216-Television-Studies_inner-pages-munotes

Page 1

1 1 INTRODUCTION TO TELEVISION STUDIES Unit Structure : 1.0 Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Context of Television 1.2.1 Contextual differences between Television, Films and New media 1.3 What is television studies 1.4 Market place and Television 1.5 Conclusion 1..6 Questions 1.7 Bibliography 1.0 OBJECTIVES With this chapter, you will be able to understand – 1. To understand what does it means to study the television and term television studies 2. To understand the need to study the television as a formal discipline 3. To understand the various approaches involved in television study 1.1 INTRODUCTION The very term “television studies” invokes multidisciplinary perspectives, television itself has undergone radical change from government controlled conservative broadcasted channels to multitudes of private cable TV channels to the last decade’s revolution of digitization, social media integration and content convergence including internet based non-traditional TV or web Tv such as Netflix & others. So “what defines television studies” had started with historical perspectives to inclusion of studies of humanities, philosophy, psychology, social sciences, literary criticism and almost every other discipline out there to make meaning or sense of Television and its content . What we fail to see is Television is just an audio-visual medium to spread/distribute the content and messages for ulterior objectives/motives of broadcasters, producers, advertisers and government for consumption of viewers, so it can be used by anyone to produce and distribute their content or messages. It should be treated as just another tool supported by certain technologies to propagate munotes.in

Page 2


2 Introduction to Television Studies ones content, so certain distinguishing aspects with respect to other digital media is rapidly disappearing. Historically television studies made lot of sense as it was the sole audio-visual medium which was present as the in house source of leisure, information, news and views influencing the masses and in return getting influenced in variety of ways but today in modern world perhaps the field may be clubbed with larger media studies to understand the mass media as a convergent entity for unified effects or impacts. This view is supported by some scholars such as Charlotte Brunsdon who advocates that television studies is an "aspirational disciplinary name given to the academic study of television.[Wikipedia ] “Television Studies has tried to define how the medium communicates, and this has involved distinguishing between television communication and the media of cinema or radio. But it has used methodologies for describing and analysing television texts that come from disciplines including Film Studies, methods of discussing audiences and television institutions that come from sociology, and ways of describing the development of television that amount to different histories of the medium” as in Jonathan Bignell landmark text on television studies, it does aptly represents its analytical origin and history . To further the same, Charlotte Brunsdon has summarised by explaining that:| “much of the literature of television studies could be characterised as attempting to formulate accounts of the specificity of television, often using comparison with, on the one hand, radio (broadcast, liveness, civic address), and on the other, cinema (moving pictures, fantasy), with particular attention … to debate about the nature of the television text and the television audience.” 1.2 CONTEXT OF TELEVISION To understand the full scope of television studies, TV/new media its effect on society we need to first understand the context of old and contemporary television and all the necessary elements and their relationships. 1.2.1 Contextual differences between Television, Films and New media Primary home availability (homeness and homeliness) and capability of live-ness along with support for multitudes of content genre makes television a very attractive destination for advertisers as well as most households to get their news and as a primary medium of leisure Even the recent net hasn’t been able to dislodge the position that Television enjoys Listed are some of the contextual attributes which become crucial in television studies and its impact on different aspects munotes.in

Page 3


3
Introduction to Television
Studies Table 1: List of Attributes of TV vs Films vs New Media Dimension -
aspect Attributes Television
(traditional) Films Net Video
(YouTube,
Facebook,) content &
distribution Narrative complex and
intertwining
(except
anthologies)
(highest) Relatively
simpler than a
TV, simply due
to fact that
narrative has to
be brought to
closure within 2
or 3 hours
(lowest) Simpler than
the TV but can
become
involved with
films
(medium) distribution seasonal/episodic
on network
/cable broadcast
( on particular
time day or
week) One time
release Webisodes Duration half an hour or
one hour
program for
typical
functional , news
and views
/reviewers 10 -20
min
(medium ) Short films 40
min while
feature is
around 2 hours
(longest ) Typically Can
be 5 -15 min
videos
(shortest) content type all and any
(highest) Limited as
against TV
(lowest) Somewhat
better than
Films but can
be limited as
against TV
(medium) Characters complex Relatively less
complex then
TV as arc needs
to be brought to
closure in 2
hours hence less
time for
character
development
(lowest ) Can be better
than films but
lesser than TV
(medium) munotes.in

Page 4


4 Introduction to Television Studies characters
domicile real life parallels
(mostly) hybrid ,as story
need to be
special and
uniqu e hence
plot and
characters are
hyped up Lesser than
TV but better
than films character
identification
by social
members happens
regularly Somewhat Less likely society influence Highest Medium –high Lowest –
medium govt policy
control Highest Almost no
control or very
little control as
provided by
social websites Highest propaganda Possible and
highest on Govt
backed
Television Possible but
individualistic Individualistic
but not as the
policy 1.3 WHAT IS TELEVISION STUDIES ? In this we look at narrow as well as modern broad scope of television studies and variety of views by popular theorists as to what it should contain What are television studies? As simplistically put by Wikipedia “Television studies is an academic discipline that deals with critical approaches to television” But it is too simplistic view as what constitutes an academic discipline as well as what are the various critical approaches that can be employed are being revised over the years Academic discipline: branch of knowledge aggregated as a unit, Television studies is not an isolated science but integrates variety of wide academic disciplines such as psychology, sociology-social sciences, criminology, textual analysis, literature, anthropology, psychiatry,philosophy, linguistics, economics, finance, management, technology, engineering, statistics, sciences –physics, electronic or computer sciences, education and learning, among many ; most of the studies may encompass one or many of the above fields across local,national or global contexts and across a particular period or entire spectrum munotes.in

Page 5


5
Introduction to Television
Studies For e.g. influence of TV programs on social behavior can incorporate psychology, sociology, culture, content programs, formats and genres and even philosophy to draw the entire picture of holistic impact. Television studies is not synonymous to studying television, as former will focus on methods to analyze the content with diverse focal lenses while later would focus primarily on content and influence, former may encapsulate the later (Horace Newcomb) And studies can employ variety of critical approaches such as different perspectives to name the few, television and society, television and feministic or woman studies, television and children studies, television and violence, television and economy, television and culture, television and film and media theories, television and content & literature, television and genre, television and cultural studies, television and globalization-localization, television and business, televise and marketing, television and technology studies. Due to wide influence of the television as mass media the field of studies is wide open to almost any branch of science, commerce or arts or engineering and management. Over period of time, TV studies has been inherited from older film studies as well as larger modern media studies (digital or otherwise) as the discipline The vastness of the field can be better comprehended by studying the context of television which has undergone change over period of time. The constant flux in technology, process and business of television has created field of studies which needs constant updates as we undergo evolution of medium; the new models such as internet based Netflix or IPTV or even YouTube and its distributed content are creating impact and dent onto traditional Television and forcing it to change / adapt to survive. As per Jonathan Bigel, Study should cover history, aesthetics, genre, production and reception, As per Jonathan Gray and Amanda D. Lotz, study could be across various perspectives and time dimensions for aspects such as Programs, Audiences, Industries and Contexts; they further address the scope as “medium is many things to different people, and its messages are Infinite. As such, when scholars, activists, parents, policymakers, and watchers began to discuss Television, these discussions took a wide variety of forms and occurred in multiple sites” indicating its cross discipline applicability Some of the established researchers include Charlotte Brunsdon, John Fiske, Christine Geraghty, Bruce Gronbeck, John Hartley, Henry Jenkins, David Morley, Horace Newcomb, Paddy Scannell, Ellen Seiter, and Lynn Spigel [Jonathan Gray and Amanda D 2019]. TV studies can be broadly include items as listed below and much more 1. Study 2. of evolution of technology technical programming schedule and content from its origin till date, It can also include pace and style of change munotes.in

Page 6


6 Introduction to Television Studies 3. Study would also encompass socio-economic and political influences to programming content during its changes and vice versa 4. Study would also include trends and patterns in changes to programming content or its targeting in local, regional and global contexts and urban, rural or semi urban setups 5. TV studies would also include other influencing factor such as globalization or other matters of international concerns in its core 6. TV studies would also identify effects due to promulgation of other new media avenues or technologies such as social media, IP TV, … 7. TV studies would also focus in 8. Creation and changes to genres and formats 9. Changes to production techniques 10. Budgetary considerations and changes 11. Popularity of programs and genres 12. Policies of govt constructive and restrictive and influence 13. Cultural and social influences on character stereotypes and storyline 14. Influence of transmedia and new models of narratives 15. Sociological, psychological patterns and applications and changes 16. Changes and growth of advertisements and financial, sponsorship models 17. Business practices and changes 18. Consumer preferences and changes 19. Understanding what and why beneath most of points raised 20. Revenue generation and syndication and online avenues 21. New Netflix OTT model and its impact on growth and direction of TV industry 22. Multi medium targeting content and revenue 23. Funding models, crowd funding... 24. Understanding dominating trends and why and transformation 25. Convergence of mass media and impact to TV, industry and reduction of conservative model, birth_ growth of interactive personal small footprint content 26. Ideological Influences on society and/or Television and trickle down onto the other munotes.in

Page 7


7
Introduction to Television
Studies Check your progress 1. Discuss the need to study television ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. What is OTT? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Discuss the various areas that television can influence. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 1.4 MARKET PLACE AND TELEVISION Figure 2 shows the relationship of the actors or entities involved in context of television studios, this is a overview diagram showing interaction between the actors, the dimensions of analysis or television studies are necessary outcomes of this simplified view, it shows basic exchanges between the entities such as advertisers would like to negotiate the rates based on popularity of the channel or its programs or would like to place their ads in most popular slots and programs. Producers and broadcasters would like to maximize their revenues and profitability by having quality content or content that sells the most or it positioning in the schedule and flow. Consumers or audiences would also be interested in getting maximum for their moneys share either as cost of subscription or license and better leisure activity for the time that they can devote. The ratings agencies and reviewers and analysts would like to consolidate the stats or findings and insights gathered or inferred to publish their opinions or results. They would use many of the methods of television studies to arrive at their results. Figure 3, represents how Programs and content primarily of Television and films influences the social masses takes place, such sustained changes results into permeant changes into the values system of the society in concern, this is also the concern of the Regulators and govt. that the changes to the masses as represented should be desired ones to spread the harmony munotes.in

Page 8


8 Introduction to Television Studies and well being and not negative traits such as violence or immorality or hatred or other undesired changes to character.
Figure 3: Change dynamics of Television Studies Figure 4 gives the indicator of what kind of influence the Television content can have, it can lead to changes in ● the social –political establishments ● it can result into creating new standards or norms in behaviour or lifestyle ● it can create a hybrid of cultures or create its own culture of set of beliefs ● it can also lead to creating more balanced social life ● it can elevate the knowledgebase and assist as a learning tool to students as well as social elements among many
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2 Market place and Television munotes.in

Page 9


9
Introduction to Television
Studies
Figure 4 social,moral, political and economic influence of television and its content 1. Each of the discipline and disciplinarian as well as the actors involved in the TV production, distribution, revenue generation, regulation and consumption have high stakes in the analysis of Television and its effects, influences and elements both as the outcome of matter of influence as well as matter of driving the desired results 2. Advertisers would like to know what are popular programs and how much and what is the return on their investment they are getting in terms of s of translating ad into tangible or intangible benefits 3. TV executives would like to know who produces better content, what are the consumption patterns and what would be the ideal flow or schedule to maximise the consumer base 4. What could be rate that they can charge to subscribers as well as advertises 5. Sociologist and social science as well as psychologist, culturists would like to know the behavioural influence of television and changes to social and moral fabric of the society or what kind of programs are being made and distributed
munotes.in

Page 10


10 Introduction to Television Studies 6. Political parties as well as Political analyst would like to know the propaganda factor of the content and any manipulation that can be done, if so how 7. Feminists would like to know the picturization of woman in the content (any stereotypes) and role of woman in networks or production cycle or production houses 8. Teen and Children program analysis would like to know if content is age appropriate and how does it influences teens or children in terms of habits, establishment of culture or behaviour, any incitement for violence or less moral-social code of conduct 9. Audience and viewers themselves would like to know what is popular, who is popular in terms of content 10. Literary analysts and theorists would like to know variety of genres/formats and programs being adopted across times and places and their 11. Marketing would like to know what is popular and how to position the brands and products across the TV content and how much to pay, where to pay to maximize the influence; locally or regionally or globally 12. TV producers would like to know what are social events of importance and how much is their influence on sociality and how they can incorporate that into their content to capitalize the, they would also like to know scope of global distribution, how they can market their content in global context –content syndication or content personalization or localizations. They would also like to know the popularity of genre, story lines, plots and programs so as incorporate the same in their content or start programs matching the theme as such content 13. Psychologists would be interested in application of Sigmund Freud theories of subconscious and conscious seeping of values into society and citizens 14. Television fraternity would be interests in technological innovation and aesthetical presentation of the content, what are the popular shots, programs and their cinematography or sound treatment to incorporate into their content: what is hot and what is not to decide where to invest (same as advertisers and sponsors and marketers) 15. Economists would like to know the content type-cost-return benefits to industries, its relationship to global or local shocks, GDP, class distributions, cost of production by production houses or consumption preferences by audience along many depending upon micro and macro cycles of economy across local or global economies and influences of economic classes upon the content and vice versa across such contexts. munotes.in

Page 11


11
Introduction to Television
Studies 16. Social sciences would like to know various groups(class, ethnicity,..) in society and their coverage on television as well as patterns of viewing programs, 17. Technologists would like to know the means of distribution and efficiency as well as convergence 18. Criminologists would like to find the relationship between content and rate of crimes 19. Each and every member of society and academic discipline has his stakes in television and its singular impacting power, Knowing such patterns and information would facilitate them to do their job better and make sense of the television and its content Audiences WHY DOES TELEVISION EXIST ? Answer to be above question throws a primary dimension of analysis and television studies, impact and effect between medium and audience.it is the audience that the television programs and channels desire and align their structure and content and flow around it to maximise the audience so as to maximize the profitability . understanding the viewing patterns and trends is key to every actors involved in the context including the audiences themselves Another interesting but very basic question that emerges is “Who is audience and What is audience ?” In his book Television Culture John Fiske (2000) defines audience as “the social subject has a history, lives in a particular formation (a mix of class, gender, age, religion etc.) and is constituted by a complex cultural history that is both social and textual” In terms of television, we can define audience as the person,entity, function and the role which would translate to a involved viewer who is aware of what he is seeing and hearing and absorbs and responds to the content as per his interests and, understanding of the audio-visual text that he is reading. As more competition to television is generated in the form of new media, social media two things happen first is the convergence and second is interactivity, some attributes of interactivity are inherited by new form of television programs. Although the overall effect is to fragment the audience across various medium and transport services such as dish or cable or broadcast, it also presents the opportunity to target unified media. To hold the attention and to get added viewers/audiences content providers production houses create new content which is more relevant or change existing in the direction that is desired by audience munotes.in

Page 12


12 Introduction to Television Studies Television channel ratings as particular no of households tuned in as published by BARC is called as TRP rating, it creates a basis for producers, broadcasters as well as advertisers and sponsors to decide regarding the ad rates or decision related to new program or content or changes to the existing. Idea is to maximize the viewership Television studies identify how the audience makes sense and meaning of the programs and television and importance of televisions in everyday life especially as it encounters the competition from the films and internet new media. Television audience interprets and responds to media in its programs as per their choices driven by their experiences, background,interests and costs. Audience measurement is statistical, it is based on samples of viewers, and results in generalisations about what viewers find pleasurable. Broadcasters try to maximize audience sizes for their programmes as indicated by ratings and to maximize the audience share which stands for viewing their own programmes as against composition programmes on other channels. Audiences can be classified by their demographics, domiciles, age,sex, .. as urban or rural or semi urban, as adults and kids as per disposal income and habits and lifestyle or interests ; ; producers target audiences to understand their watching habits and provide them with more of the same or different . while doing so they also need to be sensitive to social norms and social harmony, of values which can portrayal of woman or needs protection to the mind of teen or child from unhealthy images Generally the producers and big networks would do a content analysis as per audience targeting as per ratings to identify their core audience. Niche channels target specific lifestyle or habits of the audience, they need to know that there is a market which would recover their costs and make significant revenue. Consumer decision trees is a useful tool which is used by networks as well as producers in their production and targeting content and market size, it works similar to marketing other commodities but more complex as televisions program is far from a commodity (although the aim of the television channels is to abstract the audience as one that is predictable ). For once the televisions production has to have invention at its hart as almost every episode of every program is a new content and not a copy of the old, and needs continuity and continuous innovation to capture and keep the audience engaged, while a traditional commodity is a copy of what sells across and new products would less frequently be launched in other domains as against media and entertainment where novelty is key and every program and episode is a make or break decision involving revenue interest of advertisers or subscribers Quality cannot be taken for granted in modern audience, they are aware m they are smart and understand the clichés as well as narrative devices and don’t enjoy them being packaged as one, Uncertainty is at the core of media and entertainment business,especially for niche and novelty programs or even soaps and series cannot be taken for granted anymore. Content is god munotes.in

Page 13


13
Introduction to Television
Studies and hence the writer is one who is making the engine, while director drives the engine and actors deliver the goods-performance . Influence of television and studies
Figure 7 Influence of Television on Society and Individuals and Even Govt Television immediacy and intimacy in your living or bed room with almost perpetual being as a part of every house hold makes it the most powerful medium to have critical influencing power. Television can be a medium of leisure to working men reducing the stress he works his day and looks for respite in the evening Some other things that television has major or minor role to play and influences to exert are as follows Table 3 Influence of Television, some of the key things Influence on society, individuals ,
industry or govt Amount of influence /intensity of
influence Casual crimes and crime
justifiability Medium , although films have been
hold accountable as well Feminism and awareness Higher Political polarization and influence Higher Classism, Racism , Bigotry,
discrimination or its awareness and
improvements Knowledge / awareness higher
Incite discrimination Medium
munotes.in

Page 14


14 Introduction to Television Studies Child -youth media addiction, lack
of con centration ,. Carrier defocus ,
lethargy , Lower : gaming and social media
plays greater role Substance abuse and immoral
activity Medium Respect for elders or peers and
general way of communication –
lack of propriety Medium , Tv has been accused
about moral degradation and
impropriety Physical and mental Health issues
such as obesity ,physical weakness ,
loneliness , social alienation and
awkwardness Medium -high, although social
media and gaming has played equal
role Increase in Crimes against woman,
children ,Violent crimes , other
crimes Medium Good source of learning and
knowledge & career guidance &
boost Medium : although scope is very
high with digital media and
convergence , today it hasn’t been
exploited to th e limit
There is Gyan darshan channel but
people flock to net for quick
learning Social up -liftmen and equalization Socially responsible programs can
cause inculcation of positive values Destressing , general sport and
happiness High : primary tool for leisure
activity TV and therapy and social
surrogacy Medium : Tv has also been stated
to have therapeutic benefits Political Party propaganda High Product influencing –brand
recognition High though quality advertisement
and positioning and placement Vehicle for social causes High , proper presentation through
documentaries , news , views or
campaigns can have large impact Check your progress 1. Discuss the influence of tv in your daily life ____________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 15


15
Introduction to Television
Studies ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. What is TV intimacy? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Discuss the political influence of television. ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 1.5 LETS SUM IT UP Television studies is relatively novel discipline which involves cross discipline applications unearthing interesting patterns of consumer/audience patterns of what and why as well as very social fabric and universe that audience exists in, determining the complex interactions of the context with different elements embedded in it. it is a science as well as art and study of hearts as it encapsulates emotions and intellectual insights into one in artful manner. Different dimensions of analysis would continue to expand as the convergence and consolidation finds their way towards their ultimate goal, after which we may even see a unified media studies as a way to solve and understand the meanings and the mysteries of mass media and its effects.. but whatever may be the path that evolution may take, surely the findings of television studies inside its special context would always be carried forward. Its intimacy to the audience preserved and its social viewing in every household cherished 1.6 QUESTIONS 1. What are the various elements involved in television contexts 2. How is television as a traditional media different from film and new media? 3. What are the basic dimensions of television studies? munotes.in

Page 16


16 Introduction to Television Studies 4. What is audience and reception theory? 5. What is the future of television going to be? 6. What is the role of regulation in television? 7. What are the various ways television genres could be analysed? 2.6 BIBLIOGRAPHY Television Beyond and Across the Iron Curtain. (2016). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Savorelli, A. (2010). Beyond Sitcom: New Directions in American Television Comedy. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. Butler, J. G. (2001). Television: Critical Methods and Applications (Lea’s Communication) (2nd ed.). Routledge. Gallagher, R. (2021, February 2). Transmedia Storytelling in 2021. Target Internet. https://www.targetinternet.com/transmedia-storytelling-in-2021/ What is Transmedia Storytelling? (2011, December 1). Transmedia Journalism. https://transmediajournalism.org/contexts/what-is-transmedia-storytelling/ Star Wars and the History of Transmedia Storytelling. (2018). Amsterdam University Press. Brunsdon, Charlotte (2004). Television Studies. In Horace Newcomb (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Television[second edition]. Horace Newcomb, “The Development of Television Studies,” in A Companion to Television, ed. Janet Wasko (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing), p. 16 Jonathan Gray and Amanda D. Lotz [2019], television studies Jonathan Bigel [2013] introduction to television studies https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_3054  munotes.in

Page 17

17 2 BRINGING TELEVISION HOME Unit Structure : 2.0 Objectives 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Introduction to Television & New Media 2.2.1 A Case for Media convergence and media convenience 2.3 What are the social learning theories and role of Television vs New Media 2.3.1 Future of the Television and new Media and social learning 2.4 Let's sum it up 2.5 Questions 2.0 OBJECTIVES With this chapter, the learner will be able to understand – 1. To understand what it means to have television in your Homes. 2. To understand the television and new media tools in context of household. 3. To understand the influence of social learning theories as relevant to Television content and its audience. 2.1 INTRODUCTION In the past, studying television alone made sense because it was the only audiovisual medium available as the in-home source of entertainment, information, news, and views influencing the masses and in turn getting influenced in a variety of ways; however, in the modern world, television studies may be combined with broader media studies in order to comprehend the mass media as a convergent entity for unified effects or impacts. Charlotte Brunsdon, for example, argues that the term "television studies" is a "aspirational disciplinary name given to the academic study of television," and that there are scholars who share this view. The field of television studies has sought to define television's communicative function by setting it apart from other media like film and radio. According to Jonathan Bignell's seminal text on the subject, television studies "has used methodologies for describing and analysing television texts that come from disciplines including Film Studies, methods for discussing audiences and television institutions that come from munotes.in

Page 18


18 Introduction to Television Studies sociology, and ways for describing the growth of television that amount to different histories of the medium." While B. F. Skinner expanded on the study of verbal behaviour by taking an empirical, psychology-centric approach, Clark The behaviourist stimulus-response theories were advanced by American psychologist Leonard Hull. Nonetheless, Julian Rotters in his book "Social Learning and Clinical Psychology" proposed an integrated and the holistic approach between the individual and the environment, an integration of behaviourism and gestalt theory psychology, also known as expectancy-value theory. "Expectancy: the individual's subjective belief that a given activity will produce the desired outcome. An individual's reinforcement value is their level of preference for a certain result, and it can range from 0 to 1, with 1 indicating complete certainty. "B.P. = f (E & RV)" is the two-variable conceptual equation, however the theory could not account for the unlearned reaction. Chomsky discovered flaws in stimulus-response theories of behaviour, specifically that they cannot explain how a language is acquired. The next step in the cognitive revolution's study Social learning theory explains how people learn when they are surrounded by others. Concepts like modelling and observational learning, as well as a theory of education, all point to a social group as the primary or sole setting for the development of social competence. Taking a more all-encompassing approach than Skinner, Rotter, Miller, and Dollard, Albert Bandura advanced the field of social learning theory by studying how people pick up new behaviours from seeing others. 2.2 INTRODUCTION TO TELEVISION & NEW MEDIA To understand the full scope of television studies, TV/new media its effect on society we need to first understand the context of old and contemporary television and all the necessary elements and their relationships, as depicted below in figure 1 . Popular programs on Indian television from its inception Table: Television Programs from past and present Unique TV
shows Brief Humlog India’s first soap opera had balanced view point as
typical family although many felt that it aligned with
mostly northern way of life and not urban or other
progressive views for woman munotes.in

Page 19


19
Bringing Television Home Unique TV
shows Brief Nukkad Urban lower class and middle class life was shown
with closer to reality mapping ,especially Mumbai
suburban which was becoming place for migrants
and new settlers Karamchand A tacky detective and his whimsical assistant kitty
solving plethora of crimes , a series had a popular run Rajani Progressive woman speaks about social issues Chunouti The first show about college kids and their life and
issues on DD Discovery of
India Based on Mr. Nehru’s book , a high quality episodes
made their mark Malgudi days First of its kind a genuine s torytelling Lifeline First show about hospital life CID FIRST copycat crime show on Indian television Shaktimaan Indian television’s first superhero and perhaps the
first comic book style superhero in India (although
Sabu was famous in comics) Subah Issue of drugs was brought to forefront
Amitabh Bachchan was involved Tamas A story about partition, very effective story, and
direction by Govind Nihalani, told with cinematic
experience of hour -long episodes was popular Ramayana ,
Mahabharata Mythological serial which defined the Sunday
morning for must viewing for every Indian
It exploited need for mythological serial , although
executed with mediocre special effects even for
those days (which had been missing in day
schedule) Friends reruns have still not lost the charm of six young
folks making it in new York
Although it lack the Diverse appeal for
demographics (as everyone was Caucasian white)_ ,
it made up for it with job profile of the cast and
intelligent story lines and humor munotes.in

Page 20


20 Introduction to Television Studies Unique TV
shows Brief Seinfeld Before friend there was Seinfeld a comedy show by
a comedian , story of four friends in urban life The pawn shop Life of the pawn shop owner and reality show
around it OMG Yeh Mera
India Modern day non fictional about special Indians Indian id ol Indianized version of global franchise , involving the
top singer in country Big boss Indianized version of celebrity reality show, where
celebrities are kept inside house for certain no of
days –generally 3 months and are eliminated by
rules of games, involving public voting to keep them
safe
The show has further been adopted in regional
languages such as Marathi, Star trek True global futuristic phenomena which was
initially aired in60s and still continues to dominate
the fan sites and fan base
It was shown on Indian television in late 80s and 90s Sherlock homes BBC classic was show n in many avatars on TV Pride and
prejudice Based on classic novel by Jane Austen , this BBC
show figured high quality treatment and launched
the career of
It was shown on Television along with other British
serials and series Kyunki Saas Bhi
Kabhi Bahu Thi First of its kind of being popular long chain of “saas
bahu” serials which sprung up in late 90s and early
2000s , it however encouraged a stereotypes of
woman in these roles Kaun Banega
Crorepati Indianized version of who wants to be th e
millionaire was successful due to treatment, Indian
contextualization and Bacchans brand appeal and
charisma Koffee With
Karan Talk show in English hosted by Karan Johar with
film personalities / celebrities, witty and sleek with
Bollywood appeal made this a popular across munotes.in

Page 21


21
Bringing Television Home Unique TV
shows Brief Chayageet,
Chitrahaar,
Rangoli Earliest shows of Bollywood film songs , Chayageet
was the first one then came Chitrahaar and then
Rangoli and now we have dedicated channels for
songs Phool Khile Hai
Gulshan Gulshan The first talk s how with film personalities , earliest
on DD, hosted by Tabassum was popular celebrities
during its days The Kapil Sharma
Show First Hindi talk show which enjoyed the true
glamour and fame for its creator in modern times Satyamev Jayate Hosted by popular star Amir khan , had distinct
purpose to it Popular programs from Netflix and Amazon Prime Unique TV
shows Brief The Crown Look at current British queen , a biographical
drama capturing the key events in queen’s life Snow piercer Story in post -apocalyptic scenario where a train is
on move as the only possibility for better life Sacred games India's first Netflix original series , crime thriller
with big stars and directors , Delhi crime 'Delhi Crime', based on the investigation s that went
into the brutal gang rape of Nirbhaya on December
16, 2012, leading to her subsequent death, won the
best drama series at the 48th International Emmy
Awards, Little things Story about cohabitation and discovering life
together Kota factory Novel story about coaching classes and characters Contextual differences between Television, Films and New media Primary home availability (homeness and homeliness) and capability of live-ness along with support for multitudes of content genre makes television a very attractive destination for advertisers as well as most households to get their news and as a primary medium of leisure Even the recent net hasn’t been able to dislodge the position that Television enjoys. munotes.in

Page 22


22 Introduction to Television Studies Listed are some of the contextual attributes which become crucial in television studies and its impact on different aspects Table 1 List of Attributes of TV vs Films vs New Media Dimension -
Aspect Attributes Television
(traditional) Films Net Video
(YouTube,
Facebook,) Content & Distribution Narrative Complex and
intertwining
(except
anthologies)
(highest) Relatively
simpler than a
TV, simply
due to fact
that narrative
has to be
brought to
closure within
2 or 3 hours
(lowest) Simpler than
the TV but
can become
involved with
films
(medium) Distribution seasonal/episo
dic on
network
/cable
broadcast
(on particular
time day or
week) One time
release Webisodes
Duration half an hour
or one hour
program for
typical
functional ,
news and
views
/reviewers 10 -
20 min
(medium) Short films 40
min while
feature is
around 2
hours
(longest) Typically Can
be 5-15 min
videos
(shortest) Content type all and any
(highest) Limited as
against TV
(lowest) Somewhat
better than
Films but can
be limited as
against TV
(medium) Characters complex Relatively less
complex then
TV as arc
needs to be Can be better
than films but
lesser than TV
(medium) munotes.in

Page 23


23
Bringing Television Home Dimension -
Aspect Attributes Television
(traditional) Films Net Video
(YouTube,
Facebook,) brought to
closure in 2
hours hence
less time for
character
development
(lowest ) Characters
domicile real life
parallels
(mostly) hybrid ,as
story ned to
be special
and unique
hence plot and
characters are
hyped up Lesser than
TV but better
than films Character
identification
by social
members happens
regularly Somewhat Less likely Distribution Linear weeks,
months,
DVD.. One time
release and on
DVD Non linearly
on web Narrative order
& flow Complex
(highest) Much lesser
(lowest) Medium Scope and
span breaks down
into seasons -
months
(highest and
complex) Much lesser medium Flexibility Possible to
change arcs,
plots,.
(Highest). Nil Highest Re-use possible as
narrative
flows through
and
interseason
(highest) Somewhat if
next part is
being released
otherwise NIL Highest Availability on the
network
during Lowest (DVD
sales would
help) On demand –
anytime ,
anywhere munotes.in

Page 24


24 Introduction to Television Studies Dimension -
Aspect Attributes Television
(traditional) Films Net Video
(YouTube,
Facebook,) broadcast or
reruns
(medium) (internet
model) Accessibility TV set using
antenna or set
top b ox Cinema
theatre
(typically)
Although
Netflix and
amazon has
been releasing
films on the
net on web
Content
syndication possible Somewhat
happens No need Content
customization/
personalization global/nationa
l/regional
customization
localization
possible Less likely Can happen
but hasn't yet
penetrated
Real time possible
(TV when
originated
started was
only real time) Not possible Possible but
not as well
established as
TV Content genre
supported diverse Lesser Diverse real time
telecast
programs possible Not possible Possible reality show hallmark -this
is what saved
TV Not possible Possible game shows hallmark -this
is what saved
TV Not possible Possible sports daily routine Not possible Possible and
happens day time Soaps daily routine Not possible Possible and
trend has munotes.in

Page 25


25
Bringing Television Home Dimension -
Aspect Attributes Television
(traditional) Films Net Video
(YouTube,
Facebook,) started since
few years News , views
and reviews daily basis not possible Possible and
happens a
plenty (fake
news is a
concern) Production Budget per episode
week or even
a couple of
days(daily
soap)
medium to
large Large (except
indie films) Lowest Schedule schedule is
tight Can be
relaxed Can be tight
or relaxed Flexibility Lesser More Can be lesser
or more Process Relatively less
complex than
film Complex Much lesser
than either Time Time to make
typical product Much lesser ,
at times per
week or per
day
deliverables
For live
programs
there is very
less or almost
non pre -post-
production Relatively
most than
other two Much less
than other two
Time the
program lasts Months At best couple
of months Perpetuity Cost Cost of
production Lower for
pilot but Highest
(unless indie
films) Lowest munotes.in

Page 26


26 Introduction to Television Studies Dimension -
Aspect Attributes Television
(traditional) Films Net Video
(YouTube,
Facebook,) medium as
season build cost of
distribution NIL MEDIUM LOWEST quality Aesthetic and
quality of
content Mostly
midcore Cinematic Lowest returns ROI If series
becomes
popular then
highest
(Friends,
Seinfeld, Big
Bang Theory,
Idol, Big
Boss,
Office…)
Revenue is
made through
ads,
subscription ,
downloads ,
DVDs content
syndication ,
global
distribution
and
localization
Merchandise
sales (if chart
cater are
popular) Depends upon
film can be
billions but
mostly better
than
Television for
above average
films
Revenue is
made through
initial
theatrical
release , video
on demand ,
hospitality ,
did, network
sales
Merchandise
sales (if
characters are
popular) Lowest over
short period
but ad revenue
can mount
only under
exceptional
cases but
mostly lesser
than other two
audience Consumption Daily basis ,
family mode ,
hours Weekly /
monthly... Isolated
individual Perception Good time
pass Reserved for
Special
occasion Free to check
but not as
absorbing as
film or TV Level of
attachment Highest Somewhat Lowest but is
ramping up munotes.in

Page 27


27
Bringing Television Home Dimension -
Aspect Attributes Television
(traditional) Films Net Video
(YouTube,
Facebook,) society Influence Highest Medium –
high Lowest –
medium govt Policy control Highest Almost no
control or
very little
control as
provided by
social
websites Highest Propaganda Possible and
highest on
Govt backed
Television Possible but
individualistic Individualistic
but not as the
policy 2.2.1 A Case for Media convergence and media convenience As the media is converging to something greater and consolidated, especially new models of TV distribution using web or even mobile networks to stream or make it offline, differences between the TV and new media are diminishing . consumer uses which ever medium of display as is convenient to him be it Traditional TV set or Smart TV or mobile or computer to get to the content which is being broadcasted or streamed or made available to him . earlier differences where TV and social media / web being and mobile being not connected has long since gone and new integrated model means social media content is also available on modern start TV sets Media convergence is leading to media convenience, however it to be noted that recent statistic as published by us government, people preferred to watch traditional TV over computer browsing or other avenues of leisure. Check your progress 1. What is Media Convergence? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 28


28 Introduction to Television Studies 2. Discuss some of you top 5 shows on tv and ott platforms and what genre do they come in? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. What are the list of Attributes of TV vs Films vs New Media ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2.3 WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES & ROLE OF TELEVISION VS NEW MEDIA Social learning theories are essentially theories proposing the mechanisms behind our learning –be it conscious or subconscious attempt . Theories attempts to model the process of learning, as per their views social learning always happens in social environment Albert Bandura explained learning as a social process of observing someone doing something, paying attention, retaining what has been observed and then reproducing. It consists of 5 principles (sometimes 4 as observation is taken as core feature upon which the theory is built) or elements which interact with each other to deliver the learned skill, they are: 1. observation 2. attention 3. retention 4. reproduction 5. motivation. Sometimes it is broken down into 4 elements in any form of observing and modeling behavior: attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation. Observation being implicit part of principles. As stated in American psychological association “Albert Bandura highlighted how serial dramas grounded in his social learning theory can lead people to make lifestyle changes and alter detrimental social practices.”, TV serials, due to its proximity and immediate as well as intimacy has potential to change the behavior, especially as youth may follow the habits and characters of protagonist or antagonist in their daily life. munotes.in

