Article No. 10
Traveling Away from Culture
The Dominance of Consumerism on the Travel Channel
ABSTRACT
Certain media observers posit that
the vast number of channels arising from commercial cable television provides
diversity of programming unlike at any time before. However, the simple
existence of more channels does not necessarily guarantee adequate programming
in every area. Commercial pressures may dominate programming agendas and
interfere with the general substance of those programs. Cultural programming may
be one such genre vulnerable to commercial pressure, and the Travel Channel,
chosen as a representative commercial cable channel was examined to determine
the levels of interference from consumerism. Through triangulation involving
quantitative content analysis and qualitative thematic analysis, this study
concludes that programming on the Travel Channel places extensive focus on
consumerism while almost entirely ignoring issues of culture. Furthermore, the
vast majority of programming on this channel centers on the most commercially
developed regions of the world, primarily the U.S., and secondarily, Europe
while neglecting the rest of the world. Much of the programming not only
advocates general consumerism, but also conscious over-indulgence, including the
purchasing of ultra-expensive items and the consumption of highly unhealthy food
in unreasonable quantities. Thus, the Travel Channel is one example of the
possible inadequacy of commercial television for cultural programming.
INTRODUCTION
Given the expanding international
media structure (Mattar, 2002) and the inherent interconnected nature of
cultures in constant flux and contact with each other (Morris, 2002), individual
cultures have decreasing ability to remain in an isolated bubble. As a result,
intercultural perception is of paramount concern to the global community as a
whole. While a multitude of factors may influence such perceptions, television
programming may play a particularly vital role in shaping cross-cultural
perceptions because it is a prevalent, pervasive source of information about the
world beyond one’s locality. Therefore, it warrants examination within this
context.
With a multitude of channels on cable
television and more coming regularly, some media observers have suggested that
there is no longer a need for public television, that viewers have diversity of
choice unlike they’ve ever had before (Mecia, 2002). Within this conceptual
framework lies the idea that multi-cultural programming, as with other types of
programming of potential use and interest to diverse populations, is also widely
available on commercial television. However, the availability of more channels
itself may not necessarily guarantee the existence of a specific type of
programming such as that related to culture, at least, not to the degree and in
the nature that might be desired by audiences. Specifically, there lies the
possibility that the forces shaping commercial programming may impinge on the
fundamental nature of programming and detract from the delivery of substantive
information. Furthermore, many of the available channels operate under an
umbrella of ownership and must conform to the broad mission of the overarching
authority. This is most evident in the ownership structure of the Discovery
Communications network of channels in which the parent company operates
Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, Travel Channel, and Animal Planet,
among other channels worldwide (Mermigas, 2001).
Of these channels, perhaps the most
synonymous with cultural exploration, is the Travel Channel. By virtue of the
fact that increased exposure to different geographic regions increases the
likelihood of encountering various indigenous cultures, this channel carries
with it the inherent message that it is a source of cultural information for
interested television audiences. As such, the Travel Channel is a reasonable
place to begin an exploration of the nature of multi-cultural programming on
commercial television and serves as the focus of this study.
While the Travel Channel brings with
it a history of programming that highlights various cultures throughout the
world, the reputation formed from such a history may not match the current state
of programming or the future aims of the channel. With recent changes in top
management, the Travel Channel has instituted a shift in its programming
paradigm, focusing more explicitly on entertainment, as opposed to information,
and partnerships with advertisers that bear direct influence on programming
content such as the sponsorship of Beach Week 2003 by Holland America cruise
line (Romano, 2003). Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine whether
multi-cultural content on the Travel Channel is overpowered by the element of
commercialism.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The current body of scholarly
research in culturally oriented programming is predominantly focused on public
broadcasting as compared with commercial cable or broadcast television, but even
public broadcasting has historically been under-represented in the realm of
communication research, seeing a major increase in scholarly inquiry only as
recently as the 1990’s (Avery, 2001). Nonetheless, background information from
the existing studies of public television as well as from the study of
commercialism in general on broadcast and cable television is useful in
determining the overall climate of multi-cultural television programming and, in
turn, the adequacy of cultural programming currently available.
