Television and the popular: viewing from the British perspective

The academic discipline of television studies has been constituted by the claim that television is worth studying because it is popular. Yet this claim has also entailed a need to defend the subject against the triviality that is associated with the television medium because of its very popularity. This article analyses the many attempts in the later twentieth and twenty-first centuries to constitute critical discourses about television as a popular medium. It focuses on how the theoretical currents of Television Studies emerged and changed in the UK, where a disciplinary identity for the subject was founded by borrowing from related disciplines, yet argued for the specificity of the medium as an object of criticism. Eschewing technological determinism, moral pathologization and sterile debates about television's supposed effects, UK writers such as Raymond Williams addressed television as an aspect of culture. Television theory in Britain has been part of, and also separate from, the disciplinary fields of media theory, literary theory and film theory. It has focused its attention on institutions, audio-visual texts, genres, authors and viewers according to the ways that research problems and theoretical inadequacies have emerged over time. But a consistent feature has been the problem of moving from a descriptive discourse to an analytical and evaluative one, and from studies of specific texts, moments and locations of television to larger theories. By discussing some historically significant critical work about television, the article considers how academic work has constructed relationships between the different kinds of objects of study. The article argues that a fundamental tension between descriptive and politically activist discourses has confused academic writing about ›the popular‹. Television study in Britain arose not to supply graduate professionals to the television industry, nor to perfect the instrumental techniques of allied sectors such as advertising and marketing, but to analyse and critique the medium's aesthetic forms and to evaluate its role in culture. Since television cannot be made by ›the people‹, the empowerment that discourses of television theory and analysis aimed for was focused on disseminating the tools for critique. Recent developments in factual entertainment television (in Britain and elsewhere) have greatly increased the visibility of ›the people‹ in programmes, notably in docusoaps, game shows and other participative formats. This has led to renewed debates about whether such ›popular‹ programmes appropriately represent ›the people‹ and how factual entertainment that is often despised relates to genres hitherto considered to be of high quality, such as scripted drama and socially-engaged documentary television. A further aspect of this problem of evaluation is how television globalisation has been addressed, and the example that the issue has crystallised around most is the reality TV contest Big Brother. Television theory has been largely based on studying the texts, institutions and audiences of television in the Anglophone world, and thus in specific geographical contexts. The transnational contexts of popular television have been addressed as spaces of contestation, for example between Americanisation and national or regional identities. Commentators have been ambivalent about whether the discipline's role is to celebrate or critique television, and whether to do so within a national, regional or global context. In the discourses of the television industry, ›popular television‹ is a quantitative and comparative measure, and because of the overlap between the programming with the largest audiences and the scheduling of established programme types at the times of day when the largest audiences are available, it has a strong relationship with genre. The measurement of audiences and the design of schedules are carried out in predominantly national contexts, but the article refers to programmes like Big Brother that have been broadcast transnationally, and programmes that have been extensively exported, to consider in what ways they too might be called popular. Strands of work in television studies have at different times attempted to diagnose what is at stake in the most popular programme types, such as reality TV, situation comedy and drama series. This has centred on questions of how aesthetic quality might be discriminated in television programmes, and how quality relates to popularity. The interaction of the designations ›popular‹ and ›quality‹ is exemplified in the ways that critical discourse has addressed US drama series that have been widely exported around the world, and the article shows how the two critical terms are both distinct and interrelated. In this context and in the article as a whole, the aim is not to arrive at a definitive meaning for ›the popular‹ inasmuch as it designates programmes or indeed the medium of television itself. Instead the aim is to show how, in historically and geographically contingent ways, these terms and ideas have been dynamically adopted and contested in order to address a multiple and changing object of analysis.

Offensive advertising, public policy, and the law: the rulings on the Zagorka case

This paper examines the case of a controversial beer advertisement which was promulgated in Bulgaria in 2001, and which provoked eight lawsuits against the brewery, its advertising agency, and the Bulgarian National Television. The case set a precedent in Bulgaria and generated considerable public interest and debate. To the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first case in Eastern Europe when individuals have challenged companies in the courts of law because of offence caused by an advertisement. The present study discusses how the public bodies responsible for protecting consumer interests and the courts of first instance assessed the advertisement in the context of Bulgarian public policy regarding offensive advertising.

Examining integrated advertising and sponsorship in corporate marketing through televised sport

To determine how integrated TV advertising and event sponsorship should be best managed and evaluated, a theoretical framework derived from global exploratory research of academic literature and consulting reports was validated by 16 experts. To benchmark the current practices against the best practice integration methods, 12 campaigns, which had sponsored a televised event and placed advertisements during the broadcast of the event, were analyzed via case studies. The investigated competitions included the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament in London and the Olympic Games in Sydney. The examined brands comprised automotive, financial services, retail chain, office equipment, and consumer goods. A total of 24 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted-two for each case-one interview with an internal marketing executive from the promoted corporation, and a second with an external respondent from the advertising agency, event management organization, market research firm, or television channel. The study identified the key techniques that led to increased corporate sales-four steps and four objectives with necessary performance measures.

