Prime-time Series Research Articles

Representations of older people in Turkish prime-time TV series and Netflix original Turkish series: A comparative content analysis

In this study, older characters that appeared in all the episodes of the first seasons of eight most popular Turkish TV series on prime-time televisions in Turkey and those appeared in all the episodes of the first seasons of eight "original" Turkish series on Netflix were submitted to a comparative quantitative and qualitative content analysis. In this sense, the aim of this study was to reveal what kind of old age is promised to viewers by such media environments as TV and Netflix. Findings revealed that, when compared to the Turkish population, older people were significantly underrepresented in prime-time series and that, in other words, they were symbolically eliminated and exposed to age discrimination. Another finding is that older people were portrayed more fairly on Netflix than TV. Although older individuals were inadequately represented on Netflix as well, the difference between the two platforms was not statistically significant. On the other hand, while older women are significantly less represented than older men on both platforms, the study found no significant difference in gender representation between Netflix and prime-time TV. The findings also indicated that no older character, when evaluated qualitatively, was represented as the major character on either platforms and that, especially when it comes to having a profession, older people, specifically older women, were portrayed more negatively on both platforms, which means that older women faced a double jeopardy.

Algorithmic Audience Modeling and the Fate of African American Audiences

Algorithmic Audience Modeling and the Fate of African American Audiences Timothy J. Havens (bio) Algorithmic data processing has transformed commercial media audience research from behavioral measurement based on limited data to behavioral prediction based on information glut. Today's streaming media giants like Netflix and Amazon employ teams of engineers who design AI-enabled algorithms that scour this glut of user information, discerning behavioral patterns that they use to group subscribers into countless "taste clusters." Based on this clustering, the algorithms recommend content to subscribers while also guiding program production and acquisition practices.1 Ultimately, the engineers who design algorithms really aren't sure how they work, and, as scholars have shown, the algorithms aren't necessarily effective at predicting audience taste preferences.2 Regardless, algorithmically derived taste clusters shape a range of practices in the contemporary media industries. In this essay, I examine some of the implications of algorithmic audience modeling on the fundamental questions of race and media scholarship. The best guess is that algorithmic processing and prediction do not take into account demographic features like race and ethnicity.3 It is not that they misrecognize [End Page 158] or under sample nonwhite viewers, nor that they poorly predict these viewers' taste preference. Rather, demographic characteristics seemingly are not even represented in algorithmic processing. As such, recommendation algorithms are the perfect tool for an industry seeking to become post-racial. I say that race is "seemingly" not represented because, given the proprietary nature of these algorithms, very little is known about how they work. Numerous scholars have begun algorithm "audits," where they bombard a platform like Netflix with a range of requests and see how the recommendation algorithm responds.4 Others have examined the public statements of engineers and executives who work for streaming platforms for clues about how the algorithms work.5 However, to my knowledge, no one has audited streaming algorithms to examine whether they take into account demographic characteristics like race. The likelihood that demographic information is not used in algorithmic processing is reinforced by public statements made by Netflix executives that, as Evan Elkins shows, consistently claim that their taste cluster analysis does not include demographic information about subscribers.6 Audience measurement has been a long-standing issue among activists and scholars interested in the connections between media and racial justice, particularly African Americans, because of measurement's direct impact on what kinds of shows get produced and who gets hired to work on those shows as writers, producers, and actors. As early as 1977, the US Commission on Civil Rights' report Window Dressing on the Set: Women and Minorities in Television observed that the broadcasting industry's reliance on gross ratings points, or the percentage of Nielsen homes watching a particular channel or show, made it tough for non-mainstream (including nonwhite) content to get through the production development process.7 In the fallout from this report, Nielsen began over-representing Black households as a percentage of their panels in an effort to more fully represent their cultural tastes.8 As the 1980s and 1990s progressed and the networks began to lose viewers to cable, they started to focus more on 18-to 49-year-old white audiences. Since then, as Herman Gray argues, the networks have tended to think of African American viewers as political subjects capable of causing turmoil rather than as economic subjects worth targeting with relevant programming. This shift created a predictable programming cycle that recurred multiple times in the 1980s and 1990s as scholars and activists decried the absence of Blacks and Latinos in prime-time series. The networks responded by temporarily adding more diverse series and characters but inevitably dropped them due to poor performance among the 18-to 49-year-old white viewers. One such cycle occurred at the end of the last millennium, when Fox canceled a number of shows popular among African Americans, such as Living Single (1993–1998), Martin (1992–1997), and New York Undercover (1994–1999), as it shifted [End Page 159] its programming focus to young white men.9 for poor overall ratings, followed by political agitation on the part of African American and other minority-based political groups, which led...

