Chapter 1 - Studying Televison Flashcards
What is an example of non-broadcast radio?
- Surveillance video made by retailers or police
- Wedding or family holiday videos
What does broadcast mean?
The transmission of signals from a central source which can be received by dispersed receivers over a large geographical area
What is the definition of ‘reality TV’?
Programmes where the unscripted behaviour of ‘ordinary people’ is the focus of interest
Is video shown at live events such as football games and or Rock concerts considered as television?
No, because of the specialised venue and non-broadcast transmission
What is one of the conventions broadcast television such as MTV uses to create the atmosphere of being at a live event?
Mist and lighting effects
What is ‘art video’?
The use of video technology in artistic work intended for gallery exhibition
What is the definition of avant-garde?
Work aiming to challenge the norms and conventions of the medium, and the group of people making such work
What is one of the reasons that English-language television programmes are exported around the world?
They are shown either with subtitles or with a dubbed soundtrack
What different language channels are shown in America?
English and Spanish
How was televisions oral mode regarded by Fiske and Hartley?
Deriving from organic culture of people’s own communities and everyday lives and a representation of people’s vigorous popular culture
What are some functions of a trailer?
- Inform audiences about what will be available in the future
- Shape the viewers expectations about what a future programme will be like
- Offer suggestions of what might be interesting or enjoyable
What are indents?
The symbols representing production companies, television channels, etc., often comprising graphics or animations
What is the importance of indents to companies?
Frequently repeated channel or brand indents give brand identity and recognition by audiences
What is public service in television?
The provision of a mix of programmes that inform, educate and entertain in ways that encourage the betterment of audiences and society in general
What is public television?
Television funded by government or by private supporters, rather than solely by advertising
What is a key way in which television differs from cinema?
Television has always placed emphasis on witnessing events that happen in the real world
What is the literal meaning of the word ‘television’?
Seeing from afar
What is the ‘public sphere’?
The world of politics, economic affairs and national and international events, as opposed to the ‘private sphere’ of domestic life
What is ‘public speech’?
Parliament, academia, the judicial system
What is ‘private speech’?
Gossip, everyday talk, the language of subcultural groups
What are the two debated assumptions about television?
- TV should provide resources to answer people’s needs and raise cultural standards
- Television should give people what the majority seem to want and what makes the most profit
What does format mean in TV?
The blueprint for a programme, including its setting, main characters, genre, form and main themes
What is commissioning?
The process by which an idea for a programme is selected to go into production
What is ‘audience share’?
The percentage of viewers estimated to have watched one channel as opposed to another channel broadcasting at the same time
What is audience research used for in the television industry?
Identifying new markets for consumer products, survey current users of products and measure sales and reactions to products
Which television forms might be of interest to feminist television theorists?
- Soap operas
- Cooking/art/home improvement shows
What is fan culture?
The activities of groups of fans, as distinct from ‘ordinary’ viewers
What is an active audience?
Television audiences regarded not as passive consumers of meanings but as negotiating meanings for themselves that are often resistant to those meanings that are intended or that are discovered by close analysis
What does Television Studies focus on?
Broadcast television, but new ways of delivering television to viewers are now appearing
What has television aimed to represent?
Unified cultures, though it also has regional and ethnic characteristics
What does British and other countries television place emphasis on?
Public service functions and representing society to itself
What is a way of distinguishing television viewing from that of other media, such as cinema?
The flow of programming and audiences’ experience of this flow