When public and commercial television
are examined side by side, audiences indicate positive feelings for the public
“brand” and see it as important despite the presence of the various cable
channels (Chan-Olmsted & Yungwook, 2002). However, the programming approaches of
non-commercial stations have not always produced ideal results because a lack of
commercial pressure leaves many program directors to operate with myopic, often
self-serving strategies (Levi, 2002). This leaves a degree of uncertainty about
which structure might be more effective for the broadcasting of cultural
programming, but some critics have argued that public television itself has see
a continuous rise in levels of commercialism (Barsamian, 2001), thus blurring
the distinction between public and commercial television.
This increased commercialization is
of concern, not only for its potential effect on media content, but also for its
effect on audiences that receive such content. An article by Marsha Richins
(1995) concludes that advertising has spread discontent among viewers due to its
promulgation of social comparison as well as the constant desire for goods and
services. Though the article does not directly address the reception of cultural
programming, its principles still clearly apply. One can easily see that this
type of materialism might lead to the promotion of culture as a means for
consumerist satisfaction and social comparison rather than something of value in
and of itself. This, in turn, may increase the likelihood that those cultures
that provide the most consumerist satisfaction, i.e. those associated with the
most commercially developed regions of the world, are seen as more valuable than
other cultures.
Though such studies peripherally
address the issue of cultural programming within the context of a consumerist
climate, one article in particular, “Packaging culture: the potential and
limitations of travel programs on global television” (Fursich, 2002), addresses
this matter more precisely than the rest and merits closer examination. In this
study, Elfriede Fursich examines three television travel shows, Lonely Planet,
Travelers, and Rough Guide, all aired in the U.S. on The Travel Channel, in
terms of their representations of travel, global media, and modern and
postmodern depictions of the Other. The study reveals that “the shows'
narratives tend to stress individual pleasure within untourist, post-tourist or
multicultural frameworks, but neglect broader political, social and economic
problems of contemporary tourism and international relations in general”
(author’s abstract). As a result, Fursich concludes that this “demonstrates the
inadequacy of commercial nonfiction entertainment as a global television genre
to address the difficult issue of cross-cultural contact or to develop
nonessentialized strategies for representing the Other” (author’s abstract).
While the study uses an effective
approach, what Fursich refers to as “textualization analysis” (_ 5), that of
combining information about the production process with a qualitative analysis
of the program text, it does not quantify any specific dimensions of the
content. The findings, though enlightening, remain largely subjective. A study
involving quantitative content analysis is needed to add an essential element to
this study and help in the overall understanding of multi-cultural commercial
programming. In addition, the fact that Fursich’s study is based on only three
shows leaves much of the programming landscape of the Travel Channel unexplored.
Certainly, a broader analysis covering more of the shows on this channel would
help to create a higher degree of understanding and certainty about the levels
of culture and commercialism on the Travel Channel as a whole. Finally, and
perhaps most simply, the passage of time since the study necessitates an updated
analysis due to the ever-changing nature of program lineups and general channel
strategies (Head, Spann, & McGregor, 2001).
Given these reasons, a current study of the broad spectrum of programming on the
Travel Channel, including a substantial quantitative component in addition to
qualitative perspectives, builds on the work of Fursich and serves a useful
purpose in determining the effect of consumerism on cultural programming.
HYPOTHESES
H1: The percentage of Travel Channel
programming focused on consumerism will be greater than the percentage of
programming focused on culture.
H2: The percentage of Travel Channel
programming focused on the most commercially developed geographic regions will
be greater than the percentage of programming focused on other regions of the
world.
FURTHER QUESTIONS
RQ1: Is there a relationship between
the time of day and the level of culture and consumerism on Travel Channel
programming?
RQ2: What themes, if any, emerge from
a qualitative examination of Travel Channel programming?