Gender representation in Spanish prime-time TV series

ABSTRACT The present research analyzes the current state of the representation of gender in prime-time Spanish television series broadcast on the main generalist channels. For this purpose, a content analysis was carried out on 26 television series produced in Spain from 2016 and the first semester of 2017, involving 723 characters (n = 723), in order to determine whether or not there is an unequal portrayal of male, female, and non-binary characters. The main findings indicate that contemporary prime-time Spanish TV series feature: an underrepresentation of females; an overrepresentation of cisgender characters and heterosexual orientation; an association of women with less qualified professional occupations and, in particular, with domestic work; and a statistically significant relation between female characters and fewer work objectives, as well as more personal objectives. In addition, female characters are more hypersexualized and socialized in male contexts. Nevertheless, no statistical link was found between gender and narrative weight.

Detrás de los compromisos presidenciales: crisis en los programas de TV "Kennedy" y "The West Wing"

The article deals with the depiction of national (socio)political crises fictional(ized) US-American presidents are faced with in exemplary TV series of the 1980s and 1990s. Based on the premise that the audiovisual depiction of crises serves an exemplary function for the systems of the narrative‘s diegesis, the article attempts to analyse the effects of personification and representation in the fictionalized and the fictional handling of (socio)political crises. As a sample it refers to the form of the presidential biopic as depicted in Kennedy (1983) and The West Wing (1999-2006; both NBC). The little-known and even lesser-analysed TV miniseries Kennedy is used as an example for fictionalized crises handled by fictionalized leaders John and Robert Kennedy whereas the much more widely-known prime-time series The West Wing will be used as an exemplary point of reference how these fictionalized ways of handling (socio)political crises find their way into larger-scale narratives and entirely fictional formats. Finally, the results of the analysis of the discourse will lead to a reflection about how good or bad leadership are (re)imagined in these particular works of fiction and how (much) they are tied to particular characters acting as good (or bad) examples for the system they represent. Following this set of ideas, the article‘s hypothesis is that popular discourse often metonymically ties the (un)successful handling of a crisis to the responsible person and the outcome serves to teach the spectator how the representative of a given norm system (i. e. the democracy of the United States of America) goes about protecting the norms he comes to represent to serve as an example for the way history and collective identity are shaped through crises.

Homososyal birliktelik örneği olarak mahalleyi korumak: sıfır bir dizisinde erkeklik halleri

Protecting the Neighborhood as an Example of Homosocial Collaboration: Masculinities in Sifir Bir Series One of the areas in which different representations of gender can be seen is the TV series and characters in them. The viewer can identify themselves with the characters. S/He gets closer to the heroes; a connection between them is established. For this reason, this study examines the homosocial relationships of the male characters who come together to protect the neighborhood in Sifir Bir series. While doing this, the masculine discourse in Sifir Bir series were analyzed in the article. A semi- structured interview was conducted with 15 university students to examine the effects of the masculinity on the male audience. It has been seen that the series establish a relationship with the young male audience that reinforces and normalizes the bond between being male and violence. The real man perception was created through the series, and it was seen that the characters who swear, perpetrate and kill are seen as real men in Sifir Bir series compared to the beautiful men in prime time series

