Is anyone else out there sick of the news?!': TV viewers' responses to non-routine news coverage

Who gets to decide what `counts' as `news'? Scholars debate whether journalists or corporate elites have more power to determine issues of newsworthiness, paying little attention to the opinions of consumers. This article investigates consumers' impact on the construction of an event or issue as newsworthy by examining their reactions to non-routine news coverage. Specifically, I analyze US television viewers' complaints about unscheduled pre-emptions of regularly scheduled programs as published in entertainment magazines, solicited through fan surveys and occurring on-line through electronic bulletin boards. Analysis suggests that viewers engage in only minimal debate over whether or not a given event is `news'. Instead, their comments focus on what `kind' of news it is and the kind of media coverage it should warrant. While usually perceived as uninformed whining, viewers' complaints about pre-emptions might be considered a form of political action.