Scholars in the field of communication research have extensively studied television viewing in general and watching television news in particular. The book looks at the subject from an integrative theoretical perspective. Based on Schutzean sociology and action theoretical approaches to media use, the author argues that immediate social influences and other everyday life situations largely determine television use, and that the influence of short-term situational characteristics are often overlooked in person-centered explanatory models.

In three empirical studies, the role of...

Television news range among the most extensively investigated topics in communication studies. The book contributes to television news research by focusing on whether and how news viewers who watch the same news program form similar or different interpretations. The author develops a novel concept of interpretation based on cognitive complexity research. He strongly argues that qualitative and quantitative research methods work best if they complement one another.