Viewing Race in the Comfort Zone
Acceptance and Rejection of Black-Centered TV Programming via Nielsen Ratings 1964-1994
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3439103 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brenda L Hughes, Brenda Hughes (0009-0004-5221-8017, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2014-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | SAGE Open (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/2158244014549151 |
| OpenAlex | W2175894525 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 12 |
Carter suggests the concept of a "comfort zone" to explain the inability of dramatic African American programs to be successful on television. He argues that a workable formula has been developed for successful African American series, "portray black people in a way that would be acceptable to the millions of potential purchasers (whites) of advertised products. That is, non-threatening and willing to 'stay in their place.'". Using a data set constructed from television ratings and shares, this study examines "black-centeredness" within the context of program success and failure. The comfort zone concept argues Black-centered television series are only successful in a comedic genre because White audiences, who have the majority of the ratings power, will only watch Black-centered series with which they are comfortable. The findings suggest that, in general, race, that is Black-centeredness, did not negatively influence program ratings or shares
Advertising · African american · Black Power · Business · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Reality television · Sociology · Television series · Computer Science · Gender Studies · History · Media Influence and Health · Media Studies and Communication · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Social Psychology
Audience Analysis
Media Symbolism, Media Richness, and Media Choice in Organizations
Blacks and White TV
Media Choice
An analysis of television series with minority‐lead characters
Five Constraints on the Production of Culture
Structural and Interactional Features of Popular Culture Production
Ethnic and Racial Images in American Film and Television
All Hits Are Flukes
| Citations per year | 0.67 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2024 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |