Broadcasting Research [Broadcasting: An Introduction to Radio and Television (1978)]

When the first radio stations went on the air, radio was regarded as a fad-a novelty that would soon fade away. But after radio became a part of American life, many people went to another extreme; they believed it to be capable of miracles. Some saw radio broadcasting as a powerful tool for propaganda--others saw it as an educational tool that could reach the nation's students. Still others believed that radio was responsible for breaking up the family--that families would listen to the radio rather than communicate with each other.

In 1939, an estimated one million Americans panicked as a result of a radio play which portrayed the United States being invaded by Martians. When psychologist Hadley Cantril investigated this phenomenon he discovered that people who were afraid had a poorer education, were more religious, and were more suggestible than those who realized that it was only a drama. Other re searchers studying daytime radio serials discovered that many people identified with soap opera heros and heroines and listened to them for personal advice and guidance. Although "Amos 'n Andy," the well-known comedy serial, was never studied for its effect on its audience, it certainly had an impact. The show was so popular that many factories and businesses closed early on the nights it was on so that their employees could hear it. Even President Coolidge was said to have given orders that he was not to be disturbed when the program was on.

An outstanding case of mass persuasion by radio took place in 1943 when the popular singer Kate Smith went on the air for an eighteen-hour marathon to sell war bonds. She succeeded in raising $39 million in war bond pledges.

Robert K. Merton, a sociologist who conducted research on a sample of those who bought the bonds, found that half of the sample already intended to buy bonds--they just needed to be prodded. About a third of the sample was predisposed toward buying bonds, and although they had not intended to do so at that time, they were persuaded by Miss Smith. The remainder of the sample bought bonds because they wanted to be associated with a celebrity or because they became fascinated with the drama and structure of the marathon. This marathon provided a model for the wide variety of television charity appeals that we see each year.

After two decades of radio broadcasting, it became clear that although radio was not bringing about any miracles, it was definitely affecting American audiences-often in a very significant way.

In 1948, Merton teamed up with another sociologist, Paul F Lazarsfeld, to develop a comprehensive theory about how media affected Americans. Their theory stated:

1) that media confer status-that any person or event that the media cover becomes important because of the media coverage; 2) that media enforce social norms by showing what is and what is not acceptable; and 3) that media have a numbing effect on their audiences--that audiences receive so much information that they become well-informed but unable to act.

The Lazarsfeld and Merton study came at an excellent time: the transitional period between radio and the advent of television. With the rapid growth of television broadcasting, it soon became apparent that what Lazarsfeld and Merton said about the other mass media could also be said about the newest medium, and, in fact, most media researchers abandoned radio and began to study television instead. Many of the questions that were raised about radio were also raised about television: Would it destroy the family? Could it replace the teacher? What would be its effect on children? Could programming bring about changes in behavior? All of these questions and many more were being asked. In the section that follows we will discuss the methods that have been used for conducting broadcasting research, as well as the four major concerns of such research: the communicators--those who create programs and make policy decisions; the audience-those who watch and listen to the programs; the message-the programs themselves; and the effects--the impact the pro grams have on their audiences.

RESEARCH METHODS

Researchers in broadcasting use a wide range of methods or research techniques to study the communicators, the audience, the message, and the effects of programming on the audience.

One of the most widely used methods is survey research-research that is most commonly used to study audiences. In survey research the researcher takes a regional or national sample of the population he or she wishes to survey and then studies each member of the sample in an identical manner. Survey re search is the technique used by most of the rating services-such as Nielsen, Arbitron, or Pulse-and by polling agencies, such as Gallup and Roper. As well as studying audience size and composition, survey researchers study viewer listener attitudes toward radio and television and audience preferences-what the audience wants to see or hear.

Some survey researchers have also concentrated on how radio and television influence day-to-day behavior. For example, how do members of the audience fit television into their daily routine, how does it affect their relationships with family and friends, or how much attention do audiences give to what they see and hear? The most common research method used to study messages is called content analysis. As the name implies, this research is used to analyze the actual content of the message-the programs we see and hear. At its simplest level, content analysis involves counting the number of times that certain people, issues, or ideas appear in programming. At its more complicated level, it is used to analyze attitudes or editorial bias. Most researchers who conduct content analysis look at some aspect of the program they are studying. For example, in a content analysis of a police adventure program researchers might focus on violence. They might count the number of violent acts, they might classify violent acts into those leading to death and those leading to injury, they might try to identify the types of persons who commit violent acts, and so on.

Many researchers have used content analysis to study news and editorial bias. For example, a researcher studying network news coverage of a political campaign might count the number of minutes devoted to the Democrats and to the Republicans or the researcher might study when the candidate appears in the newscast on the theory that stories that appear at the beginning of the newscast are more important than stories that appear at the end.

Another commonly used research technique in broadcasting is experimental research-research that is mainly concerned with the effects of radio and television on its audience. Experimental research in broadcasting uses many techniques that were developed in the social sciences; in fact a good deal of experimental research in broadcasting is being conducted by sociologists and psychologists.

