range of medical reporting have grown considerably in the last decade, but, with few exceptions, we were tragically late in reporting the scope and severity of the AIDS story. Controversial cures and dubious wonder drugs have always gotten lots of air-time, but television has dallied in addressing the health care crisis. The whole subject of aging has also been virtually ignored, and when it does get attention, it's usually of the doom-and-gloom variety. The good news is that health and medical reporting has broadened, abstract concepts have been humanized, and a new category of investigative reporting is helping medical consumers take more control of their own care. Narrated by Peter Jennings. (30 minutes)
#5206 Journalism & Society - Investigative Reporting: The Righteous Lens (Run time 30 min.) DVD $89.95
Investigative reporting is expensive, time-consuming, labor-intensive; it can be dangerous-and you can get sued. The resultant slack in network news investigative reporting has been taken up by some local stations. And, as this program illustrates, there are some important trends: the growth of environmental stories and the emergence of women as a powerful force in investigative journalism. There are also new techniques that bring viewers to the "scene of the crime," so to speak. The program shows some provocative and controversial examples. Narrated by Peter Jennings. (30 minutes)
#5207 Journalism & Society - Ten Years of Social Struggles: Who We Are (Run time 30 min.) DVD $89.95
Television has emerged as a dominant teaching tool in the area of complex contemporary social issues-a modern-day civics text. The range of subjects is as diverse as our culture: welfare, the farm crisis, the state of the American family, abortion, race relations. Yet documentaries are a threatened species because they take so long to research, report, shoot, and edit. Still, news of the documentary's death has been exaggerated; each of the excerpts in this program is an eloquent testimonial to the triumph of the television documentary form. Narrated by Peter Jennings. (30 minutes)
#5221 Journalism & Society - Helen Gurley Brown: A Portrait in the First Person (Run time 24 min.) DVD $89.95
Another comer from Little Rock, Arkansas, Helen Gurley Brown grew up, if not actually deprived, then certainly having less-and wanting more. Here she tells her story of hanging in, progressing one little step at a time. It took many such little steps to get from a secretary's desk to Cosmo. Clearly, her ability to be the 23-year-old woman with problems has made her an extraordinarily successful and long-lived editor; but her evident belief that you can become whatever you want will provide inspiration for women in general and journalists in particular who have less than Helen Gurley Brown's evident talents. (24 minutes)
#5222 Journalism & Society - Peggy Noonan: Creator of a Kinder, Gentler America (Run time 24 min.) DVD $89.95
Lincoln and Churchill wrote their own speeches, Hitler made his up as he roared along; but Reagan's and Bush's speeches were written by Peggy Noonan. In this program she defines and describes what she thinks a political speech should be. Defining her own political views, she draws sympathetic portraits of the presidents into whose mouths she put the words they could not find themselves, and lets the presidents (or the voters) worry about what her often memorable phrases promise. Often the only woman in the councils of state she attended, she also provides sardonic insights into what male media gurus think is appropriate for the majority of Americans. (24 minutes)
#5942 Journalism & Society - The Rise of the Television Talk Show (Run time 29 min.) DVD $89.95
Because of low production costs and high ratings, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of television talk shows in recent years. Some are anchored by former news personalities and others by former stand-up comedians. In the age of the talk show, it is often difficult to distinguish between opinion and fact in modern culture. How many of the talk shows are informative programs, and how many are pure entertainment? Each program claims to have its own expert on every subject imaginable. Yet, the integrity of some shows is questionable. This program looks at the phenomenon known as the television talk show and the public's fascination with it. Featured on the program are Phil Donahue, and Vicki Abt, a sociologist at Penn State University. (29 minutes)
#5943 Journalism & Society - Talk, Talk, Talk: Opinion or Fact? (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Radio and television bombard people with information every day. Each person must sort through and assimilate all of the information into ideals, beliefs, and truths of their own. But how does a person do this? How much influence do the words and ideas of other people have on individuals forming their own opinions? This program examines the conditioning of information in our society and its impact upon forming public attitudes, the role of the media in polling, and the significance of the public's voice in shaping individual opinions. Among those featured on this program are various talk radio hosts and participants at the 1995 National Radio Talk Shows of America Convention. (28 minutes)
#6841 Journalism & Society - TV Violence and You (Run time 30 min.) DVD $89.95
Why are television shows created with such a high level of violence, and how are viewers affected by it? In this program, George Gerbner, of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, and other media experts provide insightful commentary on both blatant and subtle TV violence. Drawn from one week of television programming, video clips fall into five main areas: building distrust through stereotypes and putdowns, the impact of TV on interpersonal relationships, news coverage and "fiction by selection," TV as big business, and censorship. Some content may be objectionable. (30 minutes)
#7157 Journalism & Society - Deadline: Newspaper Publishing Today (Run time 51 min.) DVD $89.95
The logistics of putting together a modern daily newspaper are staggering. In one 24-hour period, the paper must be written, designed, composed, printed, and delivered to thousands of readers. This program follows the many processes, both creative and technical, including the computerized transmission of text and photographs via satellite to publications throughout the world. (51 minutes)
#7167 Journalism & Society - The Looking Glass: Inside TV News (Run time 60 min.) DVD $89.95
Over 60 percent of all Americans get their news from television, yet most know little about the process of electronic news gathering. In this documentary, we visit the throbbing heart of a television newsroom to provide the backdrop for a behind-the-scenes look at how television newscasts are created. A news director makes a story decision, while reporters and editors argue over story content and edits. Reporters, editors, and news directors bemoan the limitations of trying to present accurate news stories in one-minute sound bites. Criticism of television news as being sensationalized to garner higher viewer ratings is addressed by a television news executive. In a final segment, a reporter tracks down a story, conducts interviews, writes the script, and delivers the news on the nightly broadcast. (60 minutes)
#7742 Journalism & Society - Lifeline: The History of International Radio (Run time 48 min.) DVD $89.95
In March of 1927, short-wave radio broadcasts from the Netherlands were received in Indonesia. This watershed event, preceding the BBC and Moscow Radio, marked the beginning of international broadcasting. This documentary traces three quarters of a century of world broadcasting and its importance to world communication. World War II leaders broadcast radio messages to Resistance forces and to the thousands living in occupied countries. Propaganda was disseminated by all sides during the Cold War. A Chinese author describes how she and her friends pieced together the events of the Tiananmen Square massacre from international radio broadcasts. Cameras behind the scenes at CNN examine its coverage of the Gulf War, as media mogul Ted Turner predicts the end of radio's influence. Program managers from the BBC and Radio Netherlands discuss radio's continuing role as information lifeline to less-developed nations. Some subtitles with English narration. (47 minutes)
#7938 Journalism & Society - Media Manipulation: New Game for Big Business (Run time 29 min.) DVD $89.95
Many newspapers, magazines, television and cable networks, and local television and radio stations are owned by large corporations with diverse interests outside of their media holdings-from the defense industry to theme parks. This program examines the relationship between the large corporate owners and the daily operation of their media outlets. It reveals how much power and control owners exercise over news judgment, and suggests that corporate controllers may be practicing their own brand of media censorship by slanting the news. Can Americans believe what they read, see, and hear? (29 minutes)
#7939 Journalism & Society - Television Media: Headlines or Hype? (Run time 29 min.) DVD $89.95
