States that contrary to previous reports of "grazing," most viewers only used their remote control devices (RCDs) once or twice every half hour. Claims that the dominant RCD operation was direct channel punching, as opposed to dial turning. Concludes that most RCD activity did not take place during a program, thus voiding industry…

Investigates the validity of the television industry's labeling of sensitive program content following the advent of the V-chip television ratings system. Examines programs for the nature and extent of portrayals of violence, sexual behavior and dialogue, and adult language. Suggests there are substantial limitations in the ability of the V-chip…

Examines violence in music video programming. Reveals that 15% of music videos feature violence, and most of that aggression is sanitized, not chastised, and presented in realistic contexts. Discusses the findings in terms of the risk that exposure to violence in each channel and genre may be posing to viewers' learning of aggression, fear, and…

Assesses the prevalence and context of violence in prime-time television programming using a random, representative sample. Shows that, regardless of the time of day, viewers are likely to encounter violence in roughly 2 out of 3 programs. Identifies specific channel types and genres that feature potentially harmful depictions of violence during…

Investigates the nature and extent of violence contained in television programming that targets children aged 12 and younger. Notes that the violence itself is just as likely to be glamorized in children's as in nonchildren's shows, but it is even more sanitized and more likely to be trivialized. Documents five subgenres of children's programming…

Examines the perpetrators of violence on American television in terms of their chronological age. Compares the amount and nature of violence committed by child and teen characters to that committed by adult characters. Suggests that younger perpetrators are depicted in several ways that pose risks for the child viewer. (SG)

Contributes to scholarship on the effects of television on children. Finds that the most important characteristics valued by both Dutch and U.S. children 6 to 11 years old were comprehensibility and action, closely followed by humor, "interestingness,""innocuousness," realism, violence, and romance. Finds boys in both samples…

Finds that the private dialog between parents and children closely approximated the public dialog about TV family portrayals by focusing on TV family realism, structure, and relationship models. Shows that a social learning model was implicit in participants' arguments, and that most participants argued that family portrayals affect expectations…

Uses content analysis of television characters in all occupations across 30 seasons to test the argument that television entertainment depicts business negatively. Reaffirms that television stigmatizes the occupation of business, independently of economic factors. Notes that these results pose a challenge to mass communications theory that…