Fan mail to Liberace

Although stations, networks and advertisers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on various rating services and audience measurement surveys, they often overlook a gold mine of voluntarily submitted feedback from their audience: the fan letter. It is true that the “pan” letter condemning a program often gets inordinate attention on decision‐making levels, but the run‐of‐the‐mill fan letter, if properly analyzed, can provide a wealth of information about the effect of a program upon its audience. Charles Winick is author of Taste and the Censor in Television (an Occasional Paper for the Fund for the Republic) and numerous articles in publications dealing with the mass media, such as Gazette, and the Journal op Broadcasting (“Censor and Sensibility,” Spring, 1962). Dr. Winick is a research psychologist and children's television program consultant at NBC who has taught and conducted research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and New York University.     

The profile of station personality

One of the most outstanding examples of support for worth‐while cultural events by a commercial broadcasting network is the NBC Opera Theater, which was supported largely by NBC for fifteen years. Many people can take opera or leave it alone, and many others set out to avoid it. On the other hand, those who love opera love it with a passion rarely seen in non‐teenagers. However, it was not only for the fans that the NBC Opera Theater was founded, for there is little doubt that there were more opera lovers in the nation in the middle 1960's than there were in the late 1940's—and much of the credit for such an increase must go to this one institution.     

In Their Own Little Corner: The Gendered Sidelining of NBC’s Information Department

Despite their low pay and clerical status, the women who staffed the National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC) Information Department played an integral role in shaping the national network’s program and public relations policies. As the network’s first line of contact with its audience, Information Department workers influenced public opinion by shaping the networks’ responses to individual audience members’ written complaints. They also processed and molded the information NBC executives used to sell programming to advertisers. Still, as women, they were routinely devalued and their labor dismissed as simultaneously rote, irrelevant, and hyperemotional. This paper brings together internal documents from across NBC’s corporate structure to recover the careers of Anita Barnard and Kathryn Cole, two women who managed the Information Department through the 1940s and 1950s. During this period, the network underwent enormous transitions, including the shift from radio to television and renewed threats of federal regulation. The Information Department’s status waxed and waned along with NBC’s need to appease its audience and recruit and retain sponsors. Barnard and Cole’s status rose when audience information was at a premium, but it fell as soon as network dominance over television was established and financial returns assured.     

Has lead‐in lost its punch? An analysis of primetime inheritance effects: Comparing 1992 with 2002

Abstract

Recognizing the recent dramatic increase in the number of channels available to the typical American household coinciding with an equally dramatic decrease in audience ratings for the major broadcast networks, there was reason to hypothesize that, in recent years, lead‐in or inheritance effects have diminished. However, an analysis of prime time ratings comparing 1992 with 2002 for ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox showed no support for this notion, suggesting that, despite the recent upheavals in the television industry, lead‐in has not lost its punch.     

Learning From Kids: Connecting the Exhibition Process to the Audience

Abstract When the Chicago History Museum re‐opened its doors on September 30, 2006 after a 21‐month‐long renovation, the debut included a new interactive history gallery for families. The exhibition, Sensing Chicago, was designed primarily to appeal to and communicate effectively with eight‐ and nine‐year‐old children. Since this was a new target audience for the museum's exhibition program, the team followed a course for this project that departed from the museum's typical exhibition development. The process was informed by audience research that has broadened our understanding of how a collections‐based history museum that traditionally caters to adult audiences can create meaningful and memorable experiences for children. This article focuses on one aspect of the research, a three‐month concept‐testing phase conducted by in‐house staff, which provided the team with useful information that, in turn, impacted the development and design of the gallery.     

AIDS,Perspective by incongruity,and gay identity in Larry Kramer's “1,112 and counting”

AIDS activist Larry Kramer's 1983 essay, “1,112 and Counting,” was a key rhetorical event in the development of AIDS activism by gays. This analysis relies on perspective by incongruity to explain Kramer's attempts to stimulate AIDS activism by altering gays’ perceptions of the disease and its implications for their lives and identities. The author argues that the power of perspective by incongruity in this case is linked to its facilitation of genuine argument, a personalized form of persuasion that forces both arguer and audience to confront an argument's implications for their own identities and behavior as moral human beings. The conclusion suggests that “1,112 and Counting” functions as a variant of constitutive rhetoric that de‐constructs and re‐constructs audience identity.     

