186 sion images played a role in the cultural conflict about he Social Inequality and Rar] BL188 PARTI CONTENT largely reflected their perspectives on the world, Therefore, the inequalities in the social world have affected the organization ofthe media industry that produces media products nur, activists have challenged the media to broaden their narrow perspectives, Some have developed alternative media and told their own stores through words and pictures, ‘Over the years, progressive social change movements have succeeded in altering some facets of socal inequality in soclety at large. This human agency has ereted changes in the social world, which, in turn, have affected the organization of the media industry. Increasingly diverse contemporary media content reflects these changes to varying degrees, COMPARING MEDIA CONTENT AND THE “REAL” WORLD Does media content reflect the realities of the social world? Based on the accumulated volume of media research, the answers an emphatic no, Content analyses of media prod: ‘ucts have repeatedly shown ther to be quite differen fom key measurable characteristics ‘of the social word. Ths gap between the “real” world and media representations of the ‘Social world isthe subject ofthis chapter. “How do media representations of the social world compare to the external ‘real world?” an important question because we conventionally organize media according to hhow closely they represent reality We talk for example, about fiction versus nonfiction ‘news or public affairs versus entertainment, documentaries versus feature fms, “realty” programs. and so on. The impact of media, as we wl see in Pact IV, ean actually become ‘more significant if media products diverge dramatically rom the real world. We tend to become more concemed, for example, when media content lacks diversity or overempha ‘ies violence. sex. or ther limited aspects ofthe rel wort. ‘The question of how media representations of the social world compare to the external “real” world also rases several issues. Fis, the literature in media and cultural studies reminds us that representations are not reality, even if media readers or audiences may sometimes be tempted to judge them as such. Representations —even those that attempt to reproduce reality, such asthe documentary film-—are the result of processes of selection that invariably mean that certain aspects of reality are highlighted and others neglected Even though we often use the realness" ofthe images a a bass for evaluating whether we like or dislike particular representacions. all representations represent the social word in ‘ways that are both incomplete and narrow: ‘Second. the media usually do not try to reflect the “real” world. Most of us would Uke news programs, history books, and documentary films to represent happenings in the social world as fairly and accurately as possible (Aller examining the production process, wwe now know how difficult it is to achieve this f only because of limited time and resources) Bur by it very nature. a science fiction film, for example wil diverge signi cantly from contemporary socal if, Without that gap between reality and media image, the genre would cease o exist. ‘We cannot push this point o0 far however, because even fantasy products such 35 sc {ence fiction films hold the potential for reaching us something about our society. Often, this isthe attraction of the genre. When Caprain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura of Star Tok - 189 senelen Prime time television nthe 19605, ic wasthe first interacial hsson aU tle aks This media content, hough clearly embedded ina fantasy scence enon a, 0 uly was making a satement about race relations in contempory ager Boh ofthese rograns were scone ek scence ction. ye clear bah mere cane = conditions at the time of their creation. bleh me oli tha there i potential sell agiicane inal aepon ieance ill media products—een those RELA cealy make-elo fanasies Creator of meta predicts cohen ane ee 2nd se entrainment medio comment one el socal fd Ineo tmtrinment media andrews med theses ean cain © therfore to ated wha the i esiges might be. That icdesoohingar meta orms, Heke ee seapeners ue its and omance neta carly aon ane A i Issue raised bythe question of how media representations ofthe social world Tr an Se gean toes spencer ae ie ee nn seco heen cal a so make some useful comparisons between the content of ‘media and society, but our190 PART il CONTEN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CONTENT ‘While this chapter focuses on the content of