In experimental studies, the researchers set up and manipulate the research circumstances rather than observing behavior or attitudes in a natural setting.

For example, a researcher might show one group of children a film containing violence and then observe this group playing with other children to see if their play is consequently more aggressive.

Survey research, content analysis, and experimental studies account for the great majority of studies that are conducted in broadcasting. However, they are not the only studies that have yielded important results. Some researchers have had success with panel studies--studies in which the same persons are measured on two or more occasions. This type of study has been particularly useful in measuring children's behavior and attitudes regarding violence as the children grow older. Other researchers have been successful with participant observer studies. In these studies the researcher observes what happens in the actual media operation. For example, he or she might study a newsroom to see who makes decisions about what news will or will not be broadcast. These studies are particularly useful in identifying policy makers in stations and net works.

When compared to research in the natural and physical sciences, broadcasting research--and indeed social science research in general-is still in its in fancy. Broadcast researchers can neither place their subjects in a controlled laboratory setting nor can they count on their subjects to always act consistently. Although the entire area of mass communications raises serious questions, there are still very few answers about the effects of media exposure on people.

In fact, in many cases, we don't even know how to go about finding answers to these questions. Thus, researchers constantly look for new methods of analyzing the media. The existing research is important, but it is only a beginning.

THE COMMUNICATORS

In recent years there has been a trend toward policy research-research that often leads to recommendations for future legislation. The best known study of this type is the report of the Carnegie Commission on Educational Television; a report that led the government to set up a public broadcasting system.

In the 1970s there have been several studies concerned with the area of broadcasting and economics. Noll, Peck, and McGowan have done an economic analysis of television and the interaction of the industry with the Federal Communications Commission. Owen, Beebe, and Manning have researched television economics and have made recommendations regarding future use of the broadcast spectrum. The Rand Corporation has studied the effect of cross media ownership on programming and competition, and Bunch has studied the influence of corporations in broadcasting. Although Halberstam's study on CBS was written for a popular rather than an academic audience, it has provided valuable insight into the connection between profit-making and program choices. There have been a handful of studies about communicators--the media managers who make choices about program content and what should be broadcast. Many of these studies about communicators have been in the area of news. Kurt Lang and Gladys Engle Lang conducted a study, which is now a media classic, of the McArthur Day Parade that took place in 1951. The re searchers observed the media coverage of the event and the actual parade it self, as well as the media and non-media audiences. The Langs discovered that the television coverage of the event was much more exciting and dramatic than the actual event. Additionally, they found that, while the television event matched its viewers' expectations, for the actual onlookers, the parade did not meet their expectations. The researchers concluded that television structures events in order to please the viewers. Another study related to news broadcasting is Edward Jay Epstein's re search concerning network television news. Epstein discovered that there were forces other than network officials that helped to determine news policy--namely, network affiliates and the FCC. He observed that network newscasts must be acceptable to the affiliates or they can refuse to take them. Although this is not likely to happen, the networks are still put into the position of trying to please the affiliates. The FCC influences the news by such policies and guidelines as the Fairness Doctrine and the expectation that stations will all broadcast a reasonable amount of news--news that is partially provided by networks.

Epstein also found that news coverage is influenced strongly by economic factors. The newscast is expected to attract a large audience that will, in turn, attract advertisers. The pressure to attract an audience compels a producer to look for interesting stories, star newscasters, and so on. The make-up of a news cast is also influenced by internal economic factors. Since network news departments have to stay within their budgets, they are more likely to cover stories in New York, Washington, Los Angeles, and Chicago--where they already have film crews as part of the staffs of their owned-and-operated stations. Finally, Epstein noted that the structure of the newscasts is determined by the demands of the organization; that is, the network itself. The networks have certain values and thus recruit producers and newscasters who also display these values. In reference to hiring reporters at NBC, one senior executive said, "It is simply not in our enlightened self-interest to employ reporters with too firmly fixed ideas on how the world ought to be." Although there have been many studies about the effects of media on children, there have been few studies about the communicators who plan and structure children's programming. One of the most interesting studies is Cantor's research on the role of producers and writers in choosing content for these programs. Cantor interviewed almost all the producers and writers of children's programs for one television season. He found that none of them had any academic training specifically directed toward producing children's entertainment. He found that all of them had training in film techniques or in business rather than in any aspect of children's behavior such as education or psychology. Half of them had been film animators, with the rest coming from advertising, promotion, publicity, and writing. Most of them regarded themselves as businesspersons and were indifferent to the possible harmful effects of the programming they produced. A study similar to Cantor's was conducted by Baldwin and Lewis, except that they interviewed those persons responsible for producing and writing prime time programs that contained substantial violence. When questioned about the high incidence of violent acts in these programs, their respondents defended violence. They said that conflict was essential to a plot and that violence was synonymous with conflict. They also pointed out that shows with conflict and violence attracted the largest audiences, and that if their shows did not have it, their competitors' would. Baldwin and Lewis also found that no one actually took the responsibility for introducing violent acts into television pro grams. Since television scripts are usually the result of a team effort, no single individual could claim the work as his or her own.