RESEARCH METHODS
Quantitative content analysis is
perhaps the simplest and most direct technique for examining the presence of
culture and consumerism on televised programming. It provides a systematic
approach for the precise measurement of these elements and can provide objective
support for subjective perceptions. However, supplementary qualitative data is
also necessary for adding depth and richness to the findings. The two methods,
when combined, support each other and provide a more complete account of a
phenomenon. In addition, triangulation helps address potential weakness inherent
to any one particular method when that method stands alone (Creswell, 2003).
Thus, the mixed-methods approach was adopted as the methodological framework of
this study.
The sample was determined using a
systematic approach that effectively provided information across the specific
dimensions examined in this study. The segments of programming were selected for
analysis from different parts of the day over a six-day period in April of 2004
in order to obtain a broad, generalized sample of the channel’s content. The
six-day period overlapped between two weeks (two days of one week, the weekend,
and two days from the following week), and this was done simply to reduce the
chance that sampling was taken only from a certain week with specialized or
themed programming that might not be the most representative of Travel Channel
programming during a typical week. An alternative might have been to do a full
two-week study, but the six-day method achieved the same goal more efficiently
and elegantly, placing equal weight on each week as well the weekend in between.
Each day, there were five ten-minute
recordings separated by 4 hours and 48 minutes from the end of one recording to
the beginning of the next. This division of the 24-hour cycle by 5 made it
possible to avoid recording programs only during one part of the hourly program
cycle and was based on the thought that programming and advertisement patterns
might differ depending on the part of the hourly cycle. For example, not every
recording began at the top of the hour and ended ten minutes into the hour. The
division of the 24-hour cycle into five even parts also made certain that
recordings would occur during different parts of the day rather than being
weighted toward only one or two parts. Furthermore, the recordings were done
using a progressively staggered schedule. In other words, after the first day,
recordings for the subsequent days started one hour later than the times for the
previous day for each of the five times of recording. This rotation allowed for
greater breadth of coverage and the resulting diversity that might accompany the
various time slots across the six-day period. That is to say, it avoided the
pattern of recording the same program that airs at the same time each day, a
situation that could possibly have occurred to a certain degree had a simple
random sample been used instead (see Appendix B for recording schedule).
The final total was 300 minutes of
recording (including commercials). The commercials were not examined using
content analysis, but were noted for their duration within the ten-minute
segments. This was done to avoid the obvious bias it would present in the
analysis of the actual programming content, whereby commercial television, by
definition, would be incapable of being anything but consumerist in most cases.
For this reason, a better approach was to acknowledge the percentage of
commercial time in the ten-minute segments but not include it in the program
content analysis itself. Also, commercials did not factor into the regional
analysis because they would be inherently aimed at the U.S. market. One might
argue that the commercials are indeed part of the programming, but the
distinction was warranted because audiences generally watch the broadcast, not
for the commercials, but for the content of the specific show itself.
After the recording of all 300
minutes of programming, the content analysis was carried out using the following
operational definitions for the areas of measurement. Each ten-minute recording
had a corresponding sheet for the information to be entered (see appendix C).
Culture:
- Geographic site or architecture that is very unique to a place (rain forests, a specific river, Taj Mahal,
Pyramids, etc.).
- Historical or current facts about a culture.
- Items, activities, and rituals significant to a culture (types of music, dance, literature, food preparation,
etc.).
Consumerism:
- Suggestions of how to spend money.
- Focused mention or display of products, services, or consumption.
- Mention of monetary value.
Region of Focus:
- Most commercially developed areas (U.S., Canada, Western Europe, and Australia).
- Rest of the world.
Duration of Advertising:
- Measurement of total time used for paid advertising, either spot ads or
infomercials, during the ten-minute segment.
Daypart:
- Morning: 6am-11:59am
- Afternoon: 12pm-5:59pm
- Evening: 6pm-11:59pm
- Overnight: 12am-5:59am
Inter-coder reliability testing was
employed in order to attain dependable results, with the target being 80% and
above. For example, if one coder measured 20 references to culture in a sample,
the other had to get a measurement that fell within the range of 16-25. This
number range was arrived at by dividing the smaller measurement by the larger
measurement which yielded a percentage, the barometer for inter-coder
reliability. This test was applied to 10% of the overall material (3 out of the
30 segments), and this sample was selected randomly by a blind drawing. Segments
in which the standard for inter-coder reliability was not met would be
categorized as “undetermined” rather than being accepted as either cultural or
consumerist.
