A Content Analysis of American Primetime Television: A 20-Year Update of the National Television Violence Studies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karyn Riddle ◽  
Nicole Martins

Abstract This article provides a 20-year, apples-to-apples update of the National Television Violence Studies. Using the same sampling procedures and codebook, we coded 765 primetime television programs and movies airing on 21 broadcast and cable networks. Results suggest the prevalence of violence has increased slightly, but the number of programs saturated with violence has experienced a more significant increase. This appears to be driven by an influx of highly violent movies airing in primetime on cable channels. Although some contextual variables suggest slight improvements in terms of negative consequences for violence, the overwhelming majority of violent television programs and movies do not feature anti-violence themes. Implications for social cognitive, cultivation, schema, transportation, and media vividness theories are discussed.

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  

Susan Vertoont Representations of disability on primetime television in Flanders This paper examines primetime television representations of disability in Flanders. The aim of the study was to analyse in which identities (RQ 1) and in which roles (RQ 2) characters with disabilities are represented on television. By means of a quantitative content analysis in a constructed week (January-February 2016), 115 primetime television programs and 2.414 television characters were studied. The results show a bias in favour of adult, male characters with physical disabilities. Women, youngsters and seniors with disabilities are less frequently represented, as are people with health or learning disabilities. Moreover, we noticed little diversity among the genres and roles in which disabled characters are represented. Only roles that can grant disability a central story line, seem to include disabled characters. Roles in which disability would become a coincidental feature (e.g. candidates in game shows, supporting roles in fictional programs) do not seem to allow characters with disabilities. Keywords: disability, gender, television, representation, content analysis


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Vertoont

Representations of disability on primetime television in Flanders This paper examines primetime television representations of disability in Flanders. The aim of the study was to analyse in which identities (RQ 1) and in which roles (RQ 2) characters with disabilities are represented on television. By means of a quantitative content analysis in a constructed week (January-February 2016), 115 primetime television programs and 2.414 television characters were studied. The results show a bias in favour of adult, male characters with physical disabilities. Women, youngsters and seniors with disabilities are less frequently represented, as are people with health or learning disabilities. Moreover, we noticed little diversity among the genres and roles in which disabled characters are represented. Only roles that can grant disability a central story line, seem to include disabled characters. Roles in which disability would become a coincidental feature (e.g. candidates in game shows, supporting roles in fictional programs) do not seem to allow characters with disabilities.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-211
Author(s):  
Bernard Doherty

Beginning in 2005 the tiny Christian sect then known as the Exclusive Brethren suddenly underwent a media transformation from a virtually unknown or ignored group of quirky and old-fashioned Protestant sectarians to being touted as “Australia’s biggest cult” by tabloid television programs. This explosion of controversy came on the heels of media revelations about the involvement of Brethren members in providing financial donations to conservative political causes across the globe and a snowballing effect in response which brought forth a number of ex-members eager to expose their former group. This article looks at how this media transformation has been received by the wider Australian public. By studying the hitherto little utilized data contained in readers’ letters to Australia’s three mainstream broadsheet newspapers this article identifies which events or undertakings had the most impact on public perceptions of the Exclusive Brethren and which specific articles and issues struck the most responsive chord with readers. This content analysis found that Australian public opinion toward the Exclusive Brethren, while on the whole negative, was more indicative of their political involvement than their beliefs. The study also found that prior to what I call “The Brethren Controversy” the Exclusive Brethren had maintained a high degree of “sectarian tension” in Australia for almost four decades with little public outcry or media vilification.


Author(s):  
Martina Valente ◽  
Sophie Renckens ◽  
Joske Bunders-Aelen ◽  
Elena V. Syurina

Abstract Purpose This mixed-methods study delved into the relationship between orthorexia nervosa (ON) and Instagram. Methods Two quantitative data sources were used: content analysis of pictures using #orthorexia (n = 3027), and an online questionnaire investigating the experience of ON and the use of Instagram of people sharing ON-related content on Instagram (n = 185). Following, interviews (n = 9) were conducted with people posting ON-related content on Instagram and self-identifying as having (had) ON. Results People who share ON-related content on Instagram were found to be primarily young women (questionnaire = 95.2% females, mean age 26.2 years; interviews = 100% females, mean age 28.4 years), who were found to be heavy social media users and favor Instagram over other platforms. Questionnaire respondents agreed in defining ON as an obsession with a diet considered healthy, with bio-psycho-social negative consequences, though those who self-identified as having (had) ON were more likely to point out the negative impairments of ON. Interviewees deemed Instagram partially responsible for the development of ON. Instead, they agreed that Instagram encourages problem realization. Content analysis showed that ON is encoded in pictures of ‘food’, ‘people’, ‘text’ and ‘other.’ Interviewees revealed that they started posting to recover, share information, help others, and they felt inspired to post by other accounts. A sense of belonging to the #orthorexia community emerged, where people share values and ideals, and seek validation from others. Conclusion Conversations around #orthorexia on Instagram generate supportive communities aiding recovery. Individuals use Instagram for helping others and themselves recovering from ON. Understanding how people help each other, manage their health, cope with symptoms, and undertake recovery can inform the implementation of therapeutic interventions for ON. Level of evidence Level III, evidence obtained from well-designed cohort or case–control analytic studies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans C. Schmidt

