* How are fathers portrayed on television vis-à-vis mothers?
* Does a father's marital status affect how he is portrayed?
* Do some networks portray fathers more positively than others?
* What model of fatherhood is our culture passing on to children through television?
"The combination of two factors make this report important reading for anyone concerned about the state of American society: one, nearly 40% of America's children do not live with their biological father and two, television is arguably America's most powerful cultural institution," said NFI president Wade F. Horn, Ph.D. "Thus, for millions of American children, the only portrayal of what a father is and how a father should behave is found on television."
NFI taped and reviewed every prime time television show on the six major networks (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, UPN, and WB) during the months of March and April 2000. To be included in the analysis, the television show had to have a father and/or a mother as a central, recurring character in at least two episodes of each show during this time period. Each show satisfying the inclusion criteria was then rated independently by at least three different raters on five dimensions of fatherhood/motherhood using a five point scale (five being the most positive):
* Involvement: The father/mother is involved with family activities such as eating dinner together, going to church, attending children's sporting events, and interacting with the child(ren)'s school.
* Engagement: The father/mother spends time interacting one-on-one with his/her child(ren).
* Guidance: The father/mother is a role model for his/her child(ren) and is concerned with the physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, and developmental growth of his/her children. The father/mother is also concerned with the moral and character development of his/her children.
* Competence: The father/mother is portrayed as capable and competent.
* Priority: The father/mother is portrayed as placing his/her family and role of father/mother at the top of his/her priority list and makes sacrifices for his/her family.
Shows scoring 20 to 25 were considered to offer a positive portrayal; shows scoring 15 to 19.9 were considered to offer a mixed portrayal; and shows scoring 14.9 or below offer a negative portrayal.
A total of 31 prime time television shows out of 103 total network shows (excluding news, sports, and local programming) satisfied the inclusion criteria. Of these shows, there were a total of 31 father characters and 30 mother characters, indicating that almost equal numbers of mothers and fathers were portrayed as central, recurring characters during the study time period.
"The average rating for mothers was almost 19.3, which is a fairly positive portrayal," said Horn. "For fathers the average rating was 17.6, very much a mixed portrayal. But what was most striking is that fathers were eight times more likely to be portrayed negatively compared to mothers - 26% vs. 3%."
Other major findings of Fatherhood and Television include:
* UPN and the WB network have the least number of shows with a recurring father character but the highest rating for quality of portrayal (1 show with a 21 score for UPN; 3 shows with an average score of 20.4 for WB) while Fox has the most number of shows but the lowest overall rating (8 shows with an average score of 15).
* The best portrayals of fatherhood were found on NBC's Daddio (24.9 rating) and Fox's Get Real (22.7).
* The worst portrayal was found on Fox's Titus (7.4).
* The majority of television fathers (68%) are married to the mothers of their children. These married fathers are significantly more likely to be portrayed positively than non-married fathers.
The premier fatherhood renewal organization in the country, NFI is a non-partisan, non-sectarian civic initiative working in every sector and at every level of society to end father absence. NFI's national public service advertising campaign promoting responsible fatherhood has generated radio and television time valued at over $150 million. Through its National Fatherhood Clearinghouse and Resource Center, the NFI also offers a wide range of educational materials and outreach tools to assist local organizations interested in reaching and supporting fathers.
