1990 editor's annual report

A variety of viewing measures were constructed to tap the ways people moved through an evening of television viewing, with particular focus on transitions between programs and channels. Based on these behaviors, five different styles of viewing were identified in a sample of adolescents. Of these, only one appeared to correspond to stereotypes of viewers as exercising little choice and just watching what was available. The viewing behaviors of the other four groups all indicate different ways of being active viewers.     

Why adults do or do not watch educational television

The reasons given for watching or not watching educational television have a great deal of bearing upon why people attend to commercial television as well. The following study was the pilot for a series being conducted by the Institute for Communication Research at Stanford University for the National Educational Television and Radio Center. The study was planned by Dr. Wilbur Schramm and the author, with the. latter supervising the field work and analysis. Dr. Lyle is presently assistant professor of Journalism at the University of California, Los Angeles.     

Impact of the VCR on control of television viewing

Familial control of television viewing in light of the introduction of the videocassette recorder (VCR) was examined by: asking sets of parents and children about their use of VCRs and television, determining differences in these perceptions, and relating family demographics to use and control. In‐home interviews with 110 families found agreement on who chooses the programs to be watched. Some differences were noted, however, between parents’ and children's perceptions of how the viewing situation is controlled.     

A cross‐cultural analysis of children's television use

This study compared uses of U.S. television by foreign children residing in the U.S. and their American counterparts in light of theories of acculturation, cultivation, and uses and gratifications. Compared with U.S. children, foreign children: used television more for learning purposes, were relatively more interested in television programs, spent more time watching television, identified more frequently with television characters, and expressed stronger beliefs in the social reality portrayed by television.     

Black ownership of broadcast stations: An FCC licensing problem

The development of minority (in this case, black) ownership of television stations as a factor in licensing is analysed through discussion of the Orlando, Florida TV 9 and Hunts‐ville, Alabama Garrett cases. The author, part of the department of communication at Florida Technological University (Orlando), contends that Appeals court actions have forced the FCC to more carefully consider minority ownership aspirations—but that many basic questions need to be clearly answered prior to any definitive rule‐making on the subject.     

Reconsidering Reflexivity: Audience Research and Reality Television

Critiques of reality television assume that audiences enjoy watching participants’ humiliation or adopt the reforming injunctions of the shows. This audience research project investigates how people who watch personal makeover shows (The Biggest Loser, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Starting Over, and What Not to Wear) use these texts in meaningful ways. Data from 1,800 survey respondents and 130 interviewees demonstrate that audiences use the shows to be self reflexive, while they also are highly reflexive about media production processes. Furthermore, they are reflexive about their participation in research about a disparaged television genre. Audiences’ perception of surveillance and shame in the shows suggest how reflexivity can provide a critical distance from the programs but is not necessarily ideologically freeing.     

Subjective differences in spousal perceptions of family video

Responding to the increased presence of the videocassette recorder in American households, this study examined the dimensions by which VCR use is subjectively ordered by spouses in families with children. Q‐data analysis revealed three types of participants, whose perceptions may be associated with their family roles, media ownership and usage, and family cohesion and adaptability. Particular elements of the VCR‐family domain were used by the participants to prioritize perceptions, with greater perceptual similarities existing between spouses when the referent was family video usage, rather than individual usage.     

Comparison Between Early High-Definition Television Owners and Non-Owners

A national random telephone survey was conducted to profile early high-definition television (HDTV) adopters based on demographics, media use, interpersonal communication, social participation, cosmopoliteness, perceived innovation attributes of new communication technologies, and ownership of communication technologies. Of all respondents, 21% reported owning an HDTV set at home. In the primary logistic regression, Web news reading, religious service attendance, complexity, trialability, and ownership of communication technologies were significant predictors of HDTV adoption.     