Page 29


29
Bringing Television Home Also a study report by ministry of children, community and social sciences "There is clear and persistent evidence that media violence generates real-life aggressiveness and violence," according to the report. The American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, among others, released a joint declaration about the pathological impacts of entertainment violence in June of 2000. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000). Evidence suggests a link between media violence and violent conduct in some youngsters, according to these organizations. 1. Lev Vygotsky is also regarded as a forerunner in the field of learning in social contexts; he was an advocate of the sociocultural theory of cognitive development, which views learning as the result of interaction between people in a group; in his work, Vygotsky posited that teachers can influence many aspects of their students' educational experiences for the better, including the students' tasks, behaviours, and responses, with the goal of improving students' mastery of subject matter. 2. In order to account for the heterogeneity of real-world learning situations, "Social Learning Theories integrated behavioural and cognitive theories of learning" References: [Wikipedia][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_learning_theory]. 3. Here are some of the central ideas of contemporary Social Learning Theory, as outlined by Joan Grusec in his book "Social Learning Theory and developmental psychology: The legacies of Robert Sears and Albert Bandura" (content adapted from Wikipedia). 4. Learning is a cognitive and social process, not just a set of observable behaviours. 5. Vicarious reinforcement is the process by which a learner gains knowledge by watching a conduct and its outcomes. 6. Learning involves observation, information extraction, and decision making about how a behaviour should be carried out (observational learning or modelling). 7. While reinforcement does contribute to learning, it is not solely responsible for it. 8. The student is not an uninvolved observer of information being presented. Understanding the interconnectedness of thoughts, feelings, and actions is what reciprocal determinism is all about. 9. The cognitive-structural theory of Lev Vygotsky 10. Cognitive talents, according to the theory, are shaped and influenced by society. Learning, memory, attentiveness, and problem solving are only few of the abilities that can be influenced by one's culture. To learn, one must take in these signals. munotes.in

Page 30


30 Introduction to Television Studies 11. The Role of Television and Other New Media in Education: An Overview of Social Theories 12. Personal encounters and observable evidence 13. Modern social learning theory, as described and extended by Bandura, builds on stimulus-response theories by adding observation and modelling, as well as the concept of reciprocal determinism, according to which behaviour is determined as an effect of the individual and his environment, with the environment influencing the individual's behaviour and vice versa. Individuals may be motivated to engage in a certain behaviour because of cues from their surroundings, such as a cricket season or a particular match, which may then cascade to motivate others to engage in the same behaviour, and so on. 14. Creating a mental simulation 15. [this section is based on and borrows extensively from Wikipedia. The best and most concise explanation of the topic can be found on Wikipedia. 16. There are three distinct classes of modelling stimulus. 17. Live models, in which a person is performing the desired behaviour, are a direct effect, especially because people learn from their role models by seeing them as they go about their daily lives. 18. Communication between the teacher and the student where the teacher explicitly lays out the steps for performing the desired conduct. Learning by hearing takes on equal importance as observing. 19. Symbolic, wherein the media (movies, TV, Internet, books, and radio) serve as symbolic models. Characters, both real and imagined, can serve as stimuli. At this point, the role model's stereotype will have a more significant impact on the individual's actions. The nature of the model, as well as mental and behavioural processes, affect the information-gathering capacity of observation. Paying close attention to the patterned behaviour is essential for learning. Knowing what is being learnt and how reinforcement works has been demonstrated to greatly increase learning outcomes in experiments. Attention (e.g., relevance, novelty, affective valence, and functional value) is influenced by both the observer's and the action's or event's abilities (e.g., perceptual abilities, cognitive abilities, arousal, past performance). Different models impact the relevance and practical value of observation, which in turn affects attention. To reproduce seen behaviour, observers must be able to retain its salient characteristics. In this case as well, the complexity of the process is affected by both observer characteristics (cognitive ability, cognitive rehearsal) and event characteristics. Memory storage relies on the mind's workings. munotes.in

Page 31


31
Bringing Television Home The act of reproducing - while seemingly straightforward - might be more difficult than it first appears, depending on factors such as experience, motivation, and the like. Over time, participants' results would improve with the help of feedback and additional, focused efforts (attention). The observer's goals and expectations influence whether or not they choose to replicate a witnessed behaviour. An individual's intrinsic motivation to learn (and eventually perfect) a skill or task is what tends to serve as the driving force behind the entire learning process. In addition, the theory of cultural intelligence, which argues that humans are wired to make the most of the social learning they can, particularly of cultural information, is a case in point for the social learning hypothesis. The concept that humans have been selected for ways of social learning is supported by experimental evidence showing that humans over mimic behaviour compared to chimpanzees. Some researchers have speculated that our success as a species might be attributed to our capacity for social and cultural learning. One of the most important conclusions to draw from this line of inquiry is that social learning skills connect with other types of learning and intelligence to produce the desired outcome. Lev Vygotsky, a psychologist and educator, was an early proponent of the idea that people learn best when they actively participate in their own environments. In his proposal, he said that professors should have more meaningful interactions with students, such as through guided conversations, constructive comments, and collaborative learning. He also held the view that kids pick up their values and attitudes from their families and communities. Sir Edwin Sutherland put out the idea that people pick up the norms, perspectives, strategies, and justifications for illegal behaviour from their social interactions with others in his theory of differential association. The social learning hypothesis was devised by Sir Edwin Sutherland and states that people pick up the norms, beliefs, strategies, and inspirations for illegal behaviour from their peers. How people become criminals is the focus of this hypothesis, not why they become criminals. "Differential association predicts that an individual will take the illegal road when the balance of code for law-breaking exceeds those for law-abiding." If a person were exposed to or influenced by someone in a higher social position who was potentially criminal, this would become more noticeable in that person's life. 2.3.1 Future of Television & New Media Social Learning Convergence seems to be the answer to the age-old question of what will happen to television, a trend that has already begun: Netflix programmes are now being streamed to smart TVs, and families can enjoy the same content either online or on their television sets. munotes.in

Page 32


32 Introduction to Television Studies As technology progressed towards digital cable and digitization, the conservative broadcast using the analogue signal was discontinued. Inheriting from the internet, social media, and even gaming platforms, the next generation of television would incorporate audience participation in real-time decisions (passive decision making via telephone lines is already commonplace for reality shows) by using the TV's remote control or a keyboard (virtual / actual). Integration of real-time social media commentary into television broadcasts Alterations to the plot and the story can be made if the people so choose. Cross-section of special effects and personalization of gaming applied to narrative storytelling; this could be the future of "true gamification" of the shows, in which customised versions of viewers play out their favourite TV show roles according to complex rules as the show's baseline narrative progresses. Advertisers and sponsors want cross-platform advertising that is more relevant to individual users. The benefits of a unified consumer identity in gaming, social media, and television could expand. Comic books, video games, cinema, and television can all contribute to a transmedia story's complexity. Full digitalization via wired or wireless/broadcast transmission, The new television could be revolutionary because of convergence across media, unification, deep interaction, real-time or live audience involvement or even programme narrative and customization or personalisation. In order to provide consumers with a more seamless and unified experience across all platforms and mediums, technology will likely blur the lines between them. This will create new opportunities for producers and networks, but also pose new challenges to governments in terms of regulation and policy control (perhaps even global policies, as dictated by national consortia or the United Nations). Check your progress 1. What is integration of real-time social media commentary into television broadcasts ? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. Why was the analogue signal discontinued? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 33


33
Bringing Television Home 3.What is social learning? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2.4 LETS SUM IT UP Even though it is a relatively conservative medium, television is now available in every home thanks to the proliferation of cable and satellite services and the widespread adoption of digital television. Smart phones (which effectively combine computing and broadcasting technologies with the internet and social media) make it possible for everyone to access new media. The same may be said of televisions, which have become "smart" through the integration of computing, broadcasting, and the internet, and the new media will have become the de facto standard by which all information is watched, bringing together TV, film, and the social media/internet. That significantly increases the scope for picking up tacit as well as explicit knowledge from other people. Subliminal influences are penetrating deeper into our consciousness, leading to a rise in seen and acquired behaviors, given that we are continually exposed to media content of all kinds for both conscious learning/education and for enjoyment. Potentially creating a generation that is active and socially conscious, but which may thrive in virtual friendships but falter in real ones. In addition to enhancing our knowledge of elements and their impact and excellence in academic circles, the development of detail, modeling, and extensions to a unified old and new media will benefit people all over the world by making the learning process more user-friendly, readily available, accessible, and refined. This kind of knowledge would allow for the development of more effective learning aids that can be adjusted for each individual based on their circumstances and demographic profile. 2.5 QUESTIONS 1. How is new media different from Traditional TV? 2. What is roadmap for next decade for television going forward, what is the future of television 3. What is Bandura’s social learning theory and explain briefly processes/elements/principles involved in it 4. Explain any two process elements of the social learning theory 5. What is sociocultural theory of cognizance? 6. What is the theory of differential association? munotes.in

Page 34


34 Introduction to Television Studies BIBLIOGRAPHY Brunsdon, Charlotte (2004). Television Studies. In Horace Newcomb (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Television [second edition]. Horace Newcomb, “The Development of Television Studies,” in A Companion to Television, ed. Janet Wasko (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing) Jonathan Gray and Amanda D. Lotz [2019], television studies Jonathan Bigel [2013] introduction to television studies https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct04/tvheroes.html https://educationaltechnology.net/lev-vygotsky-sociocultural-theory-of-cognitive-development/ http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/professionals/oyap/roots/volume5/chapter10_media_violence.aspx 4. Illeris, Knud (2004). The three dimensions of learning. Malabar, Fla: Krieger Pub. Co. 1. Whiten, Andrew; McGuigan, Nicola; Marshall-Pescini, Sarah; Hopper, Lydia M. (2009-08-27). "Emulation, imitation, over-imitation and the scope of culture for child and chimpanzee". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 2. Schaik, Carel P. van; Burkart, Judith M. (2011-04-12). "Social learning and evolution: the cultural intelligence hypothesis". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. Television Beyond and Across the Iron Curtain. (2016). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Savorelli, A. (2010). Beyond Sitcom: New Directions in American Television Comedy. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. Butler, J. G. (2001). Television: Critical Methods and Applications (Lea’s Communication) (2nd ed.). Routledge. Gallagher, R. (2021, February 2). Transmedia Storytelling in 2021. Target Internet. https://www.targetinternet.com/transmedia-storytelling-in-2021/ What is Transmedia Storytelling? (2011, December 1). Transmedia Journalism. https://transmediajournalism.org/contexts/what-is-transmedia-storytelling/  munotes.in

Page 35

35 3 RETHINKING THE CULTURAL INDUSTRIES Unit Structure : 3.0 Objectives 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Different Dimensions 3.3 Influences and Theories 3.4 Rethinking 3.5 Let’s sum it up 3.6 Questions 3.0 OBJECTIVES With this chapter you will be able to understand – ● The psychologies behind the Cultural industry. ● Factors that stand beyond the traditional industry ● Need to rethink Culture, its Sources and the Cultural Industry. 3.1 INTRODUCTION Remember when you first started working out, going to the gym or running? Yes, I know, it was chaotic; it was the period when your body was screaming "pain" at you throughout the day; it was difficult, right? When you first begin doing something, the circumstance is usually difficult. Isn't that so? However, if you stick to the task, you will find that it becomes easier to complete tasks that were previously difficult for you. How would you describe the change? The description is the basis for the formation of a culture. How? Let us see... The qualities of our existence, according to William Glasser (an American psychiatrist), are defined by the behaviours we choose. Survival, Love and Belonging, Freedom, Fun, and Power are five genetically determined needs that guide our decisions. These decisions create your behaviour towards a particular subject. When you notice the pattern, you'll realise that the cycle of a habit to your behaviour/moral philosophy is the cornerstone of culture. Remember the example of the workout from earlier? It seemed like a law to you at first that you should get up first, then run or exercise against your will. After a certain amount of time spent practising law, it becomes your munotes.in

Page 36


36 Introduction to Television Studies discipline. As a result of this practice, you develop a habit that determines your moral philosophy. The common moral philosophy of a Society is known as culture. Therefore, to change or influence culture, one should always target the laws that the members of the society are practising. Remember, The change or the influence could be both positive and negative to the contemporary culture in practice. How? Answer the following question to gain a better understanding of this. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to make a tough decision or action? Do you find that this seems easier when choosing who, what, or how to do a certain thing? If so, it's possible that the habit of your decision-making process is already set in stone. From there, it becomes easier to choose because the choice is already made for you. This all derives from Sigmund Freud's theory of repetition compulsion and symptom substitution. (Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist who developed psychoanalysis, a treatment approach for mental illness as well as a theory that explains human behaviour.) Repetition compulsion happens when humans are mentally unable to resist doing what they've done before simply because they've done it before. We do this out of habit, but we can't simply stop doing something because we've done it before. We have to figure out a way to substitute the old behaviour with a new one. This is why it's much easier for the mind to engage in habits like peeling off a layer of skin than it is to peel off one entire layer of skin or to watch a cultural product. In psychology, symptom substitution helps explain how we make decisions. Freud believed that human minds are basically machines that repeat human behaviour over and over again until they run up against a brick wall – until you become a "human being," when you decide not to do what you used to do. The logic behind symptom substitution is that we want to do something, but our minds won't let us. So we decide to do something that looks like what we want to do, but isn't really what we want to do. For example, a guy wants to go out with a girl he likes. But he knows she'll reject him because she already rejected him in the past. So instead of asking her out on a date, he starts working out and exercising because he thinks it’s good for him. He substitutes working out for dating because otherwise he'd have to face rejection again. Usually the first sign of symptom substitution is denial of the real problem – which could be an addiction or self-destructive behaviour. A person with an obsession for eating or shopping could convince themselves that they're going through a terrible bout of "exercise withdrawal" if they don't work out. The same goes for drug addiction. A person who's an alcoholic might continue drinking because they think they're "drinking less" or "drinking to alleviate their depression." munotes.in

Page 37


37
Rethinking the
Cultural Industries Often, the person who's addicted to something can protect themselves from facing the true problem by using a symptom as a way of diverting attention away from what's really bothering them. An alcoholic might drink more, but not more often. A compulsive eater might eat less, but not less frequently. A drug addict might use drugs less, but not less often. Humans are constantly in search of anything that raises their perspective of the world. As previously said, habits influence one's vision of the world. Humans interchange diverse habits in quest of their image of happiness, alternate reality, escape, or simply another world where they are the people's heroes (the definition of a hero varies from person to person), and here is where the Cultural Industry comes in. 3.2 DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS Cultural industry is the production of goods or services in the field of culture. The products of cultural industries include books, films, recordings, live performances and other artistic endeavours. Production includes public organizations such as museums and libraries. In today's society, cultural industries have a profound effect on how we view our world. Beside influencing consumerism and social values, they are sources for entertainment that contribute to better understanding about the surrounding world in different parts of the globe where cultural differences are more apparent than ever due to globalization. They also help us to promote understanding and acceptance of the different ways in which people from other countries must cope with their daily lives. The term originates from the late 1940s, when Hollywood movies began to use film and television production budgets in a way that was more significant than just advertising for products. Production budgets provided a more significant flow of revenue for movie studios, despite the fact that other industries had invented similar production techniques that were capable of creating equally profitable products. Cultural industries have historically been considered to be the "art" industries such as literature, music, art and theatre along with publishing. These business sectors are dependent on creative genius and are primarily concerned with developing original content or delivering specific services. The term "cultural industry" was introduced in a speech in the late 1940s to denote the U.S. film, music, radio and television industries by economist and sociologist Daniel Bell (Daniel Bell was an American sociologist, writer, editor, and Harvard University professor who was most recognized for his work on post-industrialism). According to Bell, cultural industries must meet these three criteria: 1) they are concerned with creating original content; 2) they have an audience with relatively little price sensitivity; 3) they are closely tied to particular regions and social groupings within national boundaries. munotes.in

Page 38


38 Introduction to Television Studies Within Bell's framework, he created seven groups of manufacturers: Each group performs similar functions for consumers, but at different levels of price and quality. The cultural industries operate on the basis of cultural exchange, where a culture is defined as something that is shared between members of a society. Bell's theory provided a way to identify the cultural industries, but it was not until several decades later that theories were developed regarding the creation of and relationships among cultures within and across countries. Cultural media are now widely distributed and easily accessible through print media, radio, television, satellite broadcasts and Internet web sites. The Internet has created a new opportunity for creative individuals who want to share their works with the world at large (i.e., "netizens"). Cultural products are usually created by organizations such as publishing houses, record labels or film studios. "Thanda Matlab?" , "Kya aapke toothpaste me namak hai!?" When you hear these phrases, what product comes to mind? You already have the answer. This is an example of a cultural industry that this industry holds a strong grasp on your mind. The influence could be both, negative or positive. It might be a simple product of communication or marketing. In any case, if you want to take control of your own mind, you have to learn how to deal with the power of influences. It is almost impossible to ignore cultural industry because it surrounds us and dictates what's "normal". Its pressure can lead you astray and cause changes in your values and behaviour. But the thing is — this influence can be good for everybody! Culture develops together with personalities and creates new trends that may raise our self-esteem and make us better people. It's important to remember that not all cultural products are harmful — some are just trivial or entertaining, but others have a strong effect on shaping values or personality. Unfortunately we live in a time when cultural industry is more powerful than ever and it has increasingly more influence over the population. That's why people need to learn how to deal with this influence and consciously consume the products of cultural industry. It is not easy, because it requires change in our habits and values but it's possible! This necessitates a shift in how people think about cultural products. What are the various cultural products or branches of culture that make up the cultural industry? We need to know this first in order to comprehend the shift in strategy. The different branches of a cultural industry may include the following: Tourism: Attraction to tourists such as Historical sites, Environment, Museums Publishing: Published works such as Magazines, Literature Event: The events such as festivals munotes.in

Page 39


39
Rethinking the
Cultural Industries Art: Fine and Commercial art such as Painting, Music, Film, Drawing, Architecture, Music, Dance, Performance, Advertisement Entertainment: Broadcasts, theme parks, College festivals Sport: Cricket, Badminton, Soccer, Tennis etc... Craft: Traditional and contemporary crafts such as origami, sewing, etc... Food: With unique cultural references such as Sushi In a nutshell, the products that allow you to understand a society's culture (country, organisation etc.) As previously indicated, the cultural industry has a significant psychological impact on individuals. Cultural industry has a huge impact on how you see the world and how others see you and your culture. The cultural industry has a huge impact on who we are, where we come from, how we live our lives, who we live with and what we do for a living. The cultural industry is an important part of any country's economy and it is a major player in the world stage. The cultural industry shares stories that shape the culture of media and entertainment. In our culture you can see many forms of artwork that represent our society. These pieces are moulded into different branches of the industry as stated above, be they art or literature and film. Check your progress 1. Why is the culture industry referred to as the art industry? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. Who is Sigmund freud? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. What differentiates a culture industry from any other industry? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 40


40 Introduction to Television Studies 3.3 INFLUENCES AND THEORIES Art influences the way people act, think and behave. Even to this day the media portrays people doing things in a certain way. The cultural influence is so strong, it has been passed down to generations and is still influencing today's society. Following theories will explain how the industry impacts the cultures of countries, organisations and individual people. 1. Ivan Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning 2. Hypodermic Needle Theory 3. Cultivation theory Ivan Palov‘s (Russian physiologist) theory of classical Conditioning Ivan Pavlov was the first to show classical conditioning, which is learning through association. Pavlov demonstrated that if a bell was regularly offered at the same time as food, dogs could be trained to salivate in response to it. Even when no food was offered after a few pairings, the dogs salivated when they heard the bell. The conditioned stimulus was the bell, and the conditioned response was salivation. This relationship between stimulus and response applies to humans as well. Consider a pleasant childhood memory that brings a smile to your face. Similarly, if enough stimulation is provided for a given subject, individuals will eventually learn the appropriate reaction. The answers could also be influenced by changing the stimulus. This link is extremely important to the cultural industry. The cultural industry is responsible for changing the public's perception of reality by providing a stimulus. If that perception is altered enough times, individuals will eventually learn to react accordingly. A prime example of how the cultural industry can use these tools to affect a population is Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is an international brand that has achieved an incredible amount of success. The drink's popularity is largely due to its memorable marketing campaign. The commercials that aired in the 1950s and 60s were typically of a young boy singing the praises of his favourite drink. As the commercials continued and more people began to recognize the jingle, parents began to ask their sons (and daughters) why they were drinking so much Coke. This could explain why it is considered "cool" for children today to drink soda, which was not true 50 years ago. Hypodermic Needle and Cultivation theory This theory is related to mass media, as a very vital component of the cultural industry, media shows its impact on a regular basis. The Hypodermic Needle Theory is a linear communication theory that proposes that media messages are effectively implanted into the brains of a particular targeted audience. It implies that we're all the same and that we all react the same way to media messages. munotes.in

Page 41


41
Rethinking the
Cultural Industries While the cultivation theory argues that people who are exposed to media on a frequent basis for long periods of time are more likely to view the world's social reality as portrayed by the media they consume, affecting their thoughts and actions. A part of the cultivation theory was the argument that it was not possible for the media to randomly transmit their message to targeted audiences, so much of this theory related to the idea that we are "social creatures". "Each time you look at a form of media, you are exposed to a message, which may be subliminal, but at a latent level influences your thoughts and actions. …Your attention is like a hypodermic needle: you receive but do not pay attention. And so in the end you are "hypnotized" into certain behaviours… The result: what seems like smart choices turn out to be stupid ones. 3.4 RETHINKING The members of any society look at the way they are portrayed by the media and react accordingly. This is why it is important to be aware of your culture's media portrayal and have an understanding of their significance and impact on attitudes. The more you understand about your culture, whether that be your own or someone else's (say, a stranger), the better you can adjust yourself and react in an appropriate manner in social situations where those attitudes play a role. By conserving historic values, embrace the cultural transition and adapt to the new transformation. Because the cultural business produces a world of influence and reaction, it assumes a position of responsibility by default. Rethinking the culture industry is critical. It is to see the complete picture of a complex problem and changing circumstance. For many people, the cultural industry brings them together and gives them a sense of security. It is now critical for the cultural industries to not only adapt to these changes, but also to better by learning from them. The cultural industry has such a high economic value that it is obvious that it is vital to a country's development. Despite the fact that the culture sector has many opponents, it is difficult to deny the benefits of cultural production and consumption. Anyone can access knowledge and abilities in innovative ways because of simple access to information via the internet. A cultural business has numerous advantages, including greater GDP rates and improved quality of life. However, there are also drawbacks, such as slower technical progress as a result of greater leisure time utilisation (such as watching TV shows or listening to music), which slows down innovation. However, for the time being, it appears that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages in most communities around the world. The era of the cultural industry is upon us. People enjoy listening to music, watching television, reading books, and surfing the Internet, which is why the entertainment industry is so vital nowadays. The entertainment industry creates a large number of high-quality commodities that are easy to obtain. munotes.in

Page 42


42 Introduction to Television Studies Because of the cultural sector, consumers no longer need to buy items. The majority of them may be downloaded for free or watched for a modest fee online. On the other side, millions of jobs would be lost if this type of business did not exist, and millions of people would be stuck at home doing nothing. "Cultural industries are the cultural heritage industry and creative industry, which have strong explanatory power, extensive market and long-term development opportunities." The cultural industry is an important part of the cultural economy and contributes to the economic prosperity of a country. With the deepening of economic reform, China's cultural industry has made great progress. In 2013, China's total revenue exceeded 170 billion yuan in cultural industries. Cultural Industries are different from traditional manufacturing industries: In contrast to most manufacturing industries are production-oriented, which focus on making products; Cultural Industries are management-oriented, focus on the development of their own brands. Cultural industries differ from standard manufacturing industries in the following ways: 1) Psychology and Philosophy 2) Reference 3) Motive As we've seen, Cultural Industries' main advantage is their ability to create models and styles that appeal to a large number of consumers/people/society, or, to put it another way, the behaviour of a group. This should be the primary motivation for rethinking the industry and incorporating simpler and more effective ways to deal with emerging cultural values and trends. As a result, a Cultural Industry can not only develop products, but also brands, social ties, and operate as a cultural awareness agent. The cultural industry's expertise in defining, developing, and managing brands, which allows the members of the cultural industry to establish the image of their cultural product in order to get a sales edge over competitors, benefiting the group's economic dimension. Check your progress 1. How does cultural industry develop products ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 43


43
Rethinking the
Cultural Industries 2. How do cultural industries differ from standard manufacturing industries? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. What is rethinking ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3.5 LETS SUM IT UP In a broad sense, the cultural industry generates traditional cultural products while also having production and distribution capability, branding ability, and marketing competence. The cultural industry, in a narrow sense, refers to an industrial chain designed particularly for the cultural product industry. It focuses on four bearers of behaviour to shape an individual's behaviour: psychology, thoughts, feelings, and action. To put it another way, most cultural items have to change people's behaviour when they are absorbed. They are worthless if they do not change one's behaviour. As a result, the cultural business has complete influence over not only the people's thoughts and sentiments but also their actions. The main purpose of consumption is to motivate individuals to take action that advances their goals and benefits them; in other words, the action must serve someone's purpose. The individual's goal may differ in this situation. 3.6 QUESTIONS 1. How the behaviour of an individual and the formation of a culture is interrelated? 2. How the cultural industry affects the psychology of a person? 3. Discuss rethinking with examples BIBLIOGRAPHY "Exploring the Cultural and Creative Industries Debate". Culture Action Europe. February 2015. Retrieved 2020 September 26. munotes.in

Page 44


44 Introduction to Television Studies Adorno, Theodor W. 1975. "Culture Industry Reconsidered." New German Critique 6(autumn) Hesmondhalgh, David, and Andy C. Pratt. "Cultural industries and cultural policy." International Journal of Cultural Policy 11, no. 1 (March 2005): 1–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10286630500067598. Lawrence, Thomas B., and Nelson Phillips. "Understanding Cultural Industries." Journal of Management Inquiry 11, no. 4 (December 2002): 430–41 Almond, Bradley A., and Rich DeJordy. "Institutionalization in cultural industries." Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy 6, no. 4 (October 2012): 304–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/17506201211272751. Encyclopedia of learning and memory. (1992). New York: Macmillan. Encyclopedia of human intelligence. (2 vol.). (1994). New York: Macmillan. Includes over 250 articles by notable scholars dealing with all aspects of human intelligence. Baran, Stanley J. Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002. Print.  munotes.in

Page 45

45 4 TV INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY-THE SOCIAL FLOW THEORY Unit Structure : 4.0 Objectives 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Social behavior and social learning theories 4.3 Social influence of TV and new media 4.4 TV influence on society detailed picture and reasoning 4.5 Influence of television and studies 4.6 Future of the Television and new Media 4.7 Conclusion Unit end questions References 4.0 OBJECTIVES  To understand Televisions influence on society in brief  To detail the Television’s influence on society and to its different constituents and elements 4.1 INTRODUCTION Society is made up of communities, groups, individuals with different personalities and tastes, demographics, classes, it is home to people with different religion, race, cultures, masses with different loyalties and ideologies to behold Society is also home to variety of institutions which educate and train or do research or create content, organizations and firms which do different businesses and the government which has stake in all of it and as the creators of the policies and laws that affect the world . media become relevant to not just individuals and social groups but to any organization as it plays some role to either as a activity of leisure or create content for the same or to provide information and form views and opinions To comprehend the full spectrum of television studies and their impact on society, we may need to first comprehend the backdrop of historical and present television and new media, as well as how they are placed against the unfolding future. Horace Newcomb (1974), a television theorist, identified the primary attributes of broadcast television as: intimacy, continuity, and immediacy. munotes.in

Page 46


46 Introduction to Television Studies We can now extend what Horace identified and perceived to the new world of new media with modern technology, and we can mix old and new to bring better days to content consumers, content creators, and distributors. ⮚ engaging audience with their stories, narratives and characters, this is a outcome of longevity of the shows, as the characters are developed over period of length along with the storylines, and their ambience, viewers relate to them to their real life equivalent ⮚ intimacy is also created when the news anchor or the talk show host elaborates the current affairs, when live broadcasted, we actually watch news as if it is unfolding in front of us, in our home becoming part of it. Other reality shows also create a space where we are able to participate from our living room. ⮚ Smart phones are taking this to next step as they are even personal in our hand with ability to see and experience the same from proximity (not just shared in home with others) continuity: ⮚ television is available at our fingertips, we can watch what we want when we want ⮚ smart phones again take this concept a step further as new media is available wherever we can go, considering it is rather difficult to carry traditional TV sets with us., Smart TV and smart phones have integrated technology where we can even watch TV on phone using internet or mobile or wi-fi or even broadcast technology(FM radio channels are part of all modern handsets, it’s a matter of time when broadcast digital TV may also become part of it) and surely soon enough even the satellite may become part of integrated technology stack (it already is over GPS) ⮚ continuity can also be interpreted in slightly different aspects as its application to transmedia content & context where what one media shows is extended by other one creating a fabric of narrative that spans across mediums .immediacy: ⮚ television is connected with events occurring around us, this due to the news and talk shows honing onto our appetite and curiosity for the current affairs, even many of the serials/soaps do include the social happenings in some or the other way . ⮚ so, to further reconcile, new media especially content over mobile smart phones have gone a step further, it has now become personal, i.e., not only it is in every household and with most of the adults and teen, but it can also connect to internet, content can be downloaded directly using mobile protocols or via internet and hence bring internet at your fingertips (not just at home as was the case with computers) munotes.in

Page 47


47
TV influence on society -
The social flow theory 4.2 SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES According to the American Psychological Association, "Albert Bandura highlighted how serial dramas grounded in his social learning theory can lead people to make lifestyle changes and alter detrimental social practises." The social learning theories discussed in Unit II can operate in social contexts and affect behaviour that can be learned through observation, attention, retention, and reproduction. What we see and hear, as well as the amount and intensity of exposure, can all have an impact on our behaviour. TV serials have the potential to affect behaviour because of their proximity, immediateness, and intimacy, particularly among young people who may emulate the behaviours and characters of the protagonist or antagonist in their daily lives. Vygotsky's (1962) theory, sociocultural theory of cognitive development, is best understood in relation to social and cultural experience, particularly for the child's development. Social interaction is seen as an important force in development. According to Pamela Tontodonato and B. Keith Crew's research gate paper, "analysis of dating violence depends on social learning theory (see Gwartney-Gibbs et al., 1987; Riggs & O'Leary, 1989), where it is argued that behaviours are taught through observation and imitation of others (Bandura, 1973). Another theory that is similar to common social learning theory but has broader applications in criminology is the theory of differential association, which "is a theory developed by Edwin Sutherland proposing that individuals learn the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for criminal behaviour through interaction with others." This theory concentrates on how people learn to become criminals but does not address why they become criminals." Differential association predicts that an individual will choose the criminal path when the balance of code for law-breaking exceeds those for law-abiding, which will be evident in a person's life if he is exposed/influenced earlier in life to someone of higher social standing who may have a proclivity for criminal behaviour." Check your progress 1. What is behaviour? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 48


48 Introduction to Television Studies 2. What are social learning theories ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. What is a society ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4.3 SOCIAL INFLUENCE OF TV AND NEW MEDIA There is strong and consistent evidence that media violence causes aggression and violence in the real world. Several American medical and psychological organisations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, issued a joint statement in June 2000 regarding the pathological effects of entertainment violence (American Academy of Paediatrics, 2000). According to these organisations, evidence suggests a link between media violence and violent behaviour in some youngsters."
Figure 1 television and society high level context diagram


social influence



impact fields

output/ influnce

theories

change context

input

control munotes.in

Page 49


49
TV influence on society -
The social flow theory
Figure 2 Television and Society Influence Change context diagram- detail level Figures 1&2 depict all of the forces and elements of television and their impact on society. Impact is multidimensional, involving various fields, and the output or outcome can be good or negative when other dimensions, control, and other input elements are taken into account. I.e., the impact of television on moral dimension can be beneficial or harmful depending on the content made and offered by sources and regulated by authorities. The new media, particularly the internet, is being regulated to prevent immoral content from reaching Indian citizens; sites are being blocked. The goal of television's inception was social harmony, education and learning, knowledge, awareness, and information, and high-quality entertainment that promoted social and moral ideals. Television serials had characters who were good examples of social and moral character oriented role or stereotypes of ideal gentleman and gentlewoman, especially father figure, mother figure, or brother figure,... Early television saw serials on dowry, education of women, cultural and religious equality, or child marriage (this is still done with Balika Vadhu, but not as a preaching instrument, but as an entertainment tool).