Most people rely on television newscasts to keep them informed. Yet, a recent Gallup poll says that only 21 percent of Americans rated television media as "very or mostly honest." Faced with declining ratings, increased competition, and intensified attention to the bottom line, television news organizations have been criticized for turning daily newscasts into "info-tainment." This program profiles the history of the electronic media, reveals its biases and tendencies toward sensationalism and exploitation, and highlights the challenges facing networks and local stations in the current, sensation-seeking culture. (29 minutes)
#8272 Journalism & Society - Film Industry (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
In spite of competition by other media, movies have remained a perennial favorite of American viewing audiences. But what is it like to make them? This program analyzes the film industry from a variety of technical, financial, legal, and business perspectives. Topics explored include marketing and merchandising, financial influences on content, special effects and Hollywood action movies, the domestic versus international marketplace, the role of film critics, and the film business in the new media environment. (28 minutes)
#8273 Journalism & Society - Film History (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
The Lumiere brothers and Thomas Edison would definitely be impressed if they could see how far the medium created with the invention of the movie camera has evolved. This program examines the history of film, from its beginnings in the late 19th century to the invention of VCRs. Filmmaking's roots as an entertainment and storytelling medium are examined, along with the emergence of Hollywood, the studio star system, and birth of the talkies. Film industry regulation, including censorship, is also discussed, along with the blacklist and competition from cable and broadcast television. (28 minutes)
#8514 Journalism & Society - Broadcast Television (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
In 1927, Herbert Hoover made TV history by appearing in one of America's first experimental broadcasts; 33 years later, the televising of the Kennedy-Nixon debates changed the face of political history forever. This program covers the progress of broadcast TV, from experimental novelty, to its emergence as a mass media powerhouse, and on to its current state as an industry with declining audience-share. In addition, the growth of public television and the symbiotic nature of the network-affiliate relationship are discussed. Can this once-dominant medium, now eroded by cable TV, VCRs, the Internet, and Nintendo, regain its past glory? This program is a necessary resource for any study of the history of broadcast television and its role in American culture. (28 minutes)
#8515 Journalism & Society - Cable TV and Beyond (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
This program details the history of this dynamic medium from its modest beginnings. In 1949, cable meant television for locations that had very poor reception or were inaccessible to broadcast signals. By the mid-1970s, cable service began to expand rapidly due to the easing of government restrictions and the use of satellite transmissions. Fiber optics, new cable-ready TVs, and an explosion of programming by an ever-growing number of networks helped to increase the number of available channels from a mere handful to hundreds. In the 1990s, with nearly 60 percent of American households wired for cable, it drew close to parity with the Big Three networks and PBS. More recently, cable has come to mean Internet access as well. For many people, the TV is now a source of personal communication, expanded learning and entertainment, and shopping as viewers use e-mail and the World Wide Web from their TVs. As the world reaps the possibilities of media convergence, what else will come down the cable pipeline? (28 minutes)
#8516 Journalism & Society - Television News (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
How do you juggle journalistic ideals with bottom-line concerns? Each day both local and national TV news operations attempt to report on the day's events in a way that will maximize viewers and advertising dollars. But what is the downside of this tortured calculus? In this program, a wide assortment of news professionals and scholars cast a critical eye on the practices, content, and impact of TV news. Some charge that the race to the ratings jackpot has eroded the integrity and objectivity of newscasters. If this is not so, how does a newfound emphasis on the sensational and pop culture square with their duty to keep viewers informed about important issues of the body politic? (28 minutes)
#8517 Journalism & Society - Media History (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
This program is an excellent survey of the history of mass media. Academic and industry experts discuss the invention and impact of the printing press, telegraph, and telephone, all of which have allowed information to be easily transmitted over great distances. Mass media as it is currently evolving is also examined in depth. During the 1920s and 30s, radio dominated entertainment and the news and changed America's social habits. The advent of broadcast television in the 1950s and the rise of the Big Three networks further shaped America's culture. In the 80s and into the 90s, broadcast TV audience-share has declined due to cable and satellite television, VCRs, and Nintendo, and broadcasting has yielded to narrowcasting. Today, globalization and technological convergence are redefining the boundaries of communications. Where is all this leading the media industry? Only tomorrow will tell for sure. (28 minutes)
#8518 Journalism & Society - Images in Media (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
The pictures in our heads that define who we are and help us neatly categorize others are increasingly shaped by the newspaper, magazine, film, and TV images that bombard our senses. To convey a message quickly, these images often rely on stereotypes and primal reflexes that can foster in an audience an inordinate fear of violence, racial and ethnic prejudices, diminished self-worth, and even eating disorders as young women attempt to mimic the look of high-fashion models. This program is a behind-the-scenes look at the media's image-makers, from the first photographers to today's Madison Avenue wizards, and asks some disturbing questions about the self-selected few who hold a distorted mirror up to our society. (28 minutes)
#8519 Journalism & Society - Television History (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Few innovations of the 20th century can top the television in overall effect on culture and daily life. This program covers the development of TV from the labs of John Baird, Philo T. Farnsworth, and Vladimir Zworykin to the present day. Pioneered as a futuristic and somewhat farfetched experimental branch of radio technology, television began as a very expensive luxury. Though its progress was slowed by World War II, the television industry exploded in the 1950s and now enjoys a 99 percent penetration of American households, with U.S. viewing reaching 250 billion hours per year. This program is an excellent tool for anyone studying the techno-cultural phenomenon of television. (28 minutes)
#8520 Journalism & Society - Media Convergence (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
The telephone, the television, and the computer are three of the most potent inventions of the 20th century and have completely transformed world society. But what happens when you combine all three into one powerful communications medium? This program examines the growing convergence of phones, TVs, and computers in Cyberspace and the radical impact on businesses, homes, and schools in this "many-to-many" communications model. Is the day coming when we can satisfy most of our shopping, banking, security, and entertainment needs while sitting in front of one smart, multipurpose screen? Is the long-predicted school-without-walls finally here? If so, what will daily life be like in the world we are on the road to creating? (28 minutes)
#8521 Journalism & Society - Mass Media in Society (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
The world is quickly becoming saturated with information, entertainment, and advertisements. In this program, academic and industry experts examine the globalization of information exchange, the way in which it has altered the social distance between nations and individuals, and the future of mass media. In the U.S., viewers watch an average of 4.5 hours per day of television, willingly lending their eyes and ears to advertisers. However, the 1990s have seen a growing fragmentation of America into demographically segmented audiences, driven by niche programming and narrow-interest advertising. The enthusiasm for interactive communication is growing, spurred on by the desire for news and entertainment tailored and delivered on demand and the possibilities of one-to-one marketing. Is the concept of mass media on the verge of extinction? (28 minutes)
