Discusses how the Nicaraguan revolutionary process affected Nicaragua internally and how published U.S. government information portrayed these effects in speeches and in writing. An attempt is made to assess the levels of accuracy and bias present in U.S. government information on the topic. (86 references) (Author/AEF)

Analyzes government and print media portrayals of the Reagan administration's policy during Irangate. Finds that the print media continued to fulfill its "watchdog" function by providing critical portrayals of United States policy despite the Reagan administration's attempt to "spin" its own version of Irangate. Examines the…

When Gorbachev came to power in 1985, he and his supporters signaled educators that schools were free to concentrate on education instead of enforcing dogma. Soviet secondary school principals are discarding old Bolshevist roles, including those of Marxist-Leninist-Communist watchdog and carrier of Communist command directives. Principals also…

This article is a critical review of "The Technological Bluff," the last book on technology by Jacques Ellul. Although this work has attracted little attention, the concept of techno-logical bluff (1) provides a new perspective to understand contemporary technological society. After presenting Ellul's exposition of the concept of techno-logical…

In this article, the author discusses several issues and concerns on the case of religious groups who attempt to seek converts in school, hiding under the guise of assemblies and free talks on any topic that might be of interest to the school. Students are then lured to a pizza party after, where they are subjected to high-pressure evangelism and…

The anti-German sentiment during World War I reached a point where "people speaking German on the street were attacked and rebuked." Iowa Governor William L. Harding legitimized such expressions of prejudice and war-time fanaticism when he issued "The Babel Proclamation" on May 23, 1918. Antagonism toward Germans and their…

A look at the short-wave broadcasting that preceded the creation of the Voice of America. (Author)

Jacques Ellul defined "prepropaganda" as the subtle and sophisticated use of news services to improve an authoritarian government's public image. Because its value is directly related to its being used sparingly, he predicted that prepropaganda would increase when an authoritarian government felt threatened and decrease when it once more…

While it is customary to consider "information" synonymous with true information, given its societal significance in the modern world, a wider perspective on the veracity and ephemerality of information is imperative. A typology of message veracity contains four types: informational, misinformational, disinformational, and…

An examination of the various definitions of the term "development journalism" shows that in some contexts it refers to the communication process that is used to serve the development goals of the government. Usually called development support communication, such journalism uses all forms--mass media, folk media, and small group and…

Emphasis is placed on the role of scientific and technical libraries in the education of Soviet workers. One of the main tasks of technical libraries is to educate workers to respect their professions, and to maintain communistic attitudes towards labor. Librarians acquaint younger workers with literature on the history of their plants with…

Recommendatory bibliography gives considerable assistance to education in Russia. The term "recommendatory" was introduced before the Revolution by the well-known bibliographer, N.A. Rubakin. The term has been preserved but the volume and contents of its concept have changed and become more complicated. During the first years of Soviet…