Control Actors of influence

Mother, father immediate family members & upbringing Friends and Colleagues and teachers Social groups associated at work or leisure Culture and surroundings environment Time of exposure Media that individual sees and hears: TV, Films, and Internet/social media content Age, sex, education, job profile, class and culture

Inputs

Content –genera, format, programs Govt Policies Channels-cost and revenue Networks/producers Audience demographics: Age, sex, culture, place, education, job profile, economic class

Change Context

Local, regional, national, and global Urban, rural, semi-urban Short term, long term Individual and masses Adults and non adults

Impact dimensions & fields

Psychologcial Physiological/physical Social /cultural Moral Political Intellectual / knowledge Financial /economical Industrial / organizations Environmental

Influence /impact positive or Negative –output

Obesity Violence Rumours and missinfromation immorality Social harmony Crimes –petty or violent Sexual liberation or exploitation Discrimination LGBTQ, minority groups propoganda Political polarization and voting Discrimination-attitude woman Awareness Knowledge /learning news and information social surrogecy Disrespect social structures and values Social disharmony between groups Selfishness Social isolation / alienation Concentration and focus Physicality Addiction ©

Theories

Psychological, social, Economics Social sciences/ humanities Social
influence
Audience munotes.in

Page 50


50 Introduction to Television Studies During the middle days of television in the 1980s and 1990s, television serials such as old time hum log and Buniyad or Ramayan instilled strong moral values in individuals and families. Television was once a government propaganda tool as well. Figure 3 depicts how programmes and content, primarily from television and films, influence the social masses; such sustained changes result in permeant changes in the values system of the society in question; it is also the concern of regulators and governments that the changes to the masses as represented should be positive traits that spread harmony and wellbeing, rather than negative traits such as violence, immorality, hatred, or other undesirable changes.
Figure 3: Change dynamics of Television Studies Figure 4 gives the indicator of what kind of influence the Television content can have, it can lead to changes in ● the social –political establishments ● it can result into creating new standards or norms in behaviour or lifestyle ● it can create a hybrid of cultures or create its own culture of set of beliefs ● it can also lead to creating more balanced social life ● it can elevate the knowledgebase and assist as a learning tool to students as well as social elements among many
munotes.in

Page 51


51
TV influence on society -
The social flow theory
Figure 4 social, moral, political, and economic influence of television and its content 1. Each of the discipline and disciplinarian as well as the actors involved in the TV production, distribution, revenue generation, regulation and consumption have high stakes in the analysis of Television and its effects, influences and elements both as the outcome of matter of influence as well as matter of driving the desired results 2. Advertisers would like to know what are popular programs and how much and what is the return on their investment they are getting in terms of s of translating ad into tangible or intangible benefits 3. TV executives would like to know who produces better content, what are the consumption patterns and what would be the ideal flow or schedule to maximise the consumer base 4. What could be rate that they can charge to subscribers as well as advertises 5. Sociologist and social science as well as psychologist, culturists would like to know the behavioural influence of television and changes to social and moral fabric of the society or what kind of programs are being made and distributed
munotes.in

Page 52


52 Introduction to Television Studies 6. Political parties as well as Political analyst would like to know the propaganda factor of the content and any manipulation that can be done, if so how 7. Feminists would like to know the picturization of woman in the content (any stereotypes) and role of woman in networks or production cycle or production houses 8. Teen and Children program analysis would like to know if content is age appropriate and how does it influences teens or children in terms of habits, establishment of culture or behaviour, any incitement for violence or less moral-social code of conduct 9. Audience and viewers themselves would like to know what is popular, who is popular in terms of content 10. Literary analysts and theorists would like to know variety of genres/formats and programs being adopted across times and places and their 11. Marketing would like to know what is popular and how to position the brands and products across the TV content and how much to pay, where to pay to maximize the influence; locally or regionally or globally 12. TV producers would like to know what are social events of importance and how much is their influence on sociality and how they can incorporate that into their content to capitalize the, they would also like to know scope of global distribution, how they can market their content in global context –content syndication or content personalization or localizations. They would also like to know the popularity of genre, story lines, plots and programs so as incorporate the same in their content or start programs matching the theme as such content 13. Psychologists would be interested in application of Sigmund Freud theories of subconscious and conscious seeping of values into society and citizens 14. Television fraternity would be interests in technological innovation and aesthetical presentation of the content, what are the popular shots, programs and their cinematography or sound treatment to incorporate into their content: what is hot and what is not to decide where to invest (same as advertisers and sponsors and marketers) 15. Social sciences would like to know various groups(class, ethnicity,..) in society and their coverage on television as well as patterns of viewing programs, 16. Technologists would like to know the means of distribution and efficiency as well as convergence munotes.in

Page 53


53
TV influence on society -
The social flow theory 17. Criminologists would like to find the relationship between content and rate of crimes 18. Each and every member of society and academic discipline has his stakes in television and its singular impacting power, 19. Knowing such patterns and information would facilitate them to do their job better and make sense of the television and its content 4.4 TV INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY DETAILED PICTURE AND REASONING Main
category Sub category Positive influence
Negative influence Intellectual Education
and learning Television has had
positive influence ,
especially channels as
Gyan darshan or other
non-fictional channels
such as discovery
science , national
geographic
Animation and kids
channels –Disney,
pogo, Nickelodeon
have content for help
learn
toddlers ,especially
using gamification It can have
diversion effect
and lack of focus
or concentration
General
Awareness Television is tool to
make you aware of
generic information
using variety of
education , lifestyle
and non -fictional
channels , including
news channels
Information
dissemination Information can be
distributed to every
household effectively ,
especially plethora of
news channels or non -
fictional channels
Most of the times the
news channel are live certain
informational
censor may prevent
dissemination ,
especially in
controlled and
highly regulated
TV industry munotes.in

Page 54


54 Introduction to Television Studies Main
category Sub category Positive influence
Negative influence and information is
propagated real time Information
accuracy /
polarization Information could
be biased as
channels are owned
by either govt or
private parties who
may have ulterior
motive Specific
awareness
(subject/f ield) Television can support
specific groups and
interests , especially a
niche channels have
become planet such a
lifestyle –fox lifestyle ,
ndtv good times ,
discovery science
Sports ,religion
Sexual
liberation ,
exploitation Good programs can
act as the agents of
good behaviour and
values in relationships
or in society
Government needs to
control aspects of
media which doesn’t
follow the good
practices , be it
Television or Web
The challenges in
regulating content
over the w eb is a great
difficulty it also has a
fine line as well; it
has technical and legal
issues or domains of
applicability ,
especially as anyone
from any corner of the
world can upload
content onto any sites
(dime and dozens and
coming new every
day) leading to
undesired content Over period of
time,
westernization and
content from early
days
Baywatch ,…being
available across the
nation through
cable TV and
modern urban
programs have led
to sexual
liberation , which at
times can lead to
casualization of sex
at early age
(especially due to
lack of guidance )
Content can also
target vulnerable
classes to corrupt
their minds and
exploit them and
commit crimes
Due to unregulated
nature of new
media and with munotes.in

Page 55


55
TV influence on society -
The social flow theory Main
category Sub category Positive influence
Negative influence Whether to
regulate/censor or to
allow creativity/free
speech is another fine
line for the govt to
decide and can
influence society in
many ways
Again how to protect
youth or children is a
key concern of all
parties involved integr ation /
convergence of
technology the
risk is far more
than ever
Role models
& mimicking
/following As people grow they
tend to look upon the
role models in society
and circles around
you, Television
provides one such
powerful avenue ,
throwing many ways ,
many projections of
such role
models/character
profiles , if the role
models depict positive
values and character
then following them
leads to better
individual and a better
society At times anti -hero
or even an
antagonist may
becom e a powerful
presentation to
capture the
attention of
growing
generation, leading
to adopting or
mimicking the
behaviour Political –intellectual Use and
misuse and
political bias
and filtering Television can
become a good
medium for
knowledge of current
affairs and news
leading to socially
responsible citizens Television can be
used a s tool by
political parties or
channel sponsors
or other groups for
their own private
agenda , which can
generat e bias
TV being a
powerful mass
media tool can be
misused greatly if
programs show
incorrect facts or munotes.in

Page 56


56 Introduction to Television Studies Main
category Sub category Positive influence
Negative influence make and justify
misleading
statements Polarization TV programs can
create e polarized
views and opinions
among the masses
As many channels
are b eing funded
by private parties ,
their affiliations
and focus would
trickle down in
their presentations
by using their
channel as medium
of expressions or
propaganda Decision
dilemma.
impulsiveness
or irrational
decisions TV if used properly to
show fact s objectively
can reduce the
dilemma and create a
rational mind with
rational decisions
being made TV can create
impulse voting
based on last
minute influence ,
although such
things are
prohibited two
days before the
elections , but even
the surveys and
exit polls can also
influence Judge book
by cover
syndrome TV debates can
create an image of
the candidate
where image may
not speak the truth
Limited exposure
during TV
programs can make
appearance a
majority
influencing too l
At times candidates
may even deceive
the people by
pretending to be munotes.in

Page 57


57
TV influence on society -
The social flow theory Main
category Sub category Positive influence
Negative influence good during the
limited hour of
debate giving a
wrong impression
about their true
nature
At times people
vote for candidate
aesthetical appeal
or dress code or
just because they
liked the look of
him or her Three things that mass media especially TV can play a big role in society is awareness, mass movement and trial by media /assassination of character For awareness TV is possibly the best and biggest contributor with channels for news (global, national, and regional variants) as well as plethora of non-fictional/informational channels contributing to social awareness Mass movement, both in case of Nirbhaya and Anna Hazare Andolan, it was Television whose constant focus and coverage triggered the mass movement or at least kept it alive till su8ch as things as in the formal case changes in the laws and justice to the victim and punishment to the perpetrators while in the latter case change in power structures in Delhi brining AAP to power. Due to its presence in every household and channels in every language the news coverage can be as brutal as it can become or as objective and stoic it may choose to be, but at times there is trial by media, in which case a prejudice of media news channels harms the innocents, this was visible in Sushant Singh case where his girlfriend was false accused of his murder and was literally harassed and hounded for the same by most of the news channels Nonfictional programs such as pawn stars, forged in fire with local; flavor in OMG have created their own niche as well as popular audience, triggering different social interests, snakes and the city has created a local show of similar nature. Man, vs Wild have attracted even top leaders and film personalities of the country to appear on the show. Show of AAP KI ADALAT has been pioneer in its interviewing various personalities especially political or social and entertainment fields, unlike hard talk on BBC, it also involves the public in direct studio recording creating a more vibrant interactive and personal appeal, as if you are there with the personality asking him questions that you need answers to munotes.in

Page 58


58 Introduction to Television Studies 4.5 Influence of television and studies
Figure 5 Influence of Television on Society and Individuals and Even Govt Television immediacy and intimacy in your living or bed room with almost perpetual being as a part of every house hold makes it the most powerful medium to have critical influencing power. Television can be a medium of leisure to working men reducing the stress he works his day and looks for respite in the evening Some other things that television has major or minor role to play and influences to exert are as follows Table 1 Influence of Television, some of the key things Influence on society,
individuals , industry or govt Amount of influence /intensity of
influence Casual crimes and crime
justifiability Medium, although films have been
hold accountable as well Feminism and awareness Higher Political polarization and
influence Higher Classism, Racism, Bigotry,
discrimination or its awareness
and improvements Knowledge / awareness higher
Incite discrimination Medium
munotes.in

Page 59


59
TV influence on society -
The social flow theory Child -youth media addiction,
lack of concentration. Carrier
defocus, lethargy Lower : gaming and social media
plays greater rol e Substance abuse and immoral
activity Medium Respect for elders or peers and
general way of communication
–lack of propriety Medium , TV has been accused about
moral degradation and impropriety Physical and mental Health
issues such as obesity ,phys ical
weakness , loneliness , social
alienation and awkwardness Medium -high, although social media
and gaming has played equal role Increase in Crimes against
woman, children ,Violent
crimes , other crimes Medium Good source of learning and
knowledge & career guidance
& boost Medium : although scope is very high
with digital media and convergence ,
today it hasn’t been exploited to the
limit
There is Gyan darshan channel but
people flock to net for quick learning Social up -liftmen and
equalization Socially responsible programs can
cause inculcation of positive values Destressing , general sport and
happiness High : primary tool for leisure activity TV and therapy and social
surrogacy Medium : TV has also bee n stated to
have therapeutic benefits Political Party propaganda High Product influencing –brand
recognition High though quality advertisement
and positioning and placement Vehicle for social causes High , proper presentation through
documentaries , news , views or
campaigns can have large impact 4.6 FUTURE OF THE TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA The one question that persists since the dawn of internet is what is the future of Television, we convergence is the way to go, that seem to have already munotes.in

Page 60


60 Introduction to Television Studies been happening, smart TV have Netflix episodes being streamed down and family can watch the same over the net or in their living room The conservative broadcast using the analogue signal has long since stopped as technology evolved into digital cable and digitization. Other key change that would involve new television would be interactivity, inheriting from internet, social media and even gaming platforms, new television would have audience involved in either active or on the spot decision making (passive decision making using telephone lines is already in practice for reality shows) with live TV by using the remote or even the keyboard (virtual / actual) Active commenting on the social media being incorporated in live TV Plot lines and narrative changes can also take place as per majority requests True gamification of the programs may also happen in future where personalized version of consumers can take the place of the protagonists or other roles in their favourite television program and play out as per complex rules while baseline narrative unfolds (cross section of special effects and personalization of gaming applied to narrative storytelling) Advertisers and sponsors would be like to tailor the ads as per the preferences of consumers across platform Identity of consumer itself may become universalized across gaming world or social media world or television to deliver further benefits Transmedia storytelling may create complex narrative across the different mediums involved such as comic books, games, films or television Complete digitization across wire or wireless/broadcast, Convergence across different mediums, unification, deep interactivity, real-time-ness or live-ness in audience involvement or even programs narrative and customization or personalization may dominate the new television for revolution in making. Technology would blur the differences between the various platforms and mediums to give unique and unified experience to consumers at the same time opening new opportunities for producers and networks and throw some challenges to govt about regulation and policy control (may be even a Global policies can exists as dictated by national consortiums or united nations) Check your progress 1. What is digitisation? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 61


61
TV influence on society -
The social flow theory 2. What is transmedia storytelling ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Who is a consumer? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4.7 CONCLUSION As we would see the media convergence and technology unification and further evolution (5G), we would witness traditional TV as being gobbled up by greater mass media as TV can be delivered or distributed using cable transport or internet transport or satellite or as digital broadcast . Technology is also creating smart TV where web content can be watched on TV, further reducing the inherent differences between internet/social media and Traditional TV; also the size of TV can match the experience of the theatre reducing the appeal of the theatre further However whatever may be the case the issues discussed in this chapter will be valid and would need further attention to have a graceful solution in terms of Policies, Laws, global bodies and technology as well as considerations by Producers and networks to create a healthy individuals and society QUESTIONS 1. What are the five social factors influenced by television 2. Explain two physical influencing factors by Television to individuals health 3. What is the difference between content on TV and social media 4. What is the difference between film in Theatre vs Film on TV REFERENCES Brunsdon, Charlotte (2004). Television Studies. In Horace Newcomb (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Television [second edition]. munotes.in

Page 62


62 Introduction to Television Studies Horace Newcomb, “The Development of Television Studies,” in A Companion to Television, ed. Janet Wasko (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing), p. 16 Jonathan Gray and Amanda D. Lotz [2019], television studies Jonathan Bigel [2013] introduction to television studies https://www.researchgate.net/profile/PTontodonato/publication/21651753_Dating_Violence_Social_Learning_Theory_and_Gender_A_Multivariate_Analysis/links/57f6681308ae280dd0bb2792/Dating-Violence-Social-Learning-Theory-and-Gender-A-Multivariate-Analysis.pdf https://www.apa.org/monitor/oct04/tvheroes.html http://www.children.gov.on.ca/htdocs/English/professionals/oyap/roots/volume5/chapter10_media_violence.aspx Horace Newcomb, “The Development of Television Studies,” in A Companion to Television, ed. Janet Wasko (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing) Whiten, Andrew; McGuigan, Nicola; Marshall-Pescini, Sarah; Hopper, Lydia M. (2009-08-27). "Emulation, imitation, over-imitation and the scope of culture for child and chimpanzee". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. Schaik, Carel P. van; Burkart, Judith M. (2011-04-12). "Social learning and evolution: the cultural intelligence hypothesis". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences.  munotes.in

Page 63

63 5 WHAT MAKES NEWS ON TELEVISION Unit Structure : 5.0 Objectives 5.1 Introduction to History of Television 5.2 Basic Rules of Television News/ Journalism 5.3 What is the pyramid approach to News. 5.4 What makes News on Television. 5.4.1 Industry Based Working Model of Private Television News Channels 5.4.2 The Power of Television 5.5 Role & Responsibilities of Television News Reporter 5.5.1 Characteristics of Television media 5.7 Difference between Television News Gathering & Print News Gathering 5.8 Different Beats of News Reporting 5.9 Lets sum it up 5.10 Questions 5.0 OBJECTIVES Within this chapter, the learner will be able to understand – 1. To gather the informational timeline of Journey of Television and Print Media. 2. To understand 'What is television news.' 3. To Understand the difference between news in Print media (newspapers) and Electronic Media. 4. To discuss the technique of television news reporting 5. To describe the role of the television news reporter in TV news interviews 6. To know the basics of beats of reporting. 5.1 INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY OF TELEVISION The story of Television news is not a very old chapter. When Television became an item for information & entertainment in the western countries in 1950s, there were some news bulletins which started along with several other programs. It was the time when television was viewed in the black-and-white days. Usually, a newsman who is known as a newsreader those days and anchor these days used to come on camera to read news scripts munotes.in

Page 64


64 Introduction to Television Studies which were completely informational. These were the days when Private channels have not invaded into the Television Industry and there was no Privatization. Television Channels were kind of in Monopoly, Competition was negligible and fight for TRP value was not even a part of TV news industry. In 1963 with the assassination of John F Kennedy (US President) there was a benchmark for television news. This incident proved that TV news history would be made through pictures and videos which are more reliable to the viewers and the impact to the news was also more. But it was not that easy to get the videos journalists had to struggle to get video footage, films, or any sort of images from the scene of the event. Equipment’s were also not that advance and even the equipment’s were not available with every journalist to record the event, so it was not that easy to produce television content on the spot of various news events. There were stories from Vietnam War which were days old before they reached to the audience. Satellites were not around to send videos around the world instantly. In the early 80s, many breakthroughs influenced television news. Technology started getting developed, professionalism grew in the field of media, news channels were launched, style of news presentation started getting changed, new genres were added, and visuals became important part for Television news. With the introduction to satellites, sharing of ‘live’ elements and events became almost inseparable from the TV news. In India, however the testing of television was done on 15th September 1959 but, television came to the forefront only in the 1980s when the concept of colour Television was introduced by Doordarshan (DD) and they tied it with the hosting of 1982 Asian Game. Along with some socio-economic, cultural, agricultural and news programmes, DD used to air some news bulletins which had to be recorded. However, as international programmers like as CNN and Star TV made inroads into the Indian market in the mid-1990s, the prominence of television news grew. Many news channels were launched as a part of communication to reach a large audience in India at the end of the twentieth century. This was the first time in India that people were exposed to the concept of 24-hour television news. 5.2 BASICS RULES OF TELEVISION NEWS JOURNALISM If you look at the audience to the medium i.e. for Radio or Television, It needs to be understood with full clarity that there are Ears to Radio and there are Eyes + Ears to Television. So, when it comes to television, the golden rule is to "write like you talk" and "ignore the talk manner - to write." Today's news is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and there is a lot of competition when it comes to knowing the television news business, so one must be extremely clear about a few things before entering this industry. The television news industry works on the “5 Cs” television news writing: making sure that the content which will be circulated to the audience is: - munotes.in

Page 65


65
What Makes
News on Television
1. Complete: - Television News should be written in a way where all the aspect of the news should be completed with regards to the news story what is been covered. 2. Compelling: - The news story should be knotted in a way that forces or persuades you to do or to believe in something. 3. Clear: - Use of Jargons and difficult work should be avoided. The Sentence needs to be short and powerful. In television writing for you need to understand that your audience is regular, heterogeneous, and dispersed at the same time 4. Consistent: - Your writing pattern needs to be the same for all the news story so that the viewers will connect to you in a better way. 5. Concise: - The news needs to be is short in terms of words but at the same time the news needs to be clear also so that it will be understood by masses without any confusion. 5.3 WHAT IS THE PYRAMID APPROACH TO NEWS? The pyramid model for news is based on the 5 W’s and One H formula, which is widely used in print media and is referred to as the inverted pyramid style of news writing. If you want to learn how to finish a news report, you should follow the same principles and begin by answering the question that was made about the topic. For example, let’s assume you are somewhere sitting at place of the audience and there is some breaking news. Through that one line with reference to the incident happened you got to know about the incident or event but now you are curious to get all the aspects of that news which will complete the other sides of that information and you as an audience will get hundred percent information about the same event. So, a TV journalist while reporting to story cares about that every aspect of the story should be covered. The “5 Cs” Television News Writing: -
Complete
Compelling
Clear
Consistent
Concise munotes.in

Page 66


66 Introduction to Television Studies Pyramid Model of News 5Ws & One H include - What? - When? - Where? - Why? - Who? - & How? 5.4 WHAT MAKES NEWS ON TELEVISION We'll examine at what makes the news on television in this section. Since television has evolved throughout the years, and television viewing habits alter on a regular basis. From the moment the news is written to the moment it is given to the viewers, the news becomes more exciting and sellable. The media sector has altered dramatically in the wake of privatization, particularly in the news media industry. Things work on a 'N' number of factors, and these factors are dependent on the organization's work culture as well as the political power that the organization has, which cannot be overlooked. In television journalism, there's an old definition which suits and that says if a dog bites a man, it's not news, but if a man bites a dog, it's news. We all know that television is an Av (audio-visual) medium in which the type of visuals conveyed with the audience is quite important. We can say that today the news with different visuals which is shared with the motto of 1. Information 2. Persuasion 3. Education about different events, incidents and accidents brings news to the table of news Anchor and after the filtration needed by the organization, the chosen news as per the relevance is delivered to the masses. When we talk about television journalism it is not only news with interesting or testifying visuals. Presently, if anything important happens and there is zero possibility of getting the visuals related to that news, then through the graphic plates, anchors explanation, texts and voice over these things are placed to make the mass understand about the incident. In this situation, the Television also behaves like a newspaper which comes up with audio. There is one rule which always applies to the news industry The ‘NEW” is always news, yet visually rich news and happenings are considered impactful for television due to the nature of this medium and the role of eye and ear to the news. Hence at times, one can observe that news munotes.in

Page 67


67
What Makes
News on Television which is played big on TV, does not even find a mention in the newspapers. Sensationalism in television news industry knocked the door after the boom of privatization. In the race of getting more TRP today television have started cooking the news instead of informing about the incident. Privatization in television industry is a complete business with some ethics. So, the same is happening to television news because the model of private channel works on revenue. Check your progress 1. What makes news on television ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. What is the pyramid model of news? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Why is the pyramid model of news important? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 5.4.1 Industry Based Working Model of Private Television News Channels - Ashish Richhariya

munotes.in

Page 68


68 Introduction to Television Studies THE DESCRIPTION TO THIS CIRCULAR MODEL OF TV NEWS IS GIVEN BELOW WITH REFERENCE TO DIFFERENT CONDITION AND OUTCOME TO THOSE CONDITION IN TV NEWS INDUSTRY.
And hence the shareholders are behind money and the ORGANIZATION needs to full fill the DEMANDS.


More Audience = Increase in Television Rating Point (TRP). Less Audience = Decrease in Television Rating Point (TRP).

Private Television News Channels = Sensational News = Change in number of Audience

Increase in TRP = More advertisement. Decrease in TRP = Less or No advertisement

As per the TRP the outcome to the life of channel changes

More advertisement= Good Profit Less or No Advertisement = Less profit or loss

As per the change in Advertisement Condition the outcome changes

Repetitive slots to advertisement = Profit to Advertiser from that Ad slot Reduction in advertisement slots =Loss to advertiser

As per the repetition of number of advertisement slots booked again the outcome changes

Profit to Advertiser=Booking of more advertisement slot Loss to Advertiser=Cancellation of booked slot

As per the Profit /Loss earned after advertisement on that channel the model changes

More advertisement slot = More Revenue to the channel Cancellation of booked slot = Loss to channel

As per the condition to slot revised the outcome changes

More Revenue to the channel =Good growth of the channel Less Revenue to the channel = Loss to the channel

As per the change in Revenue Condition the outcome changes

Good growth of the channel = Good Survival and stability of the channel in the market No growth to the channel = Risk in survival of the channel in market

As per the growth the outcome changes

Stability of the channel = good pay to the employees and profit to the share holders Risk in survival of the channel = Loss to Share holder & Chances of shut down to the channel

As per the condition of stability in the market the outcome changes munotes.in

Page 69


69
What Makes
News on Television CYCLE OF SENSASTIONAL NEWS = PROFIT IN MARKET 5.4.2 The Power of Television Television being an Audio-Visual Medium comes up with huge impact on the Audience. Now the viewers of television are also divided into three different Categories.
5.5 ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES OF TELEVISION NEWS REPORTER The information or the content served on television comes up with some assumed impact on the mass and the assumption is set by the content creator. Every variety of content is delivered because it has some purpose. Sometimes the content delivered could come up in these categories:



Educated

The viewer is educated and switches to the variety of channel he is interested in. This category can easily understand which story is over hyped.

Un-Educated

The Viewer directly believes in what is shown repetitevely. Over Hyped or sensational story affects the viewer.

Active Viewers

The viewer do not believe in the story blindly if there is a chance of doubt than the viewer will cross verify the story through ,n, number of sources and will come up with his researched opinion.


PERSUASION

INFOTAINMENT

EDUTAINMENT

AWARENESS

INFORMATION

EDUCATION

ADVERTISEMENT

ENTERTAINMENT

munotes.in

Page 70


70 Introduction to Television Studies 1. INFORMATION: - The content delivered is for the purpose of informing a very large variety of viewers. This information might be related to anything. For example: -Demonetization announcement, Passing of Farmers Bills, etc. Every Content which is served with the purpose of informing the mass comes in this category. In the current scenario you can understand this from all the announcement related to covid. 2. EDUCATION: -Education is something which helps in the development of the society. In India there are many rituals which are followed blindly. Television media helps to break all these blind beliefs and custom which are a curse to society. For example – Abortion of Girl child, Child Marriage, Education for all, etc. 3. ENTERTAINMENT: - After a tough day when the viewer is in front of television, he /she wants something lite something entertaining. In Tv Journalism Bollywood news / Celebrity news plays that part where the shows are all about gossips as entertainment media has the power to send and project stereotypes about groups of people. Looking back, we can see evidence of this through decades of music. 4. ADVERTISEMENT: - Television media helps in promoting brands, product, services in a better way where the mass gets influenced by the beauty and attractiveness of the advertising and sometimes, they switch to the alternative choices which are being advertised continuously. For example, Washing Powder Nirma is switched with Tide ++ or Hajmola is switched with ENO. Mass Audience is affected by television in many ways it doesn’t exist for some limited purpose. With the evolution, more and more uses have developed, and these roles play a very important part in our lives. Given below characterizes seven functions Television media that offer insight into its role in our lives. ● Surveillance. In television journalism, there's an adage that says if a dog bites a man, it's not news, but if a man bites a dog, it's news. We all know that television is an Av (audio-visual) medium in which the type of visuals shared with the audience is quite essential. Do you remember the TAJ TERROR ATTACK that happened in 2011? How did you got to know about the incident? We all know that - thanks to television that we were informed within few minutes and Television have made surveillance instantly accessible by delivering live reports with the latest update. ● Correlation. The term "correlation" relates to how the media addresses and presents data that we utilize to interpret the world. Television includes details that is not objective or unbiased. "It must have been true if it's on the internet," people say ironically. This statement raises the question of how trustworthy the television media is. Taking in information from the media without questioning the motivations and agendas? The information used in the media is chosen, organized, munotes.in

Page 71


71
What Makes
News on Television interpreted, edited, and critiqued by someone. If you ask anyone who works for a major reality television show if what we see is a realistic picture of what happens in real life, they will almost certainly say "no." ● Denationalization. In the news industry, there is an ancient saying that "if it bleeds, it leads," which illustrates the idea of sensationalization. When the media promotes the most exciting themes to titillate consumers, this is known as sensationalization."Media managers think of it in terms of consumers rather than citizens," Elliot observes. Good journalism sells, but unfortunately, does too bad journalism. ● Transmission. The mass media, particularly television, serves as a vehicle for transmitting cultural values, rules, and habits. Consider how you learned about the latest fashion trends and popular music. The use of television in the socialization process is extremely important. We're looking for role models who can be displayed alongside cultural norms. Mainstream society begins to shop, dress, smell, walk, and speak in the manner of the person in the video clip, commercial, or film. We frequently follow fashion trends, and we may have purchased a pair of socks or changed our hair color because of something we saw in the media. This transmission continues to occur in response to changes in fashion trends. Check your progress 1) Discuss Denationalization ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2) Discuss the roles and responsibilities of a television news reporter? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 5.5.1 Characteristics of Television media Today, the effect of mass media & communication has increased and because of these improvements made. Hence, it’s very crucial to know the main characteristics of media, and they are as follows: ● Television can convey any message to a wide variety of target audience. munotes.in

Page 72


72 Introduction to Television Studies ● TV can communicate a public message to different groups educated and uneducated. ● There’s always a distance between a convenor of information and people who digest or consume the information ● The content is transmitted through the medium of media, such as TV as in electronic, the internet medium, the radio, and the newspapers i.e., Print Medium. ● These mediums have a variety of heterogeneous audience. ● News or information communicated through TV, radio, and print media can’t receive feedback and if the feedback is there it is considered as delayed or late feedback which has zero utility. 5.7 – DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TV NEWS GATHERING & PRINT NEWS GATHERING Differe nce Television News Gathering Print News Gathering Define TV news gathering is a multi -
step process where the news is
collected from the source by the
reporter and editor works on the
given footage to convert it into
interesting one with the graphics,
text, anchor inputs, etc. Print News is collected
from the source and is
forwarded with or
without the photograph
to the upper authorities
and as per the relevance
of the news it is
published. Timeliness Tv news connects to the viewer
very quickly. It is a real time
reporting work by the journalists
for the viewers. There is a timeline for
print it doesn’t work on
real time reporting
basis. Print news is
published which
requires pre submission
of News. Impactful Television News is more
impactful because eyes and ears
are added to the News Report in
an interesting way. The voice
modulation plays a great role in
making that news report more
interesting. The Headlines can be
molded or designed to
attract the reader, but it
is more of information
texted down on a piece
of paper. Audience Audience is in the frame of
viewership which can be
Educated or Uneducated. Audience is in the form
of Readers where the
basics of Reading
(Education) become a
necessity. munotes.in

Page 73


73
What Makes
News on Television Differe nce Television News Gathering Print News Gathering Follow up Quick follow up is taken and the
update is reported to the viewers. Follow up to that story
depends on the
relevance of the story
and it is not going to be
that quick. Success Television Rating Points delivers
the success of the story of that
segment. There is no such
formula but the demand
or num ber of published
or sold copies tells the
success story of News
Paper. 5.8 DIFFERENT BEATS OF NEWS REPORTING Define News Gathering? ENG is defined as electronic news gathering. During the rise of videotape technology in the 1970s, the term was coined. This term was famous in television news in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it is less common now as technology has evolved. It can consist of a single reporter operating as a one-man army to a group of two media people accompanied by just a single professional video camera, to an entire television crew driving a truck on location. This term was broadly used in television news in the 1980s and 1990s, but it is now less commonly used as technology has become more widely popular. The process of making a narrative, from finding sources and facts to coming up with a story angle, is known as news gathering. The reporting process for various types of news stories varies, and it is entirely dependent on the structure of news channels. If you divide the types of stories than generally there are two different types of news story as per the Major Category: 1) Soft News 2) Hard News Soft News: As the name suggest Soft News means something that is not so serious although the information is there which might attract a wide audience but yet the news could be consumed a bit late it doesn’t hampers the viewers mentally .Soft news is always referred to all the types of story where usually the content is less political and at the same time critical journalism is available , soft news mostly aims more in the direction of entertainment or the stories which directly doesn’t make your viewers think that harshly on the information that is been circulated. All the stories that bring keen human interest towards information circulated on television and special news features that make up the news in the category where gossips and publicity comes in front becomes a part of soft news. This type of news is typically “more sensational, celebrity driven or easily digestible news munotes.in

Page 74


74 Introduction to Television Studies which is more personality-centered & less time-bound…and more incident-based than other news” (Patterson, 4). Marvin Kalb, when it comes to citing the difference between today’s news and that of earlier generations, calls the mixture of critical journalism and soft news is defined as “new news”. Hard News: As the word suggests Hard news it is defined as “the coverage of all kinds of breaking events which involves all the top leaders, which focuses on all kind of major issues which affects the city, nation nationally or inter nationally. All kind of significant disruptions or hindrances in the routines of daily life, such as an earthquake which always or mostly damages the area in terms of development, human life, settlement to that area or airline disaster will be a part of Hard News” (Patterson, 3). It doesn’t happen always, but the most pleasant news is never a part of hard news & it should not be confused with critical journalism. Critical journalism generally tends to be news which is more negative version of soft news or one can say something i.e., event, person, politician or any other category of public figure who is been criticized because of some controversial statement or some other incident which doesn’t affect the nation but it do affect the audience or a large group which follows them As per the definition given by media journalists who will stop at nothing to expose any kind of scandal, and mistakes in government. Former PBS Anchor Robert MacNeil on critical journalism says that the trends “are towards all kind of sensational, the hyped, hyperactive & the tabloid values to drive out the serious” (Patterson, 3). Whereas when it comes to Matthew Carleton Ehrlich describes today’s news as “the journalism of outrageousness” (Patterson, 3). Looking at Indian Media Senior Journalist & Anchor Mr. Ravish Kumar says today Indian Media (pointing to most of the media houses leaving some) are completely showing the news which becomes sensational for one party and could hamper the image of rest of the party. Leaving these two different types of news based on the different major Categories. Media Aspirants always needs to understand all the different beats which are majorly important in the field of Journalism. Beats: When we talk about or do say the term beat for a lay man Beats are referred as the area of specialization which is been covered or the category of news. Beat reporting, can also be said as specialized reporting and this is a genre of work which is focused on a particular issue, sector, organization, or institution. The term beat broadly can also be defined as the area where a reporter is specialized, or he/she is more focused on covering a particular area of journalism rather than covering news as whole. These beats are specially assigned to reporters as per the interest of the reporter or sometimes as per the requirement of the channel where he/she would be focusing on that area and will be getting the maximum news related to that area. A beat in journalism also means going in-depth of every aspect or angle in any type of journalism, for e.g. It could be Business, Finance, Entertainment, Weather forecasting, Politics, TV Network Schedules, munotes.in

Page 75


75
What Makes
News on Television Sports, Local News, all kind of Government Directories, Horoscopes, Money & share market, Personal Health, Public Relation, Social Media Update, and others related to any kind of information. The term ‘beat’ is also referred to as the way or road taken by an individual on a regular basis. In journalism, the word ‘Beat’ is also referred to as the niche area, which is a part of regular, but it is towers some specific area which is appointed or assigned to the reporter. There are several different types of beats where the major beats consist of:- Political Beats Economic Beats Court Beat Health Beat Crime Beat Lifestyle beat Food Beat Education Beat Civic Beat Environment Beat Investigative Beat Business Beat Others. 1. Political Reporting: Political Journalism in itself is a very broad branch of journalism which develops the profile of reporter as a brand. This beat always includes all kind of coverage from the field of politics and it also evolves around the different aspect of journalism. Media Aspirants who do opt for this kind of journalism, requires a lot of courage, knowledge, update from the field of politics. He/ She needs to make sure that he has all kind of updating with regards to all kind of statement that comes from politician, all the policies which are being discussed or which were a part of previous discussion. Although when it comes to the term usually the term Political refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power. Political reporting always needs that a reporter should have a command on different kind of sources which will keep them update with the political hooks of the news and because of the sources or command on the sources the political beat reporter is always quick with the breaking news from the political powered people known as Neta’s. 2. Food Reporting: The food sector is a unique beat that is currently evolving and gaining attention. Today when it comes to any restaurant, open area or food hub, mostly people go for review before munotes.in

Page 76


76 Introduction to Television Studies visiting the area or place to make a worth out of that visit and here for the review or information food reporting beat holds a good command on consumer. It's the range that can't be contracted out. Foodies have always been hyperactive in consuming and experimenting with the different taste and combo. Foodie people come in all shapes and sizes, and they're always looking for new places to explore new flavors. In this area, a beat reporter's task is to remind people about various beats, as well as what's cooking in local restaurants and any new openings of famous restaurant outlets. The reporter tries to connect with the public by doing advertising and finding out what people like and dislike in terms of cuisine. 3. Education Reporting: Reporters are attempting to focus on education reporting, which focuses on children and teenagers. Educational news, such as exam scores, campus tales, and sports, are relatively easy for these reporters to cover. They can also address the academy's safety rules for pupils or underpaid teachers. In India, for example, the reporter will present the entry or results of schools and institutions. For example: We all have received all kind of update from the ministry during this lockdown with regards to Exams, Online Classes, Offline Classes, Blended mode Learning, Delayed Examination, Extension to students, etc. All these kinds of update come from the education beat reporter who is responsible to circulate the information on time with latest updates. 4. Health Reporting: It's one of the most talked-about topics these days. Many people in today's generation have begun to pay attention to their health. Malnutrition, disease, healthcare, paediatric care, nutrition, fitness, rising epidemics, and much more are all covered by the reporter. Reports mostly attempt to focus on the prevention of a major condition or disease, and in order to do so, he must have extensive expertise in that sector and be able to supply us with valuable insights. For Example:- All the information with regards to update, guidelines regarding to do’s & don’ts at this global pandemic time of COVID-19 was a part of Health Reporting. 5. Sports Reporting: The audience may think this reporting is cool, but they have no idea how much effort and sweat the reporter needs to put in to deliver information to all the viewers. Reporters can cover events such as hockey, football, and cricket competitions occurring all around the world. Basic information about sports is usually covered in sports writing, such as: the game's highlights the names of the competing teams the sport in question ultimate result or score when and where was the game held munotes.in

