Electronic monitoring of in‐home television RCD usage

This study electronically‐monitored in‐home RCD activity. The frequency of channel changing and other RCD behaviors were recorded and discrepancies between self‐reported and actual RCD use are examined. This is one of a few academic studies of RCDs that does not rely on a survey (respondent recall) or on observation, but rather records actual behaviors in the participants’ home. This study also examines viewers’ uses of RCDs within the framework of selective exposure.

Slightly over 374 hours of television viewing by 44 participants yielded 13,680 channel switches. It was found that viewers made an average of 36.6 channel changes per hour. In other words, they watched channels for an average of one minute and 38 seconds between switches. Further analyses revealed an audience of “rapid‐fire”; channel grazers as 80% of the switches took place after a channel was on for less than five seconds.     

Historical Dramas,Current Political Choices: Analyzing Partisan Selective Exposure With a Docudrama

This study investigates the docudrama hypothesis—the idea that fiction based on real stories can influence audience members’ perception of political reality—in the context of current debates on partisan selective exposure and reinforcement effects. It does so by analyzing the influence of an Oscar-nominated docudrama on viewers’ attitudes and behavioral intention using propensity score matching. By means of a representative survey, we find strong evidence of partisan selective exposure and avoidance. Furthermore, among respondents with a similar likelihood of film attendance, actual attendance has a strong association with positive retrospective evaluations of the political coalition glorified in the movie, and an indirect relationship—via retrospective evaluations—with voting intentions. Discussion of the findings shed light into potential real-world political effects of partisan selective exposure using content other than news.     

#thisshowsucks! The Overpowering Influence of Negative Social Media Comments on Television Viewers

Can the comments of a few viewers on social media affect viewers’ perceptions of audience sentiment or their own program enjoyment? If so, do the effects of comments vary based on their valence or placement during programming? We conducted a 2 (positive vs. negative tweets) x 2 (beginning vs. end of program) factorial experiment with an additional control condition (N = 196) to answer these questions. Negative comments undermined perceived bandwagon support for the program and reduced enjoyment, regardless of contextual or trait moderators. Findings suggest that the effects of social television may be attributable to systematic processing of bandwagon cues.     

Filmed in Front of a Live Studio Audience: Laughter and Aggression in Political Entertainment Programming

Shows blending humor and information are on the rise, and many such shows incorporate live studio audiences. Using two separate experimental studies, we test whether audience laughter on humorous political talk shows affects audience perceptions. We find that the effects of audience laughter depend on context, boosting perceptions of host and program credibility when a host is unknown, while reminding viewers of the comedic intentions and appeal of a known comedic host. If humor allows the hosts of comedic political talk shows more freedom to pointedly question their guests without turning off viewers, it may better engage and inform audiences.     

Product Differentiation in Cable Programming: The Case in the Cable National All-News Networks

Product competition for news viewers in the cable national all-news market was examined. As the cable news networks do not directly compete with each other on price to consumers, it was expected that they would compete for audience by differentiating programming. A content analysis identifies program differentiation among the competing cable all-news networks. Each offered a distinctive style of programming. The different program formats and substantive content in each have the effect of counterprogramming, giving viewers a choice.     

If College Students Are Appointment Television Viewers ...

Whether television viewers are selective or passive has generally drawn its findings from two non-overlapping research traditions. Research showing little audience selectivity in aggregite audiences may stem from how the aggregate is defined-an idea pursued here with an examination ofcollege student viewing. Results from a week of viewing show evidence of both structural and individual determination of selection. These results suggest additional qualifications on use of student samples for communication research.     

Agenda-Setting Through the Television Programming Schedule: An Examination of Major League Baseball on Fox

The core concept of the agenda-setting theoretical model is the transfer of topic salience from the media agenda to the public agenda. Sports leagues need to have their games properly positioned in the television programming schedule to assist their transfer of salience effort and help maximize their national popularity. A sports television programming schedule can be improved with an understanding of the fundamental structural and individual factors that influence audience media exposure. This article contends that the Major League Baseball on Fox programming schedule can be improved through three suggestions: (1) increasing exposure by having more games on the Fox over-the-air broadcast channel that is available in approximately 32 million more households than the Fox Sports One cable channel; (2) having games at a consistent placement in the programming schedule to increase viewers’ awareness and enhance that program and channel being a part of their repertoire to capitalize on their initial ritualized viewing; and (3) allowing all Major League Baseball teams to appear more often on Fox and Fox Sports One, eliminating regionalized broadcasts, and implementing a flexible schedule to provide more meaningful game matchups to capitalize on the audience’s advanced degree of instrumental viewing.     

