Audience Activity and Television News Gratifications

The variable nature of audience activity was examined with a sample of 329 local television news viewers. Instrumental news viewing was expected to be related to audience intentionality, selectivity, and involvement with local news. Hierarchical regression found that affinity, selectivity, and involvement predicted intentionality; pass time motives, perceived realism, and reduced intentionality predicted nonselectivity; pass time motives and reduced affinity predicted distractions; and information and nonentertainment motives, perceived realism, and intentionality predicted involvement. Canonical correlation found two news viewing orientations. Instrumental use, or seeking exciting and entertaining information gratifications, was related positively to perceived news realism, affinity, intentionality, and involvement. Ritualized use, or more habitual and time-consuming viewing, was related negatively to news affinity, selectivity, and intentionality, and positively to coviewing distractions. Implications of the links between instrumental media use and audience activity for uses and effects research are discussed.