Page 77


77
What Makes
News on Television However, one needs to remember to concentrate on what an athlete does when writing a sports story. Because sports are about competition and drama, focusing on a single person offers your tale a human face that your audience can relate to. 6. Entertainment Reporting : Any type of journalism that focuses on popular culture, the entertainment industry, and its goods is known as entertainment journalism. Entertainment journalism, like fashion journalism, covers industry-specific news while appealing to a wider audience than those who work in the field. Lifestyle, television and movies, theatre music, video games, and celebrity coverage are all common examples. This is a well-known reporting style in which a journalist attempts to expose juicy gossip about the world's most famous people. However, it is not an easy task. The reporter must wait for hours for the celebs to appear. Interviews, music, and film reviews, and much more are all part of entertainment reporting. There are numerous varieties of beats in journalism, but these six are among the most well-known. Celebrity culture and lifestyle is centered on celebrities and their lifestyles, and it is fueled by television soap operas, reality television, royal family members, and other sources. Entertainment journalism includes red carpet reporting and celebrity interviews at film festivals and award events. A review or study of a motion picture that has been released to the public. The review or analysis of the critic is subjective and instructive, with the goal of informing and entertaining the consumer. Film criticism is thought to have had a significant impact on the cinema's absorption into mainstream media. Film critique was not properly regarded as an art form until the 1960s, according to certain sources. With the emergence of the Internet, the acceptance of entertainment journalism has grown even further. Playing video games: A type of journalism that focuses on the video game business. When the computer age began in the 1990s, media businesses were pushed to create content that would appeal to the video game generation. The video game business was covered in visually stunning print periodicals that were put into the market. IGN, Game Informer, Nintendo Power, and Game Spot are some of the most popular video game review sites and print publications. 7. Civic Reporting: It is a sort of reporting that focuses on the health of citizens. This style of reporting isn't just ordinary news; it provokes thought in the listener. The goal of this form of reporting is to raise public awareness and thus make a difference. 8. Infrastructure Reporting: Rapid infrastructure development is essential in today's globalized society. The beat that covers infrastructure reporting gathers data on all infrastructure sites such as railway stations, airports, and government facilities and makes it available to the public. munotes.in

Page 78


78 Introduction to Television Studies 9. Crime Reporting: One of the most well-known types of reporting in the sector is crime reporting. Complete audiences absorb criminal news directly as part of a special package or headlines in some form, which implies the audience is large, and this sector of reporting necessitates all details prior to publication. This report covers all types of crimes. The ferocity with which the crime is committed entices the audience to react. As a crime reporter, there are various obligations that must be morally understood by the reporter himself. 10. Investigate Reporting: The primary meaning is defined by the words themselves. Because it requires too much effort to uncover facts and stories regarding investigations, this form of reporting necessitates that the beat reporter be bright and dedicated. However, if the beat completes any inquiry entirely, it might earn the reporter considerable reputation and celebrity in front of a large audience. 11. Lifestyle Reporting: In the age of social media, people are always curious in what's new in fashion and what's trending. This reporting covers news reports about the current fashion/fitness trends, as well as other hot topics that are fresh to Market. All the material disseminated by the reporter is categorized as lifestyle reporting. 12. Business Reporting: This category includes business-related news. Most stories on Import/Export, Trade, Goods, Stock Exchange, and other business-related news attract a huge audience, which is why this sort of reporting is one of the most popular in today's world. Check your progress 1. Discuss three types of reporting ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. Why is health reporting important? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. What is hard news? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 79


79
What Makes
News on Television Let’s sum it up The factors that make news on television can vary, but some common ones include the news value or "newsworthiness" of the story, its timeliness, its proximity to the audience, its human interest, its potential impact on the audience, and the availability of visuals or dramatic footage. Additionally, the values and priorities of the news organization and its target audience may influence what stories are selected for coverage. Political and economic considerations can also play a role in shaping the news agenda. 5.9 QUESTIONS Question 1- Differentiate between Hard News & Soft News. Elaborate with examples. Question 2- Define the term Beat. Explain any 10 beats in the field of Journalism? Question 3- How Visuals can persuade the masses. Explain? Question 4- Differentiate between Television News gathering and Print News gathering? Question 5- Write about the characteristics of Television Media? 5.10 BIBLIOGRAPHY Jonathan Bigel [2013] introduction to television studies Television Beyond and Across the Iron Curtain. (2016). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Savorelli, A. (2010). Beyond Sitcom: New Directions in American Television Comedy. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers.  munotes.in

Page 80

80 6 TELEVISION NEWS TEAM Unit Structure : 6.0 Objectives 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The hierarchy of a news channel 6.3 Job titles in television news 6.4 Who Works in a Television Newsroom? 6.5 News structure on TV 6.5.1 Why should news be carried ? 6.5.2 Type of news coverage and its importance 6.6 Lets sum it up 6.7 Questions 6.0 OBJECTIVES  In this chapter we shall study:  The structure of a news channel  The impact of the television newsroom  The importance of news 6.1 INTRODUCTION Television has played a significant role in mass audience. Today, cell phones have replaced televisions, but the channel remains unchanged. Content, Channel, Presentation, and the Perception of this Content are constantly evolving. Today, when we say "television," the image that comes to mind is not of the same old appliance. It is slim, simple, and appealing, with improved image quality and a decent voice recognition sensor. Since the format of television has evolved, so has the manner in which programmes are filmed, investigated, and directed. Through the content it displays to us, television accomplishes a number of duties. Sometimes it provides information, education, and persuasion, and sometimes it sells a product following an advertisement. Consequently, it is safe to presume that both the content and the manner in which it is delivered are evolving, with the content now needing to be engaging. Television studies is not synonymous with studying television because the former focuses on methods to analyse the content through a variety of focal perspectives, whereas the latter focuses primarily on the content and its munotes.in

Page 81


81
Television News Team influence; however, television studies may encompass the latter (Horace Newcomb). And studies may utilise a variety of critical approaches, including, to name a few, television and society, television and feministic or woman studies, television and children studies, television and violence, and television and the economy. Organisations that engage in advocacy, whether as a primary objective or as a means of gaining support for their activity, and also frequently present stories to the media can be found on television. Using news articles to spread your message to the public can be the most cost-effective and economical method. How often have you heard a radio or television reporter say, "Next, we'll hear about a woman who started her own business while homeless?" "Teens Take on Trash and Win," for instance, could be the headline of a newspaper article. You likely thought to yourself, "That would be fascinating," and then continued to watch or read. These articles may have originated from an organisation or initiative similar to yours, as opposed to a journalist's investigation. Organisations that engage in advocacy, whether as their primary objective or as a means of gaining support for their activity, frequently present their stories to the media. Using news articles to spread your message to the public can be the most cost-effective and economical method. 6.2 THE HIERARCHY OF A NEWS CHANNEL To comprehend the hierarchy of a news channel, one must comprehend the channel's positioning.

munotes.in

Page 82


82 Introduction to Television Studies The above table tells you about the basic hierarchy followed in the field of Journalism. 6.3 JOB TITLES IN TELEVISION NEWS What are some typical job titles in television news? Journalism ● Announcer. ● Broadcast News Analyst. ● Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technician. ● Broadcaster. ● Journalist. ● News Analyst. ● Reporter. ● Television Announcer 1) There is a fallacy regarding the power possessed or the additional power possessed by media professionals. According to the constitution of India, there are no additional powers granted to journalists; therefore, the Rights & Duties that are generally granted to or imposed on any citizen apply to the power of any media professional. 2) In society, there is always a need for someone to disseminate information so that the public can receive NEWS; this is the job of a journalist or correspondent. 3) Journalists are the eyes and hearing of every newspaper and new television show. All of a correspondent's characteristics cannot be classified without ambiguity. 4) Conversely, correspondents must be capable of completing any task assigned to them with confidence, courage, and perseverance. For instance, if one is responsible for covering the operations of a government department tasked with resolving public complaints, they must have a comprehensive understanding of the topic. 5) You should have a person or team responsible for generating new concepts. 6) You must be willing to embrace the difficulties associated with working in a new environment. 7) As a correspondent, you must be able to collect information from anywhere and everywhere. 8) You should be an articulate and distinct speaker. 9) You must understand the news writing manner. 10) You must be familiar with the news writing manner. munotes.in

Page 83


83
Television News Team 11) A competent correspondent should be conscious of her or his obligations to society, the organisation for which she or he works, and humanity as a whole. 12) He/she must use his/her camera and pen with caution and care. 13) It is essential to note that journalists are not social workers, social reformers, or ministers. 14) He acts as the society's watchdog, solely informing or educating the public about world events. 15) The sole purpose of a correspondent is to bring to the public's attention numerous significant societal events. Consequently, the capacity of a journalist to remain inquisitive and vigilant is crucial. 16) Her or his health should be excellent, Her or his health should be flawless. 17) So that s/he can perform even the most challenging tasks with minimal effort, s/he should have an unlimited capacity. A correspondent should be a social creature who maintains constant contact with the public. 18) To be able to scent news is to be able to predict whether a particular piece of information or incident is newsworthy or whether it is being concealed. 19) This characteristic cannot be acquired overnight. Long-term labour in the field is necessary to acquire this skill. 20) The most essential characteristic of a journalist is the ability to foresee and report on the formation of ever-changing social relationships. 21) Professional journalists cannot be introverted authors. Unsociable individuals cannot become competent journalists. 22) Journalists must regularly interact with a large number of individuals, earn their trust, and cultivate sources. Investigative journalism is in high demand because people want to know what is happening behind the scenes. To collect such stories, a journalist must be extroverted. 23) Regularly evaluating the credibility of 'connections' or 'information sources' is crucial, but maintaining your credibility in the eyes of your contacts is equally important. 24) As a journalist's career progresses, their experience, as well as the number and scope of their contacts, increase. 25) They have access to these contacts exclusively. These contacts exist regardless of whether they work for a news channel or publication. 26) A correspondent makes every effort to avoid the cardinal faults of omission and commission when reporting. Even though journalists may have their own opinions regarding an event or occurrence, their viewpoints and opinions cannot be included in the news text. munotes.in

Page 84


84 Introduction to Television Studies 27) Only when data and facts are gathered and compiled objectively, and viewers are left to draw their own conclusion, can news achieve objectivity and balance. 28) As a correspondent, you will be required to cover diverse topics, such as science, technology, economics, etc. You must be able to converse fluently on a variety of topics. 29) To be able to communicate even the most complex issues in simple terms, a reporter must have a diverse understanding of a variety of fields. Check your progress 1. Discuss any three titles of a television job. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss the hierarchy of a news channel. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Discuss the role of a television in detail. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6.4 WHO WORKS IN A TELEVISION NEWSROOM? The most visible members of television news teams are on-air personalities such as anchors, correspondents, and meteorologists; however, newsrooms consist of many more individuals. Without them, neither our nightly nor 24-hour broadcasts would be possible. The newsroom is an exciting, fast-paced, and competitive location of employment. It is also extremely stressful, which is something to consider when deciding which of these careers is right for you. As news occurs at all hours of the day and night, the newsroom staff frequently reflects this reality. From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., you can anticipate working. There may be irregular schedules, lengthy hours, and strict deadlines associated with a career in television news. On a news programme, the news anchor presents stories, interacts with correspondents, and conducts expert interviews. He/she frequently offers news analysis and commentary. munotes.in

Page 85


85
Television News Team As the face of the newsroom, the anchor inspires viewers' trust and allegiance. Even though he or she is just one of the team members, the audience associates this person with the programme. Whenever there is a need for a Reporter/Camera Person in the media, the organisation searches for an individual with a passion for participating in the creative cycle of a news story by investigating and composing "scoops" that are rich in detail and unbiased. Reporter The public is frequently exposed to reporters. Typically, they are in the thick of the action and report directly from the front lines. While reporting from war zones, storm-ravaged regions, or disaster-stricken areas, they may place their lives in jeopardy. Reporters conduct on-camera interviews with sources in the intensity of the moment on the streets. Meteorologist on the Air The television meteorologist is one of the primary reasons people watch the news in the first place. What else would we do if we were unable to decide what to wear? The weather forecast can either invigorate us for the upcoming days or devastate our emotions utterly. Meteorologists must be trained in both science and broadcasting, as they are both scientists and broadcast professionals. For employment as a meteorologist, a bachelor's degree in meteorology or coursework in the field is required. If you wish to use an alternative title, such as weather forecaster, weatherman, or weather person, you are not required to obtain a meteorology degree or attend meteorology courses. Social Media Manager The social media manager of a news station is invisible to the general public and transmits news in the same manner as an anchor or correspondent. A webmaster is responsible for the website and journals of a newscast. A social media manager shares news articles and interacts with audience members on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Those who need to communicate with the public via the Internet, such as news directors, producers, correspondents, reporters, meteorologists, and writers; in other words, those who need to communicate with the public via the website or social media sources with webmasters and social media managers. Experience in journalism, particularly in television newsrooms, is required, as is knowledge of online communications and social networking. You will likely begin your tenure in a small market, similar to anchors. You could work as a reporter in a significant city or for a national news organisation, rising to the position of anchor over time. As a member of an organisation, a member of the media has the following responsibilities: munotes.in

Page 86


86 Introduction to Television Studies To collect, verify, and exhaustively analyse newsworthy information. To compile findings into a coherent story. To compose and deliver news stories with the reader's viewpoint in mind. To publish and broadcast news articles with a unique perspective To receive assignments and investigate news tips/leads. To abide by the ethics and codes of journalism. To contact the sources, conduct interviews, and investigate their liability. To maintain all possible notes and audio recordings as part of a library for future use. To collaborate with correspondents, editors, producers, etc. To keep abreast of the most recent events in their "beat" by reading papers and attending events, among other means. The basic specifications What an organisation desires a candidate to have in order to enter the field of television journalism. (If applicable): Proven work experience as a Reporter. Portfolio of published articles or newscasts as a professional, student, or research scholar, etc. To be able to collect, compose, and edit news. Should have a comprehensive understanding of headings and the ability to formulate them. The candidate must be proficient with computers (MS Office, digital editing, web search, databases). Excellent communication, persuasion, and listening skills are required. Character and virtue Any degree in journalism or mass communications can be lucrative. Similarly to responsibilities, any individual operating or training for a media organisation must adhere to a set of duties. A daily check of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram is required. To prepare news reports, one must analyse and collect information through various means, including personal interviews and news briefings. They must prepare reports to keep the public apprised of daily occurrences. Developing story concepts for report writing requires close coordination with the news editor and other reporters. One need Maintain relationships with all news sources on a daily basis in order to generate story ideas and compile reports that are worthy for the intended audience and organisation. They must conduct investigation and compose local, regional, and national news. munotes.in

Page 87


87
Television News Team To avoid ambiguity and redundancy, they must be able to analyse the news and ensure its accuracy and clarity. Collaboration with the news editor is essential for improving the presentation of the narrative. Work in designated beat areas once per week to collect all local news possible. Coordination with the graphics department to create the visual elements for each story with the appropriate photographs or graphics according to the story's requirements. One should have an understanding of how to manage the staff photographers for all coverage of local events. Develop the lead elements for any significant news so that breaking news can be produced. In order to satisfy delivery deadlines, you must complete all news writing and packages within the allotted time. Participate in at least weekly workplace meetings and staff meetings in order to remain current on the company's policies and requirements. To obtain news coverage of crucial and marketable topics. Journalism's ethical standards The First Amendment of the Indian Constitution guarantees a free press for our country. The majority of professional journalists, on the other hand, believe that just because the press is "free," it does not imply that it has the right to report, write, or publish whatever it wishes. In fact, the vast majority of journalists believe that journalism requires ethics, or a set of ethically motivated principles and standards, and that all journalists should adhere to a set of values while performing their duties. Despite the fact that not all journalists adhere to the same code of ethics, organisations from around the world have established a set of principles and standards for ethical journalists to adhere to. Using the Society of Professional Journalists' four pillars as a guide, this course examines the ethics of journalism. Journalistic ethics consist of: Although there is no precise definition of ethical journalism, we can get close. No matter how difficult or unpleasant the truth may be, ethical journalists are obligated to search it out and report it. They must ensure the veracity of the information they provide, whether by cross-checking witness testimony, conducting independent research, or assessing a source's credibility. They must establish a balance between their objective of unbiased reporting and the impact that their reporting may have on the story's subjects or elsewhere. This final criterion can be extremely difficult to establish, and it can lead to unfavourable decisions. munotes.in

Page 88


88 Introduction to Television Studies Principles of ethical of news reporting https://asatonline.org/for-media-professionals/ethical-journalism-autism-treatment/Ethics Truthfulness and accuracy Fairness-impartial independentImpact Accountability Humanity and social cause Mass benefits & learnability
6.5 News structure on TV – Headline – Introduction from studio anchor and panel – On ground reporter communication –introductions and discussions worth on ground personnel and citizen & authority interview –multiple sessions – Studio experts opinions and review and analysis – On ground reporter closure -interview-multiple sessions – Studio anchor closure with summary or POV 6.5.1 Why should news be carried ? Importance of news item and information = value of news item. munotes.in

Page 89


89
Television News Team
6.5.2 Type of news coverage and its importance


Focus Are you financial news channel or general or News item is weather segment or ..

Unique and distinct –worth and value Does event or information has influence on local , global scale ?

Sensational War, crimes, affairs , movements , corruptions at high places

Entertainment or Entertaining

Regional , National or Global influence and individual - social influence and amount of influence

Live-ness or reality or current-ness

Demographical-Taste-specialization targeting (this again is due to who is watching and how much and conscious targeting –financial news channels will

Distribution profile

Compliance and standardization and quantifications-blocking (as per rules and regulation and content being

Competition (if competition is doing it , then you would have to )

Commercial gains( ad promoters may target this content and hence more revenue )

Consumer expectations (consumer expects weather info as a part of daily broadcast)

Political and sponsor alignment munotes.in

Page 90


90 Introduction to Television Studies
Check your progress 1) Types of news coverage and why are they deemed important? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) Name any three responsibilities of a member of the media. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) Why is news important? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6.6 LET’S SUM IT UP A news story is an article or interview that informs the audience about current events, concerns, or views. It can be written, recorded, or even live. You don't normally write the article – though local media may use your exact words – but you do supply story ideas to journalists, who then flesh out your idea to produce the final product.


Distinct events and information

Entertainment Tv , Bollywood -Hollywood

Celebrity

Brutal Crimes, Accidents -Event with Mass casualties

Terrorism

Mass demonstrations

Elections and Political analysis

Sports

Dignitaries & Celebrity visiting

Politicians , corruption and institutional corruptions and crime

Finance and economics and policies and global national market ups and downs

Changes to Regulations and social-penal laws

Minority or groups coverage

Days of importance –national republic day , woman's day ,….. munotes.in

Page 91


91
Television News Team A news story can be long or short, depending on how newsworthy it is (more on that later) and how interesting it is to those who watch TV, listen to the radio, or read the newspaper. It can be written, recorded, live, or taped, depending on the medium and the timeliness of the story. Talking about the team in a media organization, the whole team works for TRP and getting some stories to attract the viewers. The news programs are decided from the upper hierarchy people and the lower hierarchy people are the puppets or performers. Various aspects of television news anchoring & reporting is a part of this chapter . It is hoped that this discussion will help aspiring anchors in understanding the dynamics of anchoring and will also help them to hone their anchoring skills. Television news anchoring demands a lot of needed work & sincerity, perseverance and knowledge. Knowledge about different fields and current affairs, command over language, ability of multitasking, knowledge of journalistic ethics and laws, voice modulation and skill to handle teleprompter are a few essential qualities required for a good television news presenter. 6.7 QUESTION 1. Why should news be carried ? What is the Importance of news item and information? 2. What is the upper to lower hierarchy in news channel? 3. Define the work and responsibility of a news reporter? 4. What are the principal of Ethical Reporting? 5. What is the definition of a news story? 6. What are the benefits of using stories from television, newspapers, and radio? 7. What are the stories that are newsworthy? 8. What is the best way to present my story ideas? 9. How one can selectin suitable media opportunities? 6.8 BIBLIOGRAPHY Kalra, R.(2012), The ABC of News Anchoring, Noida, Pearson education India. Reardon N. (2006), On Camera: how to report anchor and interview, London, Focal Press. Robert T. and Cindy Malone, (2004), Broadcast journalism handbook: A television news survival guide, Lanham, Rowman and Littlefield https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-broadcast-journalism-handbook/id581892430  munotes.in

Page 92

92 7 TELEVISION AND SOCIETY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO INDIA Unit Structure : 7.0 Objectives. 7.1 Society and Behaviour/ Introduction 7.2 Conditioned Stimulus and Theory of Generalisation. 7.3 History and Development of Television in India. 7.4 Indian Culture and formats. 7.5 Let's sum it up 7.6 Questions 7.8 Bibliography 7.0 OBJECTIVES With this chapter, you will be able to understand – ● The relationship between Society and behaviour with television. ● What has the history of television contributed in the Indian Society? ● Impact of Culture in the Society. How does Television contribute? 7.1 SOCIETY AND BEHAVIOUR/INTRODUCTION A machine that wowed the entire globe. Humankind has been astonished by it since its inception and has yet to grasp it. A device that assisted in the transmission of moving images and a wide range/variety of sounds. Television is how the world refers to it. Television is the device or technology that enables this humanity's incredible scientific advancement, i.e. transmission and channelling of audio and visuals from one place on earth to another. There is no questioning that every creation of any kind provides the world with a vast array of answers; nevertheless, it is also a well-known fact that with each invention, the members of any society all over the world create new problems. This is inherent in the nature of humanity. It originated as a potential educational medium. The main goal was to make the entire world aware of what was going on throughout the planet. In the beginning of twentieth century, this piece of developed technology was intended to give a channel through which people could feel linked to one another and could be educated about the world, but by the mid-century, it had evolved into a successful broadcast medium. Not only has television munotes.in

Page 93


93
Television and Society with
Special Reference to India become a key source of news and entertainment for people all over the earth as time has passed, but it has also become a primary source of education. As with every progressive process, there are various stages. It is more amenable to scientific advances. Advanced stages such as mechanical, electrical, colour, and finally digital have all been used in television. Television has had a significant impact on society. To comprehend the influence, we must first comprehend the meaning of ‘Society’ and the various behaviours that it entails. What is a society? A group of individuals who live in a more or less well-ordered community. It can be further simplified as a group or club formed for the purpose of achieving a specific objective or participating in a specific activity. Have you ever observed a toddler, playing here and there and making some necessary mistakes that steal your heart? You all are smiling now right? What do you think, Why do the toddlers behave that way? The answer is simple...they have a lot of curiosity and willingness to grasp or destroy the subject of learning. Either way, they learn something. Hence, by observing many life forms and their experience, it can be said that learning and behaviour are interrelated. So, what is behaviour? Behaviour is nothing but an interaction with your environment. To understand this better, let us first understand an experiment conducted by Ivan Pavlov (a Russian physiologist, and a Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine in 1904) 7.2 CONDITIONED STIMULUS AND THEORY OF GENERALISATION He gave a concept of learning called Classical Conditioning. Ivan Pavlov was the first to show classical conditioning, which is learning through association. To demonstrate this, he conducted an interesting experiment with dogs. Pavlov established that if you ring a bell repeatedly before providing food to dogs, they will respond. They'd be taught in a specific way. Meaning that the next time you ring the bell, the dogs will know that food is on the way, and they will salivate before even tasting or seeing the food. The meal serves as an unconditioned stimulus, while the dogs' salivation serves as an unconditioned reaction. The ringing sound of the bell serves as a neutral stimulus. munotes.in

Page 94


94 Introduction to Television Studies Pavlov researched that, even when no food was offered after a few pairings, the dogs salivated when they are made to hear the ring of the bell. Now the bell acted as the conditioned stimulus, and the conditioned response as a result was the salivation. In its most fundamental form, learning is this loop of the conditioned stimulus and conditioned response. Because society is made up of numerous individuals, each civilization has a unique viewpoint on life and, as a result, unique behaviour. Different behaviours are examples of people who have all had vivid types of conditioned stimuli and hence have different conditioned reactions. They are fundamentally different in their behaviour. Imagine a human baby of not more than 2 years old to further appreciate this notion. Examine their reactions to various types of people. They laugh and weep at different moments. If a baby is crying, it is recommended that he or she be delivered to their moms right away. When a mother holds her child, the wailing finally stops. What do you think happens? What is the explanation for this? 'Familiarity,' is the answer. The five sense organs, namely the eyes, ears, skin, nose, and tongue, assist human minds to capture the notion of the world around us. What you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste offer you a pretty decent picture of the environment or the subject you wish to investigate. If performed a sufficient or a good number of times, this exploration of a human mind on specific issues generates a sense of familiarity. The 'conditioned stimulus' refers to this 'sense of familiarity.' In most aspects of life, television serves as a conditioned stimulation agent. When you see the world on a television screen, you get a sense of familiarity with the subjects' thoughts. As a result, your mind identifies the encounter with an experience, which generates a conditioned response over time, leading to disillusionment and blurring of the border between reality and the distorted reality. We must first comprehend a very vital theory known as the theory of generalization before we can apply the above concepts to Indian civilization. Charles Hubbard Judd (1973-1946), an American educational psychologist, developed it. According to this theory, generalization is a concept that people and animals use to discover connections and similarities in knowledge gathered in one circumstance, allowing them to apply that knowledge to new settings. i.e., previous information can be used to comprehend and process a new scenario or environment. To understand the above-mentioned words, consider the following example. Isn't it true that you've all seen a cat? Would you want to keep one as a pet? Yes, perhaps! However, if given the choice between adopting a cat or a dog, many, if not all, of us would choose the dog. munotes.in

Page 95


95
Television and Society with
Special Reference to India The reason for this is ‘generalization.' Your encounters with one or two dogs form an impression of the entire species. If you meet a new dog, you'll use what you've learned about their behaviour. In other words, you'd apply what you've learned in the past to a new circumstance. You're generalizing the concept the way you'd do it. When seen from a global perspective, the introduction of television to India was quite late, but it became a part of the family in most Indian households in a very short amount of time. Television became a highly liberating medium. It became a very essential component of everyone's life in Indian society. This concept of generalization is being widely used in the television industry. The Indian television industry is no different to its society. Anything could be better understood if we know more about its background. Let us begin by learning a little about the history of television in India. 7.3 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION IN INDIA ● Television is a liberating medium. ● Although the introduction of television in India was relatively recent (from a global perspective), the rate of expansion has been extremely rapid. ● In the era of growing technology, the Indian subcontinent was only recognized for colonization. As a result, there was no emphasis on rapid technological advancement. ● This race was not difficult for us once we declared independence. ● Nearly 12 years after independence, the experimental transmission began in 1959. We had several important things before this, such as infrastructure, agriculture, industrialization, and finally communication. ● As a radio transmission unit, AIR (which already existed) broadcasted the first experimental transmission from Delhi. ● It was only a transmitter at the time, with 12 to 21 television sets connected to it. ● In 1961, the first community television network was built for students (in nearby villages). ● The transmission time ranged between 30 and 1 hour. ● The goal was to provide education and information. ● During this time, we lacked satellite transmission technology. ● For a year, we rented the Bandwidth Satellite Transmission System. munotes.in

Page 96


96 Introduction to Television Studies ● In 1965, we began regular news bulletin services known as SAMACHAR. ● By 1967, we had expanded the bandwidth and timeframe, and a new programme named KRISHI DARSHAN had been released; the Indian economy was booming at the time, and people were looking for fresh realism. ● The agrarian economy had to blossom, Primary focus was Agriculture. To persuade, to inform, to educate. ● In 1972, Broadcast made its way to Mumbai. ● SITE (Satellite Instructional Television Experiment) was an experimental satellite communications and transmission project launched in India in 1975 by NASA and the Indian organization, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). ● The project provided rural India with access to educational television shows. ● This allowed it to reach a larger audience of roughly 2400 villages, whereas it was previously limited to only two cities, namely Delhi and Bombay. ● In 1976, Doordarshan separated from AIR and began commercialization as a separate organization. ● This pushed for privatization, and as a result, television began to lure viewers. ● The 25th of April, 1982, was a watershed point in Indian history. ● It was the year when Doordarshan, India's first government-funded broadcasting network, broadcasted its inaugural colour telecast. ● 'Hum Log' is a Hindi-language television soap opera. It was also the first serial drama series in the country. ● It first aired on Doordarshan. ● In 1983, the University Grants Commission (UGC) began to promote various educational programmes for children and adults. ● Many advancements in the Satellite Network occurred in the following years. ● DD India, an Indian television broadcaster that began on March 14, 1995, as DD International, is available in about 146 countries worldwide. ● It was renamed DD World in 2000, then it was renamed DD India in 2002. ● Doordarshan is the owner and the operator of this, India's state-owned television network. ● India's public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, is based in New Delhi. munotes.in

Page 97


97
Television and Society with
Special Reference to India ● It is a legal independent organisation established by an Act of Parliament, which includes the Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio, both of which were previously media units of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The Parliament of India passed the 'Prasar Bharati Act' to grant this autonomy in 1990, but it was not enacted until 15 September 1997. ● Following the Prasar Bharti, anyone with the knowledge and a proper guide map of the industry may now acquire bandwidth and create a channel. As a result, India today has over 850 Television stations (2018), covering all of the country's major languages, and 197 million people own televisions. We now have a good understanding of television's evolution and advancement, as well as its technical evolution and the types of programmes that are transmitted. As previously said, society revolves around behaviour, and behaviour is inextricably tied to psychology and its components. What role has television played in influencing India's residents' psychology? The way television influences society. Keep in mind that influence can be both positive and detrimental. Many studies have been conducted over the years to better understand the impact and influence of television on society. Let's have a look at a very important example based on the above-mentioned words. I.e. the Indian economy was in shambles after independence. There was a period of depression, and it became increasingly important to strengthen the moral ideas of individuals in Indian culture throughout time. The television creation KRISHI DARSHAN was released just when it was needed. It was to educate our country's farmers and persuade the rest of the population that agriculture is India's superpower. This program's effect resulted in a beneficial outcome. People discovered an alternate world of distorted reality when the drama production began and broadcasted, which helped many people release tension and positively modify their thinking and behaviour. At the same time, there were several shows that had a bad impact on society. Almost every element of life is affected by this cycle. What matters is that television is a critical tool for preserving culture, ideas, and information. It aids in the dissemination of information and creativity. It's important to remember that this is a scientific breakthrough. Every technological breakthrough has the potential to be a boon or a ban. As explained earlier, you could not understand society without understanding behaviour. Likewise, you cannot understand influence without understanding culture. Culture is nothing but common behaviours in a society. If the contents of the television change the common behaviours of a large mass but the change is progressive concerning human ethics and evolution, it is said to be a positive influence. If the change is regressive concerning human ethics and evolution, it is said to be a negative influence. munotes.in

Page 98


98 Introduction to Television Studies To better comprehend the impact of television on society, let's look at the concept of Indian culture. Check your progress 1. Discuss the importance of doordarshan in India? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss the history of generalisation? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is society? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7.4 INDIAN CULTURE AND FORMATS As previously stated, behaviour is a set of rules that have been practised for a long time and have become societal norms. The culture of a society is defined as the rules and behaviours that are shared by the majority of its members. There are numerous social norms in Indian culture. There is no such thing as law if it cannot be distinguished as ethical or unethical. The ethical side of Indian culture predominates. As we have learned, India has a history of immigration and colonisation, which has resulted in different behaviours and norms. Each community that contributed to society had its own set of traditional values. It is also evident in the current situation. Political, religious, and technological beliefs change, but they continue to dominate Indian culture. There are some aspects of a cultural behaviour. Learning those aspects could help in understanding the common state of mind of a particular country. Let us take a look at some of the areas where television has played an important role in either strengthening or weakening society. 1) Political stability A very crucial feature to comprehend and one that plays a critical part in a country's development. Because it can persuade and influence a huge number of people, a political viewpoint can sometimes define a person's personality. India has a complex political past. Television is being utilised for a variety of reasons. From educating individuals about the importance of voting to manipulate people based on their caste. munotes.in

Page 99


99
Television and Society with
Special Reference to India Caste, race and power are the world hunger. India has been ruled by many invaders. The process made the citizen of India poor in education and finance. The three words written above are the result of the past. The past of political instability. Different influential people use television differently to fulfil their agendas. Today, people are learning, some things are getting better, some things are below the worst. 2) Economic growth and financial stability. India's past is not a foreign idea. People are well aware of the situation. How did we fight, how did we keep going, how did we breathe, how did we make it through? What were the causes, what were the circumstances, and what were the issues? It's fascinating to see how we came up with a solution. In all of the scenarios, television is present. As previously said, television aids in the release of tension, as well as the education, informing, and persuasion of viewers. In many instances, television aided in the regulation of economic expansion and the establishment of financial stability. It was useful for inspiring people amid floods and depressions. It aided [people's] understanding of the world. It was beneficial in a variety of ways. Television played a critical role in promoting Indian brands in global markets and assisting in the acquisition of foreign currency. 3) Environment, health, technology and tradition. As previously stated, we learn from our surroundings, and television contributes to the creation of an environment that our minds can comprehend. The world is now aware of Indian culture. Despite the fact that the globe is now digital, television is still credited. With the help of various performances and documentaries, different types of shows which include drama, sports and news too, the cultural features of the custom became popular in other nations. As a result, the tourism industry in India has thrived. It also influenced some negative sentiments by disseminating information about crimes in India. The globe has witnessed the struggle between countries to improve their health, environmental and technological sectors. Television aided in highlighting the changes and instilling psychological pressure. Television has touched almost every surface of every subject in India. Information, Education and Persuasion have been the key elements. It influenced and still influences people in both a positive and negative manner. But, we can summarize the role of television in Indian society as: ⮚ Television started by asking "what" and "how," and today it helps us define "this and this way" together. ⮚ To the world and from the world, educated and accepted many cultural and traditional values. ⮚ Assisting us in comprehending basic alterations, as well as the implementation and execution of several innovations and ideas. munotes.in

Page 100


100 Introduction to Television Studies ⮚ Established a link to the rest of the world, technical advances, commercial organisations, and industry associations. ⮚ It aids in the development or deterioration of young minds' personalities. We have concluded that television helps in shaping the mind and the influence could be both negative and positive. The association between the behaviour of an individual in a particular society is a vital part of the culture. Television has different formats and features to execute this physiological aspect of society. What are the formats? Formats are methods of encoding targeted communications in a specific manner. It is common knowledge that the process of encoding and decoding must be accurate and right in order for successful communication to occur. Encoding/decoding, according to Stuart Henry McPhail Hall (Marxist sociologist, cultural theorist, and political activist), is the translation of a simple message. When you decode a communication, you extract its meaning in ways that are understandable to you. Television broadcasts a wide range of formats, particularly in India, in order to reach people of various languages, mentalities, and cultures. The following are a few of them:- 1) Talk-Shows Talk shows are one of the first things that come to mind. In this style, a single individual or a group of people discusses a variety of issues proposed by the host. Typically, guests are a group of people who have had a good experience with whatever the show's topic is. This format aids in the education of subjects that people are interested in. The topics can be from any field, such as politics, economics, or entertainment. "Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan," which was broadcast on DD national, was India's first talk show. 2) Review An assessment of a publishing service or firm. In addition to a critical evaluation, the service's author may offer a 'rating' to the work to indicate its relative worth. An author may write about current events, trends, or news stories. The model benefits Indians because we have more rural areas than metropolitan places. With the use of audio and images, people who are less educated can better appreciate the merits and drawbacks of the subject. munotes.in

Page 101


101
Television and Society with
Special Reference to India 3) Debate A structure that allows for open communication and collaboration in order to share opinions, ideas, and research while also providing and receiving feedback. Do not confuse debate with talk shows; unlike talk shows, the debate has a goal and responsibility to find a solution to the problems that have arisen in relation to a specific subject. This structure is particularly important in the Indian context since, as a growing country, change is an inevitable aspect of life, and change in society brings with it a variety of challenges and answers. 4) Commentaries/Commentary An event's description is broadcast on radio or television while the event is taking place. When evidence answers "what," commentary usually responds with "how" and/or "why." This is fascinating to Indian society because we enjoy examining things. This approach allows us to experience both the commentator's perspective and our own imagination at the same time. 5) Documentary A documentary film, also known as a nonfictional motion picture, seeks to "capture reality, primarily for the purposes to understand the directives, education, or the preservation of a historical record." Documentaries are extremely educational and are frequently used in schools to explain various concepts. ● To present life as it is. ● Factual Films (any human or non-human aspects) ● Provides opinion along with specific message along with facts. ● Real-life + Real stories. 6) Docudrama Actual events are re-enacted and dramatized. 1) Dialogues may include actual words spoken by a real person during historical events. 2) Possibility of filming in the actual real-life location. 3) Docudrama openly addresses the historical events, especially those that are recent and polarising. munotes.in

