Television journalism has long been the object of study by scholars of news media ethics. A study examined the reasoning process and the criteria for judgment used by viewers when evaluating possibly problematic television (TV) news content, and analyzed these criteria as they are applied to ethical issues and problems in TV newscasts. Thirty-four…

Finds traditional sex roles are reflected in attributes, attitudes, and behavior of male and female characters in 20 cartoon programs. (RB)

Presents the results of a case study showing that 68 percent of the news releases received by a television station were rejected as out-dated or not relevant to the local region. (RB)

Indicates that between 30 and 60 percent of the television viewers engage in a number of extra activities during commerical breaks. (RB)

This study investigated the effects of background television on cognitive performance as it applies to reading comprehension and memory using G. B. Armstrong and B. S. Greenberg's (1990) model. Subjects, 95 undergraduates from lower-level communication courses, completed a cued-recall test of the content of an expository prose passage read under…

The total percentage of women employed in executive positions in television stations in the United States is substantially lower than previous studies indicate. Of the 1743 persons employed in those jobs in commercial and noncommercial stations in the top 50 markets, only 4.8 percent are women. This compares with 91.2 percent who are men (the sex…

Concludes that older siblings dominate younger ones in the choice of television programs. (FL)

Results indicate respondents do not identify medium-specific or program-specific uses. Lack of differentiation suggests: (1) additional assessment of the relationship of medium and content is needed and (2) medium and content should be considered related variables in uses and gratification research, and research not incorporating their interaction…

Examines the portrayal of family relationships in domestic comedy television programs. Selects eight popular programs for view by subjects who then evaluate each television family with scales drawn from family theory. Reveals a model in which children construct a relatively hostile relational environment and parents exert a compensatory effect,…

Examines whether errors in memory (specifically source confusions) contribute to the link between television viewing and social reality judgments. Finds that a manipulation of the visual similarity of the news and fictional programming affected subjects' tendency to make source confusions. (RS)

Investigates the cultivation hypothesis by testing two cognitive processes hypothesized to allow viewers to construct television-biased beliefs. Finds the basic cultivation result replicated, but neither process hypothesis was supported. (SR)

Evaluates reactions of students exposed to a video presentation with or without a laugh track. Finds those in the laugh track group exhibited significantly more mirth behavior, but did not evaluate the stimulus as significantly funnier. (MS)

During the week of September 16-20, 1990, commercials promoting drugs and alcohol outnumbered the networks' news stories, documentaries, and public service announcements (PSAs) about illegal drugs by a ratio of almost 39 to 1. Considering the commercials alone, promotion of drugs and alcohol outnumbered the antidrug promotions by a ratio of almost…

Investigates whether audio/video redundancy improves memory for television messages. Suggests a theoretical framework for classifying previous work and reinterpreting the results. Suggests general support for the notion that redundancy levels affect the capacity requirements of the message, which impact differentially on audio or visual…