media, Ii important o realize that many researchers study media content to make inferences about other social processes. In other words, they study media content to assess the significance ofthat content. There are at least five ways in which researchers can assess the significance of media content. They fnvolve linking content (1) producers, (2) 10 audience interests 9) to society in general, (4) audience effects, or () examining content independent of context. ‘illustrate, let's return wo our hypothetical example about children and situation come: dies. researchers found that child characters appeared on situation comedies twice as often as children do inthe real world, then several lines of interpretation would be possible. Each ‘ofthese diferent approaches tres to explain the source and significance of media content tent as Reflect Fist woul be posible nfer tha this child entered content reflected the inten of he progam wrters and producers Ths ne of nerpreation—sinking conten producers rcourage sto invite he socal characters of sun comedy wits and pro ‘ducer We might find that such ereatve personnel ae proportionately 30-sorethings ‘th children of tei own, who draw onthe own fay ves for story inpraon. As Iesul a dproportnate percentage of programs feature chen. Or peas corporate [reriers tae expressed song interest in sponsoring ch lated programa inuencng producers to crete more auch programs Beermiing this connection would requte Tecarch that moved beyond media content and studied eda personnel and he produ tion process moe generally (exact ind of research we examined n Pa I, Comet Sly would alert uth iu but by ef old na provide on adequate explanation forthe heay population of chen on such programs. Reflection of Audience Preference ‘Second, we might infer that perhaps the high number of child characters reflects the aud tence for situation comedies. This does not necessarily suggest that children constitute a large percentage ofthe audience. It may simply mean fr example, that many viewers are parents who enjoy watching the antics of young children on situation comedies Here the Implication is that media personnel are merely responding tothe interests of ther likely audience, not to their own interests oF tothe influence of the production process. Tis sce. The idea that media approach suggests thar content is a reflection of audience preference. Th producers ae only “ving the people what they want" also implies that people want what they get. To test such claims, researchers must explore more than media content, They ‘must move into the area of audience research Content as Reflection of Society in General “Third, some researchers investigate media content asa gauge of socal norms. values, and the interests of society in general—not ust the audience Some analysts might suggest that 191 ihdominated situation comets reflect high level of social concern for chide, They ‘might reflect the fact that we ive in a child-centered society where people value chine, fight The dificuly in rmly making such sweeping assessments shouldbe clas Tosup or such claims. research would need to extend well beyond the boundaries of ena Four researcher smtins examine med conent fr pte eee on audiences Fetus he report chien neon wilenmangecoaner one Ort fae more cheer othe searcher woulda shoe ee ‘sta onaudenceinerpreatons opt camined nur Teoh ana ‘odie heres tats det ink ssialy ery dieu oablan Thee ein ona thet the oon Caen aba eleaenot me en Ces audenes ors nea ison conten sacl ce Rally. a substantial body of wotk addresses media content on its own terms. That ually makes no temp o link content to producers, aidiences. or society but instead amines media a asell-encosed ext whose meanings tobe “decoded "for example {he 2007 thriller The Brave One. Jodie Foster plays a New York City rao host whens peace {s murdered while they are waking through Central Park. In response, Fosters shares takes he law ino her own hands ad kts several people whe have commmeacesnar ene analysis of this fm sugges ha metaphor frie aura cea oe te rama faced the Ue See the wake of the 9111 attacks, concluding that the film 7 {s constituted by and constitutive of cultural trauma. ts confrontation with personal ffauma function a trope for no only recoding the vigilante fm bur alo rng {he ration as posttraumatic. While [The Brave One] posits the damaging elects of traumatic fos, it does 30 in order to mitigate such harms; and, while thi him nese, shoes it does so wh areal mapping the boundaries of gendered and national identity. (King 2010: 128) Having