#8522 Journalism & Society - Media Rights and Responsibilities (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Tabloid journalism. Kinky TV talk shows. "Gangsta" rap music. Sexually explicit and violent movies. The media have established new outposts in the frontiers of taste that were thought impossible 30 years ago, and all in the name of First Amendment rights and giving the public what it wants. But with these rights come responsibilities that are seldom respected. What leverage can society use beyond the boycott and angry letter to put curbs on the more outrageous forms of media expression? What is the rightful role of government? How do we balance these measures with a healthy respect for creativity and freedom of expression? This program looks at all of the issues surrounding the media's pursuit of the advertising dollar versus its responsibility to exercise some concern for the public good. (28 minutes)
#8523 Journalism & Society - Media Ethics (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Is a political candidate's past personal life fodder for the front page? If a child commits murder, should the offender's name be released? If a CD by a top recording artist has strongly antisocial lyrics, should the record label consider its impact on kids? In this program, news professionals and executives from NBC, CBS, Capitol-EMI Records, and Mercury Records speak out about the ethical dilemmas their industries face. The program also examines the case of Janet Cooke, who wrote a Pulitzer Prize-winning story about an 8-year-old heroin addict in 1981. The message was heartfelt, but fact-checking later proved her story to be closer to fiction than fact. In addition, the need for honesty and fairness, the subtle pressure of commercial interests, and the lure of sensationalism are discussed in this frank investigation of the pressures and circumstances that make up the context of media ethics. (28 minutes)
#8525 Journalism & Society - Audience and Feedback (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
This program explores the characteristics that define a desirable audience, the history of audience ratings, and the ways in which audiences are assessed. Because the mass media is supported largely by selling time and space to marketers, it has evolved into the main delivery vehicle for advertising, in which the company offering a product or service is the true consumer and the attention of the viewer is the product that is being bought. With billions of advertising dollars at stake, marketers, social psychologists, and statisticians carry out sophisticated demographic and psychographic studies to narrow audiences into well-defined consumer groups. On the back end, the Nielsen television rating system uses "people meters" on TVs to determine if viewers are in fact watching what advertisers thought they would. This program also debates the manipulative nature of television and includes a portion of Newt Minnow's "Vast Wasteland" speech. This video is an indispensable resource for understanding the dynamics of media/audience interaction. (30 minutes)
#8526 Journalism & Society - Global Media (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Sixties' media philosopher Marshall McLuhan predicted the coming of a Global Village in which telecommunications technology would figuratively shrink the world. Satellites, the Internet, multinational communications giants, and the ubiquity of televisions and computers have more than helped realize his prophecy. Who are the big players and what kind of village have they wrought? As American music, TV, film, sports, fashion, and food spread worldwide and push aside the local fare, are we guilty of cultural imperialism? This insightful program looks at a variety of issues surrounding the growth of media in the era of the international audience. (28 minutes)
#8557 Journalism & Society - Newspaper Industry (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
In 1923 more than 500 American cities had two or more competing daily newspapers, but in the 90s that number dwindled to a mere 36. This program spotlights the cross-town rivalry between The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, offering insight into some of the benefits and drawbacks of competition for the same readership. In addition, it provides an engaging overview of America's oldest mass media industry. Some of the topics examined include the continual pressure for newspapers to adapt, the evolution of content, family versus conglomerate ownership, editorial and operations decision-making, the daily production life cycle, and the role of advertisers. The program is an excellent tool for understanding where the newspaper industry has been and where it is going. (28 minutes)
#8558 Journalism & Society - Magazine Industry (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
This program examines the evolution of the magazine industry over the course of the 20th century. General-interest magazines like Life and Look once provided a national forum that helped Americans explore their common interests. After World War II, the tremendous impact of television on audience-share caused the magazine industry to focus instead on developing niche publications aimed at consumers and businesses. Time, Ebony, Cosmopolitan, Sports Illustrated, and People are all spotlighted as examples of magazines that have successfully targeted new audience segments and adapted to changing times and tastes. In addition, the rise of online magazines and their relationship to their print counterparts are examined. The program is an excellent source of information for students of communications, publishing, and contemporary American history. (28 minutes)
#8559 Journalism & Society - Book Industry (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Book publishing is both the oldest and the smallest of the mass media industries. With commentary by the president of Allyn & Bacon, a regional manager of Barnes & Noble, and the owner of the large, independent Tattered Cover Book Store, this program provides a detailed look at how trade and educational/reference books are made, sold, and marketed. Also discussed is the perception of book publishing as a glamorous career field, in spite of the hard reality of low profits and wages. In addition, talk-show footage of William F. Buckley, Jr., and Madeline Cartwright, author of For the Children, adds insights into the experiences of book authors. Despite competition from TV, magazines, and the World Wide Web, sales figures continue to show that books are holding their own as a method of mass communication. (28 minutes)
#8560 Journalism & Society - Radio Industry (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Many technology and mass media pundits have predicted the demise of radio, but radio's mystique and extraordinary ability to adapt have repeatedly proved them wrong. In this program, the business side of public and commercial radio broadcasting is explored in depth by industry insiders. Host Ray Suarez and others from NPR's "Talk of the Nation" discuss how content is created and how their show is produced, while executives at Jones Radio Network offer a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into commercial radio: the way in which audience profiling drives programming, the role of Arbitron ratings, and the business of selling advertising time. Although other forms of mass media offer things that radio cannot, surveys show that it is the immediacy, accessibility, and local feeling of radio-even when prerecorded and beamed by satellite from remote locations-that keep people tuning in. (28 minutes)
#8561 Journalism & Society - Recording Industry (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
How does a new artist attract the attention of a recording company? How do recording companies find new talent? Can a big-name label make a run-of-the-mill CD into a platinum seller? In this program, top industry executives and other experts answer these and other questions, such as how much performers can expect to make in royalties, how SoundScan has revealed the true top 100, and how MTV has raised the bar for performer talent. In addition, brief clips of David Bowie, Billy Rae Cyrus, Debbie Davies, Peter Gabriel, and Metallica are included. (28 minutes)
#8562 Journalism & Society - Print News (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Although advances in telecommunications and computer technology have changed the way news is covered and written, the role of the journalist-to gather the facts and report the news in a way that will engage a mass audience-has remained the same. In this program, staff members of The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, the Rocky Mountain News, and The Denver Post talk about how they decide what to include in each day's newspaper, the trend towards greater objectivity, the need to avoid undue influence, the Woodward and Bernstein watershed in investigative journalism, and the role of news services like the Associated Press, Reuters, and Bloomberg. The program is a source of valuable information on what it is like to work in present-day newspaper journalism. (28 minutes)
