Finds that "PM Magazine" emphasized and promoted a dominant personal success value system revolving around recognition, achievement, financial success, excitement, and physical attributes. Argues that this value system existed because it appealed to a particular demographic, making the program highly marketable to national advertisers,…

Examines three episodes of the children's educational television show "Reading Rainbow." Finds that the program reflects prevailing beliefs about literacy development--it provides viewers with many experiences with print through exposure to quality children's literature and through modeling the use and enjoyment of literacy; employs…

Investigates the effect of television viewing on perceptions of sex-role stereotypes. Finds partial support for both the high impact image (the "Drench") and the frequent viewing ("Drip, Drip") theories. (RS)

Explores communication strategies and styles used in television advertising by female U.S. Senate candidates for the 1986 elections. Finds that they focused on issues and stayed away from negative advertising in their ads, tending to highlight their competency as political officials and their past accomplishments. (SR)

Analyzes the content of 16 hours of children's cartoon television programs. Finds that (1) all programs contained some violence, but especially those programs linked with toy merchandisers; (2) such programs used more theme music; and (3) few Black characters were shown, whereas males predominated and females were victims more often than were men.…

Examines the congruence between the view of marriage identified in content analysis and that rated by college students. Finds that students rated most marriages as "traditional," and rated traditional marriages as the most realistic. Notes that the amount of television exposure was unrelated to television marriage ratings. Discusses implications…

A study investigated whether the amount of "soft news" coverage for the three major American broadcast television networks increased during the period from 1972 to 1987. A total of 558 broadcasts were analyzed. Each news story was coded and placed into one of four categories concerning its timeliness and whether it was "hard"…

A study examined the interactions of siblings in television families in three popular sitcoms of the 1950s--"Father Knows Best,""Leave it To Beaver," and "Ozzie and Harriet." Nine episodes of each sitcom were videotaped, and the behaviors were coded using a system developed to code sibling behavior in 1980s sitcoms.…

The portrayal of reading, writing, and other selected behaviors on prime-time network television was examined in this two-part study. First, an interest inventory was administered to a sample of 301 elementary students (i.e., grades 1-5) in South Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania to determine their favorite television shows, books, and school…

This investigation of some of the meanings of "woman" that are produced and negotiated in the interaction of television representations, viewer receptions, and the historical/industry context focuses on the "Cagney and Lacey" series--produced in the United States--as a particular instance of the cultural production and…

The image and interactions of the black family depicted on television were investigated in order to determine whether changes occurred in the imagery and interactions of black television families between 1980 and 1985, and to compare the family structures and interactive behavior on situation comedies portraying nuclear black families during the…

All of the presidential and vice presidential campaign stories in a simple random sample of 75 network television newscasts during the 1984 campaign were analyzed for possible political bias. The 4,363 sentences in these newscasts were classified as report sentences (factual and verifiable), inference sentences (subjective and not verifiable), and…

A study was conducted to establish a baseline of facts concerning the extent, nature, and social functions of the drinking of alcoholic beverages as depicted on prime time network television programing. A content analysis was undertaken of a random sample of programs drawn from the three major networks over a period of 14 evenings. The primary…

Following a 1978 commando raid by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Israeli troops crossed the Israeli-Lebanese border to establish a "security belt" to prevent further PLO action in Israel. A study was conducted to determine whether the coverage of the Israeli invasion by the three commercial television networks in the United…

The studies reported in this book are content analyses of children's television and attendant advertising. Following an introductory statement, chapters present data about children's commercial television on the weekends, children's commercial television after school, and the seasonal variations in television advertising to children. A concluding…