THE AUDIENCE

Almost 98 percent of all American homes have television sets, and the sets in each of these homes are in use an average of six to seven hours a day with the average person viewing about three hours of television a day.

Americans spend 28 percent of all of their leisure time watching television as a primary activity, which means giving their total attention to the television set. Not surprisingly, those who watch the most television are those who are home the most. Women watch more television than men, but men are more likely to watch it as a primary activity than are homemakers or employed women. Even before they enter the first grade, children are regular television viewers with favorite programs. In a week's time, one study found, first graders watched about twenty-four hours of television, sixth graders watched a little more than thirty hours, and tenth graders viewed about twenty-eight hours. In program preference, first graders liked cartoons and situation comedies, sixth graders preferred adventure shows, and tenth graders watched adventure and musical and variety shows. All of the children reported considerable conflict with other household members about program selections. Ninety percent of the sixth graders and tenth graders objected to commercials, and the majority of these children mistrusted commercials. Teenagers are one group who do not watch as much television as the rest of the population. In 1960 they were the heaviest viewers, but by 1970 they watched television less than any other age group. The decrease in teenage viewing is probably due to the increased availability of media that was geared to their specific interests such as film, radio, and records. Teenagers' loyalty to other media is only a temporary condition. When they reach their twenties, their viewing is similar to that of the rest of the population.

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ARE DIARIES ACCURATE?

The results of one research study would seem to indicate that people do not record their television viewing very accurately. When the researchers made film records of families viewing television in their own homes, they found that the families recorded four hours of viewing, while the cameras only recorded three actual viewing hours. This research would indicate that rating services that rely on diaries for viewing information could be off by as much as 25 percent.

Source: R. B., Bechtel, C. Archelpohl, and R., Akers, "Correlates Between Observed Behavior and Questionnaire Responses on Television Viewing," in E. A. Rubinstein, G. A. Comstock, and J. P. Murray (eds.), Television and Social Behavior, v. 4. Television in Day-to-Day Life: Patterns of Use, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1972, pp. 274-344.

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Black audiences for the broadcast media exhibit somewhat different viewing patterns than those of white audiences. During prime time, black audiences watch slightly less television. However, during nonprime time, blacks watch substantially more television: black women watch 41 percent more daytime and fringe time television than white women. Black and white women listen to the same amount of radio. Black men, however, listen to radio 16 percent more than white men. Among the urban poor, radio and television ownership is about 10 percent below the national average. One researcher found that, in comparing the urban poor to the rest of the American population, children and adolescents from that segment of the population watch television more and have a greater belief that television accurately portrays reality. The urban poor audience watches television more than the general population but has less access to other media, particularly newspapers. In one study of older adults (those between 55 and 80) the researcher found that they preferred news and public affairs programming. Their program favorites also differed from the population at large: of the top 15 programs, as rated by Nielsen, they only considered four as their own favorites. Generally, older adults thought that television was satisfactory and provided good companionship. Seventy-eight percent, however, denied that television advertising influenced their buying choices." Other researchers who have studied older adults have found that when social isolation increases, they become more de pendent on television. A few studies have concentrated on more specialized television viewing. A researcher studying the audience for television soap operas discovered that the most typical audience member was a Southern or Midwestern woman from a large household with a low income and education." Another researcher discovered that people with a high anxiety level were more likely to prefer fantasy programming." As far as educated audiences are concerned, although they express dissatisfaction with television, they watch the same programs as anyone else-and do not limit their viewing to informational and educational programs." Although there are variations in viewing patterns and program preferences among the various demographic groups, research would indicate that there are more similarities than differences in responses to television and television programming. Regardless of age, income, political beliefs, and education, al most every one owns a television set. Nielsen and Arbitron also show, with great regularity, that viewers like some programs and avoid others.

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SOAP OPERAS AND THE MENTALLY ILL

Soap operas may help a mentally ill patient to recover faster.

Several researchers and psychologists have observed that patients often identify with the soap opera characters they see on television.

Although patients may not be able to talk about themselves in group or therapeutic sessions because they find those situations threatening, they are often able to talk about conflicts and highly charged emotional events by identifying with soap opera characters. Re search on this subject is still in its beginning stages, but soap opera therapy may become a future method of treating mental illness.

Source: H. R. Lazarus, and D. K. Bienlein, “Soap Opera Therapy,". International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 17 (1967), pp. 252-256.