#8564 Journalism & Society - Print History (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
A single issue of The New York Times is said to contain more information than could be learned in a lifetime by a person living in the 15th century. This program traces the development of books, newspapers, and magazines in the Western world, from the invention of the printing press, metal type, paper, and oil-based ink to the present day. Experts from the Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University Press, MIT, and The New York Times discuss the effect of print technology on the spread of Martin Luther's doctrines and the Reformation; printing in colonial America; advances stimulated by the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, and the Trans-Continental Railroad; Mergenthaler's Linotype machine; Yellow Journalism; and the impact of Time magazine. Permanence and portability, in combination with affordability and ease of replication, have made the printed word a vital form of mass communication that is unlikely to be replaced even in the age of the Internet. (28 minutes)
#8565 Journalism & Society - Recording History (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
When Thomas Edison devised a way to capture and replay sounds, he thought it useful for recording business letter dictation-but America had a different vision. This program examines the remarkable history of recorded music, from the Jazz Age, to the Big Band Era and World War II, to rock 'n' roll and rap. Executives from the BMI archives and Capitol-EMI Music, along with representatives of the Smithsonian Institution, discuss the social and cultural aspects of affordable, mass-produced music, plus the roles of recording originals like Enrico Caruso, Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, Elvis, the Beatles, Berry Gordy, and Bob Dylan. In the U.S., recorded music has brought races together and split generations apart, while around the globe it has altered cultural identities, changing the way in which nations see others and themselves. (28 minutes)
#8566 Journalism & Society - Radio History (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
This program tells the complete story of radio, from its roots in Marconi's wireless telegraphy and the invention of the vacuum tube by Lee De Forest, to its heyday in the 1930s and subsequent upstaging by television in a battle for audience-share. Academic experts discuss the impact of early innovators like Frank Conrad of station KDKA, Pittsburgh, who broadcasted from his garage; the power of personalities to influence mass audiences, citing FDR, Edward R. Murrow, and Orson Welles as examples; radio's role as a vehicle for delivering mass audiences to advertisers; and the superior ability of the radio to entertain and actively engage listeners in the "theater of the mind." This program provides an intriguing look at America's once-dominant mass medium. (28 minutes)
#8568 Journalism & Society - Public Relations (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Since the first written account of public relations-like activities in ancient Greece, PR professionals have been on record as shapers and reshapers of public opinion. This program defines the role of public relations, differentiating it from advertising, and examines the way in which PR operates. In addition, industry professionals discuss the contributions of Ivy Lee and the founder of modern PR, Edward L. Bernays; the role of public relations in America's two world wars; the shamefully successful Lucky Cigarettes campaign to make smoking in public fashionable for women; and the Ad Council and public service announcements. Crisis intervention is examined, as in the well-handled case of the tainted Tylenol scare, and the botched damage control of the Exxon Valdez disaster. The program does an excellent job of explaining a difficult-to-understand and often-maligned industry. (28 minutes)
#8569 Journalism & Society - Advertising (Run time 28 min.) DVD $89.95
Some Americans charge that the advertising industry promotes materialism and compels them to buy things they don't want. However, most are unaware that the TV and radio shows, newspapers, and magazines they enjoy for virtually no cost are paid for almost entirely by the sale of advertising time or space. This program features a historical survey of the methods of advertising in the U.S. Topics include the mass-marketing triumph of Lydia Pinkham's 19th-century patent medicines; the role of sponsorship in radio and early broadcast television; the application of marketing principles to the 1964 Johnson/Goldwater campaign, which featured the well-known daisy/atom bomb ad; and a step-by-step look at how a Ford Ranger TV spot was made by the J. Walter Thompson agency. The program is a valuable aid in understanding the persuasive, pervasive nature of advertising. (28 minutes)
#8902 Journalism & Society - Reuters: The Story Behind the News Agency (Run time 29 min.) DVD $89.95
"Be first, but first be right." This is the brand image of one of the world's oldest and most respected news agencies: Reuters. This program offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how the news is produced and a complete history of the fiercely independent news agency that began in the 19th century using carrier pigeons. Staff from Reuters, World Television News, AP-TV, RTE Ireland, Agence France Presse, and Deutsche Presse Agentur explore the crucial role of computer and satellite technology, the competition between news agencies, and accusations of bias against non-Western news. (29 minutes)
#8932 Journalism & Society - Katharine Graham Uncensored (Run time 29 min.) DVD $89.95
In this program, Pulitzer Prize-winner Katharine Graham discusses her life as privileged daughter, estranged wife, and editor of The Washington Post, one of America's most influential newspapers. She shares how, after shedding her insecurities and feelings of subservience, she took the reins of the Post, which she changed from a weak daily to the powerful paper that broke the Watergate scandal and that has continued to be a force in Washington politics ever since. This interview is a provocative depiction of a key journalistic figure of the 20th century. (29 minutes)
#9103 Journalism & Society - Free Speech for Sale: A Bill Moyers Special (Run time 57 min.) DVD $89.95
When it comes to today's important public policy issues, the opportunity to be heard depends on whether you can afford it. In this program, Bill Moyers and key legal and public interest advocates examine how industries with deep pockets use their access to the media to overwhelm the public debate, from North Carolina's hog industry to the defeat of the McCain Tobacco Bill to the passage of the Telecom Act of 1996. This Act, all but ignored by the newspapers and TV outlets owned by megamedia, amounted to a massive giveaway of the public's airwaves. What consequences does this control over the flow of information have for our democracy, and how can individuals and public interest organizations counter the growing dominance of big media? (57 minutes)
#9282 Journalism & Society - Remembering Fred Friendly: Changing the Face of TV News (Run time 21 min.) DVD $89.95
The father of television journalism and an exemplar of integrity, Fred Friendly was a war correspondent in World War II, the producer of Edward R. Murrow's popular documentary show "See It Now," and the maverick president of CBS News. In this program, ABC News anchor Ted Koppel examines the contributions of a man who helped radio news make its quantum leap to the TV screen in the early 1950s and who challenged decision-makers of all types to think-and think hard-about issues as diverse as corporate exploitation and McCarthyism. No study of television news can be considered complete without a look at this pivotal figure. (21 minutes)
#9283 Journalism & Society - Ratings vs. Journalism: Going Live with Breaking News (Run time 20 min.) DVD $89.95
When Daniel Jones ignited his truck on the Los Angeles freeway, adult and child audiences saw what turned out to be a gruesome suicide, live and in color. Can real-time coverage of such spectacles truly be called journalism? In this program, ABC News correspondent John Donvan reprises the incident, after which anchor Chris Wallace, the director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, and two TV news directors debate the responsibility of the news media, the qualities of good editorial judgment in a "go live" world, and the role of the ratings race in news coverage. (20 minutes)
#9284 Journalism & Society - The Press and the Clinton Allegations: A Case Study (Run time 11 min.) DVD $89.95
If the Clinton/Lewinsky affair-officially broken to the world by The Washington Post-did not actually destroy the Clinton administration, it certainly did injure its credibility. Did the news media unwittingly play judge and jury through the way in which the story was covered? In this program, ABC News anchors Diane Sawyer and Sam Donaldson and correspondent Cynthia McFadden assess the reportage on this sensational issue and consider the influence on journalists of working in an ultra-competitive, deadline-driven industry crowded almost to saturation. (11 minutes)
