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May 1993

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Sender:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:
From:
Steve Carr <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 25 May 1993 18:37:44 CST
Reply-To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
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From: New Liberation News Service <[log in to unmask]>
Tue, 25 May 93 12:51:55 PDT
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: waco news as entertainment
 
/* Written 10:51 am  May 25, 1993 by [log in to unmask] in igc:media.issues *
 /
/* ---------- "waco news as entertainment" ---------- */
 
 
                       "News as Advertising"
                         David L. Altheide
 
     It has long been recognized that TV news was entertainment oriented, but
now there are indications that entertainment programs are becoming more like
news programs as standard formats mold programming for a culture geared to an
media logic which subtly folds TV criteria, discourse and perspectives into
everyday life.   One indication was when surveys revealed that a majority of
viewers, and especially younger ones, thought that the program, "America's
Most Wanted," was a news show!  From the standpoint of media logic this is
hardly surprising since this show, and many like it, incorporate a number of
standard TV news formats within its production formula.  Another indication is
the way in which extended news coverage of events foreshadows future TV
movies, and in a sense, becomes a kind of preview or advertisement for 'coming
attractions.'  The Waco debacle that ended in April, 1993 is a good illustra
tion of "news as advertising."
     The docu-dramas about Waco and other 'news events' (e.g., Amy Fisher,
Hurricane Andrew, World Trade Center bombing, etc.) indicate that this genre
has been revised.  As the docudrama formula has been learned and refined from
the 'production end,' the time period between the 'real' event and its prime-
time airing as a "TV Movie" has been reduced to matter of weeks, and in some
cases, days. Commenting on NBC's quick production of a TV movie while the
'Waco standoff' was continuing, ABC senior vice president, Judd Parkin, stated
"Dramatizing such events before they're fully resolved can be irresponsible.
In a way, it almost preempts the news" (Newsweek, May 24, 1993).
     The key connection here is between evening newscasts' saturation cover
age of events like the 51 day "Waco standoff" and audience familiarity with
the topic.  As TV networks continue to pursue lucrative ratings, they appear
to have stumbled on a sure-fire way to attract audiences to their TV fare:
Simply take news events, which are increasingly being cast in TV formats rich
in entertainment value, and then follow-up with a made for TV movie.  After
noting that ABC has its own Koresh docu-drama in the works, a Newsweek report
er article discussed what could be termed "advertising news": "...It
isn't just their odor of exploitation or their penchant for selling fiction as
fact: we've become all too accustomed to that.   What's less obvious is the
genre's habit, exacerbated by haste, of reducing a complex story to the sim
plest, most viewer-friendly terms...Still, get ready for a lot more.  In high-
visibility disasters like Waco, the networks see a way to survival: instantly
recognizable 'concepts' with a presold market...We've reached the point,' says
ABC's Parkin,'where TV movies and news shows are competing for the very same
stories.'"
     Since the audience familiarity and interest is subtly developed through
extended reports about such events on regular evening news programs, and even
documented with ratings, all that remains is to extend the 'news angle' into
prime time entertainment. As with any entertainment programs, audiences 'e
njoy' programs that resonate with feelings and issues with which they are
familiar.  This familiarity permits more audience anticipation, interaction
and participation, and therefore, enjoyment.  Audience familiarity is nurtured
as repeated news coverage of an event provides the familiarity of an event and
its connection (often quite distorted) to dominant values and beliefs in order
to 'make the report relevant.' When a 'made for TV movie' follows such cover
age, less plot development is required to make the story credible--after all,
'it actually happened'--and less advertising is required to move audience
members to tune in.  In brief, news becomes advertising.  Thus, the distinc
tion between news and TV movies becomes less clear, and indeed, the broader
context provided by such docudramas--albeit often inaccurate--can provide a
more gentle misunderstanding of the original event by inviting viewers to
accept the grossly entertainmentized version in the movie.  News as a form of
knowledge is transformed through news as entertainment into news as advertis
ing, a preview of coming attractions on television, which in turn add to the
context of experience, understanding and perspective for future 'news events.'
 
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      Steve Carr                         [log in to unmask]
      Dept. of Radio-TV-Film             512/471-4071
      20903                              fax: 512/471-4077
      University of Texas at Austin
      Austin TX  78712

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