Emotional Contagion or Symbolic Cognition? A Social Identity Perspective on Media Events

This study aims to understand the psychological mechanisms of the generation of viewers’ emotional reactions in successful media events and the role of social identity in the process. An online survey was conducted among Chinese viewers shortly after an important national ceremony was broadcast in China. A direct route between viewers’ media consumption and emotional arousal and a mediated route between them through cognition of the symbolism in the event were found. However, high-nationalist viewers were only aroused through symbolic cognition, while low-nationalist viewers gained emotions through both the direct and the indirect routes. The findings suggest two psychological mechanisms of ritual communications moderated by social identities and clarify the role of social identity in media ritual theories.     

The Rivalry of Nonverbal Cues on the Perception of Politicians by Television Viewers

The current study examines how a politician's “active” or “passive” nonverbal behavior can influence recipients' perception of his/her image in TV talk shows. In addition, the effects of different host and studio audience reaction shots towards the politician were analyzed. To do so, an experiment with a 2 × 3 × 3 factorial design was conducted (n = 356). The stimulus material was produced in a TV studio. The results indicate a clear influence of a politician's nonverbal behavior style and the TV host's nonverbal reactions on the recipients' image-perception.     

BREAKING NEWS OR BROKEN NEWS?

Television news directors increasingly utilize live shots in their newscasts for reasons other than journalistic value. Reporters and viewers alike react negatively to such “black hole” live shots. Nine news directors and nine senior reporters participated in this qualitative study designed to reveal their differing attitudes toward various aspects of live reporting. Analysis revealed significant tensions between the two groups. The news directors, who are responsible for the news program as a whole, include non-journalistic reasons such as presentation and station identity for including remote live shots. Senior reporters are chiefly concerned with their own contributions to the overall news program. They claim to understand these justifications but often disagree with how they are asked to execute them. The data also reveal one station violating the Radio Television Digital News Association Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct by allowing sponsors to determine editorial content.     

VCR‐use and patterns of time shifting and selectivity

This article elaborates on research suggesting that the VCR is a time shifting device leading to more selectivity. It argues that time shifting can lead to time reduction or time filling and that selectivity can entail diversification or concentration of the TV diet. In both cases, however, no significant difference in TV viewing may occur as well. Data from a representative sample of 909 Flemish respondents showed no evidence of time‐reduction. The VCR is mainly used as a time‐filling device. VCR‐use does not seem to lead to concentration, but rather to diversification of the TV diet. Authors have claimed that the VCR is a device which allows better management of the viewing experience and which liberates viewers of the constraints of viewer or program availability. This article suggests instead that it may be more productive to look at the VCR as another channel (albeit it with peculiar characteristics). It influences the viewers’ TV consumption only to the extent that it is part of the viewers’ “channel repertoire” for selecting programs.     

What Children Watch When They Watch TV: Putting Theory Into Practice

If advertisers and programmers are to keep pace with the rapid structural and contextual changes in broadcast and cable television, and maintain their young audiences, they must gain a better understanding of children's viewing motives and viewing patterns. The authors assess the interrelatedness of television use motives and viewing patterns, and investigate perceptions of viewer loyalty network and station identification, and the generalizability of these perceptions to times when local television stations change network affiliation. This study profiles the child televiewing audience and expands the known parameters of television viewer uses and gratifications by identifying three distinctive viewer archetypes-medium- oriented viewers, network-oriented viewers, and station-oriented viewers.     

Books received

This study examined issue learning outcomes in three intra‐party political debates during the 1984 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. The results indicated that intra‐party political debates produce significant viewer learning (1) about the issue positions of each participating candidate, (2) about most issues, and (3) among all categories of viewers. In addition, the study found that intra‐party political debates produce distinct outcomes, including: variation in learning between debates about candidate positions on particular issues; significant increases in learning about the positions of the Democratic candidates on the part of Democratic, Republican, and nonaffiliated viewers; and a negative effect on viewer knowledge about nonparticipating incumbent Ronald Reagan's positions on the issues.     

The Hoosier Schoolmaster of the Air

Early educational broadcast pioneers impacted their listeners and viewers in profound ways. Dr. Clarence M. Morgan went from amateur ham radio operation to permanent status as the Hoosier Schoolmaster of the Air. Morgan involved his students in the creation of the Radio/Television program at Indiana State University (ISU), implemented Entertainment-Education programming for all ages, researched audience reaction and media effects, and assisted his son with doing the same at Murray State University (MSU) and the University of Central Florida (UCF). Morgan broadcast thousands of live radio and television programs, yet his name and voice were never heard on the air.     

