Electronic Magazines: Soft News Programs On Network Television (praeger Series In Political Communication)

This Study Examines The Phenomenon Of The Electronic Magazine And Shows How The Soft News Programs Affect The Public's View Of American Politics And Culture. Maintaining The Distinction Between The Syndicated, Tabloid-style Programming (whose Survival Depends Almost Entirely On Ratings Success) And The More Responsibly Conceived Network Magazine Programming, Spragens Provides A Thorough Content Analysis Of 60 Minutes, Dateline Nbc, 20/20, And Similar Network Series. His Study Traces The Development Of The Television Magazine Genre From The Original 60 Minutes Through The Current Crop Of News Programs; It Tracks The Soft/hard Or Sensational/serious Content Dichotomy And Its Relation To Ratings; And It Draws Conclusions About The Trends In Soft News Programming And Their Impact On The American Public. The Development Of Magazine Programming -- Early Soft News Programs: 60 Minutes -- Trends Away From Traditional Documentaries -- Content Analysis Of 1992 60 Minutes Programs -- Beginnings And Development Of The 48 Hours Series -- Street Stories Program Content In 1992 And 1993 -- West 57th Contents -- Aggressive Trends In Programming On Abc And Nbc Magazines -- Audience Rankings (1985-1993) -- Interpreting Data -- Tabloids Versus Magazine Programs: Networks' Role As Standard Setters. Appendixes. 60 Minutes Broadcasts -- 48 Hours Broadcasts -- Street Stories Broadcasts -- 20/20 And Primetime Live Broadcasts -- Dateline Nbc Broadcasts. William C. Spragens. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [135]-141] And Index.