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Media Preference

Research about media preference is frequently contradictory. For many years the Roper organization has conducted a yearly poll on American attitudes toward various media and every year they have found that those surveyed increasingly cited television as their major source of news. In 1977, when people were asked where they got most of their news about the world 64 percent answered television. The closest runner-up was newspapers (49 percent), with radio, magazines, and people trailing far behind. When Roper asked people about which medium would they believe if they were to get conflicting news stories, the majority (51 percent) again said television. Newspapers, the next preferred medium, only got 22 percent. When questions were asked about elections, most people said they got their news about local elections from newspapers. Those surveyed also said that news papers gave them the clearest understanding of local issues. In state and national elections, however, television was the leader. Other studies contradict Roper's results. Robinson found that on an average weekday 78 percent of the adult population read a newspaper while the total audience for any one of the three television national newscasts was only about one-quarter of the population. He also found that half of the adult population did not watch a single television newscast in a two-week period. Clark and Ruggels also found that newspapers were preferred over television. Their re search indicated that the broadcast media are used as a source of news by those who have an average or below average interest in and knowledge of public affairs. They also found that those who preferred newspapers were better educated. A study by Lemert confirms the Roper study that television is preferred for national news, while newspapers are the choice for local news. The above studies are a good example of some of the contradictions found in broadcast research. The contradictions can only be explained by differences in methodology, such as sample selection, how the questions were asked, and so on. Whenever contradictions occur, however, it is clear that the research question is by no means answered.

A question related to media preference is where do people see or hear news that is of great importance and interest? One study seems to suggest that media play an important role. When Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he would not run for President for 1968, 77 percent of the adult population heard the news from the original telecast. Seventeen percent heard it later from reports on the mass media, and 5 percent heard it from other people. This study suggests that mass media, particularly radio and television, are the most important means of communicating news of national importance.

Media Satisfaction

As well as examining where people get information, researchers have asked questions about satisfaction with the media. Roper discovered that people were generally happy with both programming and commercials. The majority of viewers liked the existing balance between entertainment and news and public affairs. The majority of those surveyed also believed that it was acceptable to have commercials on children's programs. Television was named as the most desirable medium, followed by news papers, radio, and magazines. But despite the preference for television, people still valued other household items over the television set. In a poll conducted by Bower in 1970, when people were told they could only keep one item, they choose the refrigerator, the automobile, and the telephone-before the television set.

THE MESSAGE

Much of the research about the message bf broadcasting has concentrated on news and news bias. Lang and Lang claim that the media do not simply report on news as it occurs but instead give us a constructed image of events. In television news, for example, film is edited and the editor typically omits the dull portions, the poor camera shots and so on. The stories are also structured by the reporters, the writers back in the newsroom, the producer, and the director. Thus, the news story that we see and hear becomes a new reality; one which may be considerably different than the actual event. This kind of procedure is obviously necessary; the viewer does not have time to listen to the entire politician's speech or to listen to all of the details from a murder trial.

However, this kind of restructuring leaves broadcasters open to accusations of distortion and news bias--especially by those who have been the subject of news stories. Thus, many researchers have done analyses of news programs and have attempted to determine whether claims of bias or distortion were true.

Since such studies deal with persons and issues within certain time periods, they quickly become dated and so we will not discuss them here. But we would like to point out that studies concerned with news bias are especially prevalent around election periods and are available in the professional journals about the communications industry.

Some of the most interesting message research has documented how the broadcasters cover race relations and portray black people. A study of network news between 1968 and 1970 concluded that NBC gave more coverage to race issues than did ABC and CBS. NBC also portrayed officials and authorities more sympathetically than did CBS.31 In another study of blacks appearing in television commercials, the researchers discovered that between 1967 and 1970 there was a marked increase of black people in commercials. However, even as late as 1970, black people "typically did not speak or hold the product." In the same study, researchers discovered that in prime time programming half the program had black actors or actresses and that a typical black male worked in law enforcement. In daytime television, blacks were only represented in one quarter of the programs and were most likely to have roles associated with medicine. An interesting finding of this study was that prime time blacks gave and took more orders than daytime blacks. 33 Sexual stereotyping has been a popular subject for recent broadcasting re search. A study of sex roles in cartoons, for instance, revealed that there were three times as many male characters as female characters. Males were shown in a wide variety of occupations, while females were typically portrayed as pretty teenage girls or housewives." Another study of nonprime time programming found that women most often played comic roles or were wives and mothers.

Female roles were dependent, subservient, and less rational than male roles.

Personal appearance, family, and home were the main concerns of television women. A 1971 study of commercials revealed that men had more important roles than women. They were more often portrayed as experts about products-even when the products were mainly used by women. When men and women used the product, men were often rewarded by career and social advancement, while women were rewarded by approval from others. There has also been research about particular types of programming.

