The Story of Viewers For Quality Television

The Story of Viewers For Quality Television
Author: Dorothy Collins Swanson
Publisher: Television and Popular Culture
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2000-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Viewers for Quality Television (VQT) emerged from the successful grassroots campaign of founder Dorothy Swanson to save the series Cagney & Lacey. Eight months after the drama returned to the air-with the help of the show's producer Barney Rosenzweig-Swanson's group gained significant media attention and popular support. In 1984 she founded VQT and galvanized over 1500 advocates for innovative and enriching television programming. For the past 12 years, VQT has been the recognized and credible forum for discerning viewers. Prior to the formation of this group, there was no system in place where viewers could voice their opinions collectively to those responsible for the fate of programs. The organization, whose endorsements continue to be an important part of many programs' bids for survival, has succeeded in convincing network executives to reconsider shows such as Designing Women, Homefront, China Beach, I'll Fly Away, and most recently, The Practice, which were scheduled to be canceled. Documenting the efforts of one grassroots organization that made a difference, Swanson's story extends beyond the realm of television to demonstrate the rewards of making the voice of public opinion heard.

The Story of Viewers For Quality Television

The Story of Viewers For Quality Television
Author: Dorothy Collins Swanson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2000-10
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Viewers for Quality Television (VQT) emerged from the successful grassroots campaign of founder Dorothy Swanson to save the series Cagney & Lacey. Eight months after the drama returned to the air-with the help of the show's producer Barney Rosenzweig-Swanson's group gained significant media attention and popular support. In 1984 she founded VQT and galvanized over 1500 advocates for innovative and enriching television programming. For the past 12 years, VQT has been the recognized and credible forum for discerning viewers. Prior to the formation of this group, there was no system in place where viewers could voice their opinions collectively to those responsible for the fate of programs. The organization, whose endorsements continue to be an important part of many programs' bids for survival, has succeeded in convincing network executives to reconsider shows such as Designing Women, Homefront, China Beach, I'll Fly Away, and most recently, The Practice, which were scheduled to be canceled. Documenting the efforts of one grassroots organization that made a difference, Swanson's story extends beyond the realm of television to demonstrate the rewards of making the voice of public opinion heard.

Quality TV

Quality TV
Author: Janet McCabe
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 312
Release: 2007-09-26
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0857715992

In his seminal book "Television's Second Golden Age", Robert Thompson described quality TV as 'best defined by what it is not': 'it is not "regular" TV'. Audacious maybe, but his statement renewed debate on the meaning of this highly contentious term. Dealing primarily with the post-1996 era shaped by digital technologies and defined by consumer choice and brand marketing, this book brings together leading scholars, established journalists and experienced broadcasters working in the field of contemporary television to debate what we currently mean by quality TV. They go deep into contemporary American television fictions, from "The Sopranos" and "The West Wing", to "CSI" and "Lost" - innovative, sometimes controversial, always compelling dramas, which one scholar has described as 'now better than the movies!' But how do we understand the emergence of these kinds of fiction? Are they genuinely new? What does quality TV have to tell us about the state of today's television market? And is this a new Golden Age of quality TV? Original, often polemic, each chapter proposes new ways of thinking about and defining quality TV. There is a foreword from Robert Thompson, and heated dialogue between British and US television critics. Also included - and a great coup - are interviews with W. Snuffy Walden (scored "The West Wing" among others) and with David Chase ("The Sopranos" creator). "Quality TV" provides throughout groundbreaking and innovative theoretical and critical approaches to studying television and for understanding the current - and future - TV landscape.

The Adoring Audience

The Adoring Audience
Author: Lisa A. Lewis
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1992
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9780415078207

First published in 1992. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Complex TV

Complex TV
Author: Jason Mittell
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2015-04-10
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0814738850

A comprehensive and sustained analysis of the development of storytelling for television Over the past two decades, new technologies, changing viewer practices, and the proliferation of genres and channels has transformed American television. One of the most notable impacts of these shifts is the emergence of highly complex and elaborate forms of serial narrative, resulting in a robust period of formal experimentation and risky programming rarely seen in a medium that is typically viewed as formulaic and convention bound. Complex TV offers a sustained analysis of the poetics of television narrative, focusing on how storytelling has changed in recent years and how viewers make sense of these innovations. Through close analyses of key programs, including The Wire, Lost, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Veronica Mars, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Mad Men the book traces the emergence of this narrative mode, focusing on issues such as viewer comprehension, transmedia storytelling, serial authorship, character change, and cultural evaluation. Developing a television-specific set of narrative theories, Complex TV argues that television is the most vital and important storytelling medium of our time.