Presenting “The Other Half”: Jacob Riis's Reform Photography and Magic Lantern Spectacles as the Beginning of Documentary Film

This article examines the emergence of the visual documentary genre through the study of Jacob A. Riis's magic lantern spectacles, writings, photographs, audience reception, and critical reviews as published in the press during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. To demonstrate an existing strong connection between Riis's lectures and documentary film, in particular, the article also focuses on a more contemporary idea about documenting society—the concept of documentary modes of representation. The analysis of related primary and secondary sources reveals that despite the limitations of technology, “moving” documentary pictures were produced long before they were part of the film genre, and Riis's work should be viewed as one of the principal antecedents to this visual documentary form.     

Norman Thomas at the Townsend convention of 1936

Frederick Wiseman's film High School is a rhetorical documentary about the exercise of power in an institutional setting. Wiseman uses selection, framing, and editing within and between sequences to depict the high school as a place where power is exercised through the double bind, reducing students to conformity, boredom, apathy, and empty gestures of rebellion. The double bind is most forcefully expressed in the invisible network of contradictory messages about the relations between power and sexuality. This essay examines the verbal and visual elements of the film to describe how Wiseman invites his audience to respond.     

Audiences,metaphors, and the Persian Gulf war

This paper examines George Bush's Persian Gulf war addresses as a representative anecdote of Bush's campaign to build an international military coalition. The paper argues that in war rhetoric international audiences should be considered. A theorization of the international audience is offered. George Bush's public speeches are then analyzed as they use two metaphoric clusters. The SAVAGE cluster is used to justify a response to Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The CIVILIZATION cluster is used to justify an American‐led military response. The metaphoric clusters are shown to be persuasive to the international audience as they are adopted and recirculated by this audience. Conclusions and implications of the interaction of these two metaphoric clusters for future war rhetoric are offered.     

Televised movies: Directors win audience

This is the third in a series of articles exploring various factors contributing to success of motion picture films in televison showings—the first dealt with repeat audiences for films and the second focused on the role of movie awards and TV viewing audience size (see note 7 for citations). Here, the author reports that a film director's reputation plays a significant part in building or diminishing TV audience size. Dr. Taylor is a member of the economics faculty of Northern Illinois University at DeKalb.     

Analysis of broadcasting literature: Periodical publications of economics

The “real” differences between television and newspaper coverage of a given event may involve much more than considerations of timeliness and length. This report is based on Russell Harney's 1968 master's thesis in journalism at the University of Wisconsin, for which Dr. Stone (assistant professor of journalism at Wisconsin) was advisor. An earlier version was presented to the Radio‐Television Division of the Association for Education in Journalism during its convention at the University of Kansas in 1968. Commander Harney is a U.S. Navy public affairs specialist. The authors wish to thank the many news executives and other personnel of the ABC, CBS and NBC television networks who cooperated in this study.     

Realism Matters: The Role of Perceived Realism in The Biggest Loser

This study investigated implications of viewing The Biggest Loser, NBC’s popular reality television show. Using online survey data collected from 613 participants, results suggest that exposure to the program is positively associated with perceived realism of the program, which in turn is positively associated with developing internal weight locus of control. Meanwhile, internal weight locus of control is positively associated with audience members’ exercise behavior, meaning the higher level of internal weight locus of control the audience members develop, the more likely they are to engage in physical exercise. This study offers evidence that health-related reality television might be a useful tool to influence audience members’ cognitions on health issues, which could potentially lead to healthy lifestyles.     

Children's expectations for television entertainment vs. television news events

Young children's limited ability to recognize and defend against commercial messages has led to numerous concerns about advertising that targets child‐viewers. Industry self‐regulation of child‐oriented advertising content is one response to those concerns. With the demise of the National Association of Broadcasters Code in 1982, guidelines maintained by the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the National Council of Better Business Bureaus comprise the only industry‐wide self‐regulation. This study evaluates the extent of compliance with the CARU standards across a sample of over 10,000 ads directed to children. The results indicate a high overall rate of adherence to the guidelines. Two problem areas emerged which accounted for most of the violations observed: ads that featured premium offers, and ads for recorded telephone message services. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the child audience.     