Cox broadcasting corporation: A group‐ownership case study

One of the oldest and largest of the group owners in radio and television is historically traced in this article, taken from the author's dissertation on group ownership in television, written under the direction of past BEA‐President Rod Right‐mire at Ohio University. The author is on the broadcasting faculty at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.     

Priming Effects of Late-Night Comedy

Having become fully integrated into the contemporary politicallandscape, infotainment-oriented media extend Americans’traditional news (e.g. newspaper, radio, and television) toinclude a greater number of sources for political information,and in some cases, political mobilization. Given the increasingprominence of infotainment-oriented media in contemporary politics,this study addresses the effects of one particular type of infotainment—late-nightcomedy—during the 2000 presidential campaign. Specifically,we are interested in whether watching late-night comedy showsinfluences viewers’ evaluations of the candidates whohave appeared on these shows; in particular, we investigatepriming as the mechanism by which such influences occur. Findingsfrom the 2000 National Annenberg Election Survey (N = 11,482)indicate that evaluations of candidates are based in part onrespondents’ sociodemographics, perceptions of candidatesto handle certain issues, and their character traits. Therewas a main effect of watching late-night comedy on evaluationsof candidates; more importantly, viewers were more likely thannonviewers to base their evaluations of George W. Bush on charactertraits after he appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman.     

Interactivity in Television: Use and Impact of an Interactive Program Guide

This study is designed to examine the uses and impact of interactive program guides (IPGs), a television technology that enables viewer inter- activity. Data were obtained from a television survey of 365 IPG users in a medium-sized Midwestern community. Results showed that age, premium channel subscribership, perceived IPG utility, and IPG complexity were significant predictors for IPG use. Further, the study found evidence that the IPG has influenced users' viewing behaviors. IPG use was related to watching more television, viewing enriched program types, and having a larger digital cable channel repertoire.     

Effects of emotion and product involvement on the experience of repeated commercial viewing

The intensity of the viewing experience people have while watching television was expected to enhance recall of commercials and also to render commercials less vulnerable to negative attitude change over multiple exposures. The effects of two variables, commercial induced emotion and product involvement, were tested in an experiment where people watched one hour of programming and embedded commercials on four consecutive days. Testing occurred after the fourth session; ads were repeated from two to 12 times during this time period. Broadly stated, findings indicate that emotional appeals and product involvement have favorable effects on brand name recall, attitudes, and purchase intention. Results are discussed with regard to their managerial and social implications.     

Viewing television talk shows

We examined how motivation, audience activity, and attitudes influenced the likelihood of watching societal‐issue and relational topics on television talk programs. Path analysis supported differences in ritualized and instrumental motives for watching talk shows. Information and exciting‐entertainment motivation predicted greater’ realism of, affinity with, involvement with, and intent to watch talk television. Pass‐time motivation predicted reduced affinity with and intent to watch talk television, and reduced likelihood of watching relational topics. Information motivation predicted greater likelihood of watching relational topics. We discussed these findings in light of the concept of audience activity.     

Exploring the Characteristics of DVD Home Theater System Adopters

This study examines the growing DVD home theater phenomenon by mapping the characteristics of DVD home theater adopters and their attitudes toward the new technology, which entered the mass market in 1997 as a competitor to the VCR. It attempts to locate and differentiate DVD adopters based on patterns of media use, utilities from gratification, socialization, and displacement. Based on Q methodology with a sample of 38 American respondents, 3 distinct groups are evident: audiophiles, technophiles, and recreation seekers. Audiophiles use DVD to pursue audio quality, whereas technophiles are the early adopters who are drawn to the new technology and its potential. Recreation seekers use the DVD to satisfy a need for entertainment, enjoyment, and escape. These groups are guided by different goals and gratifications and hence exhibit different patterns of use, diffusion, and displacement, although they all agree that their DVD adoption was motivated by the DVD's technological quantum leap over the VCR.     