While there is a longstanding connection between sports and politics, this past year has seen a surge of social activism in the world of sport, and numerous high-profile athletes have used their positions of prominence to raise awareness of social or political issues. Sport media, in turn, have faced questions regarding how best to cover such activism. Given the popularity of sport media, such decisions can have real implications on the views held by the public. This scholarly commentary discusses how sport media cover the social activism of athletes and presents the results of a content analysis of popular news and sports television programs, newspapers, and magazines. Overall, results indicate that sport media are giving significant and respectful coverage to athletes who advocate for social or political issues.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibel Dal ◽  
◽  
Cemil Öztep ◽  

The purpose of this study is to examine how selected stories, which are written in Turkish by local or foreign authors for preschoolers, deal with honesty. In this basic interpretive qualitative study, data were collected through document analysis and analyzed through content analysis. Analyzed documents are twenty-one picture books, which written in Turkish for preschoolers published between 2004 and 2015, nine stories about honesty published online by four Turkish Provincial Directorates of National Education and one story about honesty published online by the Center for Values Education. The software NVivo 11 was used to conduct computer-assisted data analysis. The results of this study demonstrate that most of the analyzed texts use “dishonesty and its negative consequences” more than “honesty and its positive outcomes” to promote honesty.


2016 ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Isabelle Giroux ◽  
Francine Ferland ◽  
Cathy Savard ◽  
Christian Jacques ◽  
Priscilla Brochu ◽  
...  

Gambling habits of people aged 55 years and over without gambling problems are rarely being investigated. In order to document life events and to identify the impacts of gambling on quality of life, 19 participants aged 55 to 74 years without gambling problems, male and female, were assembled in three focus groups. Qualitative content analysis of the groups reveals changes in gambling habits associated with transition to retirement and occurrence of health problems. The content analysis further reveals a variety of positive and negative consequences of gambling habits on finances, hobbies, social relationships, and psychological health. Although the focus groups did not target the structural or environmental characteristics of gambling that influence participants' gambling habits, those themes were brought up spontaneously. Results highlight the necessity to study life events from a larger perspective including, for example, protective and risk factors, in order to better understand the life contexts and the individual characteristics that may lead to an alteration or not of gambling habits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Dąbrowska ◽  
Łukasz Wieczorek

Aim: This study concerns perceived social stigmatisation of gambling disorder and its determinants, the self-perceptions of people with gambling disorder (self-stigma) and how they cope with stigma. Design: In total, 30 interviews with persons with gambling disorder and 60 with professionals were conducted. Selective sampling procedures were employed in the recruitment phase. In the case of professionals, the inclusion criteria were employment in facilities where treatment of gambling disorder is offered, and profession. For people with gambling disorder, the criterion was a diagnosis confirmed by a psychiatrist. Results: Elements revealed in past research on stigma-creation processes were reflected in respondents’ statements. The type of gambling, the occurrence of negative consequences, the possibility of hiding, personal responsibility, social status and contact with stigmatised populations are perceived determinants of problem gamblers’ stigmatisation. Gambling disorder sufferers experience anxiety associated with the possibility of rejection and a fear related to their condition being revealed to others. Various manifestations of cognitive distancing and hiding were coping mechanisms identified in the study. Conclusions: People with gambling disorder experience anxiety associated with the possibility of rejection, and they often conceal their disorder, which may hinder their treatment. Therefore the issue of stigma should be addressed in therapy.


1988 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narelle McDonald ◽  
Alan Hayes

ABSTRACTA key assumption of the mainstreaming movement is that exposure of young children to their disabled peers provides opportunities for the formation of accurate views of the characteristics and attributes of children with disabilities. Essentially, it is argued that experience enables children to transcend labelling, stereotyping and stigmatization. Prospective data are reported on the mainstreaming of two preschool aged children with spina bifida, based on the content analysis of records of speech, collected over a school year, on 22% of the times when children had opportunities to interact socially. The data indicate that the children seemed to generate their own labels, disability terms and developmental mythologies, which endured across the year. The study highlights the limited attention that has been paid to the collection of data on the social-cognitive processes of children and their disabled peers in mainstreamed settings and emphasizes the scant consideration of evidence from psychology in the mainstreaming debate.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 487-505
Author(s):  
Rayeheh Alitavoli

This study identifies the dominant frames presented in opinion articles published from 20 August to 17 September 2013 on the alternative website – antiwar.com – and the mainstream website – cnn.com; this timeframe includes articles published a week before and a week after the US administration’s decision to attack and withdraw from Syria. The article employs qualitative content analysis and Entman’s framing theory to code the data and extract the themes and dominant frames present in a total of 87 opinion articles. The study concludes that cnn.com provided frames that presented Bashar al-Assad as a ‘brutal villain’ who uses chemical weapons on his own people, while providing frames that stress Barack Obama’s incompetency in carrying out a strategic plan and highlight the negative consequences of a strike. However, antiwar.com articles are more resonant and consistent than cnn.com articles, and provide frames that encourage readers to protest against engaging in another war, reminding them of the failures of similar past wars such as the Iraq War and its negative consequences, as well as stressing the major players that benefited from a military intervention.


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