Characters on soap operas are mostly adults. Male professionals are given a great deal of attention, as are their wives, female assistants, lovers, and secretaries. Ninety percent of soap opera conversations are about family, romance, and health problems. 37 In a study of crime and law enforcement shows, researchers found that 64 percent of all prime time shows in the 1972 season had at least one crime, while 42 percent had more than one. Not only does tele vision crime stress murder and the more dramatic forms of crime, but it also portrays crime as being almost always unsuccessful. DeFleur also found that television's portrayal of occupational roles was very different from real life and that high-status occupations were over-represented on television. 39 Although content analysis centers on the message of a program, some re searchers believe that their findings also reveal information about the society to which the message is addressed. George Gerbner and Larry Gross, television researchers, stress that television violence, rather than being meaningless action, actually tells us a good deal about our society by communicating a variety of messages, most of them dealing with who gets away with what, how, when, why, and against whom. In their study of violence, Gerbner and Gross have analyzed the victims and the violents (those who commit violence) who appear in dramatic television programs to better understand what kinds of characters are portrayed as powerful. They have discovered that there were more victims than violents in terms of getting hurt but in terms of getting killed, there were more killers than killed. The violents were most likely to be young, lower-class, foreign, and nonwhite men. Young men were also likely to get away with killing--for every one killed there were four killers. The victims were most likely to be women--especially lower class, nonwhite, and old women. Of all groups, single women were the most likely to be killed. If a woman was married or foreign, she was not so likely to be a victim. Another part of the Gerbner-Gross research examines trends in violent programming. Since 1967 they have been conducting a detailed yearly analysis called the Violence Profile, of one week of prime time programming on all three commercial networks. They have discovered that there has been little decrease in violent programming from the 1967 season to the 1975 season. During the 1975 season eight out of ten prime-time programs still contained violence as did nine out of ten weekend children's hour programming. Of the leading characters, between six and seven (eight and nine for children) were still involved in some violence. The family hour did not reduce the overall pattern of violence. Although violence was reduced during the family hour, it increased during later program hours thereby keeping the overall averages about the same.

THE EFFECTS

The area of broadcast research that has received the most attention and that has been the most controversial is that which deals with the effects that radio and television have on their audiences. Generally, research about effects tries to answer the question of whether broadcasting can bring about changes in people's attitudes and behavior.

Many people fear that broadcasting has the power to manipulate people; that it is so powerful that it can exert some control over people's lives. In recent history a number of Presidents have tried to suppress the media, especially the broadcast media, because they believed and feared that broadcasters were capable of molding public opinion against them.

BROADCASTING RESEARCH

Generally, however, researchers have discovered that the media are more likely to reinforce our existing attitudes than to change them in any way. For example, in a study of a television antismoking campaign, the researcher discovered that nonsmokers were more likely to find the antismoking commercials effective than were smokers. The antismoking commercials were influential with those who wanted to stop smoking, but, even so, only half of them were able to cut back in their smoking habits." When "All in the Family" first appeared on the air many people regarded it as a satire on bigotry. The researchers discovered, however, that those who were themselves prejudiced were likely to admire Archie and to perceive him as victorious over his more tolerant son-in-law, Mike. The researchers have suggested that the program is more likely to reinforce racism and prejudice than to combat it.

Other studies on the effects of broadcasting suggest that the audience is not a passive recipient of the broadcast message. Bauer labels the audience for mass media as "obstinate" and points out that the audience will pay no attention to the communication unless there is something in the communication that the audience needs and wants." Researchers have also found that broadcasting usually does not affect any viewer or listener individually, for audience members do not try to understand what they hear and see in isolation. Instead they see, hear, and discuss messages with a wide variety of other people, such as family members, friends, and people they work with. Messages are then interpreted and restructured in reference to these groups. To understand just how this process works, some researchers have studied the leaders of opinion--defined as those persons we turn to for advice. They have discovered that opinion leaders listen to and watch more media than do their followers. They also use the media for the advice and information that they pass along to their followers. Media messages then become more important to opinion leaders than they are to the general mass audience. In reference to media influence, many people fear that children are much more vulnerable to programs than are adults. In a study of advertising and children, the researchers found that the younger the children, the more likely they were to be confused or misled by television advertising. As children grew older, their attention to and trust in commercials declined. Researchers have also investigated the role of television in educating children. Research on the effects of "Sesame Street" had indicated that children who are encouraged to view the program have greater gains in skills than children who do not have this encouragement. There are also several studies that indicate that children learn social skills from television. For example, when children were shown 30 second commercial spots that stressed sharing, they were later more likely to play games cooperatively rather than competitively. The most controversial question in discussion of the effects of television on the audience has been that of whether watching violent programs on television increases aggressive behavior on the part of viewers. Although there have been some studies conducted on this subject with adults, the main concern has been the effect of violence on children. Attention to this question increased in 1975 with the widely quoted figure that from age five to age fifteen the average young person sees 13,500 people come to a violent end on the television screen.

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TELEVISION EPILEPSY

The medical profession has recognized a new disease known as "television epilepsy." Patients with no previous history of epilepsy have been known to have epileptic seizures while watching their television set. Television epilepsy is most likely to occur if the patient is a child, if the room is dimly lighted, or if the television set is faulty and flickering. Television epilepsy is most likely to occur in Europe where the scanning and line systems are different.

Source: F. R., Ames, and M., Pietersen, "A Case of Television-Induced Epilepsy with Repetitive Head Movements during the Seizure," South African Medical Journal, 46, (1972), pp. 542-44.