sketched out the different ways in which researchers assess the significance of media content. we now turn tothe content ise As you will note is Rapesco oo ‘xamine content without touching on the role of producers audiences, or lager seer192 PART mt CONTEN ive ofa sociological approach to content analysis and RACE, ETHNICITY, AND MEDIA CONTENT: INCLUSION, ROLES, AND CONTROL sy roles as the Black Mammy, rd Such stereotypical images were the product of white medi ‘When we consider how racial and ethnic differences have been portrayed in the media, tee crucial issues emerge First is the simple issue of inclusion. Do media producers «reation and production of media images that feature ‘ore about the production process and the nature ofthe medi percent of the population they wer ispanics (who can be of any race, ust 49 percent of speaking roles virtually no shows were the only regl ops. By 8 had a black character. Surveys that, wh Increased and was reenberg and Brand 6 percent of thehave become increasingly visible but are still badly unde ‘of the population as a whole The Screen Actors characters ulation. ‘Asian characters, too, were ew and far between, Iwas oly in has become a staple of most prime Somewhat overrepresented as reg ns, and, especialy Latinos are all underrepresented a ses tion, nearly all minority EERE tact aa etn Representation on rine Tne Sout Newest enon za =] ~ Sao © Berman COS, red mos minor cst which were morelkalyo appear on the smal ele == F rks (UPN and WB, which merged and became CW) than on the major net- ia Vale, the race and ethnicity of recurring characters on prime time broadcast at whites ae overepresented and Latinos ae the mos underepeseated, ‘resence inthe population as a whole. mjr res or con Latina charaers The 1980s ea few na " ony 26 percent of charac jam sucha iam View and, Lae How a ay ae vision were Latino (Reuters 1998). In more recent years, Latino:actors in recent years played supporting roles for white lead characters In the 2010s few Programs have bucked this tend, suggesting more change may be coming, Fox's sitcom, The Mindy Project, started a South Asian American actress—a first for network TV. ABC's Political drama Scandal starred an African American wornan—the first black female lead in ‘anerwork series in nearly 40 years: and NBC's short-lived, prime-time soap opera Deception starred two black actors i the lead roles. Studies of advertising have repeatedly found underrepresenation of minorities. 3 Casmopoian, Glamour, and Vogue in the late 1980s found that only 2-4 percent ‘of ads featured black women ackson and Ervin 1991), However changes in these areas of vertsements are now far more diverse. One magazines exhibited significant racial Percent were black, 14.5 percent Hispanic. and 72 percent Asian fed atleast one African American character—although they ‘one second, in comparison to white ators, who speak for an average of five seconds Hollerbach 2008) a AS video games have become an increasingly large component of the media landscape. new research on representations within gaming worlds has emenged (Dil eta 20085; Nakamura 200% One ef the demographic landscape of the video game “universe—a “virtual census” of Playstation, and Nineendo plat percent ofall video game characters are white, while 11 percent are black, and 5 percent are Asan figures that closely mimic the US. po game characters is less diverse, with whites accounting fo 85 percent ofthe in video games. n contrast, blacks constitute fewer than 10 percent, and Asians fewer ‘than 2 percent. of primary characters. None ofthe games studied hae ‘Americans as a primary character, they were present solely as sec (witiams etal. 2009, by the growah in media outlets—especially cable telei sion and new forms of digal media. in the ‘The process then repeat inthe late 1990s as the WB and UPN networks (which later merged to become the CW seta hace ny paige od she highs percenage of whe ecuring chee ‘Cast Networks (GLAAD 2012), . en eee rte et of med cult Goths hat uence ae geting ant many Americans are not seeing the growing diversity in mass media. Instead, television pro, re su perme mor seeped ening wie auences wang ea black households tuned in to black ‘Programs. For example, during the July 19-2: 5 2010, only one program—CBS's The Mentalist—was among the 10 highest rated onan ‘in both black and white households Target Market News oo pegrams cn emenaton oma suds hase conan hate media ngh tele as @ common socializing agent. Media companies compete Sing dln ty deetoping prods that are ag rom deg ignore