This paper questions both what was being tested in prior instructional media research on the educational value of film and television and the value of some of those findings. An alternative way of conceptualizing the communication process that occurs when students view an instructional film or television program is proposed, which places viewers in the role of active interpreters who construct meaning rather than as the passive recipients of a single message. It is suggested that many of the research studies on the use of instructional media are inconclusive, contradictory, and frequently based on invalid or simplistic questions. Two frequently-proposed arguments in support of the use of film or television are discussed: the claim that students learn more when they view film or television than when taught by conventional classroom teaching methods and the argument that is based on the idea that "one picture is worth a thousand words." After assessing what can be used from these traditional arguments, the final sections suggest some new justifications that can be developed from more recent research approaches. Seventeen references are listed. (LMM)