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The relationship between television or film violence and aggressive behavior by children has been studied more intensively than any other broadcast research question. Generally, these studies are experimental and very complex, but, the simplest level, the researcher typically assigns the children into one of two groups--those who see the violent program and those who do not.

After the children see the program, they play with each other and the re searcher observes which children play aggressively. In virtually all the studies of this nature, a significant percentage of children who have watched the violent programs act aggressively in their play. Although most researchers agree that children who observe aggressive models become more aggressive, there is not enough evidence to indicate that viewing violent programming contributes to crime and juvenile delinquency. Not only is violence research prevalent but it is also very controversial.

Even though most researchers agree that violent programming increases aggression, members of the broadcast industry argue that violent programming only reflects an already violent society. Any research is open to criticism, and research on violence is no exception. Besides broadcast industry criticism of violence research, there is also a good deal of criticism among the researchers themselves over matters such as the methodology of the experiments and the language used to describe the results.

In 1969, in an attempt to resolve some of this controversial research, Senator John Pastore requested that the Surgeon General appoint a committee to determine whether television programs had any harmful effects on children.

Specifically, Pastore hoped that such a study "would help to resolve the question of whether there is a causal connection between television crime and violence and anti-social behavior by individuals, especially children."

Pastore's request led to the appointment of a twelve-person committee.

Three years later, in 1972, the committee issued their findings in a five-volume research report called Television and Growing Up: The Impact of Television Violence. The report contained the results of twenty-three research projects that involved 7,500 young people ranging in ages from three to nineteen and from all geographic areas and socioeconomic groups throughout the United States. The report also contained analysis and criticism of past and ongoing re search on the subject of television and aggression.

What did the report actually say? To the dismay of everyone looking for a conclusive answer, the report was largely equivocal. Couched in careful language, the committee unanimously stated that it found "preliminary" and "tentative" indications that there is a connection between programs containing violence and aggressive behavior on the part of viewers. The committee, however, was unable to conclude how many children were likely to be affected or what should be done about it. As well as being controversial, the report was almost incomprehensible to the layperson because most of it was written in social science jargon. To com pound the problem, the report's results were widely misrepresented in the press. Some newspapers stated that the report linked television programs and violence, while other papers reported that the report had found no link at all.

Still others labeled the entire report a "whitewash:" Because of the controversy that followed the release of the report, Senator Pastore feared that its integrity might be compromised. Therefore, he called for two Senate hearings in the hope of bringing order to the controversy. The first hearing, held in 1972, concluded that the networks should remove "gratuitous violence" from programs that children watch. At the second hearing, held in 1974, network executives assured Senator Pastore that they were reducing violence in their programming.

Violence and Adults

Not all research on violence has been limited to its effects on children. Gerbner and Gross, who were mentioned earlier for their work on the Violence Profile, have also done some preliminary work on the effects of television violence on adult viewers. Although their work is still in its preliminary stage, their results show that heavy viewers of television (those who watch four or more hours daily) are much more likely to overestimate the possibility of danger to themselves in everyday life. In other words, they accept the television version of reality.

FUTURE RESEARCH

Although there is a considerable amount of research being conducted concerning all aspects of broadcasting, there are still many subjects that need attention.

One area of growing concern to all academic disciplines is that of policy re search. In commercial broadcasting it is often very difficult to identify policy makers. Who, for example, determines overall programming policy? Is it the network, the advertiser, or the independent program producer? What role, if any, does the station affiliate play? Program policy is equally unclear at radio stations. Who decides what records should be played on a Top-40 station? Is it station management, the program director, or the disc jockey? Is this decision made solely by the station or is it influenced by record promotion people, trade publications, record sales, and underground music magazines? One disadvantage of broadcast research is that it is often short-term-it investigates a single phenomenon over a short period of time. For example, if Gerbner and Gross had only conducted a Violence Profile for 1967, the first year of their study, it would be of little value today. But now, whenever this profile is compared to subsequent profiles, it becomes a valuable indication of broadcast trends in programming over the years. Many of the present broadcast research studies would be enhanced if they were designed to examine their subjects over a longer period of time.

Another area that needs research is that of future technology. As Alvin Toffler points out in Future Shock, we are inclined to introduce new technology in the name of progress without looking at its possible consequences to society.

He argues that we should assess the impact of possible new technology and then decide whether we want to introduce it. Researchers must not only be content to research what is-they must also be concerned about what might be. Media research also needs more generalists: people who are able to look at all the media and to formulate broad hypotheses about how media affect human beings. We need media ecologists: persons who try to put media into perspective with regard to the total environment. This is not to say, however, that there is no longer any need for specialized research that enables us to fit pieces into the puzzle of the entire system.

There are two areas of specialized research that have been almost entirely neglected; one has been forgotten, and the other has hardly been covered.