The qualitative data was collected on
the same sheet as the quantitative measurements in the “Qualitative
Observations” section (see appendix C). This information was written down
immediately in order to preserve the qualitative essence of the observation
rather than let the passage of time evaporate original perceptions. A textual
analysis of the written text was then conducted using the three-step process of
open, axial, and selective coding. The analytical framework for the qualitative
portion of this study simply involved the emergence of prominent “themes and
topics” from the examined text as discussed by Lindlof and Taylor (2002). This
ensured flexibility and the opportunity to capture the most essential
information, the data that would most effectively supplement the quantitative
findings.
Strengths and Limitations
One may contend that this strategy of
using a single channel was unrealistic in terms of audience behavior and the
overall availability of multi-cultural programming. Nonetheless, it had the
advantage of efficiency while still examining a channel associated with this
type of programming. Given enough time and resources, however, one may move on
to the broader landscape of commercial cultural programming on multiple channels
to determine the level of multi-cultural adequacy of commercial television.
The content analysis portion of this
study was fairly simple in design, and, as a result, the final analysis was
rather straightforward. The qualitative analysis, on the other hand, was more
subject to researcher bias and interpretation. For this reason, it is necessary
to elucidate the researcher’s personal background.
The Researcher’s Role
I entered into this study with
certain preconceptions that had the potential to come into play. I believe I
have observed, over the past five years, a gradual shift toward consumerism and
away from culture on the Travel Channel. This perception was, in fact, the
impetus for the study.
I am a foreign-born U.S. citizen originally from Bangladesh (genetically as well
as culturally for a significant portion of my life). However, I do not identify
deeply with any specific culture (including religion) and view myself more as a
citizen of the world rather than of any specific country. I consider myself a
political independent, but the majority of my beliefs may be categorized as
highly liberal (as it is currently defined by American society). I have
significant motivation for cross-cultural exploration and understanding, and I
am an advocate of programming that advances this aim on a large scale for others
who, like myself, are interested in such matters. I believe that either the
public or private sector must address this area adequately. Therefore, my aim
was to use this study to set the foundation for further research in this area.
From this, one may conclude that I am operating with an activist perspective,
and that is perfectly acceptable for an understanding of my long-term goals.
However, fundamentally, the theoretical perspective I bring to my research is
that of pragmatism, knowing the inherent problems of trying to capture and
define reality, but pursuing information, regardless, with the hope that it can
be used to understand and affect the communication process. This allows for the
incorporation of separate theoretical perspectives depending on their
appropriateness and effectiveness in dealing with specific research questions.
Thus, a more precise understanding of this specific study is that it operates
with a critical-cultural perspective within a long-term frame of activism, both
of which function as subsets of pragmatism.
Having given this background, I remain confident that the subjective qualitative
portion of this study served to enrich the objective quantitative findings
rather than detract from them.
RESULTS
Quantitative Findings
The Travel Channel made extensive use
of its airtime to broadcast paid advertisements in the form of spot ads and
infomercials. Of the 300 minutes examined, 144 minutes were paid advertising.
This means that, when turning on the television and tuning in to the Travel
Channel, viewers can expect roughly a 48% chance of seeing a paid advertisement.
This is due primarily to the frequency of infomercials which constituted 10 out
of the 30 segments (33%).
Infomercials dominated the overnight hours of 12am-5:59am, with 6 of the 10
infomercial segments occurring during this time, and the others occurring just
outside of this six-hour period. Of these outside periods, three were classified
as morning (6:00am-11:59am), and one was evening (6pm-11:59pm). In all, the
distribution of the total paid advertisement load (infomercials plus traditional
spot ads) during different parts of the day were as follows (see first figure in
Appendix A): 63.22 minutes (84% of programming) during the overnight period,
37.37 minutes (50% of programming) during the morning, 17.58 minutes (23% of
programming) during the afternoon, and 25.53 minutes (34% of programming) during
the evening.
