------------------------------ 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.' ####################################################################### # Join the Progressive Jewish Mailing List (PJML) for an open # # discussion. Send the following message to # # [log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask]: # # SUB PJML <your first name> <your last name> # # Join the Progressive Jewish Activism List (PJAL) for a moderated # # discussion. Send the following message to [log in to unmask] or # # [log in to unmask] to receive an application: # # SUB PJAL <your first name> <your last name> # ####################################################################### 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