Examines the role of media coverage in providing political legitimacy for United States Senators. Introduces into the analysis two new variables: senators' attitudes towards an issue, and their voting behavior regarding that issue. Finds that the amount of senators' television news coverage is a function of their power and stance. (RS)

Compares the news values of small and major market television stations. Finds that major market stations place more emphasis on fires, crime, and accident, but also emphasize local government and politics. (MM)

Compares the portrayal of women in music videos during the summer of 1985 with portrayals during the winter of 1986-1987. Finds that while sexism exists during both periods, the degree of sexism in the 1986-1987 videos varies by the sex of the musician, indicating that the presence of women musicians in videos decreases the degree of sexism. (MM)

Examines approaches to discourse and television, working from the specific example of the television situation comedy "Designing Women" to the general functioning of discourse in television narrative. Positions "Designing Women" within the sitcom genre. Suggests that "Designing Women" activates television's…

Examines the portrayal of family relationships in television domestic comedy. States that subjects were randomly selected to evaluate samples of nine programs. Finds that on television both parent-child and sibling relationships have developed in relational frameworks defined by the changing levels of conflict, cohesiveness, and socializing, with…

States that contrary to previous reports of "grazing," most viewers only used their remote control devices (RCDs) once or twice every half hour. Claims that the dominant RCD operation was direct channel punching, as opposed to dial turning. Concludes that most RCD activity did not take place during a program, thus voiding industry…

Assesses the variable amounts of attention that are required for a viewer to process two kinds of interruptions common to television: the shift from one message to a different, unexpected message; and the reference to previously presented material. Interprets results in terms of limited capacity and attentional inertia models of attention. (RS)

Finds that inertial engagement sustains looks across boundaries between programs and commercials; inertial engagement does not carry over from one look to the next; inertial engagement was associated with greater recognition memory for television content; and look length distributions are approximately lognormal, and hazard functions are…

Argues that the current popular negative critique of television, if examined carefully, reveals fundamental confusions concerning how print and television communicate information. Discusses the syntax of motion which distinguishes television from print, based on movement in space--a space that is both visual and acoustic. (SR)

Examines psychological concepts and theories about people's restrictions in processing information, and relates the concepts and theories to multiple resource theory. Applies this approach to television viewing, and discusses four separate limiting factors. (SR)

Investigates whether selective attention to a particular television modality resulted in different levels of attention to the visual and auditory modalities. Finds that subjects were able to focus on a particular message channel but that reactions to cues were faster when the audio channel contained the most information and when viewers focused on…

Study investigates individuals who receive their information about mental illness primarily from. Results reveal that the amount of television watched per week was significantly and positively related to intolerance and that the type of show watched accounted for significant variance in measures of tolerance toward people with mental illness.…

Contributes to research on schema theory and media effects by examining how violence is portrayed in comedy programs. Finds a high rate of violence (especially verbal forms) on comedy programs; and the combination of humor, minor acts of violence, and program context tend to trivialize its presence. Suggests that viewers' schema for comedy uses…

Tests the hypothesis that processing strategy moderates the effect of television viewing on social perceptions of undergraduate students (cultivation effect). Examines views on prevalence of crime, occupations, affluence, and marital discord. Indicates that processing strategy moderated the cultivation effect such that cultivation effects were…

The mass media contribution to education politics is explored through the application of a pluralistic theoretical framework to evidence connected with the making of an episode of a U.K. current affairs television program. The episode addressed a politically contentious educational issue but proved controversial in itself. Several sources…