1. Introduction to Mass Media
TV: Changing Channels

2. TV: the most pervasive pastime

3. TV Channels
What do you watch?
What is the most popular TV channels?

4. TV platform
Free satellite
Pay satellite
Cable
Terrestrial
IP TV

5. TV user types Couch potato/Television Type
Heavy user and light user by cultivation theory (Gerbner, 1980)
Categorization of TV viewers by Self-report :
Light viewers: maximum 2 hours a day,
Heavy viewers (television types): more than 4 hours
Light viewers watch particular shows, but television types aren’t selective.

6. TV impact Cultivation Theory: Meanworld Syndrome
Content analysis of the TV world:
to identify how much of TV news and entertainment contains violence (i.e., TV Violence Index)
Survey of viewers’ perceptions of the real world:
to identify the extent to which viewers believe the outside world is mean and dangerous (i.e., Mean World Syndrome, or MWS)

7. Example Survey Questions to Measure “Mean World Syndrome”
Are most people friendly?
Are most people helpful?
Are most people trustworthy?
Do you fear to walk alone in streets at night?
Do you support the use of excessive forces against criminals?

8. Equal violence, unequal risk
Old people, children, Hispanics, African Americans, women, and blue-collar workers are more often victimized.
Television places marginalized people in symbolic double jeopardy by simultaneously underrepresenting and overvictimizing them.
Not surprisingly, marginalized people then exhibit the most fear of violence as a result of television programming.

9. TV impact on attitudes.
Chances of involvement with violence—light viewers predict 1/100, heavy viewers 1/10.
Fear of walking alone at night—heavy viewers overestimate the danger by a factor of ten.
Perceived activity of police—heavy viewers overestimate the size of law enforcement by a factor of five.
General mistrust of people—heavy viewers are suspicious of others’ motives (the mean world syndrome).