Summarizes data from five studies on the viewing and impact of the series "Roots." Findings compared and contrasted studies for frequency of viewing, perceived entertainment, emotional response, relevance to racial relations, and information. (JEG)

Canadian adults see less humor and realism in Archie Bunker of "All in the Family" than does United States sample. (RB)

Network policy, for the past several years, has been to preface many controversial programs with a general advisory warning that "this material may not be suitable for all family members." A random sample of the general public was surveyed in order to determine the usefulness of the current warning system. Only one-fourth of the adult…

This study was conducted to test the relationship between dogmatism and agreement with the television character Archie Bunker among adult Canadians. It was hypothesized that highly dogmatic Canadians would demonstrate the same identification with Archie Bunker that highly dogmatic viewers from the U. S. demonstrate, and it was also hypothesized…

Explores the specific humorous content of various "All In The Family" television shows and suggests that cultural differences affect the appreciation of humor. (MH)

Some critics of broadcasting assert that the authoritarian dimension of entertainment television encourages viewer passivity and the uncritical acceptance of negative social values on the part of some viewers. This paper reviews the research on this topic and presents two new studies that tested the authoritarian impact of entertainment…

This paper discusses the wide appeal, and the effect on the viewing audience, of traditional television soap operas. It reports on a comparison of role interactions, topics discussed by the characters, and types of topics and problems presented on the television program "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" with those presented on two traditional…

The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of social information received by audiences viewing "Sanford and Son" and "All in the Family." It was hypothesized that whites perceive "Sanford and Son" as being more real than blacks do; middle-class viewers rate each program as being more real than lower-class…

This study tests the hypothesis that discrepant information will receive greater exposure and will reach the desired audience when presented within the context of a news/documentary television program (task-oriented programming) instead of televised entertainment (non-task-oriented programming). After 134 college students completed a scale that…

This research examined viewer reaction to the television program "The Jeffersons" in order to study differences between racial groups in exposure to the program, its perceived entertainment value, and the degree to which the characters portrayed reveal "real" behavior. Viewer reaction to the racially integrated married couple…

A study was conducted to document the existence of the "reverse modeling" principle of television viewing behavior whereby children, rather than parents, determine the television viewing choices for family members. Through telephone interviews, 284 adult respondents were questioned regarding their knowledge of the television advisory…

A study investigated the differences between television news programming in Canada and the United States in three areas: ownership (public versus private), language (French versus English), and nation of origin (Canada versus the United States), in order to determine basic differences in network TV news content Canadian viewers may experience,…

The nature of incidental social learning in television viewers of "All in the Family" and "Sanford and Son" was the focus of this investigation. Seven hundred and eight-one racially and economically mixed respondents from Chicago and Atlanta provided the data source. Telephone interviews attempted to assess viewer opinions of…

The highly rated television program series, "All in the Family," was used to test the relationship between attitudes espoused by televised characters and attitudes held by viewers of this type of television programing. On the basis of survey questionnaires, it was condluded that people who hold dogmatic and, especially, racist beliefs find…