Gender and Emotion Stereotypes in Children’s Television

The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence of emotion stereotypes in children’s television programming, in both educational and non-educational programming. It was hypothesized that gender stereotypes of emotion would still be prevalent in both entertainment and educational programming, with females showing more fear and sadness and males showing more anger, and that all shows would have more male than female characters. A total of 8 children’s programs were included for analysis: 4 entertainment programs and 4 educational programs. Programs were coded for the total number of males and females and for the emotions displayed by each character: happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. Overall, the analyses revealed that the majority of shows still have more male than female characters. Males were found to portray more of all emotions than females. Educational programming did not differ much in the amount of stereotypical versus counter-stereotypical emotion portrayed. Entertainment programming showed a trend toward more counter-stereotyped emotions. Future research should explore the influence of viewing specific shows on young children’s current gender stereotypes to assess the immediate impact of such viewing.     

That’s Entertainment: Crafting a Creative Ecology within Public Television

ABSTRACT

Television has gone through a period of rapid disruption in the last few years. New technologies, increased globalization, shifting demographics, and evolving consumer demand have impelled widespread change to business models. Consequently, Broadcasters have been forced to re-examine their approaches to creativity and ideation including capacities and enabling methods. Following analysis of recorded interviews with key personnel behind three recent television productions a better understanding of the cultural ecology surrounding creativity was developed. Findings emphasized the decisive influence that internal sense of community, tacit realization practices, and quality leadership – all working together – play in delivering a distinctive production to a mass-market media audience.     

Expanding Television’s Cultural Forum in the Digital Era: Prime Time Television,Twitter, and Black Lives Matter

Twitter updates and expands television’s cultural forum model by letting viewers speak to current events such as the Black Live Matter (BLM) movement. This article analyzes 1,985 tweets in response to three television episodes (Law & Order: SVU, The Good Wife, and Scandal) that dramatized BLM, and identifies five common themes in how viewers address these representations: thematic appropriateness, timing, producers’ qualifications, institutional critiques, and the purpose of entertainment television. This study concludes that Twitter facilitates a meta-commentary, which expands traditional discussions of entertainment programming, and that these programs transcend “mere” entertainment to become critiques of larger social movements.     

Parental Monitoring of Children’s Television Viewing in a Sample of Peruvian Caregivers

Parental monitoring of children’s television viewing is an important family practice that helps children understand the messages they find on advertisements and program content. Research points at different dimensions of monitoring, including parental co-viewing, rules about when and how much time children can watch television, and active parental mediation. The study describes different dimensions of parental monitoring in a sample of 303 caregivers of primary school children living in Lima. Main findings reveal that about a third of the sample engaged in parental monitoring never, rarely or sometimes, the education level of the caregiver was positively associated with limiting the time children can watch television, and that child’s age was negatively associated with the frequency of active mediation and limits on the content children may watch on TV. Further research is needed in order to understand the practice of parental monitoring across children’s age groups in the context of Peru.     

The Alternative Platform: Kenya’s Television Stations Navigation During the Switch Off of Raila Odinga’s “Swearing-In”

ABSTRACT

The role of communication technologies in Kenyan newsrooms particularly from print media perspective has been investigated. However, how these technologies aid television journalism practice in Kenyan context is understudied. Using the government ban of selected television stations in Kenya during and after the symbolic “swearing-in” of opposition presidential candidate in the 2017 general election, this study investigated the influence of communication technologies by the affected television stations to circumvent government crackdown. Interview was used as the primary method for data collection. The findings of the study revealed that throughout the switch off period the newsrooms remained operational but forced to develop alternative strategies fundamentally buoyed by new media technologies to disseminate contents. Though the strategies produced unintended and unexpected effects as the findings indicated. The main challenge with technology, was news verification, since the stations were using guerrilla tactics to source news which was not easily forthcoming. In addition, there was economic implication, some advertisers demanded for a refund and potential advertisers refused to patronise the stations which according to one of the editors was hinged on fear of being targeted by government.     

Television and Movie Viewing Predict Adults’ Romantic Ideals and Relationship Satisfaction

The current study examined the associations between television and movie use, romantic ideals (belief in love conquers all and soul mates), and relationship satisfaction among adults who were currently in romantic relationships. Participants were 306 individuals aged 18–64. They were asked about their media use, their romantic beliefs, and their current relationship. In addition to overall time spent watching television and movies, seven specific genres were measured. Results indicated that viewing each genre of television and movie analyzed (including relationship reality TV, TV drama, TV comedy, soap opera, and romantic movie) was positively associated with romantic ideals. The results for television were not in the hypothesized direction or consistent with prior studies. Television drama and romantic movie viewing were the strongest predictors of belief in love conquers all and relationship satisfaction, whereas soap opera viewing was the strongest predictor of belief in soul mates. None of these associations were moderated by age or relationship length. Mediation analyses also showed that specific genres of viewing were positively associated with relationship satisfaction via romantic ideals. The implications of viewing television and movies for adults’ romantic relationships are discussed.     