The forgotten area is radio, which has lost out to its more glamorous colleague, television. Although there have been studies of radio in recent years, they are few and far between. There are several million teenagers who consider their car radios, portable transistor radios, and home radios crucial to their lives. Radio is essential to the multimillion dollar record industry and to the rise and fall of singers and musicians. Radio may also be responsible for forming many of the values held by teenage audiences. It may be that radio is neglected by re searchers because it is primarily a medium for teenagers and researchers are usually well past their teenage years.

One area of research that has been almost completely neglected is the study of listeners and viewers as consumers of advertising messages. For every hour of radio, listeners are likely to hear eighteen minutes of commercials; for every hour of television, twelve to fifteen minutes. There is no society in the world, past or present, that is exposed to such a barrage of advertising messages. What is the meaning of all these commercial messages? Do they teach us our roles in society? Do they make us more content? Less content? Do they make us different from other human beings in our values and aspirations?

Research on the impact of broadcasting is still in its infancy. There are thou sands of questions that remain unanswered-questions to be answered by the curious. There is also a sense of urgency about these questions for there is no other single institution in American life that consumes as much time and attention as broadcasting.

NOTES

1. Hadley Cantril. "The Invasion from Mars," The Process and Effects of Mass Communication, rev. ed., Wilbur Schramm and Donald F. Roberts, eds. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1971), pp. 579-595.*

2. Herta Hertzog, "What Do We Really Know About Daytime Serial Listeners?", Radio Research, 1942-43, P. F. Lazarsfeld and F. N. Stanton, eds. (New York: Duel!, Sloan and Pearce, 1944) pp. 3-33.

3. R. K. Merton, Mass Persuasion, (New York: Harper / Row, 1946).*

4. P. F. Lazarsfeld and R. K. Merton, "Mass Communication, Popular Taste, and Organized Social Action," Schramm and Roberts, op. cit., pp. 554-578.

5. Roger G. Noll, Merton J. Peck, and Jack J. McGowan, Economic Aspects of Television Regulation (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1973); Bruce Owen, Jack H. Beebe, Willard G. Manning, Jr. Television Economics (Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books, 1974); Walter S. Baer, et al., Concentration of Mass Media Ownership: Assessing the State of Current Knowledge (Santa Monica, Calif.: The Rand Corporation, 1974); Richard Bunce, Television in the Corporate Interest (New York: Praeger, 1976); David Halberstam, "CBS: The Power and the Profits," Atlantic (January and February 1976).

6. K. Lang and G. E. Lang, "The Unique Perspective of Television and its Effect: A Pilot Study," American Sociological Review, 18 (1953), pp. 3-12.

7. Edward Jay Epstein, News From Nowhere (New York: Random House, 1973).

8. M. G. Cantor, The Hollywood TV Producer (New York: Basic Books, 1971).*

9. T. F. Baldwin and C. Lewis, "Violence in Television: The Industry Looks at It self," Television and Social Behavior, Vol. 1, Media Content and Control, G. A. Comstock and E. A. Rubinstein, eds. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1972), pp. 290-373.*

10. J. P. Robinson, "Television and Leisure Time: Yesterday, Today and (Maybe) Tomorrow," Public Opinion Quarterly (1969), pp. 210-223.*

11. J. Lyle and H. R. Hoffman, "Children's Use of Television and Other Media," Tele vision and Social Behavior, V . 4. Television in Day-to-Day Life: Patterns of Use, E. A. Rubinstein, G. A. Comstock, and J. P. Murray, eds. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1972), pp. 129-256.*

12. Robert T. Bower, Television and the Public (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973).*

13. L. Bogart, "Negro and White Media Exposure: New Evidence," Journalism Quarterly, 49 (1972), pp. 15-21.*

14. C. E. Block, "Communicating with the Urban Poor: An Exploratory Inquiry," Journalism Quarterly, 47 (1970), pp. 3-11.*

15. B. S. Greenberg and B. Dervin, "Mass Communication Among the Urban Poor," Advances in Communication Research, C. D. Mortensen and K. K. Sereno, eds. (New York: Harper & Row, 1973), pp. 388-397.*

Also B. S. Greenberg and B. Dervin, Use of Mass Media by the Urban Poor (New York: Praeger, 1970).*

16. R. H. Davis, -Television and the Older Adult," Journal of Broadcasting, 15 (1971), pp. 153-159.*

17. P. W. Gregg, "Television Viewing as a Parasocial Interaction for Persons Aged 60 or Older," Master's Thesis, University of Oregon, 1971.*; T. F. Schalinske, "The Role of Television in the Life of the Aged Person," Doctoral Dissertation, Ohio State University, 1968.*

18. N. I. Katzman, -Television Soap Operas: What's Been Going On Anyway?," Public Opinion Quarterly, 36 (1972), pp. 200-212.*

19. W. R. Hazard, "Anxiety and Preference for Television Fantasy," Journalism Quarterly, 44 (1967), pp. 461-469.*

20. Bower, op cit. p. 179.

21. The Roper Organization, Trends in Public Attitudes Toward Television and Other Mass Media, /9594974 (New York: Television Information Office, 1975), p.3.