media rocess “may accelerate an erosion of tl Sapsttenicn sci ong ean MR pend bee ce "stereotype of Sambo! song-and-dance routine he saw ‘oy. Rice used burnt cork to blacen his face, the Jump Jim Crow routine, Early minstrelBoris Kartff, plays an Asian evil 1932 film, The Mask of Fu Manchu. Based on earlier novels and short le character asa diabolical killer bent on vengeful murder of whites. In ‘one 2007 AsionWeek article, Fu Manchu was chosen yeliow face fim performance” ever for representing embodiment ofthe yellow peri’ menace” (Chung 2007). White supremacy over American ini 7, and Ch ype. Asians were either viol funny and clever. as in the enormously popular Cha he years. Since World rend has been toward more 974). The 1980s and 19008 mers, and directors cast these sar in aw i Amilestone was eached in 2001 when the Acadeny ‘© two African Americans’ Halle Berry an re sensitive o stereotypes, co For example, The Siege, a 1996 fl‘noting that, compared tothe past. today’s reel Arabs are much more bombastic, rua “The responses of other underrepresented groups to media stereotypes give Shaheen 2008) some hope of improving the situation for Arab Americans. “For decades many racial onrood ange old ack carvers kee ated Boar say ba repeated in the mainst Neda and ten tenant meta anit ee way 2 Soyo ce Pa ca ee cur i te desea encouage Htjwneds resend brn new score sone cat or inning esr aco aon ate m (Continued)Stereotype “Aslan Amorane a oegners who cannot be sssited™ wed) “Asian cultures as inereiy predatory” “Aalan Americane restricted ced ‘cccupatons”| “Asians relegated to supporting roles in projects wit Asian or Asian American content” “Asian male sexuality as negative or non citer” “Urmotvated white Asian romance “Aan women as'China dol” “Asian women as @ragon acs” “Asians wha prove how god they are by sactiong hr ves” “Asian Amica a the'model minaty" tori or the mageal ot ‘Asian arts as negative when practice by Asians ‘bul postive when practiced by wos “Lead Asian oes labeled Amerasiart or "Eurasia solely o accommodate wie ators” ‘Stereotype: Buster “oreaying Asian a8 an integra part of tho nied States. More portrayals of accutratod ‘Asian Americans speaking witout oregn sczont “Asians as postive contours to American sexily" “Postve Asian charactors who ae stave at the ond ofthe etary" “Tho audience empathizing wih an Asian charactors faws and foes" 28 no mor o ls magical han oer cutures™ “¥ absluey necessary fora fim orTV project anteAsian acl slur sould be contextualized ‘negative and isting” “Cutray dstnet Asian reakstcaly employes by “Unt tne proverbial ply Aslan roleeepeck reserved for Asan actors ‘apt tom Media Action Neer for san Rnercars,tp//wensana./aan serotypes Hl OPLB 13.1179 the poor and lass blacks To understand contemporary media images of differena 4 205 ass (and, as we will see, thelr 19 Americans in the mainstream, or as well as women and people promoting the interests ofthe working hhave had to confront a basic dilemma: They have had to choose between ing aer ied financial esources and of promising control forthe producers The internet for example, has enabled the creation ofa vas array of websites that provide news, enter, ‘ainment, and political dis ingthe chance of reaching a mase and broad in par because media operations working on slick, seductive prodction quality and staff: te second strategy-changing the mainstream media from within offers an opposite ugh this was progress, ‘ors had anticipated, and te stil woeully underreprese X57 perce ewsroom hierarchy, making up 26 percent of newsroo aphers and videographers. 15 perc ‘made up 15.6 perce! ‘5% 12 years earlier) and 7.8 percent of executive story of portraying ‘As media audiences and around 1851. Allchree publica- appeared in San Francisco around 1851 ie bilingual publications have served Latino. Asin, and In many areas Wilson, Gutierrez and Chao 2012)207 omen: Presence and Control in the M Family and heterosexual relationships percent of executive producers and 305 per had no women writers on staff ata (Hunt found inthe discussion of and, perhaps as result fore the corps of writers ESPN'S Sports Coner and CNN Sports overage o women’s sports con ‘on average, younger than male characters and middle-aged male characters are more likely than their female counterparts o “play leadership roles, wild occupational power, and have goals" (Lauzen and Dosier 2005: 253).verage has since improved somewhat. Ina 2010 report Messner a Center 38 wel Doug PersingerGety Imus irnament, regular ‘may have served a valuable promotional oie for