Packing of Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’

Abstract

The sources and chemistry of waxes likely to be encountered in art objects are briefly reviewed and their gas-chromatograms are illustrated. Examples of the identification of waxes and wax-mixtures in a variety of objects are described, and the advantages for this purpose of gas-chromatography over infrared spectroscopy are indicated.     

Celebrating FID’s centennial

This research investigated the information needs and information seeking behaviour of fishermen in Lagos State, Nigeria. The survey was carried out in the rural fishing communities of the state. Using questionnaire supported with interviews, personal observation and examination of relevant records, data were collected from 500 fishermen in the different fishing communities in the state. The simple percentage was used to analyse the data. The study examined information needs, sources and information seeking behaviour as well as problems encountered by the fishermen in a bid to obtain information. Results show that the information needs of fishermen in Lagos state are mostly occupation directed. Their chief sources of information include colleagues, friends, neighbours and relatives. Results also show that the fishermen in Lagos State are mostly illiterate, married and male adults in their middle ages; where and how to obtain credit facilities remain the most important information need of the fishermen; lack of awareness about where to obtain information on modern fishing technology is the most common problem of the fishermen in their attempt to seek information. This shows that there is acute shortage of information and fisheries extension officers in the field of information dissemination. It was concluded that the means and sources of information seeking found in fishermen in Lagos State are no longer adequate to meet advanced technology in the field and this can be detrimental to the profession. Suggestions that would facilitate information seeking and use among fishermen in Lagos state were given.     

Radio’s Forgotten Visuals

Some of the most ambitious experiments in early radio programming involved the coordination of sounds and visuals. This essay explores the phenomenon of “illustrated radio,” or radio broadcasts enhanced with accompanying visual media such as lantern slides, museum exhibits, and filmstrips. Newspapers, museums, and schools experimented with this format in the 1920s–40s in an effort to expand their audiences and adapt their informational missions to a changing media environment. While relatively short-lived, illustrated radio constituted a significant form of audiovisual broadcasting before television and highlights the range of uses that were envisioned for radio when it was new.     

The Stubborn Pervasiveness of Television News in the Digital Age and the Field’s Attention to the Medium, 2010–2014

A secondary analysis of 2010–2014 World Values Survey (WVS) data (N = 81,229) is performed across 56 countries to assess frequency of exposure to television news versus the Internet and mobile phone as information sources. A large majority of the comparisons (105/112; 93.75%) reveal television to be used more frequently than Internet or mobile phones (p < 1.0E-09). A content analysis of works published in 9 communication journals from 2010 to 2014 indicates a precipitous decline in the attention political communication scholars are giving to television. Meanwhile, there is substantial growth in the focus on new media.     

Taking Care of Authenticity on the CBC’s Randy’s Vinyl Tap

This essay explores the radio program Randy’s Vinyl Tap, which is hosted by Randy Bachman and airs on CBC Radio 1 (2005-present). I argue that the show’s complex reception can be explained, in part, by the fact that it transgresses dominant conceptions of authenticity in both rock music and public broadcasting discourses. Drawing on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, I explore ways in which Bachman evokes a “carnivalesque” approach to public communication.     

‘He’s a battler. He’s not a quitter:’ the narrative framing of Jerry Kill’s health-related organizational exit

The abrupt retirement of Jerry Kill, the University of Minnesota’s head football coach, for health reasons during the 2015 season ignited intensely emotional reactions from diverse organizational stakeholders. Our essay analyzes the public discourses surrounding Kill’s organizational exit. Specifically, we explore how audiences co-constructed multiple and conflicting narratives about his departure, concurrently praising and blaming Kill for his body management. We highlight how these discourses construct complex subjectivities for working individuals who experience chronic illness. We conclude by discussing how the narrative frames implicate broader discursive struggles between the cultural values of health and work.     

Iceland’s National Information Infrastructure

This article discusses Iceland's national information infrastructure in the year 2000. It focuses on the current information policy and legislation of the country. It looks at this policy as it is presented in government publications from the last 5 years and evaluates its effects, with particular regard to the education, culture and health sectors. It describes the foundation of a nationwide health database in Iceland, which was established by an Act of Parliament taking force on 1 January 1999. The idea for this database came from deCODE, a company that proposes to make use of the homogeneity and the vast genealogical information of the Icelandic nation to develop better drugs for common diseases. The company is a genomics research company, and is currently working with Hoffmann La-Roche. It has gained a 12-year monopoly on building such a database, the formation of which brings up many ethical questions, and also new possibilities for health management.     

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.