Of the 20 non-infomercial segments measured, only two (10%) contained a heavier
balance of culture. Inter-coder reliability for all segments met the 80%
standard, with the average reliability being 86.3%. Therefore, the first
hypothesis, that the percentage of Travel Channel programming focused on
consumerism would be greater than the percentage of programming focused on
culture, was supported.
The regional focus of the segments
revolved extensively around North America with only 8 of the 20 non-infomercial
segments (40%) pertaining to other areas. Of these 12 segments related to North
American, 10 focused on the United States, one focused on an area on the border
of the U.S. and Canada, and one on Mexico. Moreover, of the 8 segments that
focused on areas beyond North America, only 2 related to areas outside of
Western Europe (Africa, and Hong Kong). Thus, 17 of the 20 segments (85%)
focused on the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe (see second figure in Appendix
A), and the second hypothesis, that a greater percentage of Travel Channel
programming would be focused on the most commercially developed geographic
regions (U.S., Canada, Western Europe, and Australia) than on other regions of
the world, also was supported. It should be noted that this would have almost
been the case even if no territories beyond the U.S. were included in the
definitional criterion.
Qualitative Interpretations
Further clarification of the nature
of Travel Channel content comes from rather conspicuous qualitative patterns in
the programming itself. In analyzing the qualitative data, three prominent
themes emerged beyond all others.
The Blurring of Programming and Commercials:
What might one conclude about a
ten-minute segment focusing solely on the Disney line of cruise ships or
segments prominently featuring amusement parks, restaurants, hotels, and
casinos? Though such segments avoided being labeled as paid advertisement, in
many cases, they could have easily qualified as such had it not been for the
Travel Channel logo at the bottom of the screen indicating that they were actual
programs. In reality, such programming did as much service to the featured
companies as any “commercial” could, and, in one sense, perhaps the legitimacy
associated with program content among unsuspecting viewers even heightened the
effectiveness and credibility of the corporate profiles.
In other instances, infomercial segments mimicked actual programming and were
distinguishable only because of the Travel Channel’s formal written declaration
that they were paid advertisements. A segment about a gourmet chef, in
particular, bore no abnormal signs that would indicate it as anything but a
cooking program. This was further complicated by the fact that a few other
segments examined actually were cooking programs carried by the Travel Channel.
In a strange twist, one paid
advertisement about vacationing in Puerto Rico actually contained a greater
emphasis on culture than many of the Travel Channel’s programming, though it
still focused primarily on consumerism. In fact, its blurred nature was enough
to confuse both coders initially. The use of lush, scenic imagery and authentic
sounding music created the feeling that this might have been a documentary
celebrating the best of Puerto Rican culture rather than an advertisement
attempting to lure vacationers.
Overt Overindulgence:
In watching the Travel Channel, one
could easily get the impression that the most crucial ingredient for personal
satisfaction is the consumption of food, and unhealthy food, at that. Tours of
places connected with food items seemed to be commonplace on the Travel Channel,
and went out of their way to promote indulgence. A perfect example of this
occurred on a segment in which the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, the home of
Hershey’s candies, was featured in depth. Viewers received information about the
town’s chocolate industry and the accompanying tourist attractions having to do
with chocolate including the production factory, a bar that puts chocolate in
its beverages, and a restaurant in which the chef puts chocolate in every single
menu item. This last attraction, in particular, strongly advocated
over-indulgence as it followed a vacationing family around. As the parents and
children eagerly consumed various chocolate items, a meter measuring the caloric
value of each item was displayed on the screen. As expected, the number on the
meter quickly rose with each passing item, but when it was apparent that the
numbers were clearly beyond reason, the off-screen narrator lightly commented
that the calories didn’t really count anyway. The meter then vanished from the
screen. To end things off, once the children had eaten all they could, one
commented (quite sincerely) that he was done with chocolate for a while and
“could really go for a Big Mac and fries.”
Similar tours were given for
factories that produced Peeps marsh-mellow candies and for a brand of
cheese-puff chips. In the case of the latter, the narrator went so far as to
comment that “at only five grams of fat per serving,” the cheesy snack was an
excellent option. Common sense says that cheese-puffs are, by no means, a
healthy snack, but using the word “only” to describe five grams of fat per
serving may be misleading to consumers who are not familiar with diet and
nutrition. It may lead them to think that cheese-puffs, though not particularly
healthy, still qualify as a reasonable snack.
In addition to the emphasis on food, the Travel Channel unabashedly encouraged
the active spending of money. One program entitled, “Top 10 Places to Spend a
Fortune,” repeatedly gave monetary values for items such as designer dinnerware
and glass cups from a store frequented by celebrities, royalty, and the rich in
general. The narrator made suggestions of what to buy with obvious enthusiasm in
direct proportion to the cost of the items. At one point, within the same
10-minute segment, the scene shifted to a focus on precious gems, showing a
particular place where one could find the most prized, most expensive diamonds,
portraying this type of materialism as completely acceptable and even highly
sophisticated.
Incidental Culture:
Many of the segments, when mentioning
anything related to culture, did so rather incidentally. Italy was simply the
backdrop for expensive shops. Africa was the backdrop for an excellent hotel and
casino. France was the location of a world-class restaurant and an international
poker tournament. A story about a possibly haunted hotel happened to be in an
English town.
A common pattern used by the Travel
Channel was the introduction to a scene with a few seconds of visual imagery or
information about a culture followed by a shift to a scene serving as the focal
point of the segment that was indistinguishable as being part of any specific
culture. For instance, one segment began by mentioning the opportunity to visit
a historical cultural museum, but only if one had the energy left over from
accomplishing the real purpose of the vacation, that of visiting an amusement
park. After a momentary shot of the exterior of the museum with little
exploration of what was inside, the scene quickly changed to the site of the
amusement park and explored it in detail throughout the remainder of the
programming segment.
DISCUSSION
Given the finding that nearly half of
all content examined was paid advertising, it seems very natural that only 2 of
those segments had more mentions of culture than consumerism. Moreover, of the
two that contained greater mention of culture, one made very little mention of
either element. That is, it made only one consumerist reference, but provided
only a small number of references to a particular culture, resulting in somewhat
meaningless “culture” categorization. The bulk of the program revolved around a
narrative having nothing to do with either category. So, in actuality, only 1 of
segments contained substantial cultural information, but the official
measurement remains at 2 because the second clip did meet the technical
definitional criteria. Given this data, one cannot help but be astonished by the
enormity of consumerism on the Travel Channel. The notion of this channel as a
source of culture is highly erroneous, unless, of course, one defines American
consumerism as a culture in and of itself. Even then, viewers are left with this
singular American consumerist culture rather than a diverse array of cultures.
This marks a significant change from
the period of study by Fursich. Though the prior study indicates the precedence
of self-centered pleasure over cultural awareness, the fact remains that there
was at least a modicum of culture to analyze and discuss during that period of
programming. Currently, culture, if presented at all on the Travel Channel, is
merely incidental and serves only to promote related consumerism. Certainly, if
the Travel Channel is the best commercial television has to offer in the area of
multi-cultural programming, the current broadcast landscape is thoroughly
inadequate to meet this need, and based on the enormous imbalance in favor of
consumerism over culture on the Travel Channel, it seems unlikely that other
commercial channels associated with cultural programming, particularly if owned
by the same parent company, will display culture as a priority over consumption.
Thus, this study is of relevance to
the overall understanding to commercial television’s fitness, or lack thereof,
for delivering multi-cultural programming. It builds on Fursich’s study and sets
the stage for further research in this area. It demonstrates why the mere
existence of numerous cable channels does not necessarily ensure adequate
program content in every area, including the area of multi-culturalism.
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