Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 360-391).

How television entertainment programmes producers in Kenya conceptualise audiences is the primary objective of this study. It begins with a brief examination of how the operations of broadcast media institutions in Kenya have been historically linked to government and commerce. Throughout the history of television in Kenya, producers have conceptualised audiences in line with the political, economic and socio-cultural factors that were paramount in the instituting of broadcasting in this society. This historical background continues to shape the character of television entertainment programmes, and therefore how producers conceptualise audiences for these programmes. During their production practices, producers are also influenced by particular communication dynamics within which television programmes are produced and viewed. The dynamics of 'being the audience of television' include that the 'active audience' is autonomous in its various relationships with programmes content, yet the subjectivity of viewers to the institutional systems within which broadcasting happens constrains the audience‘s freedom in how it relates to entertainment programmes. Programme content hails and guides the audience into 'attending' to given shows in specific ways. This study reveals that the audience multi-facetedly relates with entertainment programmes, but the degree to which the audience can exercise its 'will' over the television text is limited. This is because television programmes are constructed meanings, framed and constricted by the elements that constitute them. Also, structures of culture constrain the plurality of the resources audiences have at their disposal as tools for 'reading‘ the programmes. The research-participant producers conceptualised the audience from a 'value-based‘ socio-cultural perspective. Therefore, they attached a kind of magnanimity to television as an institution for influencing in specific ways the segments of society they imagined watched it. Hence, producers of the particular entertainment programmes considered in this case study intended them to represent quality socio-cultural values for the social development of Kenyan society. In agreement with the producers, the audience respondents cited in this study appeared to consider entertainment programmes as important narratives capable of helping them better understand the social world they live in. They saw entertainment programmes as stories that authenticate their world by reflecting that world back to them. Overall, the findings of this case study established that Kenyan producers of television entertainment programmes technically operated within the political economic conventions of television production. However, a strong philosophical, moral-value code appeared to guide the producers‘ sense of purpose and duty to their audience. Apparently, the producers‘ resolve to embed in programmes meanings that propagated particular socio-cultural ideals was as prominent as the institutional political economic objectives for which they were hired to fulfil. This 'extra‘ sense of purpose catalysed the producers‘ unique regard for entertainment programmes as functional narratives, whose primary objective it should be to elevate society‘s moral fabric. Conclusively, the research-participant producers employed an old-fashioned approach to conceptualizing the audience. They saw the audience as congregated in masses of social categories cemented together by a tangible cultural-national identity. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2010.

The television viewing habits of ten Indianapolis-based households were researched and analyzed as to the effects of television on the middleclass American family. This study illustrates how television reinforces Americans' abilities to make choices and exhibit control over technology. With television use as its main focus, this study examines choice in American culture, remote control use, gender-based comparisons, and television's role in the American home-individualism and community. / Department of Anthropology

Periods of crisis communication are uncertain, at best, for any organization dealing with a product tampering. This study examined how the public would use the media to gain information about the product tampering, if there would be a difference between newspaper and television usage, and what gratifications the public would seek from the media.The hypothesis stated that there would be no significant difference in media use during product tampering cases between newspapers and television. Three hundred eighty-eight households, the number needed for statistical reliability, were surveyed by telephone in the Muncie, Indiana, area. Results of the data supported the hypothesis. / Department of Journalism

It was argued that the social psychology of person perception, mass communications and cultural studies can be related to viewers' representations of television characters. Mass communications needs to incorporate viewers' interpretations and programme structure. Social cognition could satisfy the former need and cultural studies the latter. A literature review showed little research on viewers' interpretations of television programmes. There is a considerable body of research on person perception, gender stereotypes, the effects of viewing and programme structure. A study of viewers' accounts of viewing soap opera showed that they become involved with the characters and find the programmes realistic. Soap opera plays an important role in their lives. Viewers' representations of soap opera characters were examined using multidimensional scaling. This revealed stable, replicable character representations for Dallas, Coronation Street and EastEnders. The representations were compared with the oppositions which structure the programmes, Implicit Personality Theory and Gender Schema Theory. Dallas characters were represented by themes of morality and power/activity. Power was correlated with gender, with some counter-stereotypic females. Coronation Street characters were organised around morality/potency, gender (matriarchal) and approach to life. This related to person prototypes and contrasted with interaction patterns between characters. EastEnders characters were represented by themes of morality/power, gender and approach to life/centrality. Free descriptions validated the attribute ratings and showed further features of the representation. No socio-structural group differences in representation were found. Viewers' character representations were a constructive integration of programme structure and social knowledge. The application of abstract knowledge to a structured domain was discussed. Textual analysis of a narrative identified the 'role of the reader' and textual openness. This was related to stereotypes, narrative expectancies, myth and character representation. Distinct types of divergence in viewers' interpretations of narrative were discovered. Further, a narrative containing two readings was interpreted in four distinct ways by viewers, depending on their perceived relationships with characters. The conclusions and limitations of the research were discussed. Implications for person perception, stereotyping and textual analysis were examined. A taxonomy of factors relating to the interpretation and representation of television drama was presented.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Adelaide, Department of Education, 1996. / Bibliography: leaves 156-165. Also available in a print form.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S. in Arts Administration)--Shenandoah University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)-- Brigham Young University. Dept. of Communication. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-117).

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-129). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.