In 1994 the Kaiser Family Foundation commissioned a monitoring project which assessed the frequency and representation of sexual behaviors in five daytime television soap operas. A new study sought to provide up-to-date quantitative information and to extend the previous project by examining more specifically the representation of planning for and…

Assesses the nature and quantity of physical intimacy on prime-time television programming between 1975-76 and concludes that program type is a critical predictor of the frequency and level of televised sexuality. (MH)

Discusses the findings of the eighth annual TV Violence Profile report confirming a sharp increase in televised violence across dramatic program categories. (MH)

The purpose of this content analysis was to examine in detail the nature and extent of messages about sex that are presented in the "family hour" on broadcast network television. The research sought to identify any patterns that exist in portrayals of sexual behavior as well as characters' talk about sex, using a sample of programming…

Seeking to uncover some of the factors involved in the comprehension of televised news, a study examined the responses of 425 television news viewers to questions about a news story appearing on a national network's evening newscast. The subjects were asked to name the stories they recalled from the newscast. Then the respondents' recall of the…

Television includes a substantial amount of sexual content, and TV's sexual messages are clearly an important part of adolescent sexual socialization. At a time when the nation is facing a sexual health crisis among young people, special attention needs to be paid to those media depictions that could influence how young people develop their…

The 1976-79 schedules of the three major television networks were analyzed to determine what strategies were used to organize prime time schedules and what types of programs appeared during prime time viewing periods. Five essential programing strategies were identified: fraction of selection (cost versus reward), lowest common denominator (wide…

Media portrayals involving sexuality can contribute to the sexual socialization of young people. If television is an important source of information and potential influence about sex for young people, then obviously it is important to understand the nature and extent of sexual information that is being conveyed by television. This report contains…

Projecting data from this content analysis, the authors concluded that viewers who watch one hour of prime-time programing each evening throughout the year would see over 2,700 irregular driving acts; over 250 acts in which people are endangered; 80 auto-caused deaths and injuries; and only 15 cases of seat-belt usage. (PD)

Investigates the role of television in the satisfaction of various psychological needs in the viewer. Through the Q-sort method and subsequent factor analysis, six viewer typologies are identified. (JVP)

Research indicates drug abuse messages are broadcast during low youth and nonprime television viewing hours and contain little specific information. (RB)

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)

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…

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…

Segments of primetime and Saturday morning television programing were viewed by 225 people who then reported what criteria they used to assess violence on commercial and public television. The subjects also provided data on their visual media experience, their viewing habits, their viewing attitudes, and demographic characteristics. The subjects…