How Late-Night Talk Shows Utilize Social Media A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Drexel University by Melissa S. Genzer in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Television Management August 2012 ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my thesis advisor Terry Maher, and program director Albert Tedesco, for their assistance and guidance during the thesis writing process and during my graduate studies at Drexel University. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their continued support and encouragement. iii Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi LIST OF APPENDICES.................................................................................................. viii ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... ix 1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................1 1.2 Statement of the Problem...............................................................................................3 1.3 Background and Need....................................................................................................7 1.4 Research Questions........................................................................................................8 1.5 Significance of the Problem...........................................................................................8 1.6 Definition of Terms .....................................................................................................13 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................................18 2.1 Problems Facing Late-Night Talk Shows....................................................................18 2.2 Social Media ................................................................................................................28 2.3 Television and Social Media........................................................................................31 2.4 Late-Night Talk Shows and Social Media...................................................................37 3. METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................51 iv 3.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................51 3.2 Late-Night Talk Shows’ Criteria for Content Analyses ..............................................51 3.3 Data Collection/Procedures .........................................................................................54 3.4 Data Analysis...............................................................................................................60 4. RESULTS ......................................................................................................................63 4.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................63 4.2 How Late-Night Talk Shows Promote Their Social Media Accounts During Broadcasts .......................................................................................63 4.3 How Late-Night Talk Shows’ Social Media Accounts Promote Their Shows .................................................................................................................72 5. DISCUSSION................................................................................................................80 5.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................81 5.2 Discussion....................................................................................................................81 5.3 Limitations...................................................................................................................90 5.4 Recommendations for Future Research.......................................................................93 5.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................94 LIST OF REFERENCES...................................................................................................96 APPENDIX A: DATA CODING INSTRUCTIONS ......................................................102 APPENDIX B: SCREENSHOTS OF NON-VERBAL TWITTER MENTIONS .........................................................................106 v List of Tables Table 1: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and its Competitors’ HH Ratings........................................................................10 Table 2: Type of @LateNightJimmy Tweets ....................................................................76 Table 3: Type of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Facebook Posts ...................................................................................................78 Table 4: Type of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Facebook Posts ...................................................................................................80 vi List of Figures Figure 1: Media Platforms’ Total Users ..............................................................................2 Figure 2: Late-Night Talk Show Ratings.............................................................................3 Figure 3: Time Spent Watching on Media Platforms ........................................................11 Figure 4: Twitter’s Age Demographic Composition According to Pages Viewed................................................................................30 Figure 5: Median Age of Viewers for Late-Night Talk Shows ........................................41 Figure 6: Mention of Twitter During Shows’ Broadcasts .................................................65 Figure 7: Twitter Mentions During Broadcasts of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ...........................................................................66 Figure 8: Types of Twitter Handles Mentioned During Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ...........................................................................67 Figure 9: Twitter Mentions During Broadcasts of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.........................................................68 Figure 10: Twitter Handles Mentioned During The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson........................................................69 Figure 11: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s Twitter Mentions ..........................................70 Figure 12: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson’s Twitter Mentions........................71 Figure 13: Content of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s Social Media Accounts ....................................................................................73 Figure 14: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’s Social Media.................................................74 vii Figure 15: Content of @LateNightJimmy Tweets.............................................................75 Figure 16: Content of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Facebook Posts ................................................................................................77 Figure 17: Content of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Facebook Posts ................................................................................................79 viii List of Appendices Appendix A: Data Coding Instructions ..........................................................................102 Appendix B: Screenshots of Non-Verbal Twitter Mentions ..........................................106 ix Abstract How Late-Night Talk Shows Utilize Social Media Melissa S. Genzer Terry Maher, Supervisor The purpose of the study was to expose the ways in which late-night talk shows utilize social media. The study included content analyses of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson’s broadcasts and social media accounts (Facebook and Twitter). Mentions of Facebook and Twitter were accounted for during the broadcasts, and the content and type of Facebook post and tweet for their accounts were coded. Both shows’ broadcasts referenced social media, but did not verbally discuss their own social media accounts. The content of the social media updates referred mostly to past episodes, and the types of updates consisted of website links and the combination of website links and embedded content. 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction Television consumption is changing through the use of multiple viewing platforms. For the most part, audiences are no longer watching television programs during the designated original broadcast airtime. Instead, with time-shifting devices and the internet, viewers are able to control their own television consumption schedules. This is an issue within the television industry because it hinders the ratings of television programs, when viewers of a television show are able to watch on another platform, or when they wish to watch (and not during the broadcast of the show as it airs in its designated schedule). In 2011, 47.4 million television homes had a digital video recorder