Bittner, John Robert,
1943 - 2002
DePauw University Asst. Prof. of Communications Arts & Science 1973-80
Bittner, Denise Alexander, 1950
DC 2582, 2588, 2591, 2594, 2984
Archives of DePauw University
and Indiana United Methodism
Bittner, John Robert, 1943 - 2002
Asst. Prof. of Communication Arts & Science 1973-80
Bittner, Denise Alexander, 1950 -
Size: 5 document cases, 1.575 cubic ft.
Restrictions: none
Accession: D003.033, D003.0037, D003.038, D003.041, D003.053, D003.113, D003.119, D003.120, D003.128, D003.131, D004.062, D004.072, D005.011, D006.010, D007.003, D007.031, D008.079
Provenance: donor
Processed by: Jenney Taylor, September 2006
Biographical Sketch
John Robert Bittner was born May 4, 1943. He was Assistant Professor of Communication Arts and Science at DePauw University 1973-80. At DePauw, he was also director of broadcast communication. Dr. Bittner (Ph.D. Purdue University) joined the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1980, and served ten years in the College of Arts and Sciences before joining the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1991. His professional media experience included twelve years in broadcasting, including positions as a television journalist, a radio news director, and radio general manager. He served as a consultant in such areas as corporate press relations and performance review and appraisal. Other concurrent appointments while on the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill included six years on the Administrative Board of the Graduate School, three years on the Graduate Council of the 16-campus University of North Carolina System, five years on the Administrative Board of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, six years on the Tenure and Promotion Advisory Committee of the Department of Communication Studies (formerly Speech Communication), and three years as an Arts and Science's advisory professor to the Department of Dramatic Art. In the School of Journalism and Mass Communication he served as Head of the Electronic Communication area. His primary teaching/research interests were in broadcast journalism, mass communication law and ethics, and historical-critical research with an emphasis on twentieth century literature and the American press. Along with international travel, professor Bittner's personal interests included skiing and writing. Among published books (all under Simon & Schuster's Prentice-Hall or Allyn & Bacon imprints) are six editions of his text Mass Communication, which for twenty years has helped established the parameters of the introductory mass communication course in American colleges. Mass Communication has been translated into Arabic, and has been used in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and elsewhere. His other books deal with communication-related subjects, including radio journalism, professional broadcasting, interpersonal communication, and a recent book titled Law and Regulation of Electronic Media. Along with published book chapters, scholarly articles he authored have appeared in such journals as Journalism Quarterly, Journal of Broadcasting, Improving College and University Teaching, the International Journal of Instructional Media, and regional and state journals. In addition to serving as an officer in professional associations, his research had been presented at meetings of the International Communication Association, the Broadcast Education Association, the Speech Communication Association, the International Hemingway Conference, and others. Professor Bittner was the Executive Director of the Radio-Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas (RTNDAC). Headquartered in the School, RTNDAC is the largest regional news directors association in the United States. He chartered, and served as the faculty adviser for the UNC-Chapel Hill campus chapters of the RTNDAC. He was the former (1995-1997) Director of the Electronic Communication Division of the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association's Summer Media Institute. Professor Bittner was the recipient of Dakota Wesleyan University's Outstanding Alumni Educator of the Year Award. During his teaching career he held professorships and appointments at three universities, including Director of the Center for Media Research at the University of Oregon, Director of Broadcast Communication at DePauw University, and Chair of the Department of Radio-Television and Motion Pictures (RTVMP) at UNC-Chapel Hill. While Chair of the RTVMP department (1982-1987), through the support and contributions of all departmental faculty, the number of majors doubled, the North Carolina Radio-TV High School Institute quadrupled in size, an alumni giving program was instituted, facilities were remodeled, the master's degree curriculum was reviewed and revised, and an M.A. degree was approved. John R. Bittner died in April 2002, at the age of 58. He is survived by his wife, Denise Bittner. [11/5/02].
Collection Statement
The collection is divided into two series. Series I contains material of John R. Bittner. Series II contains material of Bittner’s wife, Denise Alexander Bittner. Series III contains information on books authored by the Bittners. Included are articles, papers, book reviews, professional and personal correspondence, clippings, photographs, speeches, biographical information and other items related to their careers and personal lives.