The effects of television advertisements for junk food versus nutritious food on children's food attitudes and preferences

Television (TV) food advertising has attracted criticism for its potential role in promoting unhealthy dietary practices among children. Content analyses indicate junk food advertising is prevalent on Australian children's TV; healthy eating is rarely promoted. This paper presents (a) a cross-sectional survey examining associations between children's regular TV viewing habits and their food-related attitudes and behaviour; and (b) an experiment assessing the impact of varying combinations of TV advertisements (ads) for unhealthy and healthy foods on children's dietary knowledge, attitudes and intentions. The experimental conditions simulated possible models for regulating food ads on children's TV. Participants were 919 grade five and six students from schools in Melbourne, Australia. The survey showed that heavier TV use and more frequent commercial TV viewing were independently associated with more positive attitudes toward junk food; heavier TV use was also independently associated with higher reported junk food consumption. The experiment found that ads for nutritious foods promote selected positive attitudes and beliefs concerning these foods. Findings are discussed in light of methodological issues in media effects research and their implications for policy and practice. It is concluded that changing the food advertising environment on children's TV to one where nutritious foods are promoted and junk foods are relatively unrepresented would help to normalize and reinforce healthy eating.

Lying idiots: reality television & lie to me

This article addresses perhaps the key question for Television Studies: Who does television think you are? It argues that Reality Television answers this question by producing its viewers as, in the Classical Greek sense, idiots (meaning private and ignorant persons). Idiots are the perfect target for the advertising dollar that supports commercial television production. As Reg Grundy observes, Reality Television is anything but reality. With its tight framings of reality, it paradoxically operates to sever the viewing self from reality—from the “truth” of life. Lie to Me is the type of television we are left with after the demise of Reality Television. Lie to Me makes us self-conscious, in the strongest sense, and thus sustains the mission of Reality Television. By dragging the notion of reality into its self-serving fictions, it puts the viewer into the dangerous position of being unable to lie to television. If Reality Television constrained reality to falsity, Lie to Me implicates the viewer in the zone where falsity transforms into reality. Lastly, this article enquires into the possibilities, in today’s television ecology, for a mode of TV citizenship that would counter the abject viewing position of the consumerist idiot.

Socioeconomic differences in outdoor food advertising at public transit stops across Melbourne suburbs.

To assess and compare the number and type of outdoor food advertisements at public transit stops within suburbs of varying levels of socioeconomic disadvantage.

A conceptual classification of parents’ attributions of the role of food advertising in children’s diets

Background : High levels of child obesity are triggering growing concerns about the prevalence and effects of food advertising targeted at children. Efforts to address this advertising are confounded by the expanding repertoire of media and promotional techniques used to reach and attract children. The present study explored parents’ views on food marketing and the strategies parents employ when attempting to ameliorate its effects. As part of an online survey of Australian parents’ attitudes towards a range of food advertisements, respondents were invited to provide additional comment in an open-ended question. The question was optional and asked “Are there any other comments you would like to make?”. One in five of the survey respondents (18%; n = 235) elected to answer this question by discussing their views on food advertising and children’s diets. The responses were imported into NVivo10 for coding and analysis. A grounded approach was used to draw meaning from the data and develop a proposed conceptual classification of parents’ attributions relating to food advertising and its consequences.

Results : The majority of responses related to the negative perceived effects of unhealthy food advertising on children’s diets, with few respondents considering such advertisements to be innocuous. The responses were classified into four conceptual categories reflecting differing attitudes to advertising (negative to neutral) and varying levels of locus of control (low to high). The typical characteristics of parents allocated to the four categories exhibited variation according to weight status, television viewing habits, education level, and family size. The largest number of responses was coded to the category characterized by a negative attitude toward food advertising and a low locus of control. Parents in this category were more likely than others to be overweight/obese and heavy television viewers. Parents in the negative attitude to advertising and high locus of control category nominated a variety of parenting practices that could form the basis of parent education interventions.

Conclusions : The results suggest that many Australian parents may feel disempowered in the face of high levels of advertising for unhealthy foods. The current voluntary regulatory code appears to be inadequate in scope and coverage to address this situation.

