The performance of local television stations with regard to programming and employment practices is a topic that lends itself well to investigation by journalism educators and their students. This paper examines the purposes of such a study and tells how to define the scope of the study and how to start it. It then offers suggestions for…

The components of three areas that pose special problems in the evaluation of television programs are discussed: design, sampling, and measurement. Methods for ameliorating difficulties in these problem areas are suggested. (Author)

Analyzes research about the mass communication audience and describes a theoretical and methodological framework for further empirical studies. Discusses the (1) explanatory value of qualitative research; (2) social and cultural implications of the reception process, with special reference to television; and (3) applications and social relevance…

Briefly summarizes the research on television-viewing behavior relevant to news watching. Suggests ways in which research can be conducted to learn more about these habits as well as about active information processing. (JD)

Argues that formative research (research intended to provide practical answers) is an important tool in the production of effective programs for use in instructional television, particularly in developing nations. (JJD)

A comprehensive framework for assigning experimental research in television message design strategies into either production or performer variable categories is developed, research related to each category is reviewed, and suggestions are made for the conception and reporting of continued research. Seventy-nine references are listed. (Author/CHC)

This paper, (observing that socialization about, interactions with, and influences of the mass media are interrelated in important and understudied ways), briefly reviews the notion of "self" as defined through socially constructed matrices, and discusses evidence supporting the influence of social cognition as a factor in human…

Fourteen statements relating to the surveillance, diversion, and social interaction uses of media were drawn from a review of uses and gratification research and applied to the viewing of local and national early evening news and nighttime local news television programs. A telephone survey of 543 adults elicited information concerning demographics…

This paper reviews the role of television in the lives of blacks and suggests approaches on how to improve the quality of communication research. Portrayals, exposure patterns, attitudes and motives, and effects of blacks on television are discussed. It is suggested that future research should emphasize interpretive analysis or assessment of the…

A study was undertaken to investigate, from a uses and gratifications perspective, the effects of serious television drama shown in a foreign country. Specifically, the study examined the impact of "Roots," a highly acclaimed American television drama on slavery, in Great Britain and provided comparisons with the findings of…

The following methods are suggested to measure the comprehensibility of Children's Television Workshop productions: (1) comprehension tests inserted into the program; (2) dual audio testing--a technique which inserts comprehension questions into the empty spaces in the regular program audio track; and (3) program interruptions which permit…

A time lapse camera loaded with Super 8 film was employed to photographically record the area in front of a conventional television receiver in selected homes. The camera took one picture each minute for three days, including in the same frame the face of the television receiver. Family members kept a conventional viewing diary of their viewing…

Describes the basic method of using naturally occurring settings for research on media effects. Suggests research questions that could be studied and identifies settings (and media markets) most promising for such research. (PD)

Concludes that researchers cannot predict subjects' reactions to television programs from a knowledge of their viewing orientations. (FL)

Concludes that television viewers seek and obtain more personal, entertaining, and humanistic elements from "Good Morning America" than from "Today." (FL)