Production Context Criticism

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Production Context Criticism

• Prof. Nick Burnett
• ComS 169
• Television Criticism

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Production Context AssumptionsLevels of Analysis

• Macro levelownership and programming trends
• Concentration in the media industry
• Pressures to cross promote
• The disappearance of westerns, variety shows
• Micro levelpressures on television workers
• Getting produced, casting decisions, racial and
  ethnic issues
• Mid-rangecase studies of organizational dynamics
  
• Studio pressures, production companies

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Perspectives for Production Context Criticism

• Dominant perspectives
• Political/economic perspectivetheories of
  capitalism (often looks at allocative control)
• Organizational/industrial relations
  perspectivetheories of industrial society (often
  looks at operational control)

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Production Context Assumptions

• Two strategies to understand context
• Actional analysishow do people gain compliance,
  and strategies in gatekeeping, tends to look at
  individual influence
• Structural analysisconstraints in political and
  economic environments that determine limitsactor
  wages, sponsorship issues, regulatory studies
  (FCC), more likely to see decisions as the result
  of institutional influences

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Political Economy Critical Perspective

• Marxist influencehow does the structure of
  television support the interests of economic and
  political elites?
• Actional analysishow do corporate strategies
  effect broader control for elites?
• Structural analysiswhat are the larger societal
  effects on ideology and markets?

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Industrial Relations Critical Perspective

• Organizational sociology focusing on the social
  organization of television work
• Central issuespower, autonomy,
  bureaucratization, professional norms, and
  creativity
• Actional analysisorganizational constraints and
  tensions between managers and creative personnel
• Structural analysisworkers response to the
  consumer marketplace

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Dimmick and Coit9 Systems of Influence on TVA
Different Approach to Production Context Criticism

• Supra-national/Pan-National influence (media
  imperialism and information flow)
• Societal Level Influence (govt. licensing,
  regulatory issues, sex/violence on TV)
• Industry Level and Inter-organizational Influence
  (relations among networks and affiliates/program
  suppliersownership and concentration issues
• Supra-organizational influencecorporate and
  media synergiescross promotion

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Dimmick and Coit, continued

• Community and market influencescommunity
  pressure groups, boycotts
• Interorganizational influencesorg. structures,
  polices, goals, actor and writer unions
• Formal or informal group influencesoften studied
  with interviews or ethnographic observations
• Dyadic communication influencespersonal
  relationships and TV production, Bochco
• Intra-individual or cognitive level
  influences(sounds like auteur)

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NATPE Experience

• Size
• Dollars
• At conference publications
• Promotion from within (Pitch camp)
• Some examples of programming
• Cooking is a Drag
• Atomic City
• Redneck Hunting