Saturday Morning Television Advertisements Aired on English and Spanish Language Networks along the Texas-Mexico Border

Objectives: The aim of this content analysis study is to characterize the TV advertisements aired to an at-risk child population along the Texas-Mexico border. Methods: We characterized the early Saturday morning TV advertisements aired by three broadcast network categories (U.S. English language, U.S. Spanish language, and Mexican Spanish language) in Spring 2010. The number, type (food related vs. non-food related), target audience, and persuasion tactics used were recorded. Advertised foods, based on nutrition content, were categorized as meeting or not meeting current dietary guidelines. Results: Most commercials were non-food related (82.7%, 397 of 480). The majority of the prepared foods (e.g., cereals, snacks, and drinks) advertised did not meet the current U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Additionally, nutrition content information was not available for many of the foods advertised on the Mexican Spanish language broadcast network category. Conclusions: For U.S. children at risk for obesity along the Texas-Mexico border exposure to TV food advertisements may result in the continuation of sedentary behavior as well as an increased consumption of foods of poor nutritional quality. An international regulatory effort to monitor and enforce the reduction of child-oriented food advertising is needed. Editors' Note: This article was submitted in response to the first issue of the Journal of Applied Research on Children: Latino Children.

Food advertisements during children's television programming in 2007: Comparison with ads in 1994 and the 2005 dietary recommendations

Childhood overweight and obesity are two major public health problems that are of economic and medical concern in the world today (Lobstein, Baur, & Uauy, 2004). Overweight conditions in childhood are important because they are widely prevalent, serious, and carry lifetime consequences for health and well being (Lobstein et al., 2004). Several studies have shown an association between television viewing and obesity in all age groups (Caroli, Argentieri, Cardone, & Masi, 2004; Harper, 2006; Vandewater & Huang, 2006; Wiecha et al., 2006). One mechanism that potentially links television viewing to childhood obesity is food advertising (Story, 2003). ^ The purpose of this study was to examine the types of foods advertised on children's television programming and to determine if there have been any changes in the number and types of commercials over the last 13 years. In addition, the food content of the advertisements was compared to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines to determine if the foods targeted were consistent with the current recommendations. Finally, each television network was analyzed individually to determine any differences between advertising on cable and regular programming. ^ A descriptive analysis was conducted on the most commonly advertised commercials during children's television programming on Saturday morning from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. A total of 10 major television networks were viewed on three different Saturday mornings during June and July 2007. Commercial advertising accounted for approximately 19% of children's total viewing time. Of the 3,185 commercials, 28.5% were for foods, 67.7% were for non-food items, and 3.8% were PSAs. On average, there were 30 commercial advertisements and PSAs per hour, of which approximately nine were for food. ^ Of the 907 food advertisements, 72.0% were for foods classified in the fats, oils, and sugar group. The next largest group (17.3%) was for restaurant food of which 15.3% were for unhealthy/fast food restaurant fare. The most frequently advertised food product on Saturday morning television was regular cereal, accounting for 43.9% of all food advertisements. ^ Cable and regular programming stations varied slightly in the amount, length, and category of commercials. Cable television had about 50% less commercials and PSAs (1098) than regular programming (2087), but only had approximately 150 minutes less total commercial and PSA time; therefore, cable, in general, had longer commercials than regular programming. Overall, cable programming had more advertisements encouraging increased physical activity and positive nutrition behavior with less commercials focusing on the fats, oils, and sugar groups, compared to regular programming. ^ During the last 13 years, food advertisements have not improved, despite the recent IOM report on marketing foods to children (Institute of Medicine-Committee on Food Marketing and the Diets of Children and Youth, 2005), although the frequency of food advertisements has improved slightly. Children are now viewing an average of one food advertisement every 7 minutes, compared to one food advertisement every 5 minutes in 1994 (Kotz & Story, 1994). Therefore, manufacturers are putting a greater emphasis on advertising other products to children. Despite the recent attention to the issue of marketing unhealthy foods to children through television advertisements, not much progress has been noted since 1994. Further advocacy and regulatory issues concerning the content of advertisements during Saturday morning TV need to be explored. ^

Gender portrayals in food commercials: a content analysis of Spanish television advertisements

Content analysis of media messages from a gender perspective has a long tradition. In the particular field of advertising, most of the researches have been focused on generic samples of advertisements or on the advertising traditionally associated to a masculine or a feminine audience. However, few authors have analyzed gender contents in food advertising, in spite of the close relationship between gender structures and the social processes of food purchase and preparation. Thus, gender representations in food advertising broadcast in Spanish television are analyzed in this article. The main results obtained show clear gender differences. For example, there is a clear predominance of masculine voices over and a more balanced situation regarding protagonists. Besides, feminine protagonists are more frequently located indoors, portrayed as attractive women and connected to advertising claims related to beauty or to the healthy qualities of the product.

