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Alcohol Messages in Prime‐Time Television Series
Author(s) -
RUSSELL CRISTEL ANTONIA,
RUSSELL DALE W.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of consumer affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1745-6606
pISSN - 0022-0078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6606.2008.01129.x
Subject(s) - prime time , plot (graphics) , prime (order theory) , valence (chemistry) , alcohol , computer science , psychology , social psychology , advertising , statistics , mathematics , telecommunications , biochemistry , chemistry , combinatorics , business , physics , quantum mechanics
Alcohol messages contained in television programming serve as sources of information about drinking. To better understand the ways embedded messages about alcohol are communicated, it is crucial to objectively monitor and analyze television alcohol depictions. This article presents a content analysis of an eight‐week sample of eighteen prime‐time programs. Alcohol messages were coded based on modalities of presentation, level of plot connection, and valence. The analysis reveals that mixed messages about alcohol often coexist but the ways in which they are presented differ: whereas negative messages are tied to the plot and communicated verbally, positive messages are associated with subtle visual portrayals.