Switching channels: the effects of television channels on the mental representations of television news

This study tests how people differentiate between television channels, conceptualized as having two important properties: channels differ in degree or of specialized content and are positioned within arrays varying in size, Participants watched news stories identified as emanating from either specialist news channels or from generalist channels. News on specialist channels was rated higher on news attributes and evaluated more positively than identical news on generalist channels. News watched on one channel was rated as more similar than identical news watched on four channels. Participants who watched news on four channels rated the television picture quality higher than those who watched on one channel. This pattern of results is consistent with the notion of channel as a place where television programs--and the people and action in them--exist.
The rapid advances in communication technologies pose many new and interesting challenges for. manufacturers, designers, program producers, policy-makers, and consumers. One of these new technologies includes the prospect of receiving [...]