In an analysis of more than 37,000 scripts from TV and films, only 2.8% mentioned anything about climate change. An accompanying survey of 2,000 Americans found that few can identify a fictional TV or film addressing the climate crisis. But those who are most alarmed about climate change tend to… More
This study, conducted with Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, examines how gun safety and gun violence prevention are depicted in popular TV and provides recommendations for how the television industry can improve portrayals. We analyzed 250 episodes of scripted TV dramas and found limited depictions or discussions of gun… More
This year’s Sentinel Awards honor 12 shows whose outstanding storytelling tackled powerful and timely topics, including Emmy nominees and winners Dopesick, Abbott Elementary and Hacks, as well as A Million Little Things, Never Have I Ever and Reservation Dogs, the breakout coming–of–age series about four indigenous teen–age friends living in… More
Writers at NBC’s This is Us leaned on the expertise of Hollywood, Health & Society when crafting the storyline of Rebecca’s mental decline due to Alzheimer’s disease. And in a recent study out of University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, researchers found that the story both resonated with viewers… More
We partnered with the National Domestic Workers Alliance in this recent study analyzing the history of domestic worker representation across scripted film and TV from 1910 to 2020. Through two phases of research, a frequency analysis and a content analysis of 100 domestic worker characters, the findings explore how often… More
Hollywood, Health & Society launches its first Blue Sky Scriptwriting Contest now accepting entries for TV stories that take place in a future in which we would actually aspire to live and thrive. Instead of the standard dystopian landscape, think environmental sustainability, a fair and equitable society, and a world… More
In a soon-to-be-released study, we analyzed scripts from 37,453 TV episodes and films that aired in the US media market between 2016 and 2020 to see how often climate change content appeared. , finding only 2.8% mentioned any of 36 climate-related keywords. Our study partner Good Energy has released a… More
Using a unique methodology called propensity score matching (PSM), our Media Impact Project researchers surveyed nearly 4,000 people in a study of the 2020 Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma. They found that viewers of the film were more knowledgeable about persuasive design techniques employed by social media companies, had greater… More
Media researcher Dana Weinstein joins actors Yareli Arizmendi, Kyra Sedgewick and Fran Drescher to discuss our latest collaboration with the Plastic Pollution Coalition at a webinar on Wednesday, January 19 at 2PM (PT). Our Media Impact Project research team examined 32 popular television shows from the 2019-2020 season in the… More
Thursday, July 29. Watch the virtual celebration honoring the winners of the 2021 Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Television Political Journalism. Winners include PBS FRONTLINE, CBS News and CNN, along with local stations in Phoenix, Milwaukee and Missoula. The streamed event includes one-on-one interviews with winners, a look back… More