ESPN. Fer Concern about women’s sports coverage extends beyond quantity to include the quality ofthe coverage tha does exit. Kary, blatant steretypical images of women in sports have ‘obviously so, Studies conducted inthe television, they “were Duncan, and jensen cople inthe media and the roles given 1 characters underties the media ive way Class consi ‘isers producers. content, and audiences. The for profit, advert21 advertisers ae keenly interested inthe economic status of each people with enough disposable income to bu s. YoU can guess which class a media product reaches by examining the ads that rybody has to buy toothpaste and breakfast cereal, but when a program res ads for jewelry, expensive cars and investment services, you know uadience. (Take a look at the Sunday morning talk shows, for advertiser are trying to reach?) Media outlets. in turn, wart thirds oftheir revenue sitive 0 advertiser needs to stay only readers an iis in ciety portrayed in the media is we ‘working o lower-middie elas, with the cal, oF production jobs Media, how populated by the middle class—especially, social world as one heav (C855 egal and political rama, The Good Wife's ‘one of many programs that is se in an upper middle-class environment, with an affluent home and furnishings. There is a ‘gourmet kitchen inthe background, elegant ning room furniture, 5 Pte Acie Getty Image In contrat tothe usual middle-class fare, the set OF CBS's comedy, 2 Broke Gis, suggests something closer to reality for working-class Americans of more modest means. While quite large fora Brookiyn apartment, the sitchen features an aging refrigerator, old-fashioned inoleum flooring, a utility sink, and rough shelving—certainly not an upper-midle-class ‘gourmet kitchen, AF wha, ‘idte-lass professionals. tmag. ines, films, and‘such a police shows would diate the occupation of the main characters, h ally exclided these. The focus of domestic based situation comedies is hor ‘of potential occupations. Butsch found that only 14 percent of such programs fearured blue-collar, clerical, or service workers as heads ofthe household. More than two thirds (68%) of home-based situation comedies featured middle-class families. And the adults in ‘these television families werent your run-ofthe-mll professionals either. The elt profes: sions were vasly overrepresented. Doctors outnumbered nurses9 101. professors outnum: bred schoolteachers 4 to I. and lawyers outnumbered less glamorous accountants 1010 posable income. and ing jobs for television characters meant lots idle-lass homes situation comedies overwhelmingly lived in beaut ‘all the amenities. "There is an exception to the relative scarcity of working-class characters on sitcoms: animated programs Ever since Fred in The Flintstones was written asa rock quarry “rane” ime animated comedies have highlighted working-class characters: Peter running program The Simpsons was a woefully underqualified technician in a nuclear ‘Powerplant. The prominence ofthe working lass n cartoon portrayals contrasts sharply with is scarcity in live action programs In recent yeas, 2 Broke Girls and The Middle have each dealt with working-class ie in time broadcast programs have. The exceptions tothe working-class characters are notable precisely because sm. Doug Heffernan in King of Queens (1998-2007) was a held various jobs, including a factory wor ‘while her husband struggled a a construction Inthe highly dysfunctional family on Married Chicago's housing projects Florida was ‘husband, James, fought unemployment, sometimes working rwo low-payingjobs when he could find them, Ralph in The Honeymooners ( Tn contrast tothe relatively few portrayals of working cass fa ‘number of domestic-bared situation comedies in which the head ofthe household had a sar i an ide lasso. Theis of ayer doco architec adverts and businesspeople on such programs slong one Busch 003 age aria ne dominance of middle-class characters in thewe an casks erent Sete but igniicant message The his oberon utes {st mae when caning ora tbc he mea syou may emenbe, ya jel iacks on eran ‘wn Sent programs were the “nor gaa ‘news were contrasted ) “ The menage that pope inthe working es areresponabl for ter fea ui Sema mide las idea that gore the tutural cantons hat shape social case, orking-las families is usually ridiculed as utfoon. Ralph Kramden, Fred Flintstone, Dajte ievison ak shows and Holywood movies ar two ae mea genres where lsu are evden: In very tint maya each tend el eons ee ae ime ak shows featuring rary ting ncn 1970s but reached their peak of popu thr 980e