SAY IT WITH PICTURES

The visual information presented in televised news constitutes an impo rtant underused and underestimated information resource. After pointin g out that human brains extract valuable information from audiovisuals more quickly and more easily than from purely verbal information, the author discusses the advantages of audiovisual processing. They inclu de a more comprehensive and error-free grasp of information, better re call, and greater emotional involvement. Attention then turns to resea rch findings about the content and format of current television news. It is richer than generally believed in significant visually conveyed information that is not covered by the words. It falls far short, howe ver, of taking full advantage of the medium's potential to serve as a vicarious political experience and to offer benefit from the intimacy of the involvement. The article ends with a plea to focus television n ews on information that citizens in the post-Gutenberg era really need to know in order to carry out the civic functions that they actuary p erform.