Mexican teleteatros: the cultural politics of prime-time series

This article focuses on the ideas and discourse of some early television critics regarding the content and direction of television drama specifically teleteatros, the first prime-time dramas in Mexican television. Their opinions reflect the divisions among the Mexican intellectual elite in regard to the meaning of Mexican culture. Professionals and intellectuals advocated for television dramas that would reflect the Mexican culture as cosmopolitan and modern. In their writings and public statements, folkloric aspects such as ranchera music were considered unworthy for the medium. In opposition to the critics was the business class whose interest in television content had two purposes: to develop programs with the widest appeal possible and to represent Mexican culture in a way that did not challenge the discourse of the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) that ruled the country from 1928 until 2000. Thus, television during the 1950s, and into the 1960s, wrangled not only with the usual growing pains of a new technology but also the contradictory perceptions of how Mexico and Mexican culture should be portrayed in television dramas.

Sluts that Choose Vs Doormat Gypsies

The UK primetime series My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding (Channel 4, 2010, 2011, 2012) offered audiences the opportunity to be armchair matrimonial ethnographers, to reveal the courtship curiosities of “one of the most secretive communities in the UK.” In spite of claims to social realist documentary, however, we argue that this programme has clearer resonances with “sexposé” reality television, producing and circulating a moral, visual economy premised upon the cultural figuration of “the gypsy bride.” The gypsy girl and gypsy bride are marked as victims of male gypsy oppression, of “backwards” and repressive cultural practices, of age-inappropriate sexualisation and “excessive” consumerism, and is thus defined by her failure to be a good aspirational postfeminist subject. In this paper, we explore the intersecting discourses around gender, sexuality, class, and race operative within Gypsy Wedding and analyse online forums responding to the programme. We use psychosocial methodologies and theories of affect to argue that the gypsy bride becomes a figure of abjection, desired and despised, and that the (readily accepted) invitation to be appalled by her “oppression” reveals the strategic potency of postfeminist notions of empowerment and the racist, sexist, and classist agendas it can serve.

Nurses and doctors in prime time series: The dynamics of depicting professional power

This essay sketches a comparison of 1960s’ television portrayals with those of the present to show that a limited and incomplete portrayal of nurses has been an enduring feature of prime-time medical television programs. They have depicted physicians then and now as captains of the medical ship and nurses then and now their ancillary and ill-defined helpers. As the comparison makes clear, part of nurses' lack of clear power in TV medical scenarios has to do with the explicit and implicit clout exercised by physicians' organizations to present doctor images effectively. That clout contrasts with nursing organizations' lack of attempts or ability (it's hard to gauge which) to influence network television's most prominent representations of their roles and the environments in which they work.

No Longer the Gold Standard

No Longer the Gold Standard

O "descobrimento" no pensamento cinematográfico brasileiro: diálogos possíveis quanto à identidade nacional

Ao longo dos últimos quarenta anos, as telenovelas - seriados comerciais exibidos seis vezes por semana em horário nobre, feitos para um público imaginado como feminino, mas assistidos por um público composto, em sua fase mais popular, em 40% por homens - se tornaram espaço privilegiado de interpretação do Brasil. Uma complexa rede de relações envolve a agenda militar autoritária nacionalista e desenvolvimentista; a agenda de anunciantes, homens da indústria e do comércio; e o talento de escritores, atores e diretores de esquerda (também nacional e desenvolvimentista) com repertório e conhecimento de cinema e teatro. Feita ao mesmo tempo em que vai ao ar, a novela captou e expressou ao menos três interpretações de um país que se transformou rápida e estruturalmente. As principais convenções estéticas do gênero alimentaram emissoras rivais a propor três interpretações do país. Em sintonia com o Brasil que se quer do futuro, as novelas da Rede Globo, a partir de 1969, registraram os dramas da urbanização, das diferenças sociais, da fragmentação da família, da liberalização das relações conjugais e dos padrões de consumo. Atingem seu ápice quando abordam as consequências não planejadas da modernização. Em 1990, a Manchete propôs a reinterpretação do país centrada na paisagem exótica do Pantanal, no "coração do Brasil". Em 2006, a Record apresenta o cenário da favela e a ameaça do tráfico.