Realism Matters: The Role of Perceived Realism in The Biggest Loser

This study investigated implications of viewing The Biggest Loser, NBC’s popular reality television show. Using online survey data collected from 613 participants, results suggest that exposure to the program is positively associated with perceived realism of the program, which in turn is positively associated with developing internal weight locus of control. Meanwhile, internal weight locus of control is positively associated with audience members’ exercise behavior, meaning the higher level of internal weight locus of control the audience members develop, the more likely they are to engage in physical exercise. This study offers evidence that health-related reality television might be a useful tool to influence audience members’ cognitions on health issues, which could potentially lead to healthy lifestyles.     

Beyond Walter Cronkite’s “And That’s The Way It Is”

Television anchors are key public figures in the American news media, vital for the ratings success of their outlets. This study uses content analysis and framing theory to examine US network news anchors’ role at a pivotal career moment—the last minutes in the all-powerful anchor chair—their swan songs. These final words are examined for messages as anchors express gratitude, sum up careers, provide journalism insights, and pronounce final words of wisdom. The textual analysis revealed several dominant frames—becoming one with the audience, expressions of gratitude to staff and viewers, the anchors’ perception of their historical role noting predecessors and successors, and insightful wisdom about journalism’s role in society. The visual analysis showed a style reinforcing a professional presence, signaling authority, and objectivity. Each American lodestar anchor was different, yet they were similar in how they said goodbye and how they wanted to be remembered.     

Cognitive Processing of Sound Effects in Television Sports Broadcasting

This study focuses on 2 sound elements of sports broadcasting. Specifically, this study sought to explore the differential and combinational effects of commentary sound and on-site spectator sound on the motor resonance and attentional process of viewers. To analyze, this study selected electroencephalogram (EEG) time-frequency analysis using wavelet transforms as a method to observe the viewers’ direct brain responses. The overall findings suggest that delivering on-site spectator’s sound needs to be regarded as important as it can have a significant effect on viewers’ sports-viewing experience.     

Information Flow in the 21st Century: The Dynamics of Agenda-Uptake

Although the theory of agenda-setting is a pillar of political communication research, understanding the dynamics of public attention remains an important challenge as the communication system becomes increasingly fragmented. The development of ideologically oriented niche media and the ability of the mainstream media to carefully track the interests of their audience suggest that both public interest and niche media attention to an issue could affect the mainstream media’s agenda itself. We develop and test the theory of agenda-uptake to isolate when mainstream media influences both public and niche media attention to issues and when public interest and niche media attention influence the mainstream media to cover an issue. Analyzing mainstream and niche media coverage along with Google Trends individual search data for 4 issues in 2008, we provide evidence that the dynamics of agenda-uptake are crucial to understanding the character and content of the information environment in the 21st century.     

Religious rhetoric meets the target audience: Narrowcasting faith in presidential elections

Research documents politicians’ use of religious rhetoric and its effects on the public, but little work has investigated the considerations influencing the decision to use religious rhetoric in the first place. We theorize that politicians’ use of religious rhetoric is determined by four considerations: the alignment between the speaker’s and audience’s religiosity, the acceptability of the speaker’s denomination to the audience, the speaker’s religious history, and the speaker’s party. Using the 2012 presidential election as a test case, we pair county-level religion data with a content analysis of 264 stump speeches to examine how the religious aspects of candidate rhetoric changed depending on the religious contours of a community. The evidence provides insight into how and why candidates “narrowcast” faith.     

Quality Assessment of Television Programs in Israel: Can Viewers Recognize Production Value?

Television programs' production value is highly regarded by professionals as a crucial dimension of program quality. This study examines the degree to which lay viewers, rather than professionals, are sensitive to television programs' production value as a distinct evaluative dimension, their ability to pass educated judgments on production value, and the impact of these judgments on their overall program appreciation and quality assessment. Based on a large-scale survey of television viewers in Israel, we find that production value makes up a distinct evaluative dimension, indicating that viewers are sensitive to production considerations. Production value assessments also explain television program appreciation and quality evaluations. On the other hand, there are indications that lay viewers are not very good at discerning gradations of production value among different programs and genres. These findings are discussed in the context of the conflicting interests among Israeli program makers and television channel franchisers to cut costs or to invest in the quality and production value of domestically produced programs. Based on the findings, a deliberative procedure is suggested which can accommodate these conflicting interests by combining lay viewers’ quality assessments with professionals’ more considered and informed judgments.