DC 2582 Series I: John R. Bittner
Article/Paper: “The Civil War in Speeches”
Article/Paper: “College Administrators Reactions to News Coverage of Campus Unrest”
Article/Paper: “College Student Attitudes Toward Marijuana”
Article/Paper: “A Comparison of Award-Winning Radio Commercials and Their Day-to-Day Counterparts”
Article/Paper: “A Comparison of Student Leader and Non-Leader Attitudes Toward Legalizing Marijuana”
Article/Paper: “Compressed Speech by Mnemonic Joining: A Negative Implication for Broadcasting”
Article/Paper: “A Conceptual-Mathematical Model of Communication Applied to Student Unrest in an Educational System”
Article/Paper: “Developing an Effective Broadcasting Internship”
Article/Paper: “A Development Model for Validating Instructional Television Programs”
Article/Paper: “Don’t Give Up, Pittsburgh, I’ll Pull You Out”
Article/Paper: “The Effect of the Video-Tape Recorder on Levels of Anxiety, Exhibitionism, and Reticence”
Article/Paper: “High School and College Student Perceptions of Media Credibility”
Article/Paper: “Identifying the Charisma Factor in Political Communication”
Article/Paper: “Instructional Strategies in the Teaching of Broadcast Law and Regulation”
Article/Paper: “Interpersonal Communication in the Diffusion of Two Major News Events to College Students”
Article/Paper: “Introductory Mass Communication Courses: The Approach in Smaller Universities”
Article/Paper: “Kennedy on King: The Rhetoric of Control”
Article/Paper: “Legal Theory and the Telegraph”
Article/Paper: “The Lost Literary Underpinnings of Richard Attenborough’s Film In Love and War: The Hemingway Funeral Scene
Article/Paper: “The Lure of the Railroads and the National Parks: Thomas Wolfe’s Final Journey to the American West”
Article/Paper: “Mass Communication and Organizational Communication: Research Links for the Future”
Article/Paper: “National News Dissemination to the College Student Audience”
Article/Paper: “The News Media, Campus Unrest”
Article/Paper: “Politics and Information Flow: the Oregon Shield Law”
Article/Paper: “Portable Equipment: Cost-Cutter in Education”
Article/Paper: “Readability of the ‘Mini Page’”
Article/Paper: “Research on the Effects of TV: Trends & Future Issues Surrounding Areas of Inquiry and Methodology”
Article/Paper: “Research Training in Undergraduate Broadcasting Curricula”
Article/Paper: “The Role of Knowledge and Opinion in Estimating Crowd Size”
Article/Paper: “A Sample of General Objectives for Introductory Courses in Broadcasting”
Article/Paper: “School Board Press Relations”
Article/Paper: “School Closings and the Media”
Article/Paper: “Southeast Asian Broadcasting: The Emergence of Thailand”
Article/Paper: “Student Radio Network Teaches Broadcast Journalism”
Article/Paper: “Student Value Profiles of a State vs. Church Related College”
Article/Paper: “Thomas Wolfe and Jonathan Worth Daniels: The Carolina Roots of a Literary Rivalry”
Article/Paper: “The Two-Step Flow: Exposure and Dissemination of Mass Media News to the College Student”
Article/Paper: “The Use of Radio and Television to Publicize Forensic Events”
Article/Paper: “Value Structures: Factor in Interpersonal Communication Among College Students”
Article/Paper: “Video Tape: Aid for the Teaching of Speech”
Article/Paper: “Video Tape in the College Classroom”
DC 2588 Series I: John R. Bittner
Biographical Information
Broadcast Education Association
Correspondence: DePauw Faculty
Correspondence: DePauw Students
Correspondence: Miscellaneous
Course Descriptions
Doctoral Dissertation: “Communication Efforts of the Indiana State Police Public Information Division: A Study of Police Image,” Purdue University, 1972
Faculty Members Report, 1978 & 1979
Indiana Speech Association
International Authors and Writers Who’s Who
International Communication Association
Lupinski, Lucian: Correspondence, etc.
Lupinski, Lucian: The Saturday Evening Post magazines
Masters Thesis: An Analysis of the News Media and the Reporting of Campus Unrest at Purdue University, Purdue University, 19 70
DC 2591 Series I: John R. Bittner
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
Newspaper Clippings, Magazine Articles, Website Articles, etc.
Outstanding Young Men of America, 1978
Photograph: John Bittner and Jane Pauley
Photographs
Publications of DePauw University Faculty
Radio Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas
Recommendation Letters
Research Report: A Comparison and Analysis of the Value Profiles of Dakota Wesleyan University and Southern State College, Dakota Wesleyan University, 1967
Scholarship
Self-Evaluation and Supporting Documents, 1977
Seminar: Thomas Wolfe and American Journalism, July 21, 2000
Speech: Army Conference, March 16, 1987
Speech: The Copyright Crisis, May 21, 1991
Speech: The Day the First Amendment Died, September 16, 1977 (cassette and reel-to-reel audiotapes with typed transcript)
DC 2594 Series I: John R. Bittner
Student Internships
Symposium: “Media and the Public,” October 1977
United Press International
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Vitae
WAZY Radio Station, Lafayette, Indiana
WGRE-FM Student Radio Station, DePauw University
DC 2594 Series II: Denise A. Bittner
Articles by Bittner
Bittner and Associates
Borah High School (Boise, Idaho)
Correspondence: DePauw Students
Crown Zellerbach Foundation Scholarship, 1971-72
Duke University
Engagement / Wedding
Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
Miscellaneous
National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers
National Society of Fund Raising Executives
Outstanding Young Women of America, 1975
Photographs
Taylor Graphics Corp.
University of North Carolina
University of Oregon
Vitae
WGRE-FM Student Radio Station, DePauw University (Station Operations Manager, 1973-78)
Who’s Who of American Women, 1979-80
DC 2984 Series III: Information on Books Authored by Bittner
Broadcasting and Telecommunications, 2nd edition
Each Other
Fundamentals of Communications, 1st edition
Law and Regulation of Electronic Media / Broadcast Law and Regulation
Mass Communication, 1st edition
Mass Communication, 2nd edition
Mass Communication, 3rd edition
Mass Communication, 4th edition
Mass Communication, 5th edition
Mass Communication, 6th edition
Professional Broadcasting
Radio Journalism, 1st edition
Book Correspondence
see also: Alum v.f. - Chulay, Cornell 1977
Alum v.f. - Zellers, Julie 1978