The need for research in forensic science

Since the first episode of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” aired in 2000, numerous television shows with forensic science themes have appeared, including two further additions to the CSI franchise (CSI: Miami and CSI: NY). These shows remain popular today and continue to rank in the top 20 ratings for network primetime series. With this popularity, the so-called “CSI Effect” has evolved, in which jurors have higher, and sometimes unrealistic, expectations of the evidence presented at trial. For example, in a survey conducted by Shelton et al., 46% of prospective jurors expected scientific evidence in every criminal case, and 22% expected DNA evidence in every criminal case [1]. The recent National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report “Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward” provides a more realistic assessment of forensic science today [2]. The report highlights current deficiencies and limitations in the community and makes recommendations to secure the future of forensic science. To improve the field for the future, the development of new technologies and procedures is recommended, with the NAS calling for “more and better research” to ensure that practices are “strongly rooted in science”. With this special issue on forensic analysis, we aim to highlight emerging research in forensic chemistry. The selection of papers is broad in scope, covering not only new technologies for the analysis of trace evidence but also the application of chemometric procedures for data analysis and interpretation. The papers included are only a sample of the novel and exciting research that is currently being conducted in various academic, state, and federal research laboratories, aiming to enhance current techniques and methodologies for the analysis and interpretation of forensic evidence. We hope this special issue illustrates that the NAS recommendation of “more and better research” is currently in progress. With additional funding and resources, such research may be further developed and eventually incorporated into crime laboratories for routine analysis. We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all our contributors; this special issue would certainly not have been possible without them.

Drawn to television: prime-time animation from The Flintstones to Family guy

Since late evening cartoons first aired in 1960, prime-time animated series have had a profound effect on American television and American culture at large. The characters and motifs from such shows as The Flintstones and The Simpsons are among the best-known images in world popular culture; and tellingly, even series that have not done well in prime time-series like The Jetsons, for instance-have yielded similarly iconic images. The advent of cable and several new channels devoted exclusively to animated programming have brought old series back to life in syndication, while also providing new markets for additional, often more experimental animated series. Even on the conventional networks, programs such as The Flintstonesand The Simpsons, not to mention Family Guy and King of the Hill, have consistently shown a smartness and a satirical punch that goes well beyond the norm in network programming. Drawn to Television traces the history of prime-time animation from The Flintstones initial extension of Saturday mornings to Family Guy and South Park's late-night appeal in the 21st century. In the process, it sheds a surprising light on just how much the kid inside us all still has to say. Drawn to Television describes the content and style of all the major prime-time animated series, while also placing these series within their political and cultural contexts. It also tackles a number of important questions about animated programming, such as: how animated series differ from conventional series; why animated programming tends to be so effective as a vehicle for social and political satire; what makes animated characters so readily convertible into icons; and what the likely effects of new technologies (such as digital animation) will be on this genre in the future.

Controlling Prime-Time: Organizational Concentration and Network Television Programming Strategies

Social scientists have argued that concentration of ownership among media companies reduces diversity in media content, and a similar rationale was used to justify regulations that prohibited television net- works from owning the series they broadcast. In this article, we analyze the rhetorical claims used by proponents and opponents of ownership regulation during an era when the FCC was phasing out its Financial interest and Syndication Rules and assess the impact of deregulation on broadcast networks' reliance upon outside program suppliers for new prime-time series.

