Genre-specific television viewing: state of the literature

ABSTRACT

Television programs continue to be important storytelling mechanisms for people around the world. Moving away from traditional research examining relationships with general television exposure, a large body of literature has examined associations with the viewing of genre-specific television programs. The purpose of this state of the literature was to synthesize the research approaches and findings from studies exploring various perceptions related to genre-specific television exposure. A thorough review of the literature produced 84 articles for inclusion in the review. Each article was categorized, analyzed, and discussed based on (1) genre focus of the investigation, (2) theoretical framework, and (3) measurement of television exposure. The review presents implications from findings and directions for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Television viewing
• genre-specific exposure
• media theory

Acknowledgements

I specially thank my graduate research assistant, Will Silberman (University of Kentucky), for his hard work as the secondary data collector.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.