Media Portrayal of Knowledge Transfer and Exchange in Popular TV Shows (2004-2016)

• In Event: ICA Interactive Paper/Poster Session II
  In Interactive Poster Session: Popular Communication Interactive Poster Session

Abstract

Media presentations of knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) convey cultural and social assumptions about the process and participants of knowledge production and distribution. This study analyzed the three most popular TV programs aired in the US each year from 2004-2016. Results showed a hierarchical order of knowledge types in which applied science dominates, followed by social science and theoretical science. Knowledge circulated in the same or related field, showing clear boundaries between different knowledge domains. Gender and age stereotypes were also found. The determinate factors of directions of knowledge flow were scripted demographics rather than attributional demographics, demonstrating entertainment conventions as the underlying mechanism of the mediated image of KTE.

Authors

• Yan Yan, Wuhan University

• Wenyu Zhang, Institution of Journalism and Communication, Hamburg University

• Dan Yan, Wuhan University