#9285 Journalism & Society - Digital Dirt: Matt Drudge's Reportage" on the Internet" (Run time 21 min.) DVD $89.95
Publishing online to an immense audience is as fast as clicking a mouse, for high-profile columnist Matt Drudge-a self-styled Walter Winchell for the digital age and creator of the notorious yet popular Drudge Report, registering more than a million hits per month. But for Drudge, the price for posting insider gossip so quickly includes a $30-million libel suit, initiated by White House aide Sidney Blumenthal. In this program, ABC News anchor Ted Koppel and Howard Kurtz, of The Washington Post, assess the implications of Internet publishing for both journalism professionals and cyberspace netizens. (21 minutes)
#10067 Journalism & Society - Making Connections: Understanding the Convergence of Phones, TV, Cable, and Computers (Run time 27 min.) DVD $89.95
Answer the phone-the television is ringing. In part one of this program, NewsHour correspondent Paul Solman reports on the current state of telecommunications, as AT&T and the Baby Bells leverage broad-band cable technology to wrestle for market share. Along with TV shows, cable can handle voice communications, e-mail, Web access, and more-simultaneously. In part two, Mr. Solman questions the complexities of a total information environment where voice recognition and video conferencing technologies seamlessly blend the Internet, telephony, and television. Will consumers be able to cope with all the new choices? (27 minutes)
#10296 Journalism & Society - Mass Communication, Part 1: Forging an Identity (Run time 38 min.) DVD $89.95
During the first half of the 20th century, newspapers, radio, and newsreels became America's eyes and ears, creating a collective consciousness. Although mass communication assisted in bringing the country through the Great Depression, it also fostered abuses such as yellow journalism and the Red Scare. This ABC News program anchored by Peter Jennings takes a critical look at how the media rose to such prominence, covering the period spanning U.S. involvement in World War I and the onset of the Cold War. (38 minutes)
#10297 Journalism & Society - Mass Communication, Part 2: Toward a Global Village (Run time 32 min.) DVD $89.95
With the advent of affordable television sets, the influence of the media on American life mushroomed, all too frequently blurring the line between advertising and information, fiction and fact. This ABC News program anchored by Peter Jennings focuses on the way in which both the silver screen and the television screen have reflected America's national culture and even shaped the country's perception of events during the turbulent decades of the latter half of the 20th century. (32 minutes)
#11358 Journalism & Society - Should You Let Them Watch? Assessing Media Violence (Run time 13 min.) DVD $89.95
The American Medical Association and several other groups have long contended that violence in the media promotes violent behavior in children. But is their evidence really as conclusive as they say it is? No, say noted psychology professor Jonathan Freedman and Pulitzer Prize-winning science author Richard Rhodes. In this ABC News program, Freedman and Rhodes square off against the University of Michigan's Leonard Eron and L. Rowell Heusmann, the powerful team whose decades of data helped lay the foundation of the case against media violence-a case that has traveled all the way to Capitol Hill and might alter the future of the media industry. (13 minutes)
#11885 Journalism & Society - You Can't Say That! Politically Correct" Free Speech" (Run time 43 min.) DVD $89.95
Who determines when one person's right to expression must give way to another's sense of propriety? In this program, ABC News correspondent John Stossel looks at growing constraints on free speech made in the interest of protecting the public from offense. Using such controversial examples as the worker who was fired for telling a joke he heard on a popular prime-time TV show, Mr. Stossel considers the paranoia throughout the academic, political, and business sectors that has led to the creation of virtual "speech police" armed with special forms of censorship and "sensitivity training." A topic of perennial debate, freedom of speech receives a timely evaluation in this report. (43 minutes)
#30720 Journalism & Society - Media Hype: When News Coverage Goes Too Far (Run time 41 min.) DVD $89.95
The Center for Media and Public Affairs reports that during the 1990s the homicide rate in the U.S. dropped 50 percent, yet homicide news coverage increased by an incredible 700 percent. In this program, the Center's Bob Lichter and the Threat Assessment Group's Greg McCrary join ABC News anchor John Stossel to examine some of the factors that contribute to the exaggeration of risks and dangers in the news media. Recent stories involving murder, shark attack, road rage, and carjacking are cited as examples of reporting that was skewed by the overuse of frightening headlines and images, incomplete research, and the tacit rule "If it bleeds, it leads." (41 minutes)
#32499 Journalism & Society - The Jayson Blair Story: Favoritism and Plagiarism at The New York Times (Run time 23 min.) DVD $89.95
African-American journalist Jayson Blair has been pilloried as the personification of affirmative action out of control. Was it race that fueled his rapid promotions at The New York Times and prompted management to essentially ignore reports of his inaccurate work? In this ABC News program, correspondent Bob Jamieson chronicles the sensational rise and fall of Jayson Blair. Afterward, anchor Chris Bury talks with Mark Whitaker, editor of Newsweek; Condace Pressley, president of the National Association of Black Journalists; and The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz to assess the impact of the scandal on The Times, the credibility of the news media, and equal opportunity. (23 minutes)
#32605 Journalism & Society - NOW with Bill Moyers: Kathleen Hall Jamieson on Political Advertising (Run time 71 min.) DVD $89.95
Amidst the mudslinging, campaign promises, and scare tactics, what is really being said in those highly produced political ads? In this program, Bill Moyers talks with one of America's leading political and media analysts, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School of Communication and author of Everything You Think You Know About Politics... And Why You're Wrong. Through astute analysis, Jamieson deconstructs more than a dozen TV commercials currently used by politicians and public interest groups, homing in on their visual and rhetorical methods to expose their actual agendas of issue advocacy. Together, Jamieson and Moyers discuss the significance of these ads in the contexts of future elections and American politics in general. (71 minutes)
#32622 Journalism & Society - Feeding the Beast: An Inside Look at the News Media (Run time 22 min.) DVD $89.95
Keeping people informed 24/7 demands a never-ending stream of news items-each one filled with material to be edited, facts to be checked, and decisions to be made as the clock steadily ticks. This ABC News program takes an unvarnished look at the Chicago Tribune, ABC's World News Tonight, and WJLA, an ABC affiliate, providing insider insights into what goes on at America's newspapers and TV stations as they scramble to feed the beast. (22 minutes)
#32909 Journalism & Society - NOW with Bill Moyers: Daniel Yankelovich on Public Opinion Research (Run time 36 min.) DVD $89.95
Opinion polls are said to be the voice of America; Daniel Yankelovich has been listening for the last 40 years. In this program, Bill Moyers talks with the survey pioneer recently named one of the 20th century's ten most influential people in the area of public policy. From his vast experience in the field, Yankelovich explains the agendas behind public opinion research, homing in on its uses and abuses by special interest groups. He also discusses the integral link between the economy and education, as well as what Americans can do to become poll savvy. (36 minutes)
#32929 Journalism & Society - Journalists Under Fire: Working in a War Zone (Run time 22 min.) DVD $89.95
Behind every calmly delivered TV news report is an untold story of on-the-spot decisions, unexpected delays, and last-minute changes. Add to that tension the dangers of working in a war zone and the nightly news becomes quite a drama indeed. In this program, ABC News correspondents, camera operators, producers, and others explain what it takes to record events in dangerous locales such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Israel and then broadcast them to living rooms nationwide. (22 minutes)
#36416 Journalism & Society - Teaching Media Literacy: Asking Questions (Run time 31 min.) DVD $89.95
This program explains how to teach media literacy through the application of three basic facts and five key analytical questions that can be applied to any media message. This simple and highly effective approach is reinforced by insights and observations provided by important figures in the media literacy movement, including Elizabeth Thoman, Tessa Jolls, and Jeff Share, of the Center for Media Literacy. Fight passive consumerism and promote critical thinking with Teaching Media Literacy. Previously sold individually. (31 minutes)
#37089 Journalism & Society - Understanding Media Literacy (Run time 35 min.) DVD $89.95
TV and radio commercials, Web sites and banner ads, magazine ads, pop songs, photos, and even news articles and textbooks: all of them are sending messages to influence the reader/viewer/listener. How do they grab the attention? What are they selling-a product or service? a lifestyle? an ideology?-and why? Would a different media consumer interpret the message differently? This program raises more questions than it answers, which is the whole point: to prompt students to question, question, question the messages they are bombarded with daily. Savvy media consumers aren't born; they're made, and this program is an excellent tool for shaping the classroom dialogue. (35 minutes)
#38761 Journalism & Society - Bill Moyers Journal: Media Consolidation and the Erosion of Democracy (Run time 58 min.) DVD $89.95
Local news is the heartbeat of democracy, so why is it disappearing from communities around the nation? In this program, Bill Moyers talks with journalist Rick Karr and media activist Hannah Sassaman about the uncertain future of America's low-power radio stations, which in many cases are the last media outlets covering important local events. Also, Moyers and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps discuss regulatory rules being considered that will redefine the ownership and control permitted media conglomerates. What would an even stronger Big Media mean for objectivity and the marketplace of ideas, and what are the potential implications for the Internet-currently free and unfettered? Broadcast date: August 24, 2007. (58 minutes)
#9074 Journalism & Society - Is TV Going Down the Tube? (Run time 27 min.) DVD $129.95
Has television programming been degraded by the drive to deliver high ratings and preferred demographic groups to advertisers? In this far-ranging and insightful debate moderated by syndicated columnist and author Ben Wattenberg, William Baker, President and CEO of WNET, and George Dessart, professor of media studies-coauthors of Down the Tube: An Inside Account of the Failure of American Television-defend their thesis against Irwin Stelzer, of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, who argues that networks simply give the public what it really wants. (27 minutes)
#11475 Journalism & Society - TV News: Writing and Editing the Story (Run time 38 min.) DVD $129.95
The footage has been shot and the clock is ticking. How does a television news reporter put together an interesting and informative story in today's hurry-up media marketplace? This program discusses the steps involved in preparing reports for the TV news: logging tapes; structuring the story; editing, including the techniques and relative benefits of linear and nonlinear editing; writing commentary; and creating a soundtrack. On-screen lists of key points summarize each section, and before-and-after sequences clearly demonstrate the differences between stories that really communicate and stories that miss the mark. (37 minutes)
#11690 Journalism & Society - Profitability: The News Media's New Bottom Line? (Run time 20 min.) DVD $129.95
When concerns over sagging sales and circulation figures clash with editorial integrity, reporters and their readership are the losers. Using the acrimonious eight-month strike at the Calgary Herald as a case study, this program explores major issues facing the news media in North America. Herald publishers Kevin Peterson, Ken King, and Dan Gainer as well as several journalists express their views on the dispute while grappling with the conflicts of interest that arise when newspaper sponsorships and marketing alliances come between reporters and the events they cover. "Drive-by editing" and seniority clauses are also discussed. (20 minutes)
#30186 Journalism & Society - Globalization and the Media (Run time 22 min.) DVD $129.95
As globalization of trade rapidly expands, the mainstream media is being accused of inadequately reporting the issues. This program canvasses some of the dissent by exploring conflicts of interest within the media and showing how technology, such as the camcorder and the Internet, is challenging the monopoly of big news broadcasters. Differences between mainstream and "indie" media are highlighted in coverage of the economic summits and related protests in Genoa and Seattle. Among those interviewed are Danny Schechter, director of Mediachannel.org; Katharine Ainger, editor of New Internationalist magazine; and Chris Cramer, president of CNN International News. (22 minutes)
#30738 Journalism & Society - The Murdochs: Building an Empire (Run time 57 min.) DVD $129.95
With operations in Australia, Britain, and the U.S., the Murdoch media conglomerate occupies leading positions in the world of print and broadcast news. This program traces the story of the three-generation Murdoch media dynasty through interviews with a rich cast of family members and their associates, including Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City, and Andrew Neil, former editor for The Sunday Times (London). News clips and home video footage of the Murdochs at work and at play offer powerful insights into what it takes to build a business empire from scratch-and to keep it on top. Contains brief glimpses of tabloid cover nudity. (58 minutes)
#36335 Journalism & Society - Exclusive to al-Jazeera: Media and Democracy in the Middle East (Run time 57 min.) DVD $129.95
This Wide Angle documentary goes behind the scenes at al-Jazeera's broadcast headquarters in Qatar during its nonstop coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The program highlights the Arab-language network's differences from its Western counterparts, yet also illustrates striking similarities between al-Jazeera's media sensibilities and those familiar to most Americans. The flow of world events is dramatically conveyed through the emotional rhythms of the newsroom: tension as network executives defend the broadcast of U.S. prisoners of war; fear and apprehension as a translator juggles Rumsfeld voice-overs with calls home to Iraq; and shock and grief following the death of the network's Baghdad correspondent, killed by U.S. artillery fire. This Wide Angle episode also features a discussion of Middle East democracy between anchor Jamie Rubin and Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and former Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department. (57 minutes)
#37005 Journalism & Society - Sexual Stereotypes in the Media (Run time 38 min.) DVD $129.95
Categorizing others is a part of human nature, and even as infants we divide the world into two groups-male and female-to help organize our reality. But when these stereotypes are used to make assumptions about a person's character and value, they become gender bias or outright sexism. This program illustrates some of the commercial, cultural, psychological, and sociological forces that have shaped sexual stereotypes in the media, such as demographic segmentation and the selling of gender, the myths of alluring femininity and rugged masculinity, Jungian personality archetypes, consensus reality, stereotype threat, the hegemonic forces of agenda-setting and mainstreaming, body image dysfunctions, and the theory of the male gaze. A Films for the Humanities & Sciences Production. (38 minutes)
#37578 Journalism & Society - Journalism: Yesterday and Today (Run time min.) DVD $129.95
Judging from headline news reports, the evolution of broadcast and print journalism may seem abrupt, but in truth it has been going on for decades. The NewsHour taps longtime industry insiders to provide perspective on the Fourth Estate in flux in this video compilation-a mix of classic and recent segments. Episodes include... • Conversation-David Brinkley: Jim Lehrer talks with iconic newscaster David Brinkley about his lengthy career as a reporter and his book Washington Goes to War. • The Rise of the New News: Terence Smith is joined by distinguished retired broadcaster Marvin Kalb and media personality Bill O'Reilly to discuss changes in the broadcast and cable news industry. Segment also sold as a part of A Changing Industry: The New News. • Conversation-Walter Mears: Terence Smith interviews retired Pulitzer Prize-winning political correspondent Wally Mears on his four-decade journalism career and his book Deadlines Past. • Don Hewitt's Perspective: Terence Smith and Don Hewitt discuss how the news business changed during Hewitt's 36-year tenure as executive producer of 60 Minutes. (44 minutes)
#11081 Journalism & Society - The Changing Face of the News Media (Run time min.) DVD $139.9
Are new technology and increasing competition leading a breakaway from traditional journalistic values? Are Americans better informed by today's 24-hour, almost instantaneous news delivery? Or was the public better served when there was less intense competition and more time to check sources? In this two-part series, some of the industry's top insiders offer provocative and often opposing views on today's changing news media. 2-part series, 13-27 minutes each.