Page 102


102 Introduction to Television Studies 7) Docufiction Docufiction (or docu-fiction), which is frequently confused with docudrama, is a cinematic blend of documentary and fiction, usually referring to a narrative film. It is a developing film genre that many experimental directors are embracing. ● The event is filmed in real-time as it happens. ● In a real story, incorporates unreal events/elements/fictional elements into the narrative to enrich the representation through artistic expression. Check your progress 1. What is a documentary? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What Is a docudrama? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is Indian culture and formats? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7.5 LET’S SUM IT UP Above said formats are the mirror of society but nothing is permanent as the trends change, the ways of looking at things change, the perspective changes, the process of converting information to knowledge changes, the ideas of formation and destruction change, the philosophy of science and spirituality changes, the data and internet environment changes, behaviour changes, and so does culture. India is evolving. Television would as well. 7.6 QUESTIONS a) Is your ‘behaviour’ a response to a conditioned stimulus? Explain why? b) How television has a huge impact on Indian Society? c) Discuss the various formats of a television. munotes.in

Page 103


103
Television and Society with
Special Reference to India BIBLIOGRAPHY Hunter, William Wilson (1893). A Brief History of the Indian Peoples. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1998. India 1947-1997: New light on the Indus civilization. New Delhi: Aryan Books International. Bajaj, Vikas (11 February 2007). "In India, the Golden Age of Television Is Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 July 2015. Vilanilam, J (2005). Mass Communication In India: A Sociological Perspective. SAGE Publishing India. https://www.edinformatics.com/inventions_inventors/television https://uca.edu/psychology/files/2013/08/Ch3-Fundamentals-of-the-Scientific-Approac h  munotes.in

Page 104

104 8 LANGUAGE OF TELEVISION, CODES AND CONNOTATIONS, NARRATIVE STRUCTURE, NARRATIVE FUNCTIONS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO INDIA Unit Structure : 8.0 Objectives 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Introductory TV Shots 8.2.1 Camera Angles 8.2.2 Camera Movements 8.3 Codes and Connotations 8.4 Narrative Structure 8.4.1 Why is Narrative Structure Important? 8.4.2 Television Narrative Structure. 8.5 Let’s Sum It Up 8.6 Questions 8.7 Bibliography 8.0 OBJECTIVES  In this chapter the following objectives shall be covered  What are tv shots  Camera angles and their significance  Narratives 8.1 INTRODUCTION Television is a medium, which communicates primarily through visuals. This element of commonality has provided the base for its language and grammar. The following subsections attempt to familiarise you with certain basic
munotes.in

Page 105


105
Language of Television, Codes
and connotations, Narrative
Structure, Narrative functions
with special reference to India. aspects of the language of television. It includes a large number of cues and commands, abbreviations, symbols and signals. Everybody should be familiar with the / producer's commands, floor manager's signals used in the studio or on field location, and symbols and abbreviations used on scripts, camera cards, floor plans and cue sheets. Similarly, the producer or director is required to communicate with a large number of people quickly and precisely. So the terminology he/she uses while calling the shots from the gallery must be correctly understood by all members of the production team. 8.2 INTRODUCTORY TV SHOTS A shot is the lowest accessible visual unit in TV or flicks. We use shots of varying sizes in a programme. Shots are of several kinds and are classified in agreement with the view in front of the camera-what we call' field of view'. In this environment, when we've a subject, the shot is described by the position of the subject shown For the cameraperson, the shots can also be classified by the quantity of objects or things presented and the camera angle. The five introductory shots used in TV are as follows in terms of' field of view'. long shot (LS): This is a shot that describes a particular position where the primary action is taking place. In other words, it's a picture frame with its entire background in focus. A long shot may be repeated from time to time to insure that the bystander's exposure is towards the position. There are other variations available, similar as a Veritably Long Shot (VLS) or an Extreme Long Shot (ELS). These shots are also similar to Wide Shots. ❖ Medium long shot (MLS): A medium long shot, commonly referred to as a medium full shot, frames a subject from the knees up.. A medium full shot falls between a normal medium shot and a full shot. The medium full shot is also referred to as a medium long shot, ¾ shot or a cowboy shot. It is a shot in which the principal subject is shown from the knee upwards with the background in the picture.
munotes.in

Page 106


106 Introduction to Television Studies ❖ Midshot : A medium shot, also known as a mid-shot or waist shot, is a style of camera shot used in movies and television that primarily focuses on an actor's midsection. A medium shot is used to emphasize both the actor and their surroundings by giving them an equal presence on screen. The director of photography uses a medium shot to clearly show the actor's face and emotions while still informing the audience of what’s going on in the world around them. Here the subject is shown waist upwards. In this type of shot, the principal focus is the subject, though the background is seen in some detail. This shot is particularly useful in programmes with a demonstration format. A typical example would be a subject describing or showing a model. ❖ Medium Close up (MCU): It's cut at the position of the lower chest or the breast pocket below or above the armpit of the subject. Then the subject is in primary focus and the background loses its significance. These shots are useful in interviews, panel discussion and any other presenter grounded programme format ❖ Close up (CU): As the term indicates, this shot shows the subject at close quarters. If the subject is a person, it is cut at collar level. The subject is primarily in focus. These shots are useful for dramatization formats where facial expressions are important to highlight the details
munotes.in

Page 107


107
Language of Television, Codes
and connotations, Narrative
Structure, Narrative functions
with special reference to India. ❖ Extreme Close up An extreme close-up, or ECU, shot is a type of camera angle that focuses on only one person in the frame. The entire body and face are visible and there should be no other subjects in the frame. This technique is often used to show intense emotion or detail in an actor's facial expression . This shot is useful for highlighting minute details. Typically, this shot is used to study intense facial expressions to build up a sense of drama in formats . Check Your Progress 1) Write a short note on Mid shot ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) Write a note on Extreme Close up ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) Discuss the importance of close up angles. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8.2.1 Camera angles ❖ Subjectivity and objectivity in shots
Subjective shot objective shot
munotes.in

Page 108


108 Introduction to Television Studies If a camera is positioned at an axis of 90 degree to the action, it is called an objective shot. This is used to project the visual from a detached point of view. A typical example would be watching a tennis match from the referee's position. The same shot, if it moves in an angle to a view over the shoulder of one of the players, indicates the beginning of a shot. A subjective camera angle indicates the physical point of view of one of the players. Here the viewer is aligned with the predicament of one of the players by being made to virtually stand in his/her shoes. ❖ Eye position : The aim is to let the observer follow the action without manipulating their feelings which is called “eye position,” in which it is not necessary to shoot the character’s face. You may capture an object's eye location by keeping your camera angle neutral. Take into account the eye level shot, which is the most typical height. When your subject is at eye-level they’re in a neutral perspective (not superior or inferior). This mimics how we see people in real life -- our eye line connecting with theirs. Here's eye level shot example from one of the best Tim Burton movies Alice in Wonderland: ❖ Low angle An intimate perspective gives the scene more subjectivity. The camera angles up to the subject from a low vantage point rather than seeing directly ahead. This can make a character appear threatening, dominant, or in a position of power relative to another character. As with some of the other shots we’ve looked at, you can vary the intensity of it. A teacher staring down at a student is an example of how a slight low angle could be employed to portray a sense of authority. To depict a monster like Godzilla or King Kong closing in on other characters, a very low angle view may be used.
munotes.in

Page 109


109
Language of Television, Codes
and connotations, Narrative
Structure, Narrative functions
with special reference to India. vi ) High angle Its low angle shot is the high angle shot, which creates the opposite impression to make the subject seem small. For example, a shot from King Kong's point of view, can point down from a higher angle to emphasise the protagonists' powerlessness in comparison to him. A top viewpoint or bird's eye view can also be used to take it to a next level. This shot, that could be utilized both indoors and outdoors, looks down on the actor from above. For example, stare down your subject when he or she enters a church or a stadium. Also you can use it to represent the character fleeing a helicopter, in such cases it can be an aerial or drone shot. vii) Dutch angle One of the most popular methods to express confusion is using a Dutch angle. Simply tilt the camera to one side in order to make the horizon out of focus for this photo. You can use this shot to represent the POV of a drunk character stumbling down the street, or in a horror movie to show the impressions of the walls from a haunted house . viii.)Over-the-Shoulder (OTS) An over-the-shoulder shot is another angle which will shift a viewer’s perception of the scene. An OTS shot, which is often a close-up of another character's face from "over the shoulder" of another character, is used to represent conflict or confrontation. You could also use an OTS wide shot to point out a
munotes.in

Page 110


110 Introduction to Television Studies personality looking over a landscape or moving through an action sequence, once you don’t want to use a POV. ix ) Knee Level Shot At this point, your camera's height should be roughly equal to that of your subject. They can, when used in conjunction with a low viewpoint, highlight a character's supremacy. Shot Types: Knee Level Shot in Home Alone Here's another knee level shot example: x ) Ground Level Shot When your camera is level with your subject, you get a ground level shot. Needless to say, this shot captures what’s going on Here's another ground level shot example: Shot Types: Ground Level Shot Example in Black Swan xi)Aerial Shot : When a picture is obtained from a very high vantage point, either from a helicopter or a drone. It creates a wide-ranging landscape.
munotes.in

Page 111


111
Language of Television, Codes
and connotations, Narrative
Structure, Narrative functions
with special reference to India. The opening shots of one of the best cyberpunk movies Blade Runner use them to establish futuristic cityscapes.
Filmmakers now have easier access to aerial photography because to affordable drones. Original aerial photography, formerly regarded as a high-end luxury or a staple of stock video, is now affordable for practically any project, largely thanks to the "rise" of drones. Types of Camera Shot Angles: Aerial Shot Example in Blade Runner Check Your Progress 1. short note on Low Angle Shot ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Short note on Over The Shoulder (OTS) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8.2.3 Camera Movement The third category that we’ll take a look at is camera motion or movement. Most of the shot sizes and angles we’ve study may be used as either static shots or moving shots. Camera movement is a powerful filmmaking tool employed to modify the relationship between the subject and the camera frame, with the goal of altering the viewer's perspective of space and time for a more impactful and visceral visual storytelling. By adding motion to a scene, you'll move between camera angles easily, sometimes even within the identical shot.
munotes.in

Page 112


112 Introduction to Television Studies ● Pan or tilt
The simplest camera movement is a pan or tilt. A pan is used to keep the camera at one place and switch it to the side, and a tilt is after you turn it up or down. If your camera is on a tripod, then you can simply turn the head of the tripod, just as you would turn your head to one side to get a new perspective on a scene. If a subject stands up, you can turn an eye-level shot into a low-angle by tilting the camera up as they rise. A pan or tilt is also a good opportunity to experiment with speed. You could spend an entire minute slowly panning from left to right to show off a room or a landscape, or you can do a whip pan, in which the movement happens so fast that it becomes a blur. Tracking shot, dolly shot, or crane shot
If you want to move the subject and make the viewer feel about the part of the action, you can use the tracking , dolly, or crane shot. A tracking shot often travels horizontally, a dolly shot advances or retreats, and a crane shot oscillates up and down. It also depends on the equipment you are using for the movements separately, or to combine them to move on multiple axes at once.
munotes.in

Page 113


113
Language of Television, Codes
and connotations, Narrative
Structure, Narrative functions
with special reference to India. zoom
Zoom shot In zoom shots the camera moves in or out of the frame by using a zoom lens rather than moving the camera. You can turn the medium shot in the close up shot by slowly zooming in on a subject’s face while delivering an emotional monologue. Also zooming is used to reveal a character or object that wasn’t previously in frame. A zoom shot is mostly slow and subtle so that the viewer barely notices what is happening, or it can be more obvious to give the shot a cinematic aesthetic. Random motion Random motions are used to increase the intensity particularly in an action scene The Bourne Identity, where the camera pans back and forth so swiftly that the scene's focal point isn't even always framed in the frame. Although random motion frequently works well to induce disorientation, there are times when it may work too well, leaving viewers unsteady and perplexed. 360-degree motion The last form of motion that we’ll take a look at is 360-degree motion, within which the camera moves entirely round the subject of the shot. These shots will be challenging to try to do on large film sets, because they require hiding the crew and equipment from view, but they’re more common within the days of Steadicams and CGI. For its 360-degree fight scenes, The Matrix featured a sophisticated camera gear, but you could alternatively use a handheld camera or a drone. Compound motion The beauty of camera motion is that you shouldn't limit it to just one axis at once. You’ll combine movements to move in multiple dimensions directly and build more complex shots. Let’s take a look at two popular compound shots:
munotes.in

Page 114


114 Introduction to Television Studies Dolly zoom Dolly zooms are employed to evoke feelings of dizziness or discomfort. Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock and Jaws by Steven Spielberg both employed it. In this view, the lens zooms in the opposite way while the camera pans ahead or backward. Single Take A single is a mixture of multiple movements, shot sizes, and angles into one extended shot. Rather than cutting from an extended shot to a close-up, for example, the camera might track, zoom, pan, and tilt between a range of different shots. This can be the toughest to get right, but it’s an effective way to orient viewers to a replacement environment, such as with the opening shot in Goodfellas. It can also lend a theatrical feel to a movie, as in Birdman, which is created to look like one very long shot. 8.3 CODES AND CONNOTATIONS
Television codes work just like the building blocks of all the media around us. Television codes typically have a shared connotation or meaning among its viewers. Codes are systems of signs, which create meaning. Codes are often divided into three categories – symbolic, technical and written. 1. Symbolic codes : show what's beneath the surface of what we see. As an example, a character's actions show you the way the character is feeling. Some codes fit both categories – music as an example, is both technical and symbolic. Symbolic codes are social in nature. These codes are also used outside of the media industry itself, which would be understood in the ‘real life’ of the audience. For example, if you saw somebody receive a red rose during a film, you would assume there's a romantic relationship between those two characters. If you gave somebody a red rose in real life, you may be hoping for the same. Setting, mise-en-scene, acting, and colour are examples of symbolic codes in the media.
munotes.in

Page 115


115
Language of Television, Codes
and connotations, Narrative
Structure, Narrative functions
with special reference to India. Setting Setting refers to the time and place of the narrative. When discussing setting, it can be described as setting the whole story or just a specific scene. Also the setting is big as the outback or space, or as small specific room. Setting can even be created through an atmosphere or frame of mind. ⮚ Mise- en- scene The phrase "mise en scene" is French for "everything in the frame." In the context of media, it refers to the description of all the elements contained in a frame of the media product and their arrangement. An analysis of mise en scene includes: ⮚ Set Design ⮚ Costume ⮚ Props ⮚ Staging and Composition ⮚ Acting Characters are portrayed by actors in media goods, and they help to shape the characters they play.: ⮚ Facial expression ⮚ Body Language ⮚ Vocal qualities ⮚ Movement ⮚ Body contact ▪ Colour Colour has highly cultural and strong connotations. While studying the use of colour in a media product it also includes different aspects such as: ⮚ Dominant colour ⮚ Contrasting foils ⮚ Colour symbolism 2 . Technical Codes Technical codes are specific forms of media which do not live outside of them. For instance, the usage of various camera angles and their implications make sense when we watch movies and look at pictures, but they have little significance to us outside of those media. Technical codes also include Camerawork, Editing, Audio and Lighting. munotes.in

Page 116


116 Introduction to Television Studies ▪ Camerawork In Camerawork it is defined how the cameras are operated, positioned and moved for a specific effect. Aspects of camerawork include: ⮚ Positioning ⮚ Movement ⮚ Framing ⮚ Exposure ⮚ Lens choice ▪ Editing The act of selecting, modifying, and organising images and sound is known as editing. Editing is generally done for four different reasons: ⮚ Graphic edits ⮚ Rhythmic edits ⮚ Special edits ⮚ Temporal edits ▪ Audio Audio is the expressive or naturalistic use of sound. Audio can be diegetic or non-diegetic. The three aspects of audio are: ⮚ dialogue ⮚ sound effects ⮚ music ▪ Lighting Lighting is the deliberate highlighting of particular components of the scene using artificial or natural light. Elements of lighting include: ⮚ Quality ⮚ Direction ⮚ Source ⮚ Colour 3. Written Codes The formal written language employed in a media product is called written codes. Similar to technical and symbolic codes, written codes can be employed in media output to advance a narrative, provide information about a character, or address topics and themes. Written codes encompass spoken language, which includes conversation and music lyrics, as well as printed language, which is text that is presented in the frame. munotes.in

Page 117


117
Language of Television, Codes
and connotations, Narrative
Structure, Narrative functions
with special reference to India. 8.4 NARRATIVE STRUCTURE: The content of a tale and the format in which it is told are both referred to as narrative structure. This characteristic of a creative work typically refers to the sequence and presentation of a narrative to a reader, listener, or viewer. The plot and the location serve as the structural pillars of a narrative text. This can also depend on the genre and medium of a story. For example, a 'whodunnit' will typically have an orientation (beginning) which sets up the crime, the victim, and the protagonist involved in solving it. In the middle part of the story, we follow the main character as they weigh up who might have committed the crime and how. At the conclusion, the criminal is usually revealed, and the reader finds out how it was done. As for a medium, plays and films act as a good example, as they traditionally employ a three act structure that helps to build tension and suspense across a narrative. 8.4.1 Why is Narrative Structure Important? Narratives tell stories, and stories help us connect with each other. They are written to entertain and to share experiences with a reader. Narratives can be written in many mediums, such as novels, short stories, poems, diaries, and even biographies. An essential weapon in a writer's toolbox is the narrative framework, which enables them to draw readers in and hold their interest. The way a story is told can make it boring, ordinary, or interesting depending on the approach. Narrative structure also makes the writing process more streamlined. When grounding our writing with a clear structure, we are able to organise our thoughts more clearly. 8.4.2 Television Narrative structure Television acts as a biggest source of storytellers which shares a number of stories based on heroes and villains. Content over the television influences the viewers by reflecting values to the society. Television’s narratives present a special case compared with other narrative structures. Jane Feuer in his study states that narrative theory has been used primarily to examine linear, finite narratives, such as novels or films. In the time since Feuer made her comments, there have been few new developments or applications of narrative theory to television. This is unfortunate, since media literacy could benefit by utilizing narrative theory. The relationship between television's stories and our culture's values and assumptions about how we define reality, many of the elements of narrative theory need to be more functional. Even though television narratives are as linear as many novels, they exhibit several qualities that distinguish them from other forms of narration--notably a heavy emphasis on character development and continuous storylines that flow between episodes of a series. munotes.in

Page 118


118 Introduction to Television Studies Narrative theory helps us understand the intricacies of structure found in narrative fiction. Narratives are governed by specific rules and strategies that organize the story elements into a logical sequence (O'Sullivan, Saunders, and Fiske). Most narratives typically follow a linear chain of events. The story is the chronological succession of events that serve as the foundation or the building blocks of the narrative. For example, the narrative presents the disturbance, followed by a crisis, ending in a resolution. Those who examine the structure of narratives argue that each narrative has two parts: a story and a discourse. Chatman identifies two components of the story: the event (actions, happenings) and the existent (characters, setting). In other words, the story is in the narrative that is presented. The discourse, on the other hand, is "the expression, the means by which the content is communicated". The discourse is how we are told about what happens. In television narratives, it is not uncommon for the discourse to begin in the middle of the story. In a typical detective narrative, the discourse may bring the reader/viewer into the story at the beginning when the murder is committed, or it may delay those details and begin when the body is found and lead the viewer back to the actual murder later. In other words, the order of the presentation does not have to be the same as the "natural logic of the story" .Discourse is concerned with how the story is arranged and presented--the look, feel, and pace of the story. It is important to look at the actual activities (actions, occurring) and existents (characters, places) that make up the narrative's story. Events have a particular meaning that can be divided into two categories: kernels or satellites. For Chatman, "Events are either logically essential, or not". According to Chatman's paradigm, kernels—which are narrative moments that determine the course of events—are more crucial to a story's integrity than satellites. They are moments where a movement must diverge into one of two (or more) options. If, for example, a character turns herself in to the authorities instead of fleeing, the narrative may well become the story of how the character struggles to survive in the justice system. On the other hand, if the character flees the authorities, the story may become the search for the character or the way in which the character eludes police. These incidents serve as examples of kernels, or pivotal moments in a narrative.. When a critical juncture in the story would change the nature of the story depending on the choice made at that juncture, the event is a kernel. If a kernel were altered, the plot would be changed; the entire story would be different. We believe it is important for students of television's narratives to understand this distinction and to examine the television narrative from this perspective. This will help them recognize the role the structure plays in the development and presentation of the narrative. While satellites are more closely tied to either the discourse or the existents than kernels, which are related to stories (the character and the setting). If an event is not a kernel, it is a satellite. The satellites focus on character, setting, or incidental actions that do not move the story along its causal trajectory. When a satellite is removed, the munotes.in

Page 119


119
Language of Television, Codes
and connotations, Narrative
Structure, Narrative functions
with special reference to India. basic storyline remains intact, but when a kernel is removed, the basic storyline changes dramatically. According to Chatman, "a satellite can be deleted without disturbing the logic of the plot, though its omission will, of course, impoverish the narrative aesthetically" (54,italics added). Satellites focus on character relationships or provide background information on a character, and help create the texture of the narrative by providing depth and richness to the story. Although kernels and satellites appear to be logical means for discussing the story events, it is difficult to apply them to a television narrative because the concepts lack specificity. If we call a narrative event a "satellite" or a "kernel," what more do we know about the nature of the narrative? Very little, really. There is a need to further define and identify the more specific nature and function of kernels and satellites in order to determine how events work to create meaning for and by the receiver. Understanding the parts of the narrative allows us to have a clearer picture of the whole. Check Your Progress 1) Explain Symbolic Codes ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) Explain in Brief about television Narrative Codes . ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8.5 LET’S SUM IT UP To sum up, the visual and linguistic parts of television form their own language. Codes and connotations are useful tools for expressing meaning and shaping how an audience interprets a text. The beginning, middle, and end of a story are the building blocks of any good television show. Television shows can serve a variety of narrative purposes, including entertainment, information, education, persuasion, and criticism. Television has a major impact on Indian culture, politics, and society at large. There is a wide range of genres and languages represented in today's television offerings. Cultural norms and values strongly inform the usage of codes and meanings in Indian television. The purpose and organisation of stories also shift significantly amongst literary forms. While news programmes have an immediate narrative role of informing the public, soap operas in India typically have a longer-running narrative structure. munotes.in

Page 120


120 Introduction to Television Studies Television analysis and criticism, as well as the creation of powerful and influential material, all require a firm grasp of the medium's unique lexicon, codes and implications, narrative structure, and functions. 8.6 QUESTIONS ● How is Narrative Organised? ● How are characters used in Narrative ? 8.7 BIBLIOGRAPHY American Cinematographer Hand Book and Reference Guide. (1938). United States: American Society of Cinematographers. Branea, S., Marinescu, V., Mitu, B. (2014). Contemporary Television Series: Narrative Structures and Audience Perception. United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Hacker, L. (2016). The Basic Forms of Cinematography - Form, Rhythm, Colour and Relativity. (n.p.): Read Books Limited. Thompson, R., Bowen, C. J. (2013). Grammar of the Shot. United Kingdom: Focal Press.  munotes.in

Page 121

121 9 SEGMENTATION, FRAGMENTATION AND PRIORITIZATION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO INDIA Unit Structure : 9.0 Objectives 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Segmentation 9.3 Fragmentation 9.4 Prioritization 9.4.1 New experiments began: 9.4.1.1 Experiments with entertainment channels 9.4.1.2 The chorus of sports channels 9.4.1.3 The ups and downs of the news channels 9.4.1.4 Channel movies and Infotainment 9.5 Let's Sum It Up 9.6 Questions 9.7 References 9.0 OBJECTIVES  In this chapter you will be able to study  The need and the business of television  The priorities of a news channel  Experiments 9.1 INTRODUCTION The majority of media and entertainment organisations have historically grouped clients into demographic categories since it is the simplest and most direct approach to categorise them for advertisements and content development. But age has always been a simple metric, as are gender and income.1 And for M&E, the story that demographics tell is increasingly incomplete—still valuable for some applications but often needing further illumination. As technology becomes increasingly democratized and accessible, M&E and cable TV companies are shifting from focusing on the usual indicators—for instance, TV ratings for the prized 18–to–35 bracket—to looking more closely at media consumption behaviour patterns. This doesn’t mean that, for instance, every network needs to emulate Netflix, with algorithms allowing it to develop some 75,000 different munotes.in

Page 122


122 Introduction to Television Studies content genres.2 But it suggests that providers could look to adopt a more granular and behavioural approach to consumer relationships. Analysis of the 12th edition of Deloitte's Digital Media Trends Survey shows that measuring media consumption behaviour may offer a more precise method of attracting, enticing, and keeping customers in the long run. 9.2 SEGMENTATION Segmentation in television advertising refers to a fact of being able to offer targeted advertising on the same advertising space according to audience segmentation. This has led to the need of more simplified and manageable segments for the broadcasting market, broadcasters as well as advertising agencies. It benefits market segmentation which offers establishment, also broadcasters as well as advertising agencies continue to report implementation difficulties. Its segmentation strategy exposes three different weekday and weekend programme categories..
Audience segmentation Additionally, viewers in various categories display unique demographics, programme preferences, programme and ad viewing periods, and zapping behaviours. Television market is the third largest in the world. More than 60% of homes have TV sets that are connected to services similar to string Television systems, Direct-to- Home (DTH) services, IPTV services, and Doordarshan, India’s public service broadcast. DTH is the most current technology for delivering content to homes. There are several veritably large DTH service providers, foremost amongst them being Tata Sky and Dish Network. The content provider company with the loftiest number of observers in India is Zee Network. There are numerous similar global players such as Fox, CNN, BBC, Sony, Viacom, Warner Bros and Walt Disney who represent India. 9.3 FRAGMENTATION: Television changed over the years drastically. Network, Program and its content has become vast to appeal to a number of audiences. The term Television Fragmentation is the distribution of the audience across various content. Media has offered traditional outlets such as broadcast networks; it
munotes.in

Page 123


123
Segmentation, Fragmentation
and Prioritization with Special
Reference to India. includes long feared technological and regulatory changes which increase the competition and erode the audience. Ultramodern videotape distribution has increased the volume and variety of programming available to observers. Multichannel broadcasters using high-bandwidth distribution mechanisms similar to satellite and string TV are suitable to deliver hundreds of channels to each home. Videotape on demand (VOD) allows druggies to elect and watch videotape content at will. Digital videotape reporters (DVRs) have made it possible to watch any program at any time using an electronic program companion and recording shows onto a hard fragment. Yet attention remains limited, as followership members are suitable to watch only a limited number of programs offered by different networks. As a result, the viewing followership moment distributes itself over a larger set of programs than in history. This process is called followership fragmentation. Television cultures are disintegrated to different degrees, indeed if the set of available viewing options is analogous. The position of followership fragmentation depends on factors similar to the followership's geographic position and its demographic composition. A fractured followership is more delicate to reach with advertising. Knowing the factors that determine followership fragmentation could be important for advertisers who are trying to shoot marketing dispatches to a certain group of consumers, as well as for programmers designing entertainment targeted at different groups. This thesis seeks to explain the relationship between followership characteristics, followership fragmentation, and advertising prices. Now-a-days video viewing audiences have become more and more fragmented due to the emergence of new technology and more mainstream. The largest amount of time is still spent with live TV which is known as linear TV. Adults between the age group of 50-64 spend the most time connected to media with almost all time spent on traditional TV. Ages 35-49 spend most of their time on linear TV, and adults ages 18-34 watch the least amount of video through traditional sources, while they spend very less time with linear television. Two-thirds of all the homes in India have Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and many OTT platforms. Two-thirds of homes have internet enabled TV-connected devices, like Apple TV, Google Chrome cast, and Amazon Fire TV. Fragmentation focuses on two major approaches such as individual viewer and analysing the distribution of audience on sets of television stations: ● Individual viewer: It analyses the choice of an individual audience member by using theories related to selective exposure and often use “channel repertoires” for classification of the television viewers. This approach mainly requires tracing behaviour of an individual viewers
munotes.in

Page 124


124 Introduction to Television Studies ● Distribution of audience: Distribution of the audience can be analysed by illustrating bar graphs, Charts which show television stations which are arranged from most to least popular. It also involves concentration ratio which defines top viewing stations. check your progress 1) What is called followership fragmentation ? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) write the two main approaches on which fragmentation focuses. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) Short note on segmentation ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9.4 PRIORITIZATION When there was only Doordarshan, the whole family's entertainment was more important. So news, sports, agriculture, entertainment, movies, concerts and series were all on the same channel. In the early days of satellite channels, Doordarshan also jumped on the popularity of reality shows. There was a lot of government dominance over the policies of
designing the program. There were many interesting programs on television like 'Humlog', 'Buniyad', 'Malgudi Days', 'Tenali Raman', 'Vikram Vetal'. Doordarshan gained lots of popularity due to the 'Ramayana' series. Since there was no competition from any other channels at that time, television programs were the means of home entertainment. Hence Doordarshan was a government medium, until the early 1990's it was
munotes.in

Page 125


125
Segmentation, Fragmentation
and Prioritization with Special
Reference to India. not possible for producers to produce programs from outside. Doordarshan used to generate advertising revenue through them. Senior producers had to buy a certain slot to show their program in those particular slots, also it was the same for commercials. Producers used to do the job of selling ads. The cost of producing the series and the revenue from advertising did not match. The simultaneous commercials across the country on television programs and the revenue generated from them were seen by many as a great business opportunity. In addition, the economic reforms introduced by the Narasimha Rao government in 1991 allowed private companies to launch television services on a limited basis in the broadcasting sector. This opportunity was taken by Zee and Star in 1992. The following year, Eenadu and Sun TV in the south also joined the business. Zee Channel was started in Hindi, Zee Cinema and Zee News were two separate channels. In 1999, five more channels were started. Alpha Marathi was one of them. Zee made a huge expansion. Today, they cover around 54 channels in 10 languages.
On the other hand, Star produced programs. The channel's parent company was Rupert Murdoch, a world-renowned media mogul. Star Plus started with Zee in 1992. But 2001 to 2010 was a period of growth for Star India. Star also launched channels in Kannada and Tamil languages like Star Suvarna, Vijay Super to reach the southern audience. Today, the Star Group has 26 channels, including three Hindi, seven regional and sports. Star experimented with Gujarati and Marathi channels but did not have enough success. The Sony channel was launched in 1995. They focused more on cities than regional channels. They started a Bengali channel but it did not last long. Set Max, which started for movies, later entered the sport.. The 'Viacom18' group arrived late and entered the Indian market in 1997 with the launch of MTV. Their beginnings were different. Until then, this segment was completely ignored in the television market. Viacom later launched VH1, Nickelodeon. But they started aggressively in the General Entertainment segment, launching a channel called Colors after 2010 and taking over ETV's entertainment channels.
munotes.in

Page 126


126 Introduction to Television Studies Apart from this, groups’ emergence of news channels like CNN, IBN, India Today, NDTV were started. Launch of informational programs like Discovery and National Geographic in the Indian market took place. Sports channels came late, but they broke many established structures and created a new market. It was Zee and Star who initially dominated the entertainment space. Sony was somewhat in competition. And now the pair has also landed on Viacom as the number of these channels increased, so did the competition between them. 9.4.1New experiments began: 9.4.1.1 Experiments with entertainment channels General Entertainment Channel (GEC) is the most cherished concept of people in the field of television . There was a huge gap hidden in it. Private channels took over the space very fast and in a competitive manner. In fact, the GEC was the face-changing component of television. The entire focus of channels came in 1992 and in the near future was on GEC. So those who initially like news, sports, movies, all sorts of things got in the way, and gently set them free, emphasizing them as a source of entertainment. There were two most popular types of entertainment industry. One is a series and the other is a reality show. In both cases there was a complete digestive tract. Without these two, Indian entertainment television cannot be complete.
Hit shows on star plus After the advent of private channels, they started to change the look of the series, the two series 'Kyunki.' And 'Kahani ' changed everything and its credit goes to Star Plus. Viewers enjoyed watching a whole different world of rich houses, gleaming offices, characters wearing 24 hours of makeup. Lokprabha had conducted a survey in 2013 on the habit of watching series among women. The most important thing that is realized from this survey is that all these audiences have become virtual friends with TV with the exception of a few series, the reality of virtual friendship is still very much alive today.
munotes.in

Page 127


127
Segmentation, Fragmentation
and Prioritization with Special
Reference to India. Although TV series have received a lot of criticism in the last few years, the audience they get and, of course, the benefits they get from advertising are very noticeable. In fact, even today, any general entertainment channel has to spend 50-60% of its total budget for the production of the series. Reality show was completely new to the Indian audience. Its reality was the real test. One such type of Indian was known because of the Bournvita Quiz Contest. The experiment, started by Cadbury in 1972, was later heard on the radio. Zee brought the experiment live on TV in 1992. It was a form of direct intelligence. Although Kaun Banega Crorepati was released on American TV in 2000, apart from glamor and money, intelligence was the key factor. But it lacked music, dance, as well as flamboyance that would give people something to look at. The strategy behind this was to get people involved in what's going on the small screen. It was done to increase the audience and at the same time to get advertisements Although the 1997 reality show 'Colgate Jail Boogie Woogie' was mentioned as the first reality show on private channels, the musical reality show 'Closeup Tak Dhina Dhin' was started on Mumbai Doordarshan in 1996. It was difficult to get such a show with the help of television. Then came Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000, which attracted a large audience. Calling it a television game show or a reality show is a different matter. But the program, which started in 2000, is still going strong. Star Plus did this show for the first 10 years and since then it has been presenting Sony TV till today. There were many shows in this background, even in Marathi, but no one came up with the idea of Kaun Banega or got any success. In 2004, Indian Idol was launched on Sony in the style of American Idol. It too gained a similar storm of popularity. Private channels got to reach the masses directly. Watching the series was like watching a story on a small screen. The story may have added to the personal experience of the audience, and if not, it was a dream come true. But beyond that the audience doesn’t want to be connected to the series. But the reality show got a chance to present something directly to the general public. The show has seemed a bit unfocused in recent episodes, but the show has seemed a bit unfocused in recent episodes. And it is certain that many of them were able to try their luck in singing, acting and other art forms.
munotes.in

Page 128


128 Introduction to Television Studies In fact, the reality show was almost a copy of American TV. Only those that were rooted in the Indian way continued to grow. The channels that followed this policy survived. Then the question of who is presenting this show and how big of an actor remains separate. Even so, owning one is still beyond the reach of the average person. Most of the shows look like their Indian form by buying the rights from somewhere. Although they are successful, there is no denying the fact that these are not original shows. This was also seen in the recently successful 'Marathi Bigg Boss'. 9.4.1.2 The chorus of sports channels Sony Channel currently owns the rights to broadcast football, kabaddi, badminton and hockey. The recent FIFA World Cup has been watched by over 400 million spectators. "Every time cricket is broadcast in India, it has an audience, but other sports also have an audience," Sony officials said. A new market was created by organizing the games in a different way instead of the games organized by the sports organizations. One of the pre-IPL events to mention here is the Champions League. It was started by Zee Vahini's Subhash Chandra; But she did not get the response she deserved; But the IPL that followed opened up a new market for sports and channels as well. Sports channels get a new audience. With a view to capturing the local sports market, Star TV launched a league of sports including hockey, football, badminton and kabaddi. The experiment failed in some sports, but sports like kabaddi gained immense popularity. In view of the sports league and the market created by it, the entertainment Zee Youth channel has also acquired the rights to broadcast the wrestling league. Officials at Sony Channel say that the Pro-Wrestling League, Pro-Volleyball League and other matches on Sony Channel also have a good audience. Sony has recently acquired the rights to the Cricket Champions League for three years, while Star has acquired the rights to broadcast the IPL for the next five years. The journey on the sports channels is a competition in the overall market, in fact, it is more exciting than the sport. 9.4.1.3 The ups and downs of the news channels It was only during the time of television that it was realized that TV is not just a means of entertainment but also a means of conveying many things like news, news series to a large number of people at the same time. But television was the government medium. Pranab Roy used to present the program 'World This Week' on the same television in 1988. The show has seemed a bit unfocused in recent episodes of New Delhi Television. Later, the same company came to be known as NDTV as a private news channel. Today there is a huge crowd of news channels across the country. Such channels can be seen even in small towns. Key groups like ABP Network, NDTV, India Today and Network 18 are working in it. munotes.in

