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The television shopping phenomenon is analyzed in terms of media system dependency theory. The analysis begins with a discussion of potential changes in structural relationships within the media system introduced by television shopping. We discuss how these structural changes imply changes in microlevel dependency relations. A hierarchy of dependency relations is proposed, with television dependency leading to dependency upon a genre of TV programming and, ultimately, to the development of parasocial relationships with the hosts of specific programs. Using measures of television dependency, parasocial interaction, demographic variables, and buying behavior, a model is proposed and tested upon a random sample of viewer-buyers from a major television shopping service to explain the relationships among the viewer-buyer, the television shopping program, and the television medium. Results indicate that genre dependency plays a central role in the pattern of relationships.

Behind the “conventional wisdom” of mainstream television news lies a structured pattern of sources: newsmakers, experts, and commentators. This study uses network analysis to examine the interconnections of these sources‐defined as joint appearances—within and across programs to produce a cohesive “framework,” Supporting an elite model, a single cohesive “insiders” group, knit together by officials, accounts for most of these sources and spans a number of key national issues. This news framework provides an important conceptual approach to understanding how the boundaries of public affairs discourse are staked out by the choice and positioning of news sources.

The newsroom is a powerful influence in a journalist's identity formation.Research has yet to verify the socializing impact of academia. This research utilized the quantitative survey method applying it to undergraduate journalism students (n = 798) to assess how academic status relates to students' degree motivations, life values, and technology use. The results show advancement is related to variations in perceptions of some degree motivations, which include perceiving journalism as a path to write and fame, but life values were not significantly different. The implication of this study suggests that academia may not have much impact on certain perceptions and behaviors.