This research study takes a new approach to analyzing the content of American prime time fictional broadcast programming. All fictional genres are examined to determine if any social issues exist in them, and to what extent the presentation resembles the entertainment-education strategy that is used to create entertainment-education programs worldwide.; In pursuit of this end, a clear definition of a “social issue” was first formulated. The parameters of the definition allow for more accurate analysis and categorization of the social issue messages (SIMs) in the programs. The entertainment-education strategy intentionally uses entertainment media to send prosocial information to users. The goal is to positively affect change in the behavior and attitudes of individuals on a social issue.; The 164 prime time fictional broadcast television programs examined in this study were randomly selected from a six-month time period between November 1995 and May 1996. The top four broadcast networks—ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX—were the sources. The programs were examined according to whether or not SIMS existed in a network's line-up, how often they appeared, which SIMs did appear and where, what was the Nielsen Audience Research audience shares for the programs with and without SIMs, the context of the presentation of SIMs, and the presenters' emotional intensity when presenting their position on a SIM.; The results revealed that half of the programs contained SIMs, and, of these, crime was the predominant SIM depicted. Crime appeared over half of the time. The next most common SIMs were discrimination and family conflict. SIMs were most often found in the program genres of crime drama, melodramas, and comedies. Two networks, NBC and CBS, were the leaders in the number of SIMs their programs presented. The difference in Neilsen Audience Research shares for programs with SIMs and without SIMs did prove to be statistically significant therefore, the inclusion of SIMs does appear to have a small negative impact on program popularity. The contextual manner of the presentation of SIMs revealed that of those characters presenting a position on a SIM, 65% presented a position that did not support that a social issue occurred or was a problem. The presentation of the positions on the SIMs was often emotional because the basis of any social issue is often conflict and debate. Mean emotion intensity levels were recorded as closer to “somewhat emotional” than “very emotional”. Certain SIM categories, such as family conflict, did reveal stronger emotions than others, and the least emotional intensity was found with discrimination SIMs.; This study was successful in creating an approach to analyzing the context of SIMs in American prime time fictional broadcast programs. The spirit of the entertainment-education strategy is in effect being applied because social issues are being presented. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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