Page 129


129
Segmentation, Fragmentation
and Prioritization with Special
Reference to India. News networks The value of any news is in its freshness. Therefore, when the news channels came, it was important for them to see the incident immediately and get information about it. But for that I had to sit in front of the TV. But today, the same thing has been done by the smartphone resting on the palm of the hand. Rajiv Khandekar makes the same point about the competition of the future. He says that 25-30% of the viewers of news channels have turned to digital media. He points out that this category will continue to grow as digital media is convenient and beneficial for the audience. An important aspect of the rise of news channels, beyond the entertainment channels, is their ability to influence the minds of a particular class of people. So, just as the political parties have a knack for gaining a foothold in the sector, so too do the big industry groups. Reliance's acquisition of Network18 in 2014 is a testament to that. 9.4.1.4 Channel movies and Infotainment The method of broadcasting films on television was the same even in the days of television. Later private channels also used this method, while some started separate channels for special films. But beyond that, some channels started directing films. Foreign studios and channels have invested in it, but the channels here are not far behind. Zee Studios, Fox Star Studios, Viacom 18, Sony have come a long way. The battle over how to get the movie on the airwaves soon began. Sony Max first premiered. Film production under the banner of channels became the norm for the film. The sale of satellite rights on satellite channels created a new source of income for filmmakers. Of course the channels had an advantage in this business. Because not all audiences go to certain cinemas. They got a new opportunity to watch movies on TV and the channels got a chance to earn revenue from advertisements during those movie screenings. The channels not only took the right to distribute the satellite but also selected the finished film, but from time to time they got involved in the production, promotion, presentation and distribution of the film. While this formula may be very profitable, it is clear that these channels have given a good market to good movies. The latest example is Sairat in Marathi. It was part of the business, though some say it created a monopoly.

munotes.in

Page 130


130 Introduction to Television Studies
Star value is an important factor in making films in Hindi, often with channel studios. The meaning of Hindu films is more star based. However, the studios of some channels produce live Hindu films. Most recently, Viacom 18 produced Manto, Andhadhun. This expansion of the series, which goes beyond the reality show, extends to a few more elements. Over the past year, Zee Marathi has also created a website for drama production, Diwali issues and marriage matching. In the early days of private channels, although the focus was on general entertainment and to some extent on sports, the infotainment segment gained much traction in the later stages. There are currently six channels in the Food and Lifestyle section. The Food for Food channel was started by renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor. The channel has made good progress in the last seven years and in the first three-four years it had gained the same viewership as Hindi entertainment channels. Now the channel's competition includes Living Foods, NDTV Good Times, Travel XP, TLC, Home Shop 18 channels. Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor was the ambassador of some food products in the FMCG market. Since they started the channel, many home kitchen products have come to their channel. As a result, the channel's profits increased in the first three to four years.

munotes.in

Page 131


131
Segmentation, Fragmentation
and Prioritization with Special
Reference to India. His journey from chef to his own channel, which presents programs on other channels, seems to have a huge scope in the field of television as a whole. Discovery, National Geographic and their independent channels gained a foothold in the Indian market. At present, there is scope for independent subjects like history. Apart from this, there is a separate chapter of cartoon channels created with children in mind. However, one segment that has gained tremendous viewership on the television screen is the religious, spiritual series. This type of channel in the region operates on completely different policies. The expansion of all the channels across the country is so huge that it is not possible to record all of them here. But here are some of the important trends that have emerged since the advent of satellite channels. First the Hindi channels, then the sports, the news section, then the regional channels (mainly Marathi, Bengali and the four languages of the South) and later the films, lifestyle, etc. It also shows the emphasis of many groups on regional channels in the last four years. Looking at the division of the television audience, in South India, the local language is more important. But at the same time, this dollar is only for providing many entertainment options by adding Hindi and English This is standing. It will continue to grow in the years to come . The current sore throat competition of TV channels has become a habit of those working in these channels. Technology is everywhere today. Whether it's OTT or living room TV, the challenge is to create good content. Therefore, Aparna Bhosale thinks that the current competition is better and more meaningful. The fact that OTT and TV audiences are different is something that is currently accepted. But what is the probability that this will continue in the
munotes.in

Page 132


132 Introduction to Television Studies future? It would be more appropriate to say that this medium is complementary. Because even today, not everything in OTT content is original. But when they can afford to create such original content, the math may have changed. Today, many channel programs are available for free on apps. On the other hand, such channels have to be paid for through cable or DTH. Check your progress 1) Write about the ups and downs of news channels . ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) Write in brief about channels as infotainment source . ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) Discuss the journey of TV in detail ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9.5 LET'S SUM IT UP If you look at the journey of TV till today, it is important to change the habit. Affordable TVs have reached even the lowest echelons today. The main reason is that it is an affordable means of entertainment for all. TV has worked to change people's habits. The same statement is being made today by OTT content delivery platforms. In view of this, it is certain that the habitual and affordable means of entertainment of the people today will have to be maintained in the future as well. 9.6 QUESTIONS  Discuss affordability and the rise of television  Discuss sports on TV  Discuss the rise of television  References munotes.in

Page 133


133
Segmentation, Fragmentation
and Prioritization with Special
Reference to India. 9.7 REFERENCES Promotion and Marketing Communications. (2020). United Kingdom: IntechOpen. The End of Television? Its Impact on the World (So Far). (2009). India: SAGE Publications. Kaser, K., Oelkers, D. B. (2007). Sports and Entertainment Marketing. United States: Cengage Learning.  munotes.in

Page 134

134 10 TELEVISION GENRE Unit Structure : 10.0 Objective 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Television Genres and subgenres 10.3 Let’s sum it up 10.4 Questions 10.5 References 10.0 OBJECTIVE Television is that the main medium of mass -media as television is audio and visual medium, it is useful for both: the one that cannot read or for the one who cannot see. It gives us knowledge about all around the world. There are numerous main and sub genres of television. Television is also a good medium for entertainment, knowledge, education, etc. in our language. Television means “Doordarshan” and is now called TV. 10.1 INTRODUCTION Any sort of discourse, whether in written or spoken form, audible or visible, or it should either be supported some set of style criteria is referred to as a genre. "Genre" is the term that is used for any form of literature or any other art or culture, such as music. In general, any kind of discourse should either be supported some set of stylistic criteria. “A particular style of film, music, or writing is referred to as a "genre." It has a large number of defining characteristics. Each genre on television has its own distinct approaches to storytelling, characters, dialogue, comedic timing, and aesthetic flourishes.
Various TV Genres Image courtesy: Google
munotes.in

Page 135


135
Television Genre 10.2 TELEVISION GENRE Here are some of the TV genres and their sub-genres: 1) News:
The portion of the model that depicts what Harrison refers to as "pure news" can be found in the middle. This means that news stories, such as elections or the passing of a notable person, were discussed on all of the programmes. The agendas of news channels typically include the broadcasting of debates, information about current events and topics, the reality of society, a voice speaking out against violence, programmes focusing on education and health advice, as well as information about various government policies and issues. The print media is the first to study what is going on, conduct research, and then broadcast on their channel with factual and statistical information. Included in the category of news programming are local evening news, national midday broadcasts on cable networks, and programming that always airs on Fridays or weekends that provides a recap of the previous week's events. There are programmes on certain networks that are devoted entirely to sports news. Participating in the production of news might expose you to a dynamic and ever-changing environment. It is possible that you will have very stringent deadlines, and you will need to be ready to adjust the focus of a story or locate a replacement article in the event that a contributor backs out or an editor has a change of heart. Those that add news are typically trained journalists who have a history in regional radio or television news. Due to the fact that newsroom budgets have been slashed in recent years, presenters sometimes have to film their own stories or compete for the job of a single trained employee who is responsible for filming, sound, and lighting. The topics covered in the stories are extremely varied, and reading them will take you all over the world. If you are able to break an incredibly big story or locate an extremely fantastic contributor, you may experience a lot of success as a result. Careers in the news complement careers in other genres like as documentaries, factual programmes, sports, and entertainment due to the fact that all of these genres have a 'live' or unpredictable component, which means that no two days are ever the same.
munotes.in

Page 136


136 Introduction to Television Studies 2) TV documentaries or features (factual television): The genre of nonfiction television programmes known as documentaries or factual television records real-life occurrences as well as the lives of real people. Documentaries, observational documentaries, fly-on-the-wall documentaries, docudramas, and reality television are some of the other names for these types of programmes. Documentary theatres is another name for this type of venue. This can be related with the real world, historical events, significant problems, facts about society, problems with nature, and other similar topics. A show that is nonfictional and is based on a real-life event is called a docudrama. There are instances when true-crime stories are featured in docudramas, while other times they focus on
more motivational topics. It's all about dialogue, which may include the actual words of real-life people because they were recorded in historical documents. The whole thing revolves around that. It is not uncommon for the makers of docudramas to decide to shoot their reenactments of historical events at the exact sites where those events took place in the past. For example, the assassination attempt on Subash Chandra Bose, the terrorist attack on the Taj Mahal, the film Neerja, etc. 3) Documentaries, magazine shows, arts and culture, history, politics, science, nature, travel shows, and conversation shows are some examples of the endless variety of programmes that fall under the category of factual programming. All factual shows are scripted in some fashion or another (some scripts are put together in post-production, whereas others are only loosely scripted in pre-production, and then have a separate commentary script written in post-production). The Editorial Department, whose members typically come from a journalistic background and are familiar with how to conduct research for true stories, is responsible for writing the factual scripts, in contrast to the Drama Scripting Department, which is responsible for writing the drama scripts. A significant amount of the factual content is driven by the presenter or a celebrity. A camera-friendly historian or a comedian-turned-adventurer are two examples of this type of person. Because the budgets for factual content are notoriously low, the crew and production staff are typically given more responsibilities than those working in drama. Furthermore, crew members working in factual content frequently become multi-skilled in order to land a steady stream of contracts. In the beginning, you will
munotes.in

Page 137


137
Television Genre most likely start out as an office runner, a junior researcher, and a logger or location runner. You will be given jobs that would have traditionally been given to researchers or assistant producers, and training will be given on the job, unless you are employed in-house at a broadcaster like the BBC, who nurture their talent by sending them on training programmes where possible. You will learn quickly because you will be given jobs that would have traditionally been given to researchers or assistant producers, and training will be given on the job. People who work in factual television often transition into careers in news, entertainment, or children's television, where their journalistic skills are put to use. These careers require the individual to be able to thrive in an extremely high-pressure environment, travel to fascinating locations, and adapt to unpredictable schedules. 4) Talk show: A broadcast or radio programme known as a chat show or chat show is one in which a single person or group of individuals discuss a variety of themes that have been presented by an interview show host. Regardless of the topic that is going to be covered on the show during that particular episode, the guests are almost always people that have a great deal of experience and expertise in that particular field. Sometimes just one guest will come in and talk about their experience in the field with the host and the co-host. On a consistent basis, call-in shows will take live phone calls from members of the audience that is receiving the broadcast. Television programmes known as talk shows or chat shows facilitate two-way conversations between the show's hosts and any guests they may have on the programme. Talk programmes broadcast during the day and in the morning on weekdays attract sizable viewers, but the most famous talk shows are broadcast in the late evening, after midnight. The majority of discussion shows discuss not only politics but also popular culture and current affairs. 5) Children's program:
Children's television is branching out into new areas as a result of the booming video-on-demand market, with companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime recently announcing increased funding for teen-oriented shows. This is typically really good news for the production businesses that are responsible for making children's programming, particularly those
munotes.in

Page 138


138 Introduction to Television Studies who are independent production companies. Working on children's television is not at all like performing in studio productions of dramas, sitcoms, or soap operas. Despite this, all of these shows follow the same production processes, and everyone adheres to commissioned scripts and predetermined production timelines. There is some children's programming that is more fact-based (for example, science, nature, or mathematics), or that will include documentary components; in this case, production will still work to scripts, but the editorial staff must have research abilities so that they can uncover facts. If you wanted to work in children's television, you would most likely begin your career as a studio runner or office runner for a production company that specialises in children's television, an independent production business, or a broadcaster that has in-house studio facilities. After working as a runner for six to twelve months, you will make the decision to transition into editorial, where you will begin your career as a junior researcher. In this role, you will be responsible for recruiting contributors to take part in the programme, locating stories, and aiding on shoots. You will get the opportunity to present on camera; children's television has produced a number of presenters who have gone on to have successful careers in other fields (for example, Phillip Schofield, Anthea Turner, and Ferne Cotton). If you prefer working in a studio setting, a different career path would be to start as an assistant floor manager and work your way up to floor manager. It would be a nice addition to other types of content like comedies, dramas, documentaries, and entertainment shows. When children are awake in the morning and afternoon, children's programming is typically created with them in mind, marketed specifically to them, and broadcast during those times. The primary goals of this show are to specifically educate and entertain its audience. Children are ultimately provided with a moral lesson through the various types of shows that are available. In addition to this, they offer an experience similar to that of a dream world, complete with mystical elements, fairy tales, fantasy, fantasy, video games, and so on. Check your progress 1. Name some edutainment shows for children ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Name some talk shows and analyze their content ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 139


139
Television Genre 3. What are documentaries? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5) Talent Hunt shows: The primary idea behind these types of programmes is that people or young people who have skill that they are not widely known for bring it to the forefront by participating in these types of shows. On game shows, groups of contestants or participants called from the audience attempt to solve puzzles or provide correct answers to trivia questions, and if they are successful, they are awarded prizes. The talents of the show's guests are showcased during variety shows. Variety events feature a wide range of performances, such as stand-up comedy routines, musical acts, and dance numbers. Variety programmes emerged from theatre shows performed during the Victorian era. They reached their zenith on television in the United States during the middle of the twentieth century, although some continue to air even today. 6) Reality television: The term "reality shows" refers to an umbrella
category that encompasses a wide variety of television programmes that are based on real people and are also referred to as "favoured factual television." The genre of reality shows can be placed anywhere in the middle of the entertainment, informational, and dramatic spectrums. Programming for reality programmes is typically unscripted and focuses on true life events as they are taking place, typically involving members of the general public or groups of famous people. The producers of reality shows usually come up with the show's premise and characters, but the show itself is usually improvised. The participant's actual reactions and responses to the authentic creation are captured on camera and then altered afterwards according to the requirements of the programme or the story. Reality television has a propensity to put the spotlight on regular people rather than prominent figures. While some reality shows take the form of competitions, others purport to be representations of various aspects of the
munotes.in

Page 140


140 Introduction to Television Studies real world. A great number of reality television shows combine the two, adding an element of competition to real-life activities such as dating or house improvement. 7) Soap opera A soap opera is a continuing work of fiction that is presented in episodes and is typically broadcast on television or radio. They have been around as a form of entertainment for a sufficient amount of time for viewers to Recognise them simply by using the word soap. The term "soap" refers to the fact that they began as radio broadcasts, in which numerous soap manufacturers participated as advertisers of the show. The open-ended nature of soap operas is the primary characteristic that sets them apart from stories of other types. The kind of television-supported fiction that is known as soap operas air daily. Nowadays, everyone is familiar with a variety of different types of calm soap operas, including daily soaps, weekly soaps, Douc soaps, reality soaps, documentary reality soaps, genre soaps, and so on. The term "soap opera" originates from the detergent firms that used to sponsor daytime dramas aimed at housewives around the middle of the 20th century. Soap operas are known for their tendency to have melodramatic plotlines and unrealistic storylines. There are certain soap operas that are more like medical dramas, while others focus more on love stories. The prime-time soaps get a massive amount of viewership. Sports: Programming devoted to sporting events consistently pulls in some of the highest ratings across the board for television. In contrast to many other forms of media, sporting events are frequently televised live, which infuses the viewing experience with a sense of immediacy and urgency. The business of sports broadcasting is competitive, as seen by the fact that networks are constantly engaged in bidding wars in order to win the rights to screen premium sporting events, as well as fewer frequent but more prominent global tournaments such as the Olympics and hence the tourney. There is a possibility that live events and discussion shows, post-match analyses, and other spin-off content will be entertaining, but they can be difficult to follow. Outside broadcasting (OB) has its difficulties, but if you enjoy watching sports, you'll probably find that you appreciate working in this setting, and having knowledge of the history or logistics of sports will put you at an advantage when applying for jobs in this field. If you have experience producing factual content, such as documentaries or news broadcasts, you will find it easy to transition into the world of sports production. The shift from a job in the performing arts to a job in athletics may be extremely challenging but is not completely out of the question. 8.) Sketch comedy: Several types of sketch comedies as an example A variety of funny skits involving more than one person are presented in a sketch comedy show. munotes.in

Page 141


141
Television Genre
These shows feature a wide variety of comedic techniques, ranging from silly slapstick to biting satire. The term "sketch comedy" refers to a type of comedy in which a group of comedic actors or comedians perform a series of brief, humorous scenes or vignettes known as "sketches." These "sketches" typically range in length from one to ten minutes and are called "sketches." The shape first appeared in vaudeville, where it quickly gained popularity, and it is now used extensively in variety shows, comedic talk shows, and even several sitcoms and television programmes geared towards children. The skits can either be improvised live by the actors, produced through improvisation prior to public performance, or plotted out and rehearsed in advance in the manner of a play. It is common practise for sketch comedians to identify their work from that of "skit" comedians, who say that a "skit" may be a (single) dramatised joke (or "bit"), whereas a "sketch" could be a comic examination of an idea, character, or scenario. Comedy sketch comedians commonly differentiate their work from "skit" comedians. 10) Sitcoms:
Sitcoms, which can also be called "Situation Comedies," are a type of comedic television programme in which the characters all live in the same setting, such as an office or a house, and have comedic exchanges about their daily lives. These kind of programmes had their beginnings in radio, but nowadays, sitcoms make up a significant portion of the television industry and are one of the most prevalent storytelling styles there is. Sitcom, which is an abbreviation for "situational comedy," typically focuses on families, workplaces, or groups of friends and acquaintances.

munotes.in

Page 142


142 Introduction to Television Studies Some of them, known as multi-camera sitcoms, are filmed on stationary sets with many cameras placed in fixed positions throughout the set. These are referred to as single-camera sitcoms, and they differ from other types of sitcoms in that they are shot more similarly to feature films. There are animated versions of some sitcoms. 11) Romantic comedies: It is a light, comic movie or other work whose plot focuses on the event of a romantic relationship. This brings us to romantic comedies. They create money, spawn franchises, and are popular in books, movies, and on television. Closely associated with sitcoms, romantic comedies draw their humor from the absurdities of affection. Rom-coms enjoy dedicated audiences, although they often lack the sheer market share of sitcoms. 12) Teen dramas: A teen drama could be a genre or style of drama series with a significant Concentrate on teenage and young adult characters. It came into prominence within the early 1990s, especially with the recognition of the Fox series metropolis. They need a powerful sense of self. They don't seem to be lost and confused. They’re teenagers designed by adults, which makes a world of difference. Watching high-school TV-Shows allows you to relive an idealized version of your teen years, and picture how differently you'd do things. Teen dramas are geared toward teenagers and twenty-somethings. They be inclined to emphasize heightened situations to the purpose of bordering on melodrama. 13) Police procedurals:
A police procedural, or cop/detective procedural, may be a subgenre of detective fiction that Specialize in police investigation and investigations. In police procedural, the lead characters seek to resolve major crimes. Police procedurals follow a highly formulaic plot structure. Police procedural are such an enormous part of the mystery genre. They’re a subgenre of detective fiction that focuses on the investigation process of an officer or officers. Episodes begin with a criminal offense (whether against the law of passion or successful by a serial killer) and so cycle through an investigation, an arrest, and a few sorts of judicial justice. Some police thrillers double as courtroom dramas. Procedural dramas are generally very hip in broadcast syndication because the dearth of long-
munotes.in

Page 143


143
Television Genre term storylines makes it easier for viewers to tune for only one episode without feeling lost. 14) Sci-fi and fantasy:
This is a genre of film and tv that deals with futuristic concepts or technology like advanced Science, the exploration of space, time travel, parallel dimensions, and alien life. Fantasy and fantasy shows are popular on cable and streaming platforms. The fantasy genre and sci-fi genre can range from pseudo-historical epics to sci-fi dystopian noirs and may include everything from time travel sword battles to paranormal alien encounters. 15) Anime:
Anime is Japanese animation that is both hand-drawn and computer-generated. Outside of Japan and in English, anime refers to Japanese animation, notably Japanese animation. However, in Japan, anime (a term
munotes.in

Page 144


144 Introduction to Television Studies derived from a shortening of a people word animation) refers to all animated works, regardless of style or origin. Anime-influenced animation is defined as animation made outside of Japan in a style similar to Japanese animation. The first commercial Japanese animations were created in 1917. A distinct art style originated in the 1960s with the works of cartoonist Osamu Tezuka and flourished over the following decades, gaining a large domestic audience. Anime is delivered theatrically, on television, on home media, and on the internet. In addition to original works, anime is frequently based on Japanese comic books (manga), light novels, or video games. It is divided into several genres that target various wide and particular audiences. Anime has the potential to be a diversified medium with distinct production methods that have evolved in response to emerging technologies. It incorporates art, characterization, cinematography, and other inventive and distinctive techniques. In comparison to Western animation, anime production often concentrates on the detail of settings and the usage of "camera effects" such as panning, zooming, and angle shots. Diverse art styles are used, and character dimensions and characteristics can be highly different, with huge and emotional eyes being a regular distinguishing element. There are about 430 production businesses in the anime industry, including notable studios such as Studio Ghibli, Sunrise, Bones, Ufotable, MAPPA, CoMix Wave Films, and Toei Animation. Anime is a Japanese genre that includes comic books, video games, movies, and television. Some anime takes the form of Saturday morning cartoons aimed at youngsters. Other anime focuses on edgy topics aimed at teenagers and adults. 16) DRAMA ON TELEVISION: The budget for TV dramas varies greatly, which influences the size of the Crew that is used and the resources available for the assembly. Working in drama is similar to working on a film, however television budgets are often smaller, unless it's a spectacular worldwide co-production such as the BBC's 'Versailles,' which cost a stunning £24 million for ten episodes. Both genres work from a Commissioned script, employ a skilled creative and technical crew to film the action, and take significantly longer to produce than factual content (unless you're filming a year in the life of an arctic fox). Cast and crew can happily switch between drama and film work, while production departments are smaller and have more responsibilities on television shows. People who are used to working in drama and film may be tempted to read music videos, comedy and children's television, particularly big budget live action shows like horrible histories or Hank Zipper. News, documentary, factual, sports, and live broadcasts are genres that contrast with drama. It is not impossible to shift from a job in drama to a career in live or factual programming - but the transition is steeper, and so the pace differs. Those who work on live broadcasts (sports, news) must be quick, tenacious, and ready to meet deadlines and work under pressure. munotes.in

Page 145


145
Television Genre 17) COMEDY
Sitcoms, panel shows, stand-up, satire, and sketch shows are just a few examples of TV comedy programming. Most of those sub-groups (excluding stand-up) are produced in a similar manner to TV drama - they work from a screenplay, use locations and studio set-ups, adhere to a group schedule, and use a mix of creative, administrative, and technical personnel. Budgets vary, although they often require less than drama productions, with lower production quality. Arise performances are produced in the manner of entertainment shows, with an audience and a rigorous timetable (covering sooner or later - or one evening), with no room for error. These shows are meticulously planned and practised in advance. Rigging is frequently difficult if the performance is taking place in a remote area rather than a studio that has already been outfitted with soundproofing, stage lighting rigs, green rooms, and so on. If you start your career in comedy production (for example, as a floor runner on 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown), you'll eventually move on to big studio sensations like Strictly Come Dancing and Britain's Got Talent, as these shows are all produced by studios. You might want to switch to drama or children's television, which have comparable working settings - however you'll probably get to travel more because these types of shows often use a single location, similar to certain studio set-ups. 18) ENTERTAINMENT
Entertainment shows

munotes.in

Page 146


146 Introduction to Television Studies Entertainment programmes are typically lighter and family-friendly, having a comedy, competition, or talent component. Studio game shows, award shows, variety shows, talk shows (such as So Graham Norton), vehicles, cookery, and reality TV shows are all examples of entertainment. These are the shows that receive the highest ratings and are given prime time on television because they require mass appeal and are very watchable/formulaic. Entertainment shows have large budgets and frequently attract famous presenters and participants. The repetitive structure of several of the most popular entertainment shows (Strictly, Big Brother, I'm a celebrity, etc.) necessitates strict production timetables, and staff will frequently return year after year because they enjoy the comfort of working with the same colleagues and on-screen talent. Check Your Progress 1) Short note on sports genre. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2) Write a short note on Entertainment genre: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3) Write a short note on TV documentaries ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10.3 LET’S SUM IT UP Television genre is essential because it helps viewers identify and locate programming that aligns with their interests and preferences. It allows broadcasters and producers to target specific audiences and tailor their content to meet the needs and expectations of their viewers.By categorizing television programs into genres, networks can create a programming schedule that offers a diverse range of content, appealing to a broader audience. This helps to increase the viewership and overall success of the network and its programs.Additionally, TV genres help to establish expectations and conventions for particular types of programming. For example, viewers expect a drama to have complex characters, emotional depth, and a strong plot. In contrast, they expect comedy to be humorous and light-hearted. These conventions help to establish a common language among viewers and facilitate discussions and analysis of TV programming.Moreover, TV genres have commercial munotes.in

Page 147


147
Television Genre implications, as advertisers often target specific genres to reach their desired demographic. By understanding the genre of a TV program, advertisers can create more effective and targeted marketing campaigns.Overall, the importance of television genre lies in its ability to facilitate content discovery, establish conventions, create targeted programming schedules, and drive commercial success. 10.4 QUESTIONS Why do we study television genres Mention three important tv genre and analyse them Analyze sports genre 10.5 REFERENCES The Television Genre Book. (2015). United Kingdom: British Film Institute. Mittell, J. (2013). Genre and Television: From Cop Shows to Cartoons in American Culture. (n.p.): Taylor & Francis. Shuster, M. (2017). New Television: The Aesthetics and Politics of a Genre. United Kingdom: University of Chicago Press.  munotes.in

Page 148

148 11 WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF TELEVISION CONTENT? Unit Structure : 11.0 Objectives 11.1 Introduction 11.2 About Television Content 11.3 Who is the Author of Television Content? 11.3.1 Authorship of Television Content. 11.4 Concepts and Television Content 11.4.1 Style and Stylistics of Television Content 11.4.2 Genre Study in Television Content 11.5 Lets sum it up 11.6 Questions 11.7 Bibliography 11.0 OBJECTIVES After reading this unit you will be able to understand: a) The deeper insight into television and television content. b) The author of television content c) Various components involved in building television content. 11.1 INTRODUCTION A large audience talks about television, it becomes obvious that this medium has fully become a part of their lives and that not even one day goes into knowing the television closely. But why is television being studied? It is just a device that you can operate and swipe channels across. Wrong. As people study and try to understand certain cultural beliefs and practices, the question with regards to content building for television always remains unanswered. The heavily collaborative and standardized nature of most television production depends on the content that is produced, and with television producers trying to get the audience’s attention, television has gone through the test of time. With the medium dealing approaches that are detrimental enough to study and comprehend certain behavioral yet textural words, certain cultural beliefs and practices that goes into building a narrative and a non-narrative structure would then be used into building a question that how television came into life. munotes.in

Page 149


149
Who is The Author of
Television Content? Although television has set in a revolution amongst the masses, it still brings people to wonder whether it could impact society wholly. It may have taken its own time into making people believe about the type of content created around, but when it did, the response that have been received has been huge. Studies may have focused television in a larger way, but what has made television huger is the classification that helps people categorize and organize through a large list of channels and programs that are available. As television has moved away from the era where ‘must-watch programmes’ were once upon a time a craze, the liveliness and conception of audience as masses have slowly begun to decline. With the incoming of various streaming platforms and modes, moreover viewers choice along the lines of options that are available have dramatically increase. Television may have seen its change through the visual mode or through the settings applied, but the main aspect that remained is the concept of television content. Television content or television authorship displays the heavily collaborative and standardized nature of most television production. Although the question about content remains to be fraught, there are textual depictions that aid into establishing a reflection over style, genre, and various other formats of television fiction. Through this chapter, it is necessary to understand the notion that television authorship or content can have the ability to conceive factors that could support the theory in its’ entirety. Even though it becomes important to consider the content related place of television, it is precisely why television needs to be studied even more closely by the masses. After all, it is necessary to comprehend the fact that creators, whether they be of any medium, could exercise their control over their content, thus setting the tone and state, which would be of necessity when understanding television studies. 11.2 ABOUT TELEVISION CONTENT 21st century has been a decade that served television at its’ prime. With a revolution created over the medium, many terms and theories have still guided many throughout, and thus it has created a more sociology-of-culture approach for the masses. Even though contemporary criticism needed a total change for developing academic as well as other industries, textual analysis has always found itself to have appeared authorless. As television has slowly paved its’ way into becoming a revolutionary medium with the inclusion of various modes and practices, the fact that the television industry rewards authorship through the path of credits, it leads people into recognizing television content to be a part of the drama of work. By establishing a reflection over factors such as style and categorizing them over analyzing in certain formats of television fiction, authorship or having a hold over content gets advanced into knowing the importance of screenwriters or authors in the process. Even though television comprises of various kinds of texts that help the masses decipher terms or texts, it also greatly includes programs, commercials, news related programs that help build up the medium to a larger scale. But for now, the main question that mainly arises over the people’s minds is about how certain characteristics munotes.in

Page 150


150 Introduction to Television Studies of television studies could aid into understanding variables or dimensions present in a specific way. A cultural basis for analyzing television examines the shortcomings that could hence bring out certain complexities like style, resonance, narrativity, history, and so on, thus bringing all these factors in favor of the television content, in a more objective manner. While the idea of producing content has travelled through times into playing a meaningful role in the minds of the masses, by gathering various insights and results it is thus proven that through various collaborative models like socially networked platforms, globally creative traditions and other social contexts, the idea behind television content is soon becoming more transformed, revitalized, and reimagined. As Manuel Alvarado states that television as a phenomenon is “both an industry as well as a set state of institution whose sole purpose is to expose itself continuously as no other set of institution does...”, the main goal that has always stayed in for television is that to acknowledge the importance and the achievements that have been gained throughout the work on television content and authorship. While the topic of television itself brings in heaps of topics, issues, and subtopics for debates, thus calling in for ownership and control of the industry. By drawing certain insights from the so called television culture being spread across, it is thus proved in that the authorship and content production of television has built in an all-powerful agent that has created a more centralized yet a commercial scenario, which has, hence built in a manner that it is disabled from any kind of confinement and is being encouraged towards building enough subjectivities that would help into linking people across cultures and allowing ideas to sprout. 11.3 WHO IS THE AUTHOR OF TELEVISION CONTENT? While the collision of cinematic taste has brought in several inevitable tasks, auteurism or auteur theory had already become a part of the television world since the early 1990’s. As television comprised of various modes such as program, commercials, news, etc., the idea of a popular narrative entertainment can be taken as a serious achievement, and it thus concludes that television can act as an auteur as well. Though the characteristics of these so-called features present display a uniqueness and thus it catches the eye of every film or television series making person. When people investigate the works of famous people, it is brought to notice that usually it is important that a book, poem, film, or television show is required to express the individual’s personality. Moreover, as commercial television shows have been dominated by long running episodic television, it is thus being sensed that various program ideas have been researched and worked upon, and thus the hold that an author or content developer keeps over areas deemed to be important for the medium, the discussion over producing genres and styles necessary for television has always been of great importance. munotes.in

Page 151


151
Who is The Author of
Television Content? 11.3.1 Authorship Of Television Content? Before coming to the part of who formulated the television content or authorship in its’ entirety, it is necessary to understand the theory behind knowing the television content much better. To describe in the words of Andrew Sarris – “Auteur theory does not have a definite meaning in English language.” But as and when the theory started to reign over the television and film medium, it started to become even more clearer. While studying the theory, it is understood that a single individual must be the author of the work, for it to be a good work. As Francois Truffaut, the real “author” of the theory draws contrast over the directors for film and television, he calls them to be ‘showrunners’, the ones who oversee the writing. With auteurism critics working over the lines of three interconnected lines, as described to be – a) First: The theme, structure, and style. In other words, having components that would deem to be useful. b) Second: Entire Career. A career would display how much of experience and techniques have been showcased. c) Third: ‘Art’ over money. Displaying the best work is necessary. For a critic, especially Andrew Sarris, it is the vision that plays a key role in getting the meaning of a particular element. While different directors work over different episodes in a television, there is often a problem of applying auteurism to television, thus showing that certain notions may not always be applicable. Sometimes, in the long run process, it is also observed that the structure and the conventions tend to overshadow the creativity, thus making auteur theory unnecessary. In this course, it is often brought to wonder then about who the real author is. Thus, in the words of the John Caldwell – “negotiated and collective authorship is an almost unavoidable and determining reality in contemporary film/television.” Check your progress What do you mean by authorship ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Who is the author of television content ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Discuss the role of the author ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 152


152 Introduction to Television Studies 11.4. COMPONENTS IN TELEVISION CONTENT. While television has become a medium serving various purposes of its own, there has been a renaissance of where the medium has been fueled by various innovations being produced in various technologies that has resulted into multiple streaming platforms emerging throughout the year. As an author’s job is to bring in a world view and style throughout the whole picture, there are times when different styles and features lead into understanding the theory behind television built even more clearly. Writers would speak loudly through the usage of certain words and analogies that would help carry the cultural sphere which is all about meaning making. Over the last decades, as current developments in television studies are leading into bringing a multimodal approach by keeping in mind certain methods and themes needed to apply in for the medium, the study of discourse in television has become important and key into providing variety of ranges and materials. With various factors and characteristics becoming even more detrimental into bringing more key information about television, the results that have been achieved have produced an increasing number of aesthetics as well as various stylistic and genre approach towards the study. After all, it is all about looking at a completely new way at how people engage with art and explore around various discoveries that have been associated with the nature in broadcast works. Although longstanding assumptions may let in certain interests to seep in, other studies have thus challenged by undertaking production processes that can be used for stylistics and genre-based expressions needed to gain in a hypothesis. Let us learn more about certain features of television that would help understand the concept even better: 11.4.1. Style and Stylistics in Television Content Although film has already reached its peak of success with regards to style and stylistics, it boils down to how would television operate on a more stylistic level. As television content would be more compelling and extraordinary, there is a mix of conceptual and analytical works that has let critics focus over certain traditions that have inherited forms and features important enough to understand the theory of television studies even further. By delving even more deep into the presence of style and stylistics in television content, the term ‘stylistic’ refers to the study of style. Since television signifies how style plays a role in specific television contexts, the analogy also indicates an era of when the medium was going through a certain radical transformation. Even though many factors have opposed various studies related to the presence of style and stylistics in television, German author Rudolf Arnheim has further stated that – “Television has become an instrument which does not offer any kind of new means for interpretation of reality”. Which means that the concept shapes other approaches to the medium. munotes.in

