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The frame of reference of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Bicul‐turalism postulates that both French‐speaking and English‐speaking Canadians have within their reach mass media that allow for their cultural development. This study examines the validity of this assertion by comparing it with observations related to mass media consumption among Montrealers. Diffusion techniques, even though unilingual, could be bicultural in their content and thus serve as instruments for reciprocal knowledge for anglophones and francophones. This does not seem to be the case. The objective of knowing one another could also rest upon the bilingualism of individuals and the consumption of media in both languages. A unilingualism‐bilingualism scale was constructed to evaluate this possibility. Among all linguistic groups, even the equilingual ones, there are very few who watch TV programmes and read newspapers in both languages. Unilin‐guals and bilinguals other than equilinguals mostly consume mass media products in the language they know best. The linguistic factor alone is incapable of explaining the attraction of the francophones for the English‐speaking media, nor does it offer satisfactory explanations for the behaviour of the equilinguals.Le cadre de référence de la Commission d'enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme prétend que les Canadiens anglophones et francophones disposent des mass media qui leur permettent de se développer culturellement. La présente étude essaie d'en mesurer l'adéquation avec certains faits relatifs à la consommation des mass media chez les Montréalais. Les techniques de diffusion, tout en étant unilingues, pourraient être biculturelles dans leur contenu et ainsi servir d'instruments de connaissance réciproque pour les Canadiens anglophones et francophones. Telle ne semble pas être la situation. L'objectif de connaissance réciproque pourrait aussi reposer sur le bilinguisme des individus et la consommation des media dans les deux langues. Une échelle d'unilinguisme‐bilinguisme a été constituée. Chez tous les groupes linguistiques, même les équilingues, il y a peu de consommateurs de la télévision et des journaux dans les deux langues. Les unilingues et les bilingues autres que les équilingues consomment surtout dans les langues qu'ils comprennent le mieux, mais le f acteur linguistique reste inadéquat pour expliquer l'attrait des médiums de langue anglaise sur les francophones de même que le comportement des équilingues.

Franco Ferrarotti's book, The End of Conversation: The Impact of Mass Media on Modern Society (see IRPS No. 38/87c00823), is contrasted briefly with works by David L. Altheide, Robert P. Snow, Joshua Meyrowitz, & others (eg, Altheide's Media Power [see IRPS No. 30/85c00539]), who agree that the major effect of the mass media on our lives is not their content per se, but rather, their logic, styles, & formats, which influence other domains of everyday life. Ferrarotti argues that the impact of the logic & form of the mass media has changed the spatial-temporal logic that underscored earlier communication patterns -- eg, those involved with conversation -- & the future of Western civilization is in jeopardy because of it. His critiques of TV & other visual media stress, ironically, that it is the sound of these media that has influenced our "ear" & that cultures are now more attuned to how things sound. It is concluded that social interaction & social order are joined through communication forms as product & producer of everyday life. AA

As communications technologies increase humankind's ability to send more messages across greater distance at even faster speeds, the opportunities multiply for transnational information sharing. The threats to the fair & free use of mass media increase as well. The trend toward concentration of ownership of mass media in the United States & other free countries continues, but it does not seriously inhibit the choice of United States citizens. Some Third World countries which have one-party systems & government-owned news media are slowly relaxing restrictions on domestic journalism. Developing nations have valid reasons to criticize Western coverage of their societies. Such objections need not be met by hampering free flow of information, as press control states like the USSR contend, but by broadening & diversifying the flow of ideas. Modified HA.