Page 110 - Culture Media Language Working Papers in Cultural Studies

HOUSEWIVES AND THE MASS MEDIA 99

A. Yes, in between half-five and eight, that’s me busiest time, feed him,
change him, sometimes bath him. I don’t bath him very often, erm, get
Richard’s dinner and I always clean up straight away, the washing up, and
then I get everything settled and that takes me up to about 8 o’clock, ’cos I
stop at half-past six to watch Crossroads (laughs). And then from 8
onwards I just sit and watch the box (laughs).
D. Why do you like Crossroads?
A. Just that you like to know what’s going to happen next, you know. I mean
they’re terrible actors, I know that, and I just see through that, you know. I
just, now and then I think, ‘Oh my God, that’s silly,’ you know, but it’s not
the acting I’m interested in, it’s what’s going on. I suppose I’m nosy….
D. The time then between that—do you watch the news?
A. I watch a little bit of it, erm (pause). I don’t really like the news much
because it’s all politics, generally and British Leyland out on strike again,
and this and that. I like to hear the news things if, er,—if there’s been a
murder, I know that sounds terrible, but I like to hear—‘Oh what’s
happening next, what have they found out?’ That sort of news I like, you
know— gossip. ((Yes.))
D. Do you ever watch documentaries?
A. Now and then I find an interesting one. I watched one the other night about
people who’d got diseases.
Lorna
L. We have the radio on all day, you know, from the time we get up till the
time the tele comes back on. I usually put it on at 4 o’clock for the kids’ tele
and they watch all the children’s programmes, and it might come back off
at 6 and it might not go back on again till half-past seven.
D. So you don’t watch the news?
L. No, I never watch the news, never.
D. Why don’t you watch it?
L. I don’t like it, I don’t like to hear about people dying and things like that. I
think about it afterwards and I can’t sleep at all. Like when I watched that
thing, World at War, and I watched it once and all I could see were people
all over the place, you know, heads and no arms and that and at night I
could not sleep. I can’t ask him to turn it over ‘cos he likes it, so I go in
the kitchen till it’s finished.

It is clear that the news, current affairs, political programmes and scientific
programmes, together with portrayals of war (real or in the guise of war films)
are actively rejected by the women. They will leave the room rather than sit there
while the news is on. The world as revealed through the news is seen to be (a)
depressing, (b) boring, but (c) important. The ‘news values’, as realized in
agendas, are ‘accepted’, but they have alternative values which the women
recognize but do not suggest should form an alternative coverage. In fact, the
importance of accepted ‘news values’ is recognized, and although their own