An Information Theory Measure for Television Programming

Abstract

A content-free measure of television program form is developed. This measure is created from a rigorous general theory construction viewpoint. The basic terms of the theoretical measure are created from iconic aspects of programming. These terms are mapped into variables by considering their human information-processing implications. The definitions of the variables are in information theory entropy terms. The variables are used to score 168 television programs, and the results used to factor analyze the variables, creating two independent dimensions called Dynamics and Unfamiliarity. As a validation, the viewing patterns of 149 adolescents on these two dimensions are compared to two other measures of programming content. The information theory dimensions of form are found to detect nonrandom viewing patterns as well or better than either of the other measures of content.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bogart, L. (1958) The Age of Television. New York : Ungar.

Conway, J.K. (1967) "Multiple-sensory modality communication and the problem of sign types." Audio Visual Communication Rev. 15,4: 371-383.

Crane, E. and M.S. MacLean (1962) "Five dimensions of style in educational TV programs." Audio Visual Communication Rev. 10, 3: 158-168.

Garner, W.R. (1962) Uncertainty and Structure as Psychological Concepts . New York: John Wiley.

Greenberg, B.S. and T.F. Gordon (1971) "Perceptions of violence in television programs: critics and the ublic," in Volume I of Television and Social Behavior. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

Hage, J. (1972) Techniques and Problems of Theory Construction in Sociology. New York: John Wiley .

Hazard, W.R. , J.D. Moriarty , and V.C. Timmons (1964) "A nontopical system of TV program categories." Audio Visual Communication Rev. 12, 2: 146-164.

Himmelweit, H.T. , A.N. Oppenheim , and P. Vince (1958) Television and the Child. London : Oxford Univ. Press.

McLeod, J.M. , C.K. Atkin , and S.H. Chaffee (1971) "Adolescent, parents, and television use: adolescent self-report measures from Maryland and Wisconsin samples," in Volume III of Television and Social Behavior. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

10.

Schramm, W. , J. Lyle , and E.B. Parker (1961) Television in the Lives of Our Children. Stanford: Stanford Univ. Press.

11.

Shannon, C.E. and W. Weaver (1949) The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Urbana: Univ. of Illinois Press.

12.

Watt, J.H. and R. Krull (1972) "An information theory measure of television content ." Presented to the Communication Theory and Methodology Division of the Association for Education in Journalism.

13.

Zetterburg, H.L. (1965) On Theory and Verification in Sociology. Totown, N.J.: Bedminster.