U.S. television households : estimates by state and county, March 1958 /

Mode of access: Internet.

The role of national culture in advertising's sensitivity to business cycles:an investigation across continents

The authors conduct a systematic investigation into the cyclical sensitivity of advertising expenditures in 37 countries, covering four key media: magazines, newspapers, radio, and television. They show that advertising is considerably more sensitive to business-cycle fluctuations than the economy as a whole. Advertising behaves less cyclically in countries high in long-term orientation and power distance, but it is more cyclical in countries high in uncertainty avoidance. Furthermore, advertising is more sensitive to the business cycle in countries characterized by significant stock market pressure and few foreign-owned multinational corporations. The authors provide initial evidence on the long-term social and managerial losses incurred when companies tie ad spending too tightly to business cycles. Countries in which advertising behaves more cyclically exhibit slower growth of the advertising industry. Moreover, private-label growth is higher in countries characterized by more cyclical advertising spending, implying significant losses for brand manufacturers. Finally, an examination of 26 global companies shows that stock price performance is lower for companies that exhibit stronger procyclical advertising spending patterns.

Nutrition and health claims in products directed at children via television in Spain in 2012

Objective: To describe the use of nutrition and health claims in products directed at children via television in Spain and to analyse their nutrient profile. Methods: A cross-sectional study of television food advertisements over 7 days in five Spanish television channels popular among children. The products were classified as core, non-core or miscellaneous, and as either healthy or less healthy, according to the United Kingdom Nutrient Profile Model. We registered all claims contained on the product (packaging and labelling) and its advertisement. We calculated the frequency distributions of health and nutrition claims. Results: During the 420 hours of broadcasting, 169 food products were identified, 28.5% in the dairy group and 60.9% in the non-core category. A total of 53.3% of products contained nutrition claims and 26.6% contained health claims; 62.2% of the products with claims were less healthy. Low-fat dairy products were the food category containing the highest percentage of health and nutrition claims. Conclusion: Over half of all food products marketed to children via television in Spain made some type of nutrition or health claim. Most of these products were less healthy, which could mislead Spanish consumers.

The non-advertising effects of screen-based sedentary activities on acute eating behaviours in children, adolescents, and young adults. A systematic review.

Sedentary screen time may be an important determinant of childhood obesity. A number of potential mechanisms to explain the link between screen time and increased bodyweight have been proposed; however, the relationship appears to be best explained by the effects on dietary intake, which is attributed to either food advertising or effects independent of food advertising. Technological advances have allowed for greater accessibility and exposure to advertisement-free screen-based media. This review was conducted to systematically synthesise the evidence from laboratory based studies which have investigated the non-advertising effects of screen time (TV viewing, sedentary video games, and computer use) on dietary intake in children, adolescents, and young adults. MEDLINE, PubMed, PsychInfo, CINAHL, and Embase were searched from inception through 5 July 2013. Ten trials met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Risk of study bias was judged to range from low to high. Screen time in the absence of food advertising was consistently found to be associated with increased dietary intake compared with non-screen behaviours. Suggested explanations for this relationship included: distraction, interruption of physiologic food regulation, screen time as a conditioned cue to eat, disruption of memory formation, and the effects of the stress-induced reward system. Due to the limited number of high-quality studies available for this review, our findings are preliminary. More work is required to better establish the link between dietary intake and advertisement-free screen time and assess whether differences exist between the different screen-based activities.

Alcohol advertising in sport and non-sport TV in Australia, during children's viewing times

Estimate the amount of alcohol advertising in sport vs. non-sport programming in Australian free-to-air TV and identify children's viewing audience composition at different times of the day. Alcohol advertising and TV viewing audience data were purchased for free-to-air sport and non-sport TV in Australia for 2012. We counted alcohol advertisements in sport and non-sport TV in daytime (6 am-8.29 pm) and evening periods (8.30 pm-11.59 pm) and estimated viewing audiences for children and young adults (0-4 years, 5-13 years, 14-17 years, 18-29 years). During the daytime, most of the alcohol advertising (87%) was on sport TV. In the evening, most alcohol advertising (86%) was in non-sport TV. There was little difference in the mean number of children (0-17 years) viewing TV in the evening (N = 273,989), compared with the daytime (N = 235,233). In programs containing alcohol advertising, sport TV had a greater mean number of alcohol adverts per hour (mean 1.74, SD = 1.1) than non-sport TV (mean 1.35, SD = .94). Alcohol advertising during the daytime, when large numbers of children are watching TV, is predominantly in free-to-air sport TV. By permitting day-time advertising in sport programs and in any programs from 8.30 pm when many children are still watching TV, current regulations are not protecting children from exposure to alcohol advertising.