and oe conchae tak show poner Pi Donat ten eesuchas abortion, women’s rights. and new cultural trends. Defenders of daytime ak shows aw them as providing a unique space forthe inclusion of voices that were otherwise fgnored, In his study of these programs, Gamson (1998) notes, “Talk shows, defenders claim, give voice to common folks and visibility to invisible folks ‘others assert, the talkshow genre was and isa ‘evolutionary’ one Donahue argues ‘but [before my program) there were no shows that—every da let just, folks stand up and say what-for I'm proud ofthe democracy ofthe show" (p edits these tlk sh ofthese programs presented a wildly distorted take on ‘common folks ~ They hig ‘ary subjects encouraged confit and orchestrated bizare spectacles. becoming known the value of working people uniting top focus on individualism, a8 opposed to collective action, is another Key fe Jy show working-class folks, they are even les likely to show working people ‘more than 14 million Americans belong toa union. ‘media's portrayal of unions has been a A ‘A decade later Martin (2003) added to the study of media coverage of unions, examining the reasons why the coverage is so poor His analysis focuses on the idea that media outlets ‘media manage to sidestep the actual Involved in labor disputes. For example, the news media spends more time travel delays for passengers than they do on why airline employees have gone of tedia conventions also rey on simply reporting “both sides" uninformative and ends to poray labor pte a bickering The idea of positive—or atleast balanced— portrayal ofa abor union is so rare on US. that when one does occur it becomes notable When the police drama The Bridge jared on CBS, the Los Angeles this ages flourish, butabor reporters are almost an extinct breed ople as consumers, but it almost never addresses them as ted stories are scare because they have the potential to the San Jose Mercury News once published an innocuous Feature story advising consumers on how to buy anew car. The prospect of wel- informedconcen a goup of 4 lc ao deers. Thy aint by "neta gut eetag inthe paper woe “4 pressure from local car dealers is infamous in the ‘tt he RedcelTne Common (0 ls have shown that Americans—of all races tend to vastly ‘overestimate the percentage of poor people who are black, Sociologist Diana Kenda (2005) reminds us that class stereotypes in news and enter ‘ainment media can play a vial role in our collective understandin another group in soc ‘media coverage. For ignored oF ridiculed in nearly all media Fees and Petrich (1995) argue that, unt the early ‘of homosexuals were used ether as “comic devices” as “a form of re was no place to go but up, imber of ‘sic and positive portrayals slowly increased. For example, Brokeback Mountain (200 ‘two modern cowboys stu thelr sexuality. and Mid (2008), the bio-pic of fst gay lected to public office in Califor Issues of homosexuality Trans ith 1999's Boys Don't Cry and 2008's Transamerica marking major Hollywood successes lywood was catching up, independent films by lesbians and gays long provided a broader range of images ofthe LGBT community248 PART CONTEN’ EERE) cetacean teers rmann tert EEE contin) Film and Television ‘two Poromae pce, Cated Ua wenage characters pares tow him ou the howe ater tranesoxia Chstne msi 1996 On the sticom Fiend, Ross ax 1870 The etlonaized biographical im, The Crise Jorgensen Sty, is leased about rea o havenah trons 1971 OnCBS's Alin to Fam, Rchi Bunker earns his macho dking buy, Steve, 6 0 ‘Candoce Ging, stro consonatne cs (oe i 8 eremeny ofa by Wie viewers may hae suspect thal characters on ear progr were gy se the 1097 en conserva Repstsican Congressnan Newt Ging fistclerlenttcaton oa gay character ona illonscom. rte ees a 8 does her characte on fe ABC stom En, ceting te tee 18 The Corer Ba, shored ior fates tlio frat mao recuring gay So eer ca abaya St designee Ptr Panama ‘ABC's Patty fares TV ft fl lesbian is. ‘ABC's That Certain Summer theft even movie oda! sympathecaly wth 1288 Wand Grace promis, eating a gay any as oe of ete characte. omosonaly {090 The ica Boys Dor ayia eeased based onthe relist of arson 1877 On Allin he Fan, ho Bunkers atend the tunwa ofEath Bunker's cousin Uz, andar ‘who was ape and murire by his ends when fy canted sacar ee that she had been he lover engl fama eammate Au ouages, 2000 Showtimes Queer as Fat promis ase et porem vines ‘ent one ac smame 3s ogam whose man charac ae gy an 2008 Gey parents become ore common. On HBO) ‘Gey parents become mae 8 The Wie a py detect, Kena Go pons ei Pubes mul carat onthe Mt medeal ta EO ery 1977 ABC Soap premiers. A madcap parody of daytime soap operas oars iy Cretan the recurting wot a gay man. 1878 A Question of Love is teevsen mvs in hic leaden couple hs for cused of thi fon when chalongedby one pares exhusband eave comes out anise a son with ar fee par ee 1988 ABC'S A My Chern fares to et gy tory Ee ona daytime s00p opera 08 Sa Geer te Sit Guy pons jing he nes oper eae TV 10964 Aterbeing jected by he networks, Star aks on cab’ Showtie chanel earng bot et eee tees hoc sg oto RS Stewie The Wore tao oct on 8 group estan, tse and 1865 NBC's An Eay Fst hort major movie deal with ADS. = aerate! 