Environmental content in prime-time network TV's non-news entertainment and fictional programs

Thirty years after the first Earth Day celebration, how integrated are environmental values in everyday American life? One measure of integration is how often environmental topics are incorporated into the programs of television, today's most visible storyteller. This study offers results from an ongoing content analysis tracking television's attention to the environment in prime-time, network, non-news entertainment and fictional programs. The results indicate a decreasing amount of attention given to environmental topics during annually sampled weeks over 6 years. When present, environmental topics occur more often during programs having nature themes, which are relatively infrequent, than during programs having home and family or law enforcement themes, which are much more common. The conclusions suggest that, despite some noteworthy exceptions, environmental topics are largely absent from U.S. television's prime-time network non-news entertainment and fictional programs.