The portrayal of racial minorities on prime time television

A one week sample of prime time television (8-11 p.m.) for ABC, CBS, Fox, a nd NBC tyas constructed to represent broadcast entertainment programming fo r 1996. In a systematic content analysis, the frequencies and attributes of ethnic minority and majority characters were documented, with particular a ttention to Latinos and their interactions with other TV characters. This s tudy's findings update the current status of minority portrayals and identi fy prevalent attributes of minority portrayals that may impact viewer perce ptions.