Decoding Will and Grace: Mass Audience Reception of a Popular Network Situation Comedy

The television situation comedy Will and Grace is notable as the first successful network prime-time series to feature gay characters in a gay milieu. The show's considerable popularity begs the question of how the show's gay sensibility and humor, particularly the gay trickster character, Jack, is received by a heterosexual audience. This article discusses the notion of gay humor, considers the show's history, analyzes several episodes, and scrutinizes the responses of 136 college students who watched the show. Viewers do not identify with Jack and regard him as the most frequent butt of humor on the show, but they also consider him the funniest character and, by a very slight margin, their favorite. Contrary to my original hypotheses, respondent characterizations of Jack tend to reflect appreciation for all aspects of his trickster personality, though his ostentatious sexuality tends to be ignored.

Prime-Time Players and Powerful Prose: The Role of Women in the 1997-1998 Television Season

Within a theoretical framework that integrates the influence of market forces and perceived power of creative individuals, this study considers the empirical relations between women working behind the scenes and on screen in prime time. Using the top 64 prime-time series from the first 12 weeks of the 1997-1998 television season, this study specifically examines the dynamic between the presence of women working behind the scenes and use of powerful language by female characters. Powerful language attributes included the use of directives, interruptions, first words, and last words. The study found that the presence of female executive producers and writers is related to greater numbers of female characters. The presence of female executive producers and creators-and to a lesser extent female writers and producers-is related to the use of powerful language patterns by female characters.

Representing Gay Men on American Television

This essay examines the representation of gay men on American television programs from the late 1960s to the present. It explores the impact of the process of media representation on the lived realities of gay males past and present, revealing not only how much progress has been made in recent decades regarding the representation of gay men on American television, but also how much progress has yet to be made. Such representations are examined briefly in the context of numerous television shows (including 21 Jump Street; All My Children; Dawson's Creek; Leg Work; Marcus Welby, M.D.; and Will & Grace) and more extensively with regard to three popular Fox prime-time series ( Beverly Hills, 90210; Melrose Place; and Party of Five).

Market competition and media performance examining primetime series in Taiwan

This paper studies the relationship between market competition and media performance in Taiwan. A close examination of the existing literature reveals that no conclusive findings have been published; some studies discovered positive relationships and others discovered contradictory ones. Using content diversity of TV programmes to represent media performance, this study analyzed the diversity among primetime series ran by the three TV stations in Taiwan. Three indicators were employed to measure diversity: duration of series, diversity of vertical programming, and the numbers of actors.

Marketing the Olympics within the Olympics

On-air promotion is a key tool for gaining audiences and networks spend millions of dollars each year to promote upcoming programs. Prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics, NBC conducted extensive research to determine a programming and promotional strategy that would yield the highest ratings. Research results indicated which sports should get extended television coverage and which should be promoted on-air during their 17 prime-time broadcasts. The strategy that NBC employed apparently was effective, suggesting the Olympics to be a successful vehicle for promoting some prime-time series in NBC's post-Olympic line-up. The question is: was the Olympics an equally successful vehicle for promoting itself? This paper explores NBC's on-air promotional strategies during the 1996 Summer Olympic broadcast. Understanding successful strategy has potential value for promoting future Olympics and for promoting megasports in general. It also can contribute to the growing body of research on salience theory related to sports programming.

A dream deferred: The failed fantasy of Norman Lear'sa.k.a. Pablo

Norman Lear's return to commercial network television in 1983 after an absence of five years resulted in the first prime time series about and starring Hispanic‐Americans. The lack of a coherent and sustained rhetorical vision resulted in the failure of the series. This essay uses fantasy theme analysis to examine the series’ narrative and production discourse and suggests how Pablo might have achieved success.

Counterprogramming primetime network television

This study analyzed the mean shares of network primetime series aired from 1963 to 1985. It was found that the network that counterprograms the situation in which competing networks are blunting each other with programs of the same type has done well, although counterprogramming with movies may have some limitations. The network that blunts another network's program by offering a program of a similar type, though, has tended to do poorly whenever the third network countered with a program of a different type. The data suggest that programmers would be wise to counterprogram situations in which the competing networks are blunting each other and avoid placing themselves in blunting situations.