Reports results of part of a long-range project studying cultural indicators. Suggests that television viewing is associated with a cultural "mainstream" that tends to absorb or assimilate groups that otherwise diverge from it, and that the salience of certain real-life circumstances is likely to boost television's cultivating potential. (JMF)

Reports a study conducted in Holland that concludes that "All In The Family" isn't likely to have a reinforcement effect on persons high on parental authoritarianism, lifestyle intolerance or ethnocentrism. (MH)

This paper, part of a larger study of new television technologies, examines how preschool children integrate remote control devices (RCDs) into their television viewing behavior, preschoolers' competence with and knowledge of RCDs, and the role of the RCD in shaping family viewing styles. Subjects, 50 children aged 4 to 6 years attending 3…

Explores how the formal television elements that constitute the ritual space of the talk show establish and contextualize the socio-centrality of the star host--specifically examining the comedy of Johnny Carson and David Letterman, examples of the Yankee character as a champion of common sense and cultural consensus. (NKA)

Examines attempts to provide cultural programing on cable in the early 1980s. Identifies misconceptions about television's cultural audience and suggests limits on the model of "narrowcasting." Indicates that the basic factor for the commercial shortfall of the cultural networks was their striking inability to attract viewers. (JD)

This literature review argues that the broader implications of social learning by a subordinate group through the cultural apparatus of the dominant group has not usually been made an explicit part of the theoretical perspectives utilized in studies of minorities' experiences concerning the impact of television. The review presents the principal…

Examines the differences in how Black and White viewers process messages based on the race of television characters representing five occupations. Notes that findings from male college students suggest that Black viewers have better recall of Black occupational characters than White characters on television. Reveals evidence that both Black and…

Examines differences in how viewers from five distinct cultural groups retell an episode of Dallas and how these differences reflect their perceptions of the program and their backgrounds. Results reveal correlations between ethnicity and choice of narrative form. (RAE)

Examines how postwar women's magazines introduced television to the American housewife. Reveals the way television was imbricated in the gendered division of labor and leisure at home by exploring how the magazines deliberated on the problems television posed for women's domestic chores and the efficient functioning of the household. (KEH)

Television's role within the familial setting is the subject of a research program being conducted at the Universities of Hartford, Texas, and Utah, proceeding on the premise that television functions within a variety of environmental influences, all of which act in varying combinations to produce a wide range of effects within viewers. The…

A study of the audience of a Spanish-language-only television station in Southern California was conducted in order to gain information about media utilization and attitudes of Spanish-speaking people in the United States. The first part of this report outlines the major historical and sociological factors which have kept Mexican Americans…

Comparison of data gathered in the late 1970s to data gathered in the early 1990s indicates that while communication researchers remain convinced that effects of intercultural mass media exist, they also acknowledge that no clear, useful theoretical framework exists. Data were analyzed, compared, and reported in the late 1970s from three…

This paper reports the results of a comparative study carried out with populations from two distinct cultural environments: kibbutz and city raised children in Israel. The study examined how perceptions and responses to television differ across social environments and how children's perceptions of, and reactions to, television may affect…

A study was conducted to determine whether there was a significant difference in perceptions and values between Canadian and American television audiences. Respondents were first and second year college university students at the University of Windsor, Ontario, and Canisius College, Buffalo. Two types of personal values were looked at: general…