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Abstract
Recent communication research indicates that approach and avoidance constitute two separate yet co-existing processes during media exposure. While many studies address TV approach behavior, little is known about TV avoidance behavior. Furthermore, personality has yet to be linked to avoidance behavior. This study analyzes the influence of personality on TV program avoidance. Data show that the "Big Five" personality characteristics (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness) and Risk and Fight Willingness influence program avoidance, albeit to varying degrees. While the specific correlations are discussed in the paper, the results generally reveal that the combination of personality and avoidance has added value in terms of understanding of TV using behavior compared to the frequently analyzed link between personality and approach. For nearly all personality characteristics, data show that the avoidance perspective is more than the inversion of the approach perspective. The findings are discussed with reference to gratification and selectivity research.

Researchers have employed different theoretical frameworks to predict patterns of television program choice. Despite varied theoretical origins, such efforts typically assume that program choice is systematically related to program content. A substantial body of marketing research, however, has provided evidence that choice is determined by scheduling—not content—factors, drawing into question the explanatory power of current theories. This article integrates disparate theoretical perspectives into a single model that is consistent with empirically documented patterns of choice.

The international flow of television programs has been a focus of many communication scholars since publication of the United Nations Declaration on Freedom of Information in 1946. An unbalanced flow of T.V. programs between nations has maintained this policy interest. Two competing intellectual paradigm emerged during the 1960s and 1970s to explain and evaluate this phenomenon: (1) the free flow of information, versus (2) American hegemony. However, each paradigm was concerned primarily with the outcomes of unbalanced flows, and so the process by which flows occurred remained unexplored. Here the authors identify cases where international television flows cannot be explained fully by either of the competing paradigms. A middle-range approach is presented with four structural conditions and two catalytic actions serving to determine flows.