Page 153


153
Who is The Author of
Television Content? With a program’s overall use of mis-en-scene, sound, videography, editing, sound designing, there is a presence of a stylistician who would know more about the stylistic analysis. As certain elements become common in media studies, it has also been observed that style has changed over time, due to which some stylisticians favor a more refined and synchronic approach over a detailed one. While understanding the television stylistics even better, critics have categorized the term into four parts – a) Descriptive Stylistics To describe style even further, one must be able to describe about what style and functions would work over television. Even though semiotics would offer in a more comprehensive set of tools that would help get in certain statistics, early decades of television was very much concerned about grabbing in the large questions about the narrative form that illustrates verbal descriptions as well as shots in the form of columns and rows, diagrams of camera positions hence further grasping over camera movements, editing and so on. As John Fiske talks over the intertextual relations present in television, objectivity plays a key role into employing certain quantitative methods in the descriptive form. Even though the descriptive method would help rise in more interpretations and analysis of every frame present, description should just furthermore serve into providing more analysis into the whole descriptive spectrum. b) Analytic Stylistics Any attempt that is tried over interpreting stylistic description, falls into the general category of analytic stylistics which brings in an explicit or implicit assumptions about style’s purpose and function. While the stylistician examines within the textual system, there is a particular image being shown that places an emphasis over function that makes people want to understand the purpose of style at first. As Noel Caroll describes that the form of style displays an array of choices, he further distinguishes his approach from descriptive stylistics and serves in more functions in the end of every program. With all these characteristics present, television stylisticians have further contented that style can – i. Symbolise: Functioning symbolically where it suggests certain meanings that relates to the narrative of the character. ii. Decorate: Style could function in as a decoration when it exists for its own sake. Here there is no support for either narrative or themes. iii. Persuade: Here style could bring in an analysis of persuasive function by bringing in a material of editorials, sports commentaries, and commercials, displaying that style is a persuasive method. iv. Hail or Interpellate: Even though style’s persuasive and hailing function can prove to be the most obvious in commercials, munotes.in

Page 154


154 Introduction to Television Studies television very much relies over hailing that seeks into convincing people into something. v. Product Differentiation: Once the viewer has been hailed, the same premise of brand identities becomes necessary to differentiate. c) Evaluative Stylistics While efforts have been made in evaluative aesthetics, within television studies it can be used in a non-judgmental manner. Even though aesthetics has a long-standing history within various philosophical and historical traditions, studies have been evolved certain evaluation of the medium. With critics like Christine Geraghty advocating for evaluative stylistics, she further acknowledges and summarizes the notions that have been provided by Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu and makes judgements which are worth of study. Until television develops a certain form and system that would help evaluate and go beyond cultural norms, there might be certain hazards that would object into practicing evaluation further, thus leading it to be anti-aesthetic for television. d) Historical Stylistics In media studies, the fundamental approach to television style history is that which exists in economics, technology, industry standards and semiotic codes for which these elements have a semi-independent approach for the same. While David Bordwell in his Poetics of Cinema (2008) puts together certain contexts that elicits effects, it also includes “thematics” and “large scale forms” that would deal with certain materials and patterns which would exhibit certain forms and manners. By looking at this form of approach, it is thus brought to conclusion that the formal attributes of television bring out cultural meanings and assumptions that would lead into bringing out problem solving cases, and this would ultimately drive the history of the art. 11.4.2 Genre Study While every aspect of television relies mostly over genre, there are texts which have some generic identity that is being attached to it. Likewise, audiences have used genres to organize and practice projects and organize theoretical research that would explain the role of genres in the context of television. To understand the specific genre of television program, critics have adopted certain strategies that would help know the application of genre in television- a) Theory: which helps define the genre’s characteristics from a preexisting theory or a critical method. b) History: Relying more over cultural consensus. munotes.in

Page 155


155
Who is The Author of
Television Content? Many of the critics combine both strategies for the sake of practice and build up definitions for genre, thus making them fall under three main categories: i. Definition by presumed audience response: Programs presuming over how audience would respond over forms of texts like music, basically what would lie within the text. Nonfiction related texts would not fall under this category since it is not within text. ii. Definition by Stylistic Schemes: Even though it is one of the least common techniques in stylistic context, the schema becomes critical to distinguish it from other genres like serials, documentaries, and style of shooting. iii. Definition by Subject Matter: Describing over how the content is present in a narrative and non-narrative format and understanding certain themes behind the theory. 11.4.3 Semiotics in Television Study In the context of television, semiotics lets signs and images do the major talking part. While the assumption obviously lies over what kind of assumption would the audience carry, there are certain unconnected signs that would convey some meaning. As the philosopher Roland Barthes would consider the aspect to be relayed through media, there lies in a syntagmatic structure that would display in whether signs are organized in a linear or temporary pattern. As syntagmatic structures are more towards the linear side, paradigmatic structures show that it is vertical and has no particular time frame. Moreover, it is about the associations that is being made which thus brings meaning to the signifier. But where isn’t flaw present? Semiotics in television has its own flaw in the sense that the interpretation done by the viewer becomes underdeveloped, thus not allowing the interpreter to have certain means of accessing how signs and figures are understood within the media, thus making semiotics integral in television studies. Check your progress What do you mean by semiotics? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Why is genre studies important ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What is historical stylistics ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ munotes.in

Page 156


156 Introduction to Television Studies 11.5 LETS SUM IT UP In a nutshell, it is thus comprehended that television studies have more to offer. With countless techniques and features enabling to support certain arguments that are required to understand methods, it is brought to an understanding that television has been one medium that shows in a mirror to the world about countless number of components like content, authorship, semiotics, genre, and so on, thus making the medium to be prime one. 11.6 QUESTIONS a) Describe over the author of television content with examples. b) How is semiotics helping understand television content? Emphasize more in detail. 11.7 BIBLIOGRAPHY Institute of Historical Research (IHR), U. of L. and I. for the P. U. of the P. (n.d.). Semiotics. Semiotics - a method to study the media and how the abolition of slavery has been commemorated. Retrieved February 2, 2022, from https://archives.history.ac.uk/1807commemorated/media/methods/semiotics.html Mittell, J. (2004). Genre and Television: From Cop Shows to Cartoons in American Culture. United Kingdom: Routledge. Cardwell, Sarah. (2013). Stylistic analysis and beyond, in TV Aesthetics and Style, edited by Jason Jacobs and Steven Peacock. WILLIAMS, B. R., & FULTON, C. (1984). A STUDY OF VISUAL STYLE AND CREATIVITY IN TELEVISION. Journal of Film and Video, 36(1), 23–34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20687588 Bloomsbury.com. (n.d.). Television aesthetics and style. Bloomsbury. Retrieved February 2, 2022, from https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/television-aesthetics-and-style-9781441157515/ Butler, J.G. (2009). Television Style (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203879573 (2019). Television Authorship. obo in Cinema and Media Studies. doi: 10.1093/obo/9780199791286-0323 Thompson, G. (1990). Making Television: Authorship and the Production Process. United Kingdom: Praeger. munotes.in

Page 157


157
Who is The Author of
Television Content? The SAGE Handbook of Television Studies. (2014). United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. Caldwell, J. T. (1995). Tele visuality: Style, Crisis, and Authority in American Television. United States: Rutgers University Press. Woscoboinik, Emily, "Looking at Damon Lindelof and The Television Auteur" (2018). Scripps Senior Theses. 1085. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1085 Bignell, J. (2004). An Introduction to Television Studies. United Kingdom: Routledge. Sarris, A., 1962. Notes on The Auteur Theory in 1962. 1st ed. [ebook] New York. Available at: [Accessed 19 March 2015]. Picado, B., & Jacob de Souza, M. C. (2018). Dimensões da autoria e do estilo na ficção seriada televisiva. MATRIZes, 12(2), 53-77. https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1982-8160.v12i2p53-77  munotes.in

Page 158

158 12 REALISM, IDEOLOGY AND TELEVISION Unit Structure : 12.0 Objectives 12.1 The Role played by Realism in Television 12.2 Forms of Realism 12.2.1 Television’s Reality: Forms and Modes 12.2.2 Television’s Reality: Genre 12.3 Realism and Ideology 12.4 Lets sum it up 12.5 Questions 12.6 Bibliography 12.0 OBJECTIVES After reading this unit, you will be able to understand: a) The concept of Realism and Ideology in Television. b) The various forms and modes involved in understanding television. c) The ‘idea’ and ‘reality’ principles behind television studies. 12.1 THE ROLE OF REALISM IN TELEVISION Television has displayed significant development throughout the decades. With a distinct feature involved into highlighting certain key theories and points that would bring out the realist representation in the medium. Although it would seek in connections between different forms and would revolve around issues like ethics, politics, truth telling, and so on, television in particular would stick to forms that would bring out the complex, yet an aesthetic agenda that have been followed by filmmakers and story creators. While realism as a term can be defined in several ways, literary critics like Ian Watt traced the origin of the term to the time when novels had shown a rise in the 17th and 18th centuries. So along with empiricism and humanism, realism too, showed its existence. Basically for the critic, there is an absence of authorial invention, which is necessary for building a sense of liveliness and realisticness in television, could then coincide with the time that is required in to bring in the real time. There would be no, in general, any kind of satisfactory answers to many of the questions asked, but the views held in by the realists of the middle age show objects of sense perception, which, in other words, bring out the true ‘realism’. Even though television images are a result of certain mechanical processes, what becomes even more crucial into understanding is that aesthetic principles, economic choices, munotes.in

Page 159


159
Realism, Ideology
and Television technological limitations, basic structure of flow, interpretation, segmentation play in as factors that help shape and represent the reality factor. With the illusion of reality being paramount over quiz shows in the 1950’s, it still stands in as a fundamental component of televised competitions as well as news and sports programs and commercials. Although they may not display in the pure form of reality, it is still distinct from standard, scripted version of television fiction. Realism can be thus defined not just by its form, but also by its content and hence it produces the essence of the phenomenon in such a manner that is easily understandable. But as American philosopher John Fiske suggests that the real is “polymorphous”, he means that it has many shapes and styles that could open up various interpretations over the understanding of reality. In the end, it is the media that would determine what would be the actual image, thus emphasizing that the knowledge of reality is always beyond people’s sphere and is thus filtered through mass media. 12.2 FORMS OF REALISM As television is a popular cultural medium, the economics that runs behind the production and distribution, demands that it reaches a wider range across the globe. But while these differences between audiences and meaning operate in a constant tension, there is a common ground created where dominant ideology and textual conventions would bring out a certain historical experience for both producers and readers. 12.2.1 Television’s Reality: Forms and Modes Nonfiction television presents an image that brings along strategies and events which would be represented in a variety of ways. As new modes and forms bring out a new perspective over reality, the conventional mode of representation would increasingly become even more apparent and would thus bring over awareness over the norms. Some of the forms are as follows a) Expository Mode This mode acts as an essential component of an expository television text. Moreover, these texts take shape around commentary which were mainly directed towards an illusion or a counterpoint. It also further emphasizes the impression of objectivity and well sustained judgement. As it assertively selects and organizes the ‘facts’ of the world and presents them to the viewer in a direct address, this mode also supports the impulses through which knowledge is being produced and is in compliance with certain categories and concepts that are given in a particular place and time. While strange modes of exposition would qualify, it is only through evidences that arguments could have been made, due to which narrative may be put in order for a story to be told. Here, the emphasis, however, is completely shifted away from a direct argument to the world that would help derive the formal structure of the television in munotes.in

Page 160


160 Introduction to Television Studies its entirety. As Jamie McIntyre, CNN’s Senior Correspondent at the Pentagon exclaims that – “It is more important that we take the particular information provided and tell you what it actually means”, thus adding emphasis over the validity over the selected information. Exposition can accommodate elements that could elaborate over various questions and answers, these matters further addresses the expectations present in a commonsensical world which would unfold in terms of logical sequences of events. In an exposition, mostly in a newsroom scenario, the camera faces directly by presenting the argument to the viewer. With the help of the address through the teleprompter, it is more like a mode of address that is being shared amongst the audience, thus letting the expository text to take shape. b) Interactive Mode Interactive mode stresses mostly over the images of testimony or demonstration over what the witnesses would actually state. With various forms of monologues and dialogues, textual authority has shown its shift towards the comments and responses being provided, thus representing the mixing of the historical world with the realm of the video/filmmaker. The mode introduces a sense of partialness and local knowledge that mostly derives from the actual encounter of the filmmaker and the other. While Bill Nichols and Julianne Burton referred the mix of elements present in the historical world with the elements of the television world, there are possibilities of contrasts that could contest the flow of thought that could be appropriate and could thus pose distinct ethical issues for practioners. To describe the interactive mode better, it mainly happens in two ways. As the address of interactive text is not being aimed over the viewer, the process goes this way. The social actor is brought into the television studio and then a representator goes out to provoke a response from the social actor. Here what occurs is that any social actor that appears on television is compulsorily subjected to mediums having rules and regulations that is required to be followed. The interactive mode is further classified into two basic types of interviews – Dialogue and Pseudo monologue. c) Dialogue In this part, the voice of the interviewer and the interviewee are being heard, and both are present on the camera. Maximum power is there in the hands of the interviewer. With regards to dialogues, it always fits within the constraints of television, thus making the type to never be free for the masses. munotes.in

Page 161


161
Realism, Ideology
and Television I) Pseudo Monologue For a Pseudo Monologue, there is constant interchange between the social actor and the television representative, due to which it is presented in a different manner. Here, evidences of interviewers and their questions are not present, thus displaying that the social actor is speaking to the viewer directly. II) Observational Mode For some practioners and critics, observational mode gives a particular inflection to ethical considerations by observing rather than arguing over exposition and interactions. Even when the text observes a shift to a completely different scene, the presence of the camera on the scene testifies itself to the historical world by suggesting a commitment or an engagement with the immediate and personal, that is comparable to what the observer or the participant would actually experience. Taking an example of ‘An American Family’ (1973), it is shown that there is no commentary or interview present here, which thus signifies pure observation in television. d) Reflexive Mode This mode differs from other forms of non-narrative television, by displaying a relationship to the historical world and its’ representation. A reflexive text not just depicts an argument just like what a non-narrative television does. Rather it draws people’s attention towards the process of depiction itself by shifting the focus away from the historical reality to the relationship between reality and the medium. Check your progress 1. What do you mean by observational mode ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What is interactive mode ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is realism? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12.2.2 Television’s Reality: Genre Like any other narrative form, television has long embraced its reality forms and features. With the inclusion of the genre principle in the study, it munotes.in

Page 162


162 Introduction to Television Studies presents more of a naturalist approach over where phenomenon occur in often for narrative purposes. With realism having no definite meaning of its own, it is thus shown that television as a medium has represented recognizable experiences that would allow the audience to interact and engage. Some of the types of the non-narrative material are as follows: I) Network and Local Newscasts An event is not newsworthy unless it disrupts the ordinary. This is one common assumption that is being carried about historical reality that shows the presumptions of newsworthiness which are diverted from certain common incidents that usually cease to exist and then later it disappears from the television screen. Typically, what is being observed is that network news producers select events that are present in the historical world: i. Catastrophes: natural and otherwise; ii. International Relations: Political and armed conflicts; iii. National Politics: Legal and Judicial activities, election campaigns; iv. Law and Order: Crime and activities of criminals; v. Economics: Financial trends; vi. Celebrities: Marriages, scandals. With local news channels handling many subjects on a smaller scale, newscasts have used expository modes to present maximum information, evidences are collected from the historical world. Naturally, the evidences collected are then arranged, ordered into a form of conflict - ruling vs opposition, police vs criminal and individual vs institution. In this way, the same channels are presented on two different channels in different ways and this mostly occurs during war related situations. As reporters cast social actors that would illustrate abstract topics, these network and broadcasts share the basic organizing principle thus aiding into bringing a structure that it needs to present. While the structure of television has not changed much through the years, in day to day news production, the anchor mainly offers to make ideological sense out of the day’s random events. They often serve as spokespersons for newscast’s exposition. In this way new orders are decided by producers, and it is through principles like journalistic principle, aesthetics, economic determinants help determine the news order. The basic guidelines that are being shared are as follows – a) Timeliness (how recently did the event occur?) b) Prominence (How famous are the participants?); c) Proximity (Did it occur close to the viewer?); d) Pertinence (Will it affect viewers?) e) Unusualness (Is it a common event or is it unique?) munotes.in

Page 163


163
Realism, Ideology
and Television f) Conflict (Will it lend itself to the news’ structure of ‘pro versus con’?) g) Visual Impact (Are there strong, affective images available?) h) Cost (Was any item rented during the live?) i) Promotional Value (Does the story boost the network’s prestige) Although every news tends to begin first with hard news and then move towards soft news, hard news is generally thought of stories addressing the social like national and international relations, while soft news deals with personal gossip, scandal and so called human interest stories. Typically, a local newscast is interrupted by three or four commercial breaks, the structure of flow and interruption results in the following – ● News block ● Commercial break ● Weather ● Commercial break ● Sports ● Commercial break ● News break Along with this segmentation there are also promos, opening and closing teasers that bring out one or more perspectives over news and commercials being expository forms. Thus commercials would be considered as news about products and services. But as fiction programming is narrative and is not expository, so they do not share any kinship with commercials. II) Sports Programs Sports events differ from the events that are displayed over newscasts, even though they originate in the historical world. As sports activities are products or commodities that is designed for spectators, sport events do not happen randomly as other news events. The expense of televising sports has led networks to develop innovative ways of integrating advertisements in the game itself. While the difference between sports and so-called hard news about historical reality is obvious, corporations are permitted to affect the visual and sound of television in such a way that would limit the flow. Sport programs have shown its variations from other news incidents, as it presents a spectacle to please and attract the audience. Although it may have its’ own economic implications by affecting the form, the right to broadcast differs a lot from the news, as it involves purchases. As television relies maximum over successes of sport events, sport teams have relied heavily over the money that is gained from television. The aesthetic form of television structure is best visible with the pre-existing form of a particular sport. But with rules present to accommodate television’s form, sports have found its way to adjust to the medium’s organization of time and space, and has thus been popularized throughout the years. Some of the ways are as follows: munotes.in

Page 164


164 Introduction to Television Studies a) The Organization of Time The rhythms of any game are suited mostly to the television’s flow and interruption. As the phrase “instant replay” was introduced in the year 1963, the technique fed into television’s need for redundancy and repetition and helped into combatting the viewer’s distraction and inattention. As years pass by, television has become a medium where it has turned into a commodity for the advertisers for which a sport must adjust to the restriction of television time if it so wants to flourish in the medium. Here, this type of manipulation has been modulated mostly by the announcers, and here most television sports use two types of announcers – color and play by play, where color announcers are mostly former players, while play by play announces functions similar to the news anchors. These announcers place historical reality in order to ease in the flow for the viewer, thus matching the flow of television. b) The Organization of Space As the space of any sport is strictly placed onto a field or court, in sports like football, basketball and hockey, this particular space is mostly premised over the notions of territory. During the course, television has had to find ways into representing this kind of territorial dispute. To facilitate any kind of visualization, provisions would be made for cameras, announcers, thus displaying a clear image over the conflicts occurring between two players. Similarly, those individuals that were highlighted by television, may not necessarily stand as superior. For example – Anna Kournikova was a modest Russian tennis player in the 1990’s, but despite her popularity, she was ranked 8th on Google’s list of top searches. c) The Organization of the Scoring/Competition The conclusion of each game determines the winner of the day. But like serial fiction, the closure just becomes incomplete. Although there is a want to grab the winner’s position so hard, the intensity of enigma just increases so much that it shares the fundamental principal of television that offers in a small closure, knowing that there is always space for a large one. III) Game Shows Game shows had its origins from the television and has always stayed for the medium. As it does not represent any kind of historical reality towards the masses, it basically constructs a reality that would bring in social actors, representatives in the historical world. As television fiction relies mostly over a narrative like enigma to provide the engineer, the central question – “Who will win this game?” drives the show forward. Even though the game show is more of a hybrid genre, there is a direct address where the host narrates with competitors like a narrative program. munotes.in

Page 165


165
Realism, Ideology
and Television There are parts of game shows where the host is shown to be speaking and looking directly at the audience watching. Just like the news, game shows make people feel as if they are a part of the scenario and then later bids farewell at the end. Take the example of the popular game “Jeopardy”, the game show address resembles that of a narrative, where people are not much acknowledged. Although such game shows do not permit any kind of collaboration, the address turns out to be direct, indirect and sometimes a blurry mixture of two. The main thing that separates game show from sports program is the form of competition. Certainly professional sport would require the knowledge of the game and the ability to implement strategies, but for all of this, competitors need to be superior. Even though the competition on many game shows is not entirely based on any kind of knowledge, moreover such programs are suited to the demands of linear television and thus it is genre that interacts with the historical world in its own accord. IV) Reality Television Although the terms present throughout depict certain situations, it is hard to decipher whether reality television has a fixed definition of its’ own. If people tentatively propose generic boundaries around the medium, the short consideration over reality television cannot be answered. The particular medium applies all kinds of modes – expository, participatory, observational and reflexive, and it is here that the masses would be at the convergence of linear television and networking technologies. Mostly, programs with a minimum scripted dialogue, a cast of social actors that are being drawn from the historical world and a style of sound and image, it quickly becomes clear that is fundamentally more of a hybrid form that mixes two aspects of narratives and brings in a clear phenomenon of reality and television. 12.3 REALISM AND IDEOLOGY As realism can be defined by the form as well as by its content, it furthermore describes that realism is typically narrative in form. The way people make sense over a realistic frame is mostly through a broad ideological frame that is involved in the manner of making sense of the world. While realism achieves the positioning of reading the subject through the mode of form, English academic writer Colin MacCabe claims an essential formal characteristic of realism that is structured by a countless “hierarchy of discourses” that would result into a realistic narrative that would contain a range of different and contradictory discourses that are explicitly recognized. As television is a popular cultural medium, the economics that runs behind the production and distribution, demands that it reaches a wider range across the globe. But while these differences between audiences and meaning operate in a constant tension, there is a common ground created where dominant ideology and textual conventions would bring out a certain historical experience for both producers and readers. munotes.in

Page 166


166 Introduction to Television Studies The point noted is that the reality has already been encoded. Although there may be an objective reality out there, what passes for reality in any culture is the product of the culture, the reality here is never raw. With the combination of economics and ideology, any movement would be incorporated into the dominant ideology and in the course of the incorporating voices from organizations, it thus ends up implying that all popular culture would serve interests of the dominant ideology. While texts would depict variety of meanings that are more socially determined, the power to make adequate sense over the social experiences, becomes even more important to know the relations that exist alongside realism, ideology and television. Check you progress 1. Why Is realism a core outline of tv studies ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Write a note on ideology ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What are game shows and what purpose do they serve? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12.4 LETS SUM IT UP When people study about television, there is no doubt about various questions arising about certain factors assigned to it, but the most important characteristic that both film and television share is that it has its’ own crucial differences. With television being an embedded medium that is used to represent what is ordinary, even that ordinary could not have any kind of special value attached. But as reality television has had a transformative effect over formats and features, the textual work that reality and ideas in television includes, establish a mode of address that would serve in as the destination of communication and hence bringing out a pattern of identification that would make narrative crucial to the terms. Television has analyzed realism and ideology in a context that would reveal the proximity and engagement between the viewer and what the viewer is watching, thus displaying the television’s role in culture and society. munotes.in

Page 167


167
Realism, Ideology
and Television 12.5 QUESTIONS 1) Explain the modes of reality in television with examples. 2) Give a brief detail over realism and ideology in television. 3) Discuss various shows on television. 12.6 BIBLIOGRAPHY Fiske, John. Television Culture. United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2010. Ouellette, L. (2016). A Companion to Reality Television. United Kingdom: Wiley. Butler, J.G. (2018). Television: Visual Storytelling and Screen Culture (5th ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315181295 Nichols, B. (2001). Introduction to documentary. Bloomington, Ind: Indiana University Press. 2016. "Genres of Realism and Reality", TV Socialism, Anikó Imre  munotes.in

Page 168

168 13 THE TELEVISION AUDIENCE Unit Structure : 13.0 Objectives 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Audience Theory 13.2.1 Alternative Concepts of Audience Theory 13.3 Audience Behavior 13.3.1 Phases of Audience Behavior 13.4 Lets sum it up 13.5 Questions 13.6 Bibliography 13.0 OBJECTIVES  After reading this unit, you will understand –  The audience concept  How the audience influences television is crucially important.  Various behavioural patterns that facilitate a deeper comprehension of the target audience. 13.1 INTRODUCTION When a large audience discusses television, it is evident that this medium has become an integral part of their existence and that not a single day is spent learning the medium intimately. But why is television research conducted? It is merely a device that can be used to navigate channels by swiping. Wrong. As people study and attempt to comprehend certain cultural beliefs and practises, the query regarding television content development remains unanswered. The extensively collaborative and standardised nature of most television production is dependent on the content produced, and television has endured the test of time as a result of television producers vying for audience attention. With the medium employing approaches that are detrimental enough to study and comprehend certain behavioural yet textual words, certain cultural beliefs and practises that go into constructing a narrative and a non-narrative structure would be used to construct a question about the origins of television. Although television has sparked a revolution among the populace, many still question whether it will have a profound effect on society. It may have taken some time to get people to believe in the type of content that was created, but once they did, the response has been enormous. Studies may munotes.in

Page 169


169
The Television Audience have expanded the scope of television, but the classification system that helps people organise and categorise a long list of channels is what has made television so massive. As television has moved away from the era in which'must-watch programmers' were a fad, the vitality and conception of the audience as a mass has begun to decline. Moreover, as a result of the introduction of numerous streaming platforms and methods, the viewer's selection of available options has increased dramatically. The visual mode and applied parameters may have influenced the evolution of television, but the concept of television content has remained largely unchanged. Television authorship or television content demonstrates the highly collaborative and standardised nature of the vast majority of television production. There are textual depictions that aid in establishing a reflection on the style, genre, and various other formats of television fiction, despite the ambiguity of the content query. Thus, when there is a tendency to recognise authorship or content, there is an overemphasis placed on certain narratives that would be deemed essential for comprehending television content. Through this chapter, it is necessary to comprehend the notion that television authorship or content is capable of conceiving factors that could support the entire theory. Even though it becomes essential to consider the content-related role of television, this is precisely why the general public needs to examine television more closely. Ultimately, it is necessary to recognise that creators, regardless of medium, can exercise control over their content, thereby determining its tone and state. If one were to comment on the 'original audience,' one would note that the historical roots of the audience phenomenon have had a significant impact on the contemporary definitions of the concept. Despite the fact that various variations have shaped people's understanding and expectations, the audience has become less predictable in terms of planning and management, and has thus become a perfect example of the original audience. With audiences paying attention to various media sources, it is likely that there will be normative ties between the audience and sources who have acquired a sense of identity and purpose. Such a group is likely to be more stable and therefore have some influence over what is being provided. While there is an element of normative attachment, particularly when there is a high degree of identification or involvement, there are frequently associated attachments that are linked to media images, characters, and themes, thereby producing a more stable ambiance over time. For this type of theory, there may be a degree of tension that generates contrasts between society origination and, as a result, the former, which has a stronger social and normative tie, receives greater benefit while the latter is characterised by self-calculation. Although it may not be prudent to pass judgement on the normative theory that is being applied to media, the values affixed may have their own ramifications that could lead to the introduction of more qualitative and intensive contexts. Under conditions of availability and adaptability, the early notions of audience with multiple modes and characters could generate an infinite number of possibilities. And since it is due to the audience that television can be a source of change, it is the audience that plays a role in obtaining a manifestation, thereby creating a social experience. munotes.in

Page 170


170 Introduction to Television Studies 13.2 AUDIENCE THEORY The only way for critics and academicians to better comprehend audiences is to comprehend the theories and studies that reveal the majority of television's composition. Although different individuals choose different programmes at different times, the issue remains to what extent academics believe the weekly audience will be consistent. Despite the fact that these may be vastly distinct activities with varying challenges and rewards, many aspects of daily life have recently been scrutinised, leading to the belief that television has begun to dominate how people think. With such comprehensive theoretical concerns in mind, empirical research becomes a public domain in certain respects. Despite the fact that television has already become a part of people's lives, the relevance of knowledge over the interpretation of television is largely disregarded, and the parallels between the development and comprehension of every social life indicate that common knowledge is favoured over following the narratives and moral conclusions of television. And all of this can only be accomplished if academicians and critics adhere to what audiences around the world prefer, their views and interpretations that aid in bringing about a comprehensive view of television. Let us further comprehend this through the lens of audience theory - Active audience theory is a relatively new phenomenon in media studies. During the application of ethnographic research methodologies to the study of television viewing practises, this pattern emerged. In addition, these methodologies provide a reevaluation of viewer practises that yields findings that may have influence over the generally accepted medium. The notion that an audience can negotiate with a media text without believing in any ideologies demonstrates, in the words of William Seaman, that the active audience approach can mystify rather than clarify, and it can rationalise certain sets of practises that could reveal more valid, yet intriguing ideas. While an audience can be defined in multiple and overlapping ways, there are distinct methods to categorise audiences that have emerged with the evolution of media and culture. – Audience as 'the congregated people': essentially the sum of those who are attentive to a presentation at a given time. They are referred to as "spectators." Audience as 'the persons being addressed': Refers to the group that has been envisioned as the communicator and for whom the content has been crafted; also known as "inscribed audience." Audience as 'happening': The experience of reception alone or with others as an interaction in everyday life is contextualised by place and other characteristics. Audience as 'hearing': Refers to a participatory audience, in which the audience has been embedded into a performance or has been enabled to munotes.in

Page 171


171
The Television Audience participate through various means in order to provide responses simultaneously. Although there may be various other possibilities for defining a specific type of audience depending on the medium in question, there are other types of communicative relationships that have contributed to the development of the current meaning of the audience concept. Despite variations, fundamental characteristics of the pre-media audience assisted in comprehending ongoing developments and helped shape people's expectations on a broader scale. Let us delve deeper into several alternative audience theory concepts. 13.2.1 Alternative Concepts of Audience Theory I) Audience as aggregate of spectators, readers, listeners, and viewers. While this concept depicts audience in its recognisable form, it focuses primarily on the number of individuals who have accessed a given unit of media content and the number of individuals who possess the total demographic characteristics of interest. Despite the fact that academics have identified certain complexities stemming from the varying degrees of audience participation, these complexities remain elusive. The first and largest audience would continue to be available to deliver a communication offer, thereby bringing sense to the television audience. Second, there is an audience segment that receives in varying degrees for the television viewer; third, there is an audience segment that registers the reception of content; and fourth, there is a smaller audience segment that internalises what is offered and received. In general, this concept of audience would go no further over the point of giving attention. While scholars like Elliot have given critical remarks with regards to limiting the concept of audience to be a body of spectators, according to the critic, more maximization of the spectators would reduce any concerns attached with real life communication in the sense of an ‘ordeal transfer of meaning’. II) Audience as Mass. While the audience has always been an ideal source for mass communication, scholars have concluded that the view of the audience emphasises the large size of a crowd that does not exist except in the minds of those who wish to attract the attention of as many individuals as possible. As Raymond Williams implies that it has become a standard for evaluating media, the critic also intended to convey that the larger and more immediate the audience, the greater the social significance of establishing a standard for evaluating that audience. With more approaches being developed for confronting the'mass', the verbal error that has been equated with the term requires that individuals not be misled into a misconception that would result in a misunderstanding of the theory. munotes.in

Page 172


172 Introduction to Television Studies III) Audience as a Public or Social Group The key element in this version is largely dependent over an autonomous social group that is served in by a particular media. Although the idea of public has been discussed at various places, the mass media has been developed in such a way as to hinder away the formation of the public. While critics like Dewey have implied over grouping of individuals that has been brought into being as a social unit through mutual recognition, such groupings would also bring out different means of communication that would allow to see the continuing existence of various audience formations. Although the section of audience draws over many sources of information, many countries have retained some elements that have connections with other readership groups. In this case, the audience then tends to coincide over a pre-existing community that gets into forming social groups which would create a base of creating ample media supply. Even if exceptions are being found over instances that have found its relation towards other forms of media, greater channel capacity have been associated with the emergence of audiences for television that have more characteristics of social groups which bring out excess possibilities for bringing out influences. IV) Audience as Market. When social developments lead the audience towards the concept of public, it was the economic development that helped describe the concept of audience as a market. A media product could be a commodity standing in as a competition towards other media products, but this kind of media is entirely commercial. It sometimes also indicates aggregation over certain populated areas that have its’ own characteristics and features. Even though the audience has a dual significance for media- first as a set of potential customers for the product and then advertising towards an audience of a certain kind; a market for media product could also be a market for other products. While it may sound necessary for commercially financed media to regard their audiences, there are several consequences of this approach, which can be expressed as follows: ● Establishing links between media and audience as a consumer product relationship. ● Bringing a little emphasis over the internal social relationship of the audience that bring out certain demographics or cultural attributes. ● Getting more relevant ways of thinking about the social economic and stratification of the audience by income and consumption patterns of audience characteristics. ● Emphasizing key facts about audience behavior. ● Understanding the market view and the categories that have been identified as a part of a target group. To summarize the whole context, the audience can be described as potential customers towards whom the medium or message is being directed towards. While there are similarities with the mass concept, there is also attention munotes.in

Page 173


173
The Television Audience provided towards cultural tastes and preferences that diverge sharply in the way they attend towards audience origin, to the degree that serves towards the purpose and function of communication. Check your progress 1. What do you mean by the audience as a market? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What do you mean by audience as a public group? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Define audiences. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13.3 AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR In the majority of industrialised nations, every household has a television. As each stage undergoes constant change, so do the preferences of audiences. While digital media offers a vast number of options to a large global audience, it is essential to have a purpose before doing anything else. And this can only be accomplished if these programming stations begin to compete to comprehend the actual picture as a whole. Even though the audience plays a crucial role in enhancing media comprehension, it is this community that supports commercial broadcasting. While the audience's voracious appetite for programming contributes to the economic success of television, popular and influential theories about media have had an impact on the video technologies, resulting in a more uniform system of messages that would be viewed by a large portion of society. There would be disparities of opinion despite the existence of multiple hypotheses pertaining to potential exposure patterns. As the current revolution displays a more divergent view of the nature and implications of the new media environment, the manner in which television is financed, along with the positive and negative effects of competition, affects the type of programming that could be produced and viewed in various nations. Thus, it was demonstrated that, given the appropriate conditions and factors, the extent to which an individual would watch the medium at different times is generally much lower. munotes.in

Page 174


174 Introduction to Television Studies The current perception of audience behaviour and television viewing patterns is predictable. With constant changes observed by critics and analysts, there is little doubt that television will be the revolutionary medium of the future. 13.3.1 PHASES OF AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR i) Early Empiricist Phase Audiences vary with the amount of television that they watch. While the average number of people have certain preferences that make them different from the rest, the only factor that does not make these bunch is behavior. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, when the concept of “economic man” started to be even more dominating, scholars and critics based their theories over classical economic theory principle. Moreover, consumers were seen as rational decision maker who could place in their preferences even better, calculating over how to spend their hours and minutes over programs. In other words, that era saw ways of identifying effects in the areas of distribution, advertising, and promotion, thus displaying that the age had great factors and characteristics that were used to decipher the audience’s behavior in its’ entirety. While scholars advocated a more non-rational explanation for the ongoing paradigm, they have also brought over evidence stating that a) certain theories have failed to differentiate the reasons from the decision made over some psychological factors; b) Despite the differences created between physical and emotional motives, neither can be measured separately. ii) Motivation Research Phase With scholars investigating over what could be the non-economic factors over audience behavior, somewhere this lot was seen to be irrational and impulsive, due to which decision makers started to bring out approaches to provide new insights into consumer behavior. With the help of focus groups, in-depth interviews as well as subjective interpretation gives the impression that at least half of the population would focus over something else, rather than watching the medium at different times. While audiences span across larger populations, the activities involved are rather very diverse and not as habitual as television viewing. While viewing patterns of audience could differ, it is thus brought to the conclusion that audiences are vast and not monolithic. With the era strongly influenced by consumer behavior, audiences played a problem solver, and has thus been viewed as being more deliberate and selective, rather than habitual over the programs being watched by people across. iii) Audience Phase The present audience prefers a more cultural approach towards the communication world. While audiences are not seen as information processors, but as socially connected human beings who participate in multiple interactive cultures, often what is being observed is that the munotes.in

