A study of how the changes in broadcasting media influence social processes

随着卫星广播服务和有线电视系统的普及，过去十年日本广播媒体发生了逐渐但不可逆转的变化；可用渠道和服务的多样化和专业化的变化。本研究探讨广播媒体的这种变化如何影响人们的观看行为、一般的信息行为以及对社会生活某些方面的态度。我们的数据主要来自分别在苏和和广岛进行的调查，每项调查都包括有线电视用户和非有线电视用户的随机样本，以便我们对两种类型的观众进行比较。其中一些发现是：(1)预测一个人是否订阅有线电视的因素包括创新、追随时尚的意愿和对高科技产品的偏好。另一方面，人们发现成本意识不利于订阅有线电视。虽然有线电视订户比非订户有更多的频道可供选择，但前者看电视的时间可能并不比后者多。这似乎暗示了一种“受众碎片化现象”。(3)在有线电视用户中，专门播放电影或音乐的有线电视频道有可能取代无线电视频道，成为享受这类娱乐的一种方式。然而，观看行为的变化似乎对订阅者使用媒体的整体模式影响不大。(4)与广岛相比，苏和对社区渠道中本地项目的评价更高，有助于社区整合。但是，在两个地点，对社区渠道的接触和对社区渠道的有利态度与社区依恋呈正相关。

As the satellite broadcasting services and cableTV systems spread, the last ecade has seen gradual but irreversible changes in Japanese broadcasting media ; the changes for multiplication and specialization of available channels and services. This study explres how such changes in the broadcasting media influence people's viewing behavior, informatio behavior in general, and attitudes toward some aspects of social life.Our data are mainly from the surveys conducted in Suwa and Hiroshima respectively, each of which includes random samples of both cable-sbscribers and non-subscribers so that we can make comparison of two types of viewers.Some of the findings are : (1)Factors predicting whether or not one subscribes to a cable included innovativeness, willingness to follow the fashion, and preference for high-tech gadgets. Cost consciousness, on the other hand, was found to work against subscribing to a cable.(2)While cabl subscribers had a wider range of channel repertoire than non-subscribers, the former group was likely to spend little more time than the latter watching television. This seems to suggesta "audience-fragmentation phenomenon."(3)Among cable subscribers, the cable channels specialized in movie or music were likely to replace over-the-air channels as a means of enjoying such kinds of entertainment. The changes in viewing behavior , however, seemed to have little impact upon subscribers' pattern of media use as a whole.(4)Local-originated programs in the community channels were more highly evaluated in Suwa than in Hiroshima, as contributing to community integration. But, in both sites, exposure to and favorable attitudes towards the community channels were positively ssociated with attachment to community.