#2995 Journalism & Society - Hold the Front Page! (Run time 57 min.) DVD $149.95
This is the story of Fleet Street, once the physical and still the metaphorical home of Britain's newspaper industry. The program charts the 20th-century history of one of the most ferociously competitive industries in the world, focusing on the proprietors, editors, journalists, and printers who collectively perform the miracle of delivering a new product every day. (57 minutes)
#5240 Journalism & Society - The Power-and Role-of the Press (Run time 56 min.) DVD $149.95
This documentary from Australia, the country that gave Rupert Murdoch to the world, questions the power and role of journalists today, when lives can be shattered by a typed innuendo, entire governments have been known to tumble, and reporters, barely out of school, wield immense and seemingly uncontrolled power. The program examines the inconsistent and fragmented system of ethics and accountability governing journalism, and looks at the market forces, tricks, pressures, and traps that are part of everyday news gathering and packaging. Exposing the pitfalls of checkbook journalism, it shows how even ethical journalists can become part of a media frenzy and points to the need for greater journalistic accountability. (56 minutes)
#7253 Journalism & Society - History Through a Lens: 1894-1919 (Run time 51 min.) DVD $149.95
This program traces the beginnings of the filmed-news industry from the development of the movie camera by the Lumiere brothers in 1895. Within ten years, cutthroat news companies were in competition throughout the world. First seen at vaudeville shows, newsreels were soon shown to millions in movie theaters twice a week. In fact, much of what people saw was actually staged by pre-Hollywood film studios. Rare footage includes some of the first images ever recorded on film. (51 minutes)
#7254 Journalism & Society - Eyes of the World: 1919-1945 (Run time 48 min.) DVD $149.95
At first, Hollywood studios presented sanitized news, as if the Great Depression or a growing Nazi threat did not exist. Soon, however, the newsreel was revolutionized by March of Time, the theater newsreel program which established the standards still used in the industry today. So proficient and numerous were the news agencies of the day, that World War II became a contest for public opinion between the various news machines. Moving images of D-Day are shown. (48 minutes)
#7255 Journalism & Society - Inventing Television News: 1946-1959 (Run time 48 min.) DVD $149.95
At first, no one knew quite what to do with the television news, until radio news veterans introduced controversial subjects such as racial segregation. Then the public began watching in droves. The Senate anti-communist hearings conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s drew thousands to their television sets each day. The public and private controversies initiated by these innovations are detailed in this program, including the BBC battle with the British government over whether media information should be controlled by the state. (48 minutes)
#7256 Journalism & Society - The Powers That Be: 1960-1975 (Run time 47 min.) DVD $149.95
By the early 1960s, television had become the dominant source of news in North America. The ubiquitous medium had changed all of the equations in the democratic process by providing publicity for the forces of protest and political opposition. It is said that the civil rights and anti-war movements could not have succeeded if it were not for television. The failure of governments and other groups to significantly control television news will surprise many viewers. (47 minutes)
#7257 Journalism & Society - The Electronic Battalions: 1975-1988 (Run time 47 min.) DVD $149.95
This program chronicles the golden years of network news and the birth of the satellite age, as "going live" became the order of the day and anchormen and anchorwomen became mega-stars. We watch as television news becomes a force in foreign policy in Tiananmen Square and at the Berlin Wall, as images are used to affect the tide of public opinion. Shortsighted competitors predict little success for television mogul Ted Turner's new international news venture, CNN. Critics of television news in general accuse the programs of promoting sensationalism and violence. (47 minutes)
#7258 Journalism & Society - The Global Eye: 1989-1997 (Run time 48 min.) DVD $149.95
The Gulf War demonstrates the global nature of television news, and how its presence can shape the events it witnesses. As new global news titans vie for network supremacy, the world news is shown to be changing fundamentally. The question of whether network news will remain the watchdog of democracy, or lose its position to other media, is discussed. (48 minutes)
#7299 Journalism & Society - The History and Future of Television (Run time 50 min.) DVD $149.95
When John Logie Baird's invention finally came to fruition in 1936, today's multichannel satellite era was light years away. This program recaptures the spirit of the early days of television with previously unseen footage. It also charts the technical history of TV, provides a probing look at its future, and asks who, among modern communication innovators, will guide the medium into the 21st century? Original BBC broadcast title: TV Is Dead, Long Live TV. (50 minutes)
#8752 Journalism & Society - TV-TV: The Television Revolution (Run time 96 min.) DVD $149.95
Television has had far-reaching and deep-felt effects on almost every aspect of society. This visually dazzling program, hosted by self-styled televisionary Moses Znaimer, features footage of media luminaries such as Marshall McLuhan, George Gerbner, Oliver Stone, and Camille Paglia. In a series of stand-alone essays, these experts express their opinions on a diverse array of topics, such as the awful honesty of film and TV; the threat of U.S. imperialism in the Global Village; the use of pop culture to spread paganism; and the culture of fear encouraged by TV violence. Other video essays consider the role of the "dramatic" and the sound bite in politics, how the Soviets manipulated telecasts of political events, how news consultants coach stations to improve ratings, and how, like the stained-glass windows of cathedrals of old, today's TV is used to teach lessons to the non-reading masses. (96 minutes)
#32629 Journalism & Society - Stories from the War Zone: Modern Combat Journalism (Run time 55 min.) DVD $149.95
Using a mix of cinema verite, newsreel footage, and interviews with seasoned foreign correspondents, this program takes a gritty look at how news gets reported from the world's front lines. The program follows Neil Macdonald, a 27-year veteran of TV journalism, in his daily coverage of events in Israel as Middle East bureau chief for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. While Macdonald discusses and demonstrates firsthand how to manage risk, deal with censorship, and meet ever-increasing demands for stories, other eminent journalists share their insights into combat reportage, including Morley Safer and Vietnam War correspondents Michael Maclear and Bill Cunningham. Some language may be objectionable. (55 minutes)
#35871 Journalism & Society - Free Speech: Jim Lehrer with Ben Bradlee (Run time 57 min.) DVD $149.95
With a career spanning more than five decades, Ben Bradlee commands the respect and attention of today's news community. This in-depth conversation between NewsHour's Jim Lehrer and the former managing editor of the Washington Post provides a wealth of journalistic acumen vital to communications and media studies. Bradlee sheds light on his early friendship with John F. Kennedy, the Watergate story, the eventual release of Deep Throat's identity, the Janet Cooke debacle, and other experiences. He also fields pointed questions from Lehrer on the subject of journalistic ethics, exploring scenarios in which professional integrity can be compromised. (57 minutes)
#38825 Journalism & Society - Dishing Democracy: Arab Social Reform via Satellite TV (Run time 58 min.) DVD $149.95
It makes personal life the topic of public discussion. It serves as an alternative forum for dialogue and debate. And it does not shy away from sensitive issues. This Wide Angle report gives an inside look at the popular Arab all-female talk show Kalam Nawaem. The program provides a detailed portrait of the hosts-four highly articulate Arab women of different ages, nationalities, and viewpoints-as they wield the power of transnational satellite TV to boldly and effectively push social reform in primetime. Homosexuality, domestic violence, women voting, and social and political equality between the sexes are all fair game on Kalam Nawaem-and viewers are loving it. (57 minutes)
#39319 Journalism & Society - The Art of the Interview (Run time 49 min.) DVD $149.95
Featuring Emmy Award-winning writer, director, and documentary producer Patti Obrow White, this program explores the art and science of conducting journalistic interviews. White shares her knowledge of numerous topics, such as preparing to meet the subject, establishing a relationship quickly, understanding the pressure points of an interview, speaking with children, and dealing with difficult subjects like "the reactor," "the avoider," "the salesman," and "the bad guy." The result is an excellent resource for aspiring reporters, writers, and documentary producers, as well as police officers, private investigators, and attorneys. Employers-and job applicants seeking an employer's perspective-will also benefit from White's advice. (49 minutes)
#39613 Journalism & Society - Bloody Cartoons: Freedom of Expression and the Clash of Cultures (Run time min.) DVD $149.95
In 2005, a handful of Danish cartoons sparked a worldwide debate over freedom of expression-and the freedom to express religious outrage. Was a violent Islamic backlash against caricatures of the prophet Mohammed justified? Can democracy and fundamentalism coexist in the global community? This program travels to Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Qatar, and Turkey, as well as to France and Denmark, in search of answers. Viewers will encounter a wide array of perspectives from influential figures-such as Raed Hlayhel, the Danish Imam who moved to Lebanon to spearhead protests; Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi, the al-Jazeera Islamic televangelist who called for a "day of anger" against the cartoons; and leading staff members of newspapers that published them. (54 minutes)
#36402 Journalism & Society - The Critics: Stories from the Inside Pages (Run time min.) DVD $159.95
How do critics serve the public and the artistic community? Dr. Dwight DeWerth-Pallmeyer, director of the Department of Communication Studies at Widener University, spent several months traveling the country and interviewing prominent commentators-including Good Morning America film reviewer Joel Siegel, Time magazine film critic Richard Schickel, Nashville Scene music critic Bill Friskics-Warren, and Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan. The result is an in-depth look at criticism as an art form, the social value of a critic's work, the various ways that renowned critics began their careers, and the passion and intellect with which all professional critics must approach their work. Some language may be offensive. (75 minutes)
#37207 Journalism & Society - On Air: America's Alternative Media (Run time 54 min.) DVD $159.95
Do TV viewers find any real differences when they switch between the major news networks? How rigorous is the reporting? Has subservience to corporate interests replaced true journalism? This program explores the emergence of alternative media in the form of blogs, satellite broadcasts, and documentaries that examine rarely visited yet vital issues. Focusing on the political arena and the modern anti-war movement, the film presents interviews with outspoken journalists, editors, and filmmakers-including Mother Jones managing editor Roger Cohen, Outfoxed director Robert Greenwald, Guerilla News Network founder Ian Inaba, and Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! Some language may be offensive. (54 minutes)
#7937 Journalism & Society - The Media under Siege (Run time min.) DVD $179.9
This two-part series examines some of the burning issues facing the media today, and raises serious questions about its role as society's watchdog. 2-part series, 29 minutes each.