At Hospitality's Threshold: From Social Inclusion to Exilic Education

Abstract Describing actual museum‐wide events developed for the culturally charged arena of the Brooklyn Children's Museum, this article explores the philosophical and pedagogical double binds that have brought multiculturalism to a political impasse. Museums have strived to be valued resources in an increasingly diverse society. In aspiring to broaden their audience base, their work has shifted from developing educational policies that are “object‐centered” to those that are “community‐centered” — a change of strategy affecting everything from programs to exhibit design. Children's museums — distinct (if not marginalized) from the serious work of the traditional art or ethnographic or natural history museum — know and indeed say in their very name — “children's museum” — that they are for the sake of someone and not about something. They have always already been attuned to the visitor at the threshold.     

Not Just Crazy: An Explanation for the Resonance of the Birther Narrative

In this essay I use an updated approach to Richard Hofstadter's paranoid style to analyze the contemporary birther movement. While the paranoid style provides a set of characteristics that describes paranoid narratives, it does not account for why some narratives ring true for certain audiences. Thus, in order to explain how and why the birther narrative resonates with a substantial portion of Americans, I argue that the resonance of the birther narrative can be explained through Kenneth Burke's scapegoating process, which activates the conspiratorial story for the birther audience. I use an analysis of a popular birther film, materials on the birthers' website, and media commentary on the group to illustrate this position.     

Villains and heroes of the great depression: The evolution of Father Coughlin's fantasy themes

This article traces the development of Father Charles E. Coughlin's rhetoric as it evolved over a six‐year period during the height of his popularity, from 1930 to 1936. Bormann's Fantasy‐Theme method was used to evaluate Coughlin's rhetoric. The findings offer insight into Symbolic Convergence Theory by demonstrating how Coughlin attempted to integrate his political and personal agenda with changing social context and audience needs. The implication is that fantasy themes are open systems, which are circumstantially constructed and thus evolve and change over time.     

A Review of: “Medicare. Kronenfeld,Jennie Jacobs.”

Coordinated and organized by a disabilities librarian, the University of Michigan's Council for Disability Concerns provides annual outreach programs with biomedical themes through a series of educational events known as Investing in Ability. Every effort is made to reach the campus and the surrounding community to promote the council's goals of increased accessibility for all individuals with physical or developmental challenges, to de-stigmatize such conditions, and to educate the audience about disability-related topics. In 2014, Investing in Ability focused on the pressing and pervasive topic of addiction. Because audience attendance and interest were the highest that they have ever been for previous Investing in Ability events, the project will serve as a model in the future, possibly as one for other committees to emulate.     

Children's Museums as Citizens: Four Inspiring Examples

Abstract The audience‐centered mission of childrens' museums has caused these institutions to look at their role in their respective communities and to take bold steps in envisioning new ways of relating to their constituents. Here is a selection of four childrens' museums which have founded inspiring and imaginative programs centered on children's welfare.     

Out of Eden: The Legion of Decency,the FCC,and Mae West's 1937 Appearance on The Chase & Sanborn Hour

During a 1937 appearance on NBC's top-rated Chase & Sanborn Hour, Hollywood icon Mae West starred in a comedy skit based on the Garden of Eden that drew complaints of indecency from offended listeners. Much of the reaction came from Catholic reformers seeking to expand the Legion of Decency's influence to radio. The sponsor and network apologized, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a letter of reprimand to NBC and its affiliates. This action spurred a backlash among critics, who charged the FCC with censorship. The incident was an important landmark in the prewar debate over government's role in regulating radio.     

Exploring the link between culture and strategy in media organisations: The cases of the BBC and CNN

Abstract

This study employs participant observation methodology to examine the U.S. broadcast industry's cognitions of its external environment. Previous research has documented a tendency among industry participants to operate under outdated mental models of their environment. This tendency ‐ labeled ‘cognitive inertia’ ‐ provides the analytical framework for this study. The results provide indications that broadcasters operate under what appear to be outdated mental models of their external environment, with broadcasters appearing to pay inadequate attention to competing program sources and failing to account for the changing demographic composition of the television audience. However, these conclusions are tempered by the broadcast industry's dual‐product marketplace characteristics, wherein cognitions that would appear to reflect inadequate assessment of the content market may in fact reasonably reflect the contemporary realities of the audience market.