22. Roper, op. cit., pp. 4, 8-9.

23. J. P. Robinson, "The Audience for National TV News Programs," Public Opinion Quarterly, 35 (1971), pp. 403-5.*

24. P. Clarke and L. Ruggels, "Preference Among News Media Coverage of Public Affairs," Journalism Quarterly, 47 (1970), pp. 464-471.*

25. J. B. Lemert, "News Media Competition Under Conditions Favorable to News papers," Journalism Quarterly (1970), pp. 272-280.*

26. I. L. Allen and J. D. Colfax, "The Diffusion of News of LBJ's March 31 Decision," Journalism Quarterly, 45 (1968), pp. 321-324.*

27. Roper, op. cit. pp. 19-23.

28. Ibid. p. 5.

29. Bower, op. cit. p. 13

30. K. Lang and G. E. Lang, Politics and Television (Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1968).*

31. R. A. Pride and D. H. Clarke, "Race Relations in Television News: A Content Analysis of the Networks," Journalism Quarterly, 50 (1973), pp. 319-328.*

32. J. R. Dominick and B. S. Greenberg, "Three Seasons of Blacks on Television," Journal of Advertising Research, 10 (1970), pp. 21-27.* 33. Ibid.

34. R. M. Levinson, "From Olive Oyl to Sweet Polly Pure-bread: Sex Role Stereotypes and Televised Cartoons," Paper presented at the meeting of the Georgia Socio logical Society, Atlanta, November 1973.*

35. M. L. Long and R. J. Simon, "The Roles and Statuses of Women on Children and Family TV Programs,” Journalism Quarterly, 51 (1974), pp. 107-110.*

36. L. Z. McArthur and B. G. Resko, "The Portrayal of Men and Women in American Television Commercials," Journal of Social Psychology, 97 (1975), pp. 209-220.*

37. N. I. Katzman, Television Soap Operas: What's Been Going on Anyway?, Public Opinion Quarterly, 36 (1972), pp. 200-212.*

38. J. R. Dominick, "Crime and Law Enforcement in Prime-Time Television," Public Opinion Quarterly, 37 (1973), pp. 241-250.*

39. M. L. DeFleur, "Occupational Roles as Portrayed on Television," Public Opinion Quarterly, 28 (1964), pp. 57-74.*

40. George Gerbner and Larry Gross, Violence Profile No. 6, Mimeo (December 1974), p. 5.

41. Ibid., pp. 38-39.

42. George Gerbner and Larry Gross "Living with Television: The Violence Profile," Journal of Communication, 26 (1976), pp. 173-199.

43. Ibid., pp. 186-187.

44. M. T. O'Keefe, "The Anti-Smoking Commercials: A Study of Television's Impact on Behavior," Public Opinion Quarterly, 35 (1971), pp. 242-248.*

45. N. Vidmar and M. Rokeach, -Archie Bunker's Bigotry: A Study in Selective Perception and Exposure," Puma/ of Communication, 24 (1974), pp. 36-47.*

46. R. A. Bauer, "The Obstinate Audience: The Influence Process from the Point of View of Social Communication," in Schramm and Roberts, op. cit., pp. 326-346.*

47. Charles R. Wright, Mass Communication, 2nd ed. (New York: Random House, 1975), p. 85.

48. See studies by S. Ward in Television and Social Behavior, Vol. 4, Television in Day-to-Day Life: Patterns of Use, E. A. Rubinstein, G. A. Comstock, and J. P. Murray, eds. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1972)* Also see: S. Ward, D. B. Wacicman, R. Faber, and G. S. Lesser, Effects of Television Advertising on Consumer Socialization, (Cambridge, Mass.: Marketing Science Institute, 1974).

49. T. D. Cook, H. Appleton, R. Conner, A. Shaffer, G. Tamlcin, and S. J. Weber, Sesame Street Revisited: A Study in Evaluation Research (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 97 (1975), pp. 209-220.*

50. R. W. Poulos, -Television's Pro-social Effects: A Positive Look at the Medium," Journal of Social Issues, 97 (1975), pp. 209-220.*

51. Several of these studies can be found in G. A. Comstock and E. A. Rubinstein, eds. Television and Social Behavior, Vol. 3, Television and Adolescent Aggressive ness (Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1972).* 52. Douglas Cater and Stephen Strickland, TV Violence and the Child (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1975), p. 1.* 53. Ibid., p. 2.

54. Ibid., pp. 80-81.

55. Ibid., p. 126.

56. Gerbner and Gross, op. cit., p. 43.

57. Alvin Teter, Future Shock (New York: Random House, 1970).

* Many of the research studies cited in this section can be found in abstracted form in George Comstock's Television and Human Behavior: The Key Studies (Santa Monica, Calif: Rand Corporation, 1975).

For the convenience of our readers we have identified with an asterisk those studies covered in Coinstock.