Page 175


175
The Television Audience behavior patterns of audiences are facing a paradigm shift. While ideas provided by television offers its audience a more pleasurable experience, the countless number of genre principles being utilized, that was once considered to be pernicious and objectionable, has had its’ impact over a large group that clearly showed its’ favoritism towards that part. Since the issue of pleasure has thus motivated many other contemporary studies, the popularity of television in general serves in a justification to address such texts to be adequate objects of criticism. While understanding how audiences view their pleasure to be, this phenomenon involves the production of gender identities, subcultural identities, class identification and racial solidarity. Such a position provokes many over the definition of pleasure in audience studies. As the critic John Fiske would argue that the pleasure of viewing television is completely oppositional; it is the pleasure that is being gained over from the dominant ideology. However, critics and scholars are far from getting themselves understood from the whole ‘audience pleasure’ principle, thus placing themselves constantly over the side over the audience. Check your progress 1. What is the audience phase? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What is the early empiricist phase? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What do you mean by audience behaviour? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13.4 LET’S SUM IT UP Although viewers have a hand in shaping the television industry as a whole, it's important to remember that even when they're being manipulated, they're still likely to associate a product with a specific set of media symbols, whether that be a character, a plot point, or an overarching theme. munotes.in

Page 176


176 Introduction to Television Studies 13.5 QUESTIONS a) Write in detail about the phases of audience behavior. b) Describe audience theory with concepts. c) How has the audience helped in shaping the television? 13.6 BIBLIOGRAPHY Ehrenberg, A., Barwise, P. (1988). Television and Its Audience. United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. Phalen, P. F., Webster, J. (2013). The Mass Audience: Rediscovering the Dominant Model. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. Webster, J. G. (2016). The Marketplace of Attention: How Audiences Take Shape in a Digital Age. United Kingdom: MIT Press. James G. Webster, Audience Behavior in the New Media Environment, Journal of Communication, Volume 36, Issue 3, September 1986, Pages 77–91, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1986.tb01439.x Fotis, John. (2015). The Use of social media and its impacts on consumer behaviour: the context of holiday travel. Livingstone, S. (2013). Making Sense of Television: The Psychology of Audience Interpretation. (n.p.): Taylor & Francis. Fiske, J. (2010). Television Culture. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis. Seaman, W. R. (1992). Active audience theory: pointless populism. Media, Culture & Society, 14(2), 301–311. https://doi.org/10.1177/016344392014002010 McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail's Mass Communication Theory. United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. McQuail, D. (2010). McQuail′s Mass Communication Theory (Sixth ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd. McQuail, D. (1987). Mass Communication Theory. SAGE Publications munotes.in

Page 177

177 14 THE TELEVISION AUDIENCE IN INDIA Unit Structure : 14.0. Objectives 14.1. Introduction 14.2 Indian Television: Filling the Satellite Gap 14.2.1 Notions of Television Audience 14.3. Commercial Context of Television in India 14.4. Let's sum it up 14.5 Questions 14.6. Bibliography 14.0 OBJECTIVES After reading this unit, you will understand – ● How the television system works in India. ● Audience behavior with respect to Indian Audience. ● Notions of Audience Behavior ● Commercial contexts that would lead into knowing how audience create an impact over the Indian Television System. 14.2 INTRODUCTION Western television has created a rage amongst people across the globe that media around the world have started to pick certain features and characteristics which would lead into defining the television media much better. While there is very little scope for alternative theories over the audience, this phenomenon conceals various other ways to look at aggregates and wide variations that are present in the reality and conception over the audience. The most important source that the television has picked up from various alternative theories is that fundamentally it has a dual character. At the extreme level, each of these types and concepts get dependent over possibilities and circumstances, which then later becomes a subject of change. While it becomes difficult to predict who would actually comprise the audience. And while the growth of ‘interactive media’ is at the early stage, the whole concept of the audience is receiving much the same content at the same time and place. However, with constant changes occurring with the television medium, with the introduction of electronic media, it has become even more unified that media has been operated over different levels. As audiences have been challenged with various sources that display tremendous growth over consumer mindedness, nevertheless it is very much likely that the audiences would have their own preferences munotes.in

Page 178


178 Introduction to Television Studies with regards to being more localized and interest-specific for the present masses. Looking at how the television media works in a country like India, the good old television continues to stand in as one of the most aspirational concepts that is being learnt across. While most of the evaluation that occurs mostly happens due to indexes, audience ratings have been used much beyond broadcasting that lots of public authorities are being involved in many ways. With electronic media seeing an uppermost craze with the varied type of content and methods introduced, it has invited different taste cultures that have recognized the importance of non-demographic factors and also the overlapping nature of the audience. As the market in India for television audiences has been huge throughout the ages, it would be difficult to place it in any hierarchical scheme, thus creating a one dimensional society. 14.2 INDIAN TELEVISION: FILLING THE SATELLITE GAP The pace over satellite television over a country like India has been very rapid that much of it has predicted that the medium may serve to be the future. With the incoming of various platforms, electronic media is showing an upward growth that there is no stop towards the quality content and materials being utilized. To go back to the era of when television was introduced, that is in the year 1959, it was initially used as an educational and developmental tool by television, for which there was not many audiences for it. As months passed, television started to receive its’ audience during the era of when shows like Ramayana and Mahabharata were being shown, and soon the medium started to see its shift of ownership from government agencies to providing full time entertainment services to the huge mass of audience over the country. While films, music and soap operas have created an impetus over the whole television media scenario, it shows no doubt that the Indian television scene is observing its boom, but in a mediate way. While the nature of this effect is not so much in the way of a simple televisual display over attitude, opinion, behavior, the medium has come a long way in the manner of setting the bar high and ensuring the value behind the weight of community, relationships and identity that carry some attributed meaning and a sense of normalcy that help understand the economic and the actual image of globalization occurring with television. Although the medium has grown itself as a form of self-orientalism, it is also creating an illusionary world that would make the audience feel as if they are looking at a completely new picture altogether. In this new India, even if the definition has come from elsewhere, it still sees that the Indian audience is just another emerging market. From this perspective, it is thus followed that becoming global, as an audience under terms is a way of keeping things under conditions of conquest. While it would not stand accurate enough over the pleasures provided by Indian television, it is still proving as one of the superpowers in the race. As munotes.in

Page 179


179
The Television
Audience In India years pass by, the mode of filling the satellite gap just becomes a whole different phenomenon that various discourses have been developed enough to bring out real life modernity over families and relationships, thus showing different audience related behaviors towards the scholars and critics. Another significant fact that has impacted greatly over Indian television is the way it articulates towards a series of ongoing social and economic changes in the entire Asian continent. While consumer culture has seemingly shaped everyday life, a dizzying diversity of media and consumer goods continues to seep into nations where capitalism has been established, thus addressing the audience to be individualized with reflexive choices over their lifestyle and identities. While television has been depicted as a heritage form at many parts of the Indian subcontinent, it represents as one of the most powerful media form that has a large and growing investment from the commercial and state sector. Moving beyond an exceptionalist approach, it is thus being suggested over by scholars and analysts that there have been certain insights provided into the evolving sociocultural role of Indian television more broadly. While Indian television media has been greatly impacting over the audience at large since decades, a key argument made in the ongoing television scenario is that social, political, economic and cultural structures have been embedded in specific histories of modernities in their countries of production. As cultural transformations have included secularization of scientific thinking, social ideas like gender have added in the imagination of the audience as a community. As certain aspects have been shared unevenly, differentially and unpredictably across various societies, such changes have been limited by its tendency to display historical processes as normative. This kind of recognition of the plural provides a key conceptual framework that engages with various modes of Indian programming. The local, national and regional particularities have reinforced certain convictions that audiences engage over, thus thinking in a more specific way. However, in Indian media context, the rise of discourses of self-improvement, individualized identity and reflexive selfhood have marked a different evolution over modern concepts that have had a convergence towards any Western center. 14.2.1 Notions of Television Audience The advent of satellite television started in the immediate wake of the Gulf War and the economic liberalization policies of the Indian government in 1991, seemed to have taken immense influence from varieties of American programs, but the enormous growth that took place was only because of the tremendous audience following that was taking place during the era. While television has been one of the major triumphs of applied science, it also became a part of people’s life in a very short span. With India being one of the front runners in to having one of the largest fan base for television media, it also serves in as an integrating factor in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural society. With the initial stage of television in India commencing from the time when an experimental television station was being set over in September 1959, the range of the station was pretty small and the services were mainly done for educational purposes. While the concerns regarding munotes.in

Page 180


180 Introduction to Television Studies international communication scholars and audience scholars have proven to be contradictory, their concerns would seem legitimate in the case of growing monopolization of media and cultural production that have brought over some of the powerful and wealthy corporations that have immense transnational resources. A very important characteristic of the television industry is that it is fast moving. At present, the solid state of technology has become so advanced that it is garnering more audience than ever before. With the introduction of various online screening platforms, the rise of the ‘meaning paradigm’ has taken a seminal moment on the basis of much useful contemporary theories helping to understand the television audiences better. Check your progress 1. Who are the television audiences ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What according to you are factors in distinguishing television audiences ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is interactive media ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I) Ideological Audiences The ideological notion of audience is mainly associated with the British cultural studies tradition where a theoretical outline is being spelled out during the process of understanding the encoding-decoding model. While critics have pointed over the narratives that they have often been shown as repetitive, and is being offering little more than the hegemonial potential of popular culture, it is therefore expected that any study adequately address the criticism. With India being one of the places which has joined the league of global audiences, these audiences have been theorized into making different kind of meanings from media texts, but a strong inclination have always stayed implicit towards this kind of approach toward showing that multiple meanings serve more dominance over resistance. The lasting contribution that is present in this part of studies is that the sense of media has completely become more necessary in certain analytical areas. munotes.in

Page 181


181
The Television
Audience In India While the terrain of the location of audience hood have been made a part of everyday life, the study of audiences has been demonstrated over how it is apparently normal and is commonsensical to feel about mediated issues, and in fact arbitrary, historical, constructed and ideological contexts have been serving relations of powers along class, gender and other lines in specific historical contexts. While television in the Indian scenario has become a 20th century phenomena, with possible developments displaying the convergence over electronic communications, the digitization that has happened over the entire television media scenario has transformed every existing media that is present, thus creating a huge impact over the Indian television media. II) Resistive Audience The growing trend in Indian media studies is towards analyzing the audience of popular culture projects as active and resistant. While this approach holds much promise for the field, the concept of ‘resistance’ must be analyzed within Indian television scenario. In other words, the critical reflections over these approaches rely mostly over the conception of a utopian future that is liberated over the constraints of capital or ideology. As one of cultural studies manifestation focuses over examining cultural practices with a general concern, the examination has displayed ways where readings are motivated by a general concern within the direction of cultural practices towards domination and emancipation. When thinking about the Indian audience in cultural studies, the notion that media texts are polysemic and incapable shows as a growing interest in various forms of media. While it may seem to be serious amongst media forms that act as a mode that brings pleasure to the audience, on one hand, there is a temptation to take the audience seriously in an international context, thus bringing certain valid criticisms made in by scholars and critics over the impact created by western shows over non-Western audience. With such dilemmas displaying a different picture over the whole Indian television media study scenario, it would seem that in the global media and cultural studies, the study over Indian audience would lead into negotiating a course that would acknowledge the responses provided by the audiences without denying any kind of dominant position of media institutions in a global context. Although various critics may have indeed suggested over the resistive audience notion, the pleasure gained by the audience creates an image over the dominant culture and hence paints in a condescending picture of the audience. III) Elusive Audience The late 1970’s and 1980’s may have been the glory days for ideological and resistive notions of Indian audiences, the most visible notion of audiences follow mainly the resistive line for most reasons. By radical set of ideas advocating notions of how real audiences can never be captured by institutional discourses. Moreover, the broader rise over western philosophy has thus gained in more attention towards topics like humanities and social sciences that the audiences have been acquiring some momentum munotes.in

Page 182


182 Introduction to Television Studies throughout the work. While understanding in a more critical way, the developments over these facts have been apparent and has thus culminated into arguments that have been a crucial task of Indian audience studies. At a time when greater part of the world population is becoming more technologically advanced, it is more through the constant development of the medium throughout the ages. While the rise of the elusive notion of audience has had a combination of terms like ‘globalization’ and ‘post-modernism’, it is more through the value of empirical audience who claims the more appropriate ways of modernity. It may be true that the Indian audience will always be eluded by the complexities of the real world, but this supposed elusiveness, however does not translate to a global hegemony, but produces a goal of alternative knowledge for the audience across the state. 14.3 COMMERCIAL CONTEXT OF TELEVISION IN INDIA The entry of global media over the Indian soil has impacted over the entire Indian television scenario that new systems and changes have completely taken the medium to another level altogether. While this seems to be more emerging throughout the years, the inception of television in India has been underscored because of a profound change that was envisioned as a part of the project of post-colonial nationhood. If the Doordarshan audience was to be imagined as citizen viewers, the post-liberalization television audience have been imagined as consisting of consumers who would enjoy watching the medium on a regular basis. That was the kind of popularity that the medium enjoys and it still does. With a wide range of audience scaling from across the globe, the economic liberalization circulating over the whole Indian television scene needs to be understood not merely as any kind of withdrawal taking place over the state intervention, but more of a market mechanism that guides in social, economic and political aspects. An important outcome of this kind of phase would display a massive growth over consumer electronics in India, and obviously of commercialization over the ever popular Doordarshan. In the manner of speaking, the Indian television was created during the 1980’s during the phase when liberalization started to seep inside the country. While the Indian television system started to collaborate with various global programs, along with it, it equally brought in various narratives, thus garnering attention from an enthusiastic audience around the world. With the commercial television changing the landscape over many Asian countries throughout the years, long established broadcasters were forced to reassess their role in the present competitive market. Beyond evaluating the Indian situation, this analysis challenges assumptions over development broadcasting and is thus bringing a new model that brings in more competitive and globalizing in the media world. Over the last 50 years, television systems have been driven by constant development. As media scholars in the west and media planners deciphered out the significance of broadcasting, it also established a sense of where modern projects and munotes.in

Page 183


183
The Television
Audience In India campaigns have been provided with a broader view that could be counterproductive to fleshing out new roles for public broadcasting. With India at present focusing over technological and programming innovations, it has equally taken over an unusual position over developmental broadcasting. While the Indian television system has taken in few notes over bringing a new type of innovation that would aid in several sectors across the country. Although the Indian state always represented the interests of the business, the process of liberalization had ‘greater continuities than breaks with the past”. Even if theory and research would prove to be useful for mass communication and can thus act in as a positive agent of social change for some people, there have been others who have disputed the role played by the mass media. As broadcasting is showing constant development, analysts and scholars have deciphered out that each country, including India has its unique media history, set of regulations and infrastructure, that necessitate specific and local solutions. Television being one of the most important element may have impacted greatly over the whole theorization of the audience frame and media studies, there is still a lot of work that is required to be done over the whole mass scenario. Although audience mainly act in as a crusader in the whole process, it is for what the future would behold for this medium. As India has played a crucial role into being an important part of world history, the entry of economic liberalization has completely changed the whole image of Indian frame. Sectors may have thrived extremely, more concepts and audiences may have been introduced, this just brought a boom over the television service sector exponentially with the help of growing technology. With India’s contemporary rhetoric of integration into global market, this has also impacted greatly over the television industry. This landscape of lopsided growth has got privileged skilled people to work more in the industry. While there was more rise over the entrepreneurial middle class during the era, moreover at present, television has become for all. As the production of distinctive social and political identity have represented and have laid claims over liberalization, television has been that one medium that has been a symbol of modernization, development and upliftment of media studies. As private satellite telecast have coincided with the entry of multinational companies, the television audience has an access to more than 300 channels. With television in India being transnational in nature, the channel Doordarshan displayed that around 47.8 percent people had cable connection. So, with television being pervasive and omnipresent in the ongoing television scenario, language and culture has become crucial in this type of television across the globe. While most of the channels were forced to ‘Indianize’, the programming content in the form of regional language channels to capture the market, due to which there have been various channels at present for real estate, teleshopping, travel, and food, thus garnering various type of audience and through that audience behavior was being understood. Just like every other country in the world, even India has programs which have been segmented. As the nature of private television have varied from different areas of information, movie, and regional language, educational infotainment, the Indian viewer is being made to munotes.in

Page 184


184 Introduction to Television Studies explore an array of programs as well as programming. Whether it be dubbed in any language, what becomes important is the amount of viewership that the program receives. Take the example of a very popular British show called as – “Mind Your Language”. The show had its inception in the US and has hence spread out across the globe, thus the audience gets to observe the show in different language. With an exceptional narrative and concept, the show became a worldwide hit, to which even India had its own variety of the show in the form of “Zabaan Sambhal Ke”, and that too had become absolutely popular amongst the masses. So, when learning about this great medium, it is more like exploring different layers, thus making it even more interesting all across the world. Check your progress How did global media change television ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Discuss the growth of doordarshan in detail ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Who are the elusive audiences? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ LET’S SUM IT UP Studying Indian television viewers is crucial because they represent a large and diverse population with distinctive cultural and socioeconomic traits. The television industry in India is among the greatest in the world because of the country's massive population (more than 1.3 billion people). Over 22 official languages and hundreds of dialects are spoken in India, making for a richly varied linguistic and cultural landscape. This means that Indian television viewers come from a wide range of ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Understanding how cultural and societal factors affect media consumption habits can be gleaned from studying the TV audience in India. The TV industry in India is forecast to expand fast due to the country's expanding middle class. As people's ability to spend money on entertainment grows, they have a greater desire for premium shows that munotes.in

Page 185


185
The Television
Audience In India cater to their diverse tastes. Broadcasters and producers can take use of this to make content that appeals to Indian viewers. Furthermore, many broadcasters and producers in India compete for viewers and advertising dollars, making for a very competitive television market. The key to success in India's highly competitive television market is to learn as much as possible about the viewing habits and tastes of Indian consumers. In conclusion, understanding the Indian television audience is crucial for making tailored programmes that appeal to the country's rapidly expanding middle class as well as for maintaining the country's position as a competitive player in the global television market. 14.4 QUESTIONS a) Explain the notions of the television audience. b) How has the audience impacted over the whole commercial scenario? 14.5 BIBLIOGRAPHY Television Audiences Across the World: Deconstructing the Ratings Machine. (2014). United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan. Bourdon, J., & Méadel, C. (2014). Television Audiences Across the World. Palgrave Macmillan. Laghate, G. (2021, April 15). Rise of television continues in India. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/rise-of-television-continues-in-india/articleshow/82083465.cms?from=mdr Juluri, V. (2004). Becoming A Global Audience. India: Orient Longman Private Limited. Datta, A. (2007). Effects of Television and The Viewers. India: Mittal Publications. Kumar, P. (1988). Television Industry in India: Market Structure, Conduct, and Performance. India: Deep & Deep Publications. Mytton, G., Dam, P. H. v., Diem, P. (2016). Media Audience Research: A Guide for Professionals. India: SAGE Publications. SHOLLE, D. (1991). READING THE AUDIENCE, READING RESISTANCE: PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS. Journal of Film and Video, 43(1/2), 80–89. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20687931 Srinivas, S.V. (2001). Researching Indian Audiences. Cultural Dynamics. 13. 117-123. 10.1177/092137400101300106. munotes.in

Page 186


186 Introduction to Television Studies Fürsich, Elfriede & Shrikhande, Seema. (2007). Development Broadcasting in India and Beyond: Redefining an Old Mandate in an Age of Media Globalization. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media - J BROADCAST ELECTRON MEDIA. 51. 110-128. 10.1080/08838150701308101. Sen Shitak, R. (2011). TELEVISION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATIONIN INDIA: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL. Global Media Journal – Indian Edition. Martin, F., Lewis, T., Sun, W. (2016). Telemodernities: Television and Transforming Lives in Asia. United Kingdom: Duke University Press. Desai, M. K., Agrawal, B. C. (2009). Television and Cultural Crisis: An Analysis of Transnational Television in India. India: Concept Publishing Company.  munotes.in

Page 187

187 15 BEYOND TELEVISION Unit Structure : 15.0 Objectives 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Beyond Television 15.2.1 Television’s Not-So-Distant Past with the Network Era 15.3 Halting over the Flow: What is changing beyond television? 15.4 Lets sum it up 15.5 Questions 15.6 Bibliography 15.0 OBJECTIVES With this chapter, you will be able to understand – ● Factors that stand beyond the whole television spectrum. ● Definitions and discussions done by eminent scholars and critics over modes available beyond television. ● Certain axioms, characteristics which help determine the further television culture. 15.1 INTRODUCTION Since the 1970s, the so-called age of cable television has been on the verge of a boom, promising television audiences a new media frontier that would allow them to investigate a variety of entertainment and information options. While television has provided access to a greater variety of media forms and points of view, the rapidly expanding industry appears to possess substantial barriers that enable independent entities to launch cable networks and promote the emergence and growth of new media forms and programming formats. The majority of households now have the luxury of receiving both local broadcast signals and television channels. Previously, only a handful of television signals were able to capture the attention of the general public. So, while the distinctions and interrelationships between broadcast and cable television have shaped the television industry, the medium has already reached a point where the commercialism of broadcast networks has produced both optimism and scepticism regarding television's symbolic power. While television has been established in accordance with the public's interests, the medium appears to be more committed to a commercial system that relies more on advertisers than any obligations towards the so-called "interest" of the public. munotes.in

Page 188


188 Introduction to Television Studies Nevertheless, despite the growing interest and significance of television as a medium, it is time for it to progress beyond what has existed throughout the years. As television has become a prominent symbol of East and West's social, cultural, and technological progress, it has become the subject of international negotiations and mutual observations. The most influential mass medium has gone through periods in which it displayed a more specific consumerist lifestyle and a new socialist way, demonstrating that a small number of channels have attracted massive audiences from countries all over the world. The vast majority of television scholarship has focused on prime time broadcasting and a few daytime genres such as talk shows, soap operas, and children's programming. There is a notable lack of scholarly work on the various dimensions of the cable industry, including regulatory practises. As a number of anthologies, edited volumes, and textbooks have endeavoured to provide exhaustive overviews of approaches to television studies, multichannel video programming systems have supplanted broadcasting as the means by which people have begun to receive audience-friendly programming, and the clustering of a small number of channels has unquestionably contributed to the rise of television. While new studies and journals have provided strong evidence for the recent dominance of cable programming, general models of public spheres have been applied to the examples of a global society that has the opportunity to bring culture home, educate the 'new man,' and demonstrate a new technical advance in the competition with other television stations. 15.2 BEYOND TELEVISION Television has evolved into a mode of representation that has displayed a geopolitical shift over the decades. While there are a number of questions regarding whether television represents itself as a medium, apparatus, or communication technology, it is unlikely that this situation will alter, suggesting that this may be a more conceptualised interpretation that arises primarily in case-specific situations. Since the emergence of the phenomenon, scholars, commentators, and critics have identified a variety of defining moments in the history of television as a result of the intertwining of changes in the majority of events. The constantly revolving movements present in the medium make claims of significance that seek to identify and canonise the one change that would be universally applicable. Despite its dominance on the economic and cultural level, television productions have been largely ignored by semiotic research for a variety of reasons, including the absence of a strong semiotic culture and the underestimation of the concept of text, which is devalued due to its required autonomy. It does not necessarily imply that the text does not require a receiver or that the audience is irrelevant in televisual communication; rather, it means to consider the text to be a signifier that is synced in nature, and which resides primarily at the receiving end of the communication, thus proving to be external to the text itself. Despite the fact that numerous factors and characteristics have contributed to the revival of television, it is essential that texts and narratives be redefined and softened when confronting television production. munotes.in

Page 189


189
Beyond Television While research suggests that the television was killed by cable television and VCR in the 1980s, the internet and video games in the 1990s, I-pods in the 2000s, and smartphones in 2010, viewers have had a variety of entertainment options available to them, and despite this, television remains the primary medium through which people obtain visual entertainment and advertisers reach a larger audience. However, while viewership is declining, more attention is being paid to the new form of media, making advertisers anxious about the increased use of technological equipment. As early television derived its programming material from a variety of sources, including movies, sports events, music, and comedy skits, the medium relied heavily on broadcasting as it provided crucial narrative strategies and forms. As television has changed considerably since then, the influence of other media on television has been so significant that radio was less popular than early television. People have begun to rely more on YouTube and other video sources as the century changes, bringing about a "age of uncertainty." 15.2.1 Television’s Not-So-Distant-Past With The Network Era The 1980s marked the beginning of the network television era. In order to facilitate television's ebb and flow, print media such as newspapers and magazines have utilised a grid system to depict an easier-to-follow schedule for the general public. People could attempt to pinpoint the location in the grid at a glance, thereby enhancing their understanding of the television's fundamental structure and the viewing experience. As the television grid portrays visuals over two important aspects, namely sequence (one thing after another) and association (connections between programmes), programme listing has illustrated some of the fundamental principles of the network era's television structure. Almost every aspect of television's structure and systems have been dominated by this kind of maintenance over the televisual flow. In addition, it describes how stories would have been presented, how advertisements would have been constructed, and how television's visuals would have been created. As Raymond Williams argued in 1974 that television differs significantly from other art forms by combining narrative, information, and advertising into a never-ending stream of television, people generally watch television as opposed to searching for specific television programmes. Thus, this principle has had three fundamental repercussions: polysemy, interruption, and segmentation. Check your progress 1. What is the network era ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Why do we study the network era? munotes.in

Page 190


190 Introduction to Television Studies ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Name some factors in which the television has evolved ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ A. Polysemy, Contradiction and Segmentation. I. Polysemy Numerous critics have assumed that it communicates with a single voice, and consequently, the maximum number of single perspectives have been presented. Vice President Dan Quayle cited Candice Bergen as an example of television's assault on family values during the 1992 US presidential election campaign. While the Vice President failed to account for the overwhelming number of television programmes, the plethora of meanings that television provides illustrates a substantial portion of the television programme. Even though there is a deluge of meaning, Network-era television has presented a variety of diverse meanings for nighttime viewing. And with these viewings come axioms that direct our approach to the medium more closely – Axiom 1: It is the portion of the television flow that determines whether the next item will be a single programme, commercial, newscast, or the entire evening's viewing. It may also be considered a notion in which the television offers multiple meanings. As texts are presented as a phenomenon that brings together elements with significant meanings for the readers or viewers who encounter it. To communicate with the audience, narrative and non-narrative structure, lighting, set design, camera technique, and editing were considered textual elements of television. The television text does not present all meanings in a positive or emphatic manner. Moreover, it is through dialogues, acting styles, music, and other characteristics that certain meanings are emphasised while others are diminished. Although television is demonstrated to be polysemous, the presented meanings cannot always be equivalent. Television may be structured, but it need not have an infinite amount of meaning. According to John Fiske, "television's polysemic potential is neither limitless nor devoid of structure; rather, the text merely outlines the terrain over which meanings could be created." While the primary objective of television studies is to analyse the hierarchy of meanings, this raises a number of issues, such as "Which meanings does the text emphasise?" and "How are they emphasised?" To answer these questions, it is necessary to comprehend certain cultural codes that aid in the comprehension of dominant social munotes.in

Page 191


191
Beyond Television groups such as class, gender, and race. Despite the fact that television has multiple meanings, this particular structure tends to support those in positions of economic and political power; however, there is always space for contradictory interpretations. The act of watching television is one in which the discourses of the spectator and the text intersect. John Fiske defined discourses as "a language or system of representation that has developed socially in order to make or circulate a coherent set of meanings over an important topic"; however, these meanings primarily serve the interests of the segment of society from which the discourse originates. As Fiske argues that the dominant discourse is so pervasive that it disappears into common sense, the only commonsense truth that emerges is the fundamental component of the dominant discourse, prompting critics to investigate these ideals in greater depth. II. Interruption and Sequence Until now, television has been described as a continuous stream of sounds, images, and meanings; however, it is important to recognise the ebb and flow that comprise the entire television scenario. Advertisers want viewers to overcome television's fragmentary nature and continue viewing their commercial or programme, given that daily interruptions occur while people are watching television. While there are non-narrative texts, advertising texts, informational texts, and advisory texts, the presence of a remote control makes all the difference. With the presence of the device, the vertical axis of the grid is interrupted, thereby creating a mosaic of the texts, and narrative and non-narrative programmes, films, advertisements, announcements, and credit sequences are combined into a subtext that could be disorienting for other viewers. All of these interruptions alter the experience so that everything feels entirely different. However, this does not imply that television does not attempt to interrupt its momentum. Advertisers and networks are depicted as desiring viewers to overcome their fragmentary nature and continue viewing commercials and programmes. In order to achieve this objective, storylines, music, visual design, and dialogue must hold viewers' attention during commercial breaks so that they can switch to other channels. III. Segmentation The discontinuous character of television has led to a particular way of comprehending narratives that were both informative and commercial. Despite the fact that the overall flow of television has been segmented into small parcels with logical connections, one segment of television does not inherently link to the next in the chain of cause and effect. As stated by Fiske, "television is composed of a rapid succession of compressed, vivid segments where the principle of logic and cause and effect is subordinated to that of an association and consequence to the sequence," the television's flow is governed by a relatively random association and sequence, rather than a random cause and effect consequence. munotes.in

Page 192


192 Introduction to Television Studies While the segmented nature is most apparent during the 30-second advertisement, it is also evident in news channels, game programmes, and other modes. Even though news programmes appear to be divided into news, weather, and sports segments, they are additionally subdivided into 90-second packages or stories. The majority of game programmes have a predetermined running time. Narrative programmes are required to organise and structure their narratives so that the segments can fit within the commercial breaks. And as the television format most closely resembles theatrical films, they are typically presented in narrative segments that are cognizant of when commercials are programmed. Ultimately, the programmes would serve as filler for the television industry, which is a necessary inconvenience caused by the interruption of the television's primary function, which is commercial broadcasting. As the construction of these television segments has been a significant concern for television's advertisers, producers, and programmers, it has reached a point where there is a constant focus on who wins and who loses. It is essential for individuals to be cognizant of the segmental structure that television creates, as it determines the amount of stories and information presented and how products are advertised on television. 15.3 HALTING OVER THE FLOW: WHAT IS CHANGING BEYOND TELEVISION? Television is in transition. It is astounding that television has played such a pivotal role in shaping people's lives, given how many factors and characteristics contribute to the comprehension of what is causing this constant change throughout the world. As a result of a number of fundamental factors that shape the medium, the potential for this transformation becomes uncertain. It is evident that the medium has entered an era of convergence from which there is no turning back, as several questions, such as "What would happen if a change overtook the medium?" and "Who would emerge wealthy from this" and "What would be its implications," have been raised. As every account of quality television has hinged on claims to surpass and subvert the expectations of the existing television formats and genres, which are used to attract audiences, the quality television viewer has been attracted by the status with which cultural value has been transformed into casting, scripting, acting, directing, producing, and critically evaluating television. While modalities such as television, the Internet, print media, films, and telephones have been merged into one large digital stew, transmedia storytelling has emerged. Though the concept of transmedia storytelling is not foreign to any scholar or critic, throughout human history there have been multiple channels displaying signs and symbols that demonstrate the type of imagination the story's creators intended to portray. Oftentimes, it has been observed that the creators wished to express themselves more, but in some instances, the expression is an infringement that causes harm. As transmedia storytelling has its origins in traditional media such as novels, films, and comic books, it is still widely used in entertainment contexts. With the growth of transmedia storytelling coinciding with the growth of munotes.in

Page 193


193
Beyond Television corporate ownership of fictional characters in the middle of the 20th century, the development of characters from Superman to Sonic the Hedgehog is demonstrated. This further suggests that the available resources and media-spanning skillbases for various organisations may contribute to the growth of transmedia storytelling in the entertainment industry. While television undergoes a monumental phase in which two revolutionary changes occur as a result of viewer experience with the medium, some of the points enable – a) the potential for viewer agency and exponentially greater interactivity. b) the possibility for viewers to become producers as opposed to mere receivers, thereby generating a mode of reality. As discourse over discourse television has emerged since the 1990s, such predictions over the medium have only brought about a more fundamental change in the organisational form and uses, paving the way for new forms of user participation and true interactivity. Even though network era television permitted very little agency or interactivity, channel toggling was the only interactivity network era viewers were reluctantly granted. While this momentum led to a greater revolution in television interactivity, it also resulted in the proliferation of channels and later the invention of the remote control; therefore, continuous channel toggling can be quite disorienting. Such is the impact of viewer agency on television programming. Although the device has exacerbated television's discontinuous nature and increased the number of interruptions, the discontinuity in the flow of programming has been contained because viewers were only permitted to select or draw from the grid. This does not indicate that the current situation has been resolved and clarified. In contrast, technology, television experience, and the relationship between broadcasters and viewers are continuously evolving, albeit as part of a lengthy and gradual process. Relevant are at least two lines of ongoing development, the first of which is the transfer of power and control to an emerging industry associated with new filtering services, and the second of which demonstrates the potential for opening television systems to networks and content associated with computer and Internet use. In addition to discussing the developments, the question remains as to how useful this reworked concept of flow could still be for a variety of purposes. While preliminary conclusions can be derived about the usefulness of the concept of flow, the prospects for digital television also include freedom and viewer control. However, things began to change once VOD services began to emerge. They have eliminated the time-based horizontal axis from the programming grid, resulting in the victory of draw over push. In addition to not receiving programming over the grid, they wish to select, draw, stream, and demand programming based on their own schedule and time grid. Check your progress 1. Discuss why television is changing today. munotes.in

Page 194


194 Introduction to Television Studies ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Discuss segmentation ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Discuss polysemy in detail ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ LET’S SUM IT UP As new technologies have not only disrupted the flow of television, but also brought it to a complete halt, the only formula that would work is the need for new, possibly transmedia, narrative forms, new visual and aural style, and new distribution methods for television. Even if significant changes do not occur in the near future, industry analysts would describe it as follows: "the prime time broadcast would continue to serve as a tentpole," emphasising that it will continue to support all other derivative forms of television that use the same content. Such a description of the development would further distinguish the television programming industry, thereby providing an argument against the concept's continued use. Additionally, rather than being sent or offered simultaneously from a small number to a large number of users, it is available to everyone. The image that television has created over the years has left an indelible impression on the field of media studies. 15.5 QUESTIONS a) What have been the axioms and characteristics involved into understanding television’s past with the network era? b) How has television regulated over the ebb and flow throughout the years? 15.6 BIBLIOGRAPHY Moe, H. (2007, March 15). Bergen Open Research Archive: Television, Digitalization and Flow: Questioning the Promises of Viewer Control. munotes.in

Page 195


195
Beyond Television Bergen Open Research Archive. https://bora.uib.no/bora-xmlui/handle/1956/2150 Bennett, J. (2008). Television Studies Goes Digital. Cinema Journal, 47(3), 158–166. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30136124 Cable Visions: Television Beyond Broadcasting. (2007). United Kingdom: NYU Press. Holland, Patricia. The Television Handbook. United Kingdom: Routledge, 2000. Television Beyond and Across the Iron Curtain. (2016). United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Savorelli, A. (2010). Beyond Sitcom: New Directions in American Television Comedy. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. Butler, J. G. (2001). Television: Critical Methods and Applications (Lea’s Communication) (2nd ed.). Routledge. Gallagher, R. (2021, February 2). Transmedia Storytelling in 2021. Target Internet. https://www.targetinternet.com/transmedia-storytelling-in-2021/ What is Transmedia Storytelling? (2011, December 1). Transmedia Journalism. https://transmediajournalism.org/contexts/what-is-transmedia-storytelling/ Star Wars and the History of Transmedia Storytelling. (2018). Amsterdam University Press.  munotes.in