It's Not Always About The Money: Using Narrative Analysisto Explore Newspaper Coverageof the Act of Collecting

Over the last few years, the number of television dating shows has increased exponentially from 2 to over 28 during the period of 2000 to 2002. The purpose of this study was to examine demographic variables, personality characteristics, and attachment styles of individuals who view television dating shows. Furthermore, motives for viewing television dating shows and viewers' responses to the content were examined. A convenience sample of 601 participants, including 413 who watch television dating shows, were solicited to complete the Internet-mediated study. Results revealed significant demographic differences between the two groups and demographic variables were associated with specific television viewing practices. An exploratory factor analysis revealed three motives for viewing television dating shows: excitability, social learning, and escape. Sensation-seeking, attachment style, and motives for watching television dating shows were predictive of viewing practices. These findings suggest that viewing television programming such as dating shows may be a viable source of arousal for sensation seekers. Both theoretical and applied implications of these findings are explored.     

Relationships among economic,newsroom, and content variables: A path model.

This study examines the relation between local news content and ownership structure in 17 television markets in the United States. It is an extension of the localism research that was conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2004 and the Local Television News Media Project at the University of Delaware in 2007 (see FCC, 2007). The findings point to the need to consider television markets as the appropriate unit of analysis when examining the effect of ownership on local content. Ownership does matter in the production of news on local broadcasts. When examining only station-level factors, independent stations broadcast more local content on their newscasts than those stations that were either (a) owned-and-operated (O&O) and part of a duopoly, (b) O&O-only, or (c) part of a duopoly-only. However, when examining station-level and market-level factors of television markets, the station-level ownership profiles positively affected local content. Market-level factors that indicated more consolidation negatively affected the proportion of local news presented in the entire designated market area.     

The relationships of trait verbal aggressiveness and frequency of viewing and enjoyment of television sitcoms

Verbal aggressiveness is the tendency to attack the self‐concept of another person with the intent to inflict psychological pain (Infante & Wigley, 1986). This study focused on how low and high verbally aggressives differ in the television sitcoms they watch and how enjoyable they find those shows. Participants (N = 555) first completed the Verbal Aggressiveness Scale. Then they were asked how often they watch particular television sitcoms and if they watched a given sitcom, how entertaining they found that show to be. The sitcoms included in this study were those that were televised in April 1996. Of the 33 shows included in the analyses, low verbal aggressives differed from high verbal aggressives on 8 shows for frequency of watching and on 11 shows for entertainment value.     

High Performance Work Organization (HPWO) Initiatives in Television News Operations

Abstract

The “high performance work organization” (HPWO) concept proposes that greater employee involvement in decision making and greater ability for workers to control their reward structure lead to more efficient workplace procedures, as well as happier workers. Although this sociological model has been studied in a variety of industries and work settings, its examination in the media industries has been limited. In seeking to fill that gap, this study undertook an e-mail survey of workers in television news to determine which, if any, HPWO initiatives stations were using and how effective they were. Findings indicate that profit sharing, in-house training, and suggestion systems were more likely to be offered than cross-training, job rotation, outside training, or merit-based pay, indicating that the HPWO initiatives that require little investment of time or money are the most likely to be offered by television stations. Station ownership patterns were not significantly correlated to presence of HPWO initiatives, and market size was only significantly correlated to 2 HPWO initiatives—outside training and profit-sharing programs.     

Capital and Control: Consequences of Different Forms of Newspaper Ownership

Abstract

Debates over the effects and efficacy of different forms of newspaper ownership are rising. This article elucidates the debates by exploring private, public, not-for-profit, and employee ownership using economic and managerial theory about ownership and control of enterprises. It shows the managerial and economic conditions that emerge under the different forms of ownership, their implications, and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The article concludes that there is no perfect form of newspaper ownership.     

The federal communications commission and the regulation of children's television

This paper takes a specific issue, the regulation of children's television, and shows how that issue might best be examined. The method of analysis used is the Krasnow‐Longley‐Terry systems approach to broadcast regulation.