#11740 Journalism & Society - Media Interrupted: The Dissection of Media in American Culture (Run time min.) DVD $209.85
It can sway what we do. It can affect what we buy. It can even alter our views of the people around us. This fast-paced three-part series investigates the pervasive influence of the media in American culture. Commentary by Temple University's George Gerbner, New York University's Todd Gitlin, and Seventeen senior editor Melanie Mannarino is combined with on-the-street interviews and visual examples to provide eye-opening insights into how television, newspapers, the Internet, and other media shape people's perceptions. A Cambridge Educational Production. 3-part series, 25 minutes each.
#2245 Journalism & Society - Reporters and Reporting (Run time 218 min.) DVD $315.95
A brilliant program, this thoughtful and analytical quartet of videos probes the moral questions that plague journalists: What is the truth and whose truth is it? Is there such a thing as true objectivity? What does it mean when the same picture can be used to illustrate opposite points of view? What distortions are introduced by the journalist's own ego-to be first, best, most artistic, most insightful? These programs show how reporters have to contend with editors and producers who are concerned with selling their products or who want to impose a particular interpretation, and with the actors in the actual drama-who may wish to control or manipulate their story, or prevent its being told, or who distrust the journalist seeking to tell it. This four-part program offers painstaking interviews with many leading journalists: Bob Woodward, Gordon Parks, Barbara Kopple, and also many French and German reporters whose thoughtful analyses of their work as they see it are spoken in their native languages and subtitled in English. The narration throughout is in English.Part 1: The Force of EvidenceThe same picture, interpreted differently, with a different frame of reference. What is the truth? What makes a document the emblem of truth? Reporters interviewed include Erich Lessing, Jimmy Fox, Robert Lebeck, Christophe de Ponfilly, Peter Scholl Latour, Laurence Deonna, and Donald McCullin.Part 2: The Risk of InquiryHow an element is used to define the whole and how the reporter must merge into the scene to capture its truth. Reporters interviewed include Thomas Hopker, Jean Luc Porquet, Leo Hurwitz, Gordon Parks, Gunter Wallraff, and Miguel Littin.Part 3: The Passion for DiscoveryDo reporters seek out danger because they are at heart adventurers? Do they covet the power given them by their own cameras? How can the reporter maintain his or her distance while still capturing the emotion of the event? Reporters interviewed include Jean Gaumy, Wilfred Thesiger, Gerard Gery, Marc Riboud, Robert Lebeck, and Susan Meiselas.Part 4: The Power of InvestigationWhere is the line between objectivity and subjectivity? The magazine story as antidote to the television news. Stories that can't be filmed live and are reconstructed-falsified. Reporters interviewed include Frederic Laffont, Claude Torracinta, Duncan Campbell, Edwy Plenel, Robert Richter, Esther Cassidy, and Barbara Kopple.(3 hours 38 minutes)
#29249 Journalism & Society - Local News (Run time min.) DVD $349.75
Faced with intense competition from the Internet and other news media, TV news directors and station owners across the country are struggling to increase ratings and keep viewers. By taking a critical look at how local news is produced, reported, and packaged at WCNC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina, this provocative 5-part series offers a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective on the many challenges facing American television news in general and the tensions between ratings and journalistic ethics. 5-part series, 58 minutes each.
#4411 Journalism & Society - Tools of the AV Trade (Run time min.) DVD $359.8
These programs describe the invention-and preconditions for the invention-of some of the basic tools of audiovisual technology, explaining what each item does and how it does it. 4-part series, 15 minutes each.
#4931 Journalism & Society - The Public Mind (Run time min.) DVD $359.8
This series explores "image and reality in America"-how public opinion is formed through the mingling of fact and fiction in a society saturated with images. The series examines the impact on democracy of a mass culture whose basic information comes from image-making, the media, public opinion polls, public relations, and propaganda. According to host Bill Moyers, "Our public discourse and our ability as a political culture to face reality depend upon our information system. If it gives us an inadequate picture of reality, we wind up in trouble. Our own willingness to face reality has been deeply affected by the triumph of the visual image as the grammar of the times." The series explores the following issues: Are we able, any longer, to distinguish between truth and fiction? When the line is steadily and pervasively blurred, what happens to the consent of the governed? Do we even know we are ill-informed? 4-part series, 60 minutes each.
#5203 Journalism & Society - The duPont-Columbia Awards: Ten Years of the Best Television Journalism (Run time min.) DVD $359.8
The duPont-Columbia Awards are the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prizes. This series of programs looks at some of the best television journalism produced over the past ten years, revealing a lot about the evolution of TV news. Produced by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the programs are narrated by Peter Jennings. 4-part series, 30 minutes each.
#9281 Journalism & Society - Issues in Journalism (Run time min.) DVD $359.8
These topical ABC News programs spotlight four subjects that have had a profound effect upon the presentation, practices, and policies of the mass media: the genesis of television news documentaries, the risks and responsibilities of using live news coverage, the impact of competition on reportage in today's overcrowded news industry, and the implications of publishing news on the Internet. This series is an excellent jumping-off point for discussions on history, ethics, and technology in journalism. 4-part series.
#8563 Journalism & Society - The Story of Film, TV, and Media (Run time min.) DVD $719.6
The first step to understanding the present is to study the past. This eight-part series traces the composite history of the mass media, industry by industry, from their roots as novelty attractions to their crucial role in society today. 8-part series, 28 minutes each.
#8567 Journalism & Society - Media Power (Run time min.) DVD $719.6
The mass media plays a powerful and controversial role in shaping perceptions. But because the mediums of print and broadcast often overlap and are so integrated into daily life, most Americans are unaware of their effects. This eight-part series probes the reciprocal dynamics of the media/audience relationship, in all its many forms. 8-part series, 28 minutes each.
#8556 Journalism & Society - Film, TV, and Media Today (Run time min.) DVD $899.5
What is it like to work in the mass media industries? This ten-part series examines the duties and responsibilities, the pressures, the day-to-day decisions, and the glamour that make up the lives of mass media professionals. 10-part series, 28 minutes each.
#7252 Journalism & Society - The Dawn of the Eye: The History of Film and TV News (Run time min.) DVD $899.7
This six-part series traces the evolution of film and television broadcast journalism and the impact they have had on our perception of world events. Major journalists and newscasters include Edward R. Murrow, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley, and Walter Cronkite. From the invention of the first movie camera by the Lumieres, to the high-tech coverage of the Gulf War, each of these programs provides an in-depth look at a different era in the growth and development of this controversial and fascinating industry. 6-part series, 47-51 minutes each.