2005 olaback Mountain i laced {W420 Rese promo Eenaady csr as tn ber I conoye—a mad noo i oman ana tt 0 'oitiond, gay employers and: ne episode is kissed by aesben na guy bar 2005 Tansamerca is Soon el an ota rake 1980 On ABC's thityomtting two male characters ae shown n bed ae: heving spent ight ome nosed wih a tanegender woman aso lead character. togener ug hey do ot uch oneararaadvertans pul son worthot {280 Towne Vacom—premiers ase rt cable chanel dred to LOST ening, ‘commercials and tha epcede snot shown agin during Ue ur ru season, 1990 CBS comedy Northam Exposure premio, featuring two recuring gy male characters who ‘una bed and breakist and nave a wedsing ceremony fone episode, n another episode, the shows fetonal town of Ccay, Alaska, le even have been founded by 1h-ertry 2007 2007 ity Soxy Money premieres on ABC, featuring t at Sn son eating broadcast lovin rst recutng lesbian proneers, 1991 Angas n America a two-part pla by Tony Kushner about gay ie and AOS, opens, wining {a Pltzer Prize for Ora and Tony Awar or best play. HO converts an award. 080 op Al My hen asst dy me same so oa mariage 2009. Fax’ Glew premieres, featuring one of broadcast TVs most inclusive casts wiening miniseries in 2003. 1902+ Supporting gay characters become mare common on teleision programs, inuding Mebose See a te ra ei m0 tecmcenronn nee fares Se a a er cto mon at el Seen enna poh =snns en (uate eee eee ‘he mon dies of ADS relied comptcatons. 1994 PS ais the UK.-produced minsorescrama, [aes ofthe Cty, satin 70s San Francisco featuring porzayals of gay and lesbian lationship.‘elevision has followed much the same route as Holywood. From comic drag queens to threatening villains television routinely disparaged homosexuals In 1967 CBS documen tary the host, Mike Wallace, concluded, “The aver promiscuous. He's recognize gay marriage (Fees and Petrich 1995: 400) actively sought fairer 'A milestone was reached in 1997 when the lead character of the situation comedy -llen—and the actress that played her. Ellen DeGeneres-—"eame out” ina highly publicized and anticipated episode. To commemorate televisions frst openly gay lead character. the tured a gay couple who adopted a child re disparkies among the networks, television is becoming mor Giee alone at bisexual characters on broadcast TV—fegulars or not—61 percent were gay men. 20 per cent were lesbian, and 18 percent were bisexual (7 women, 2 mem), Inequality and Media Rep 221 cables scripted progam son, 3160 chants wre, 2nd biscnal characte histo ale. The ce le wat morse anton boda TV Of harcereglrs or tot percent Were ay men a fora ae as re bisexual (9 women. 5 men). te ae have been increasingly inclusive Inthe 2012-2015 sea expect ose the same era of people thy sata 2: 3-4), ” rage ofesbians and gays has alo change o hhomosexs ty more directly n the 2ist century, debates about esbians and and gay marriage have been frontpage so ‘overage of lesbians and gays has take reas with large. active, and visible gay and lesbian org have often lagged behind in their cover ing ina roduetion of media by gays and lesbians i donot reflect the diversity of the real world. However, by content does reflect the inequality that exists in the social wedia industryprovement in the porteayal ofthe LGBT comme: PART DV Audiences Cmca rare Chapter 7 explores the indirect influence of mast media on our politcal ives, focusing on how news media coverage has helped transform elections and on how varius political actor: ‘se the media as a strategie resource. Chapter People like us—who ultimately view. read, and listen to mass media. The chapter explores ‘the ways audiences actively construct meaning from media messages rather than passively apter9 shits the focusto the roe of media technologies of ineraction that are facilitated by the diferent forms of ‘media technologies shape social communication as well show peopie inuence the development of media technologies