TV Creators

TV Creators
Author: James L. Longworth, Jr.
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2002-05-01
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780815629535

This sequel provides yet another dozen of today's most acclaimed writers and producers an open, uncensored forum in which they discuss everything from their work ethic to the political, social, and economic issues affecting the television industry. The West Wing, C.S.I., and Judging Amy are just a few of the dramas that launched a new era of television at the turn of the millennium. TV Creators gives scholars and fans alike an exclusive, firsthand account of the lives, philosophies, and contributions of some of the best television scribes of the past two decades. TV Creators: Volume Two includes revelations such as Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) admitting that he is not a natural storyteller, and Martha Williamson (Touched by an Angel) announcing that "There is nothing more gender blind than an executive producer who desperately needs a good writer." Glenn Gordon Caron (Moonlighting, Now & Again) confesses, "I always think that disaster is an inch away," while Paul Haggis (Family Law) reveals, "I always like to do something that I think I can fail at." Also interviewed are: Aaron Spelling (Charmed, Beverly Hills 90210); Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer); Roy Huggins (The Fugitive); Clifton Campbell (Profiler); Barbara Hall (Judging Amy); Anthony Zuiker (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation); John McNamara (The Fugitive); and Don Bellisario (JAG, Magnum P.I.).

Beautiful TV

Beautiful TV
Author: Greg M. Smith
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2009-03-06
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0292777841

During its five-year run from 1997 to 2002, the popular TV show Ally McBeal engaged viewers in debates over what it means to be a woman or a man in the modern workplace; how romance factors into the therapeutic understanding of relationships; what value eccentricity has and how much oddity society should tolerate; and what utility fantasy has in the pragmatic world. In addition to these social concerns, however, Ally McBeal stood out for being well-constructed, narratively complex, and stylistically rich—in short, beautiful TV. Starting from the premise that much of television today is "drop-dead gorgeous" and that TV should be studied for its formal qualities as well as its social impact, Greg M. Smith analyzes Ally McBeal in terms of its aesthetic principles and narrative construction. He explores how Ally's innovative use of music, special effects, fantasy sequences, voiceovers, and flashbacks structures a distinctive fictional universe, while it also opens up new possibilities for televisual expression. Smith also discusses the complex narrative strategies that Ally's creator David E. Kelley used to develop a long-running storyline and shows how these serial narrative practices can help us understand a wide range of prime-time TV serials. By taking seriously the art and argument of Ally McBeal, Beautiful TV conclusively demonstrates that aesthetic and narrative analysis is an indispensable key for unlocking the richness of contemporary television.

The Tabloid Culture Reader

The Tabloid Culture Reader
Author: Biressi, Anita
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2007-12-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0335219314

The Tabloid Culture Reader provides an accessible and useful introduction to the field.

Why Viewers Watch

Why Viewers Watch
Author: Jib Fowles
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Total Pages: 299
Release: 1992-01-14
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1452245916

Television corrupts our children, induces us to spend needlessly, and stimulates hostility and violence. Or does it? Jib Fowles sees television as a "grandly therapeutic force," that television is indeed good for you. He examines why nearly every American regularly watches television and why viewing is beneficial. Updated and jargon-free, Why Viewers Watch describes the overall effect of programming on the population. What do viewers get from television? What does it do for them? Why do academics negatively judge television? Using recent research reports, overlooked past studies, and fresh survey data to substantiate this positive role, Fowles first reviews the history of television and programming. After discussing what people expect from television, he explores how different types of programs satisfy different needs. Fowles also debunks many of the myths propagated by media scholars and "television prigs." With an easy-to-read style that is both entertaining and informative, Why Viewers Watch suits both the scholar and the student, the specialist and nonspecialist alike. As such, it is the perfect companion volume for courses in communication, journalism, sociology, and psychology. "The author does present another side to the complex effects debate--a side of which we should all be aware." --Et cetera from the First Edition: "An interesting--and challenging--book about television. So good it is surprising it has not received more attention. . . . There aren′t many really good books about television, and [this] is one of the best." --Peter Farrell, The Sunday Oregonian "I would recommend this book to interested television viewers, media scholars, and professionals. Fowles′ arguments are thought-provoking and sometimes compelling. The book is very readable and easily accessible to lower-division students. For those of us who spent our childhoods glued to the screen and believe we still turned out all right, this book will help alleviate our nagging guilt when we watch television. The book should help scholars reexamine our views on the impact of television′s content and our suggested changes. Media professionals should find the book a testament to the positive aspects of their medium." --The Southern Speech Communication Journal

Television and Its Audience

Television and Its Audience
Author: Patrick Barwise
Publisher: SAGE
Total Pages: 221
Release: 1988-11-24
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1849207208

This book by two leading experts takes a fresh look at the nature of television, starting from an audience perspective. It draws on over twenty years of research about the audience in the United States and Britain and about the many ways in which television is funded and organized around the world. The overall picture which emerges is of: a medium which is watched for several hours a day but usually at only a low level of involvement; an audience which views mainly for relaxation but which actively chooses favourite programmes; a flowering of new channels but with no fundamental change in what or how people watch; programmes costing millions to produce but only a few pennies to view; a wide range of programme types apparently similar to the range of print media but with nothing like the same degree of audience 'segmentation'; a global communication medium of dazzling scale, speed, and impact but which is slow at conveying complex information and perhaps less powerful than generally assumed. The book is packed with information and insights yet is highly readable. It is unique in relating so many of the issues raised by television to how we watch it. There is also a highly regarded appendix on advertising, as well as technical notes, a glossary, and references for further reading.