Abstracts

Julie Ast
Sanja Trpkovic
Understanding Media Studies
October 11, 2009
Abstracts

Television as a “Safe Space” for Children: The Views of Producers Around the World

This article recognizes that a lot of television and media are not appropriate for children. This is built on the observation that media contains ideas that are harmful to children that contain violence, are lacking in diversity and are very sexualized. By integrating the feedback of professional producers with academic media approaches, it is possible though to make appropriate media for children. In interviewing 135 media professionals in 65 countries, the article isolates the characteristics that make television affective for children. The article is structured so that different positive qualities of media and their affects are discussed separately. Television that instills “courage”, “inclusion”, “family”, remains “true to life” and is “ in children’s voices” is deemed helpful for children who use it as a place to learn proper behavior. Isolating these characteristics will help producers make more positive child media in the future.

Lemish, Dafna. "Television as a "Safe Place" for Children: the Views of Producers Around the World." Communication Research Trends 28.I3 (2009): 17-21. Print.

Drama Counts: Uncovering Channel 4’s History with Quantitative Research Methods

This article uses quantitative research to disprove the assumption that British television channels rely more heavily on American programs during their conception than when they are more established. It discusses how quantitative research is important to understanding television programming, then relates it to Channel 4, a British television station. By tracking how many American programs are on British television stations for the first week of every month, it compiles a database with over 37,000 lines of data. This database proves that Channel 4, imported more American series in 2000, particularly NBC comedies, than in 1982. While this work focuses on Channel 4, it does not make the same conclusions for all British television, leaving its applications pretty thin.

Weissman, Elke(2009) 'Drama Counts: Uncovering Channel 4's history with quantitative research methods' , New Review of Film and Television Studies, 7:2 189-207

The Semiotic Function of Clothing and Gender Roles on Broadcast Business News
In broadcast television, the clothing choice of both male and female reporters differs: each gender’s style on camera sends a different message. The author bases this conclusion on the fact that every semiotic system has experiential, interpersonal, and textual meaning. Men wear more muted formal suits where they are viewed with “ professionalism” “ authority” and “ homogeneity.” Women wear dresses and the color red to become “part of the news”, where updates are frequently done in red. Their clothing gives them more “individuality” and “personality.” The different clothing choices, where men dress more formally than women, are attributed to men’s historical role in business and women’s more casual position at home. The article’s argument is supported by quotes from scholars and observations from television reporting. It points out that clothing can have an important function in conveying information and that each gender subscribes to a different clothing trend.

Tan, Sabine, and Monica See. "THE SEMIOTIC FUNCTION OF CLOTHING AND GENDER ROLES ON BROADCAST BUSINESS NEWS." Business Communication Quarterly. 72.3 (2009): 368-372. Pr