The Television Reader; Critical Perspective in Canadian and US Television Studies

by Tanner Mirrlees; Joseph Kispal-Kovacs

• ISBN13: 9780195446876
• ISBN10: 0195446879
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-10-12
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Summary

The Television Reader: Critical Perspectives in Canadian and US Television Studiesis a core text for Television Studies courses taught at the second- and third-year level. With 27 chapters divided into four parts, our text brings together exciting and contemporary writing in the field of Canadian and US television studies.The Television Readerincludes introductory essays and two brand new chapters written by the editors, as well as 25 previously published articles. The selection of material covers economic, genre, historical, political, technological, and theoretical characteristics of Canadian and US television. The first part of the text, 'Theorizing Television,' discusses theoretical approaches to studying television as a cultural form, a genre, and a mode of communication. Part II, 'History and Characteristics of TV Broadcasting in Canada and the US,' contains readings discussing the similarities and differences, from political and economic perspectives, that shape Canadian and US television. Part III, 'TV Genre: Contexts and Textual Analysis,' includes trendy, relevant readings on genre in television. The fourth part, 'Emerging Trends in Television Studies,' examines the future of both general television and Canadian television. Finally, each part is accompanied by suggestions for further reading and chapter-specific discussion questions to further student engagement and understanding.

Author Biography

Tanner Mirrlees is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. His areas of research include political and economic structures, institutions, policies, and practices that influence and are influenced by technology and media systems in society. He has been published in international journals and is in the process of completing two books. Tanner was awarded the Governor General's Gold Medal in 2008.

Joseph Kispal-Kovacs is a full-time instructor in Film Studies and Humanities at York University. Since 1997, he has been the course director and instructor for York's course on Film, Television, and Society. He has written two books on film and television and has published articles in collections from the University of Toronto Press and the journal Border/Lines.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: Making Critical TV Studies 'Visible'
Part I: Theorizing Television
1. Critical Approaches to the Study of 'TV': An Introduction
Tanner Mirrlees and Joseph Kispal-Kovacs
Discussion Questions and Suggestions for Further Reading
Part II: History and Characteristics of TV Broadcasting in Canada and the US: Political Economy
2. The Radio Act of 1927: Progressive Ideology, Epistemology, and Praxis. Mark Goodman and Mark Gring
3. Women's Work. Lynn Spigel
4. Canada. Marc Raboy
5. A Usable History for the Study of Television. Paul Attallah
Discussion Questions and Suggestions for Further Reading
Part III: TV Genre: Contexts and Textual Analysis
1. Sit-coms
6. From Trailer Trash to Trailer Park Boys. Dean Defino
7. Little Mosque on the Prairie: Examining Multicultural Spaces of Nation and Religion. Sandra Canas
2. Science Fiction
8. Downloading Doppelgangers: New Media Anxieties and Transnational Ironies in Battlestar Galactica. Mark McCutcheon
3. Cop/Crime shows
9. CSI and Moral Authority: The Police and Science. Gray Cavender and Sarah K. Deutsch
10. Rewriting Baltimore. Marsha Kinder
4. Reality-TV
11. Making the Most of 15 Minutes: Reality TV's Dispensable Celebrity. Sue Collins
12. Reality TV Formats: The Case of Canadian Idol. Doris Baltruschat
5. News Production and News Parody
13. Laughing at Authority or Authorizing Laughter?. Zoe Druick
14. The Daily Show: Discursive Integration and Reinvention of Political Journalism. Geoffrey Baym
6. TV War
15. Entertainment Wars: Television Culture after 9/11. Lynn Spigel
16. Interrogating 24: Making Sense of US Counterterrorism in the Global War on Terrorism. Elspeth Van Veeren
7. TV Sports
17. 'Get the Puck Outta Here!': Media Transnationalism and Canadian Identity. Daniel Mason
18. Some Notes on Televised Team Sports in North America. Joseph Kispal-Kovacs
Discussion Questions and Suggestions for Further Reading
Part IV: Emerging Trends in TV Studies: Interactive Audiences, Advertising, Globalization, and Post-Network TV
1. TV's Interactive Audience and Advertising
19. Understanding How the Popular Becomes Popular: The Role of Political Economy in the Study of Popular Communication. Eileen R. Meehan
20. YouTube: Where Cultural Memory and Copyright Converge. Lucas Hilderbrand
21. Watching Television without Pity: The Productivity of Online Fans. Mark Andrejevic
22. The Commodity Flow of U.S. Children's Television. Matthew P. McAllister and J. Matt Giglio
2. Global TV: Media Imperialism and Media Globalization
23. McTV: Understanding the Global Popularity of Television Formats. Silvio Waisbord
24. National Television, Global Market: Canada's Degrassi: The Next Generation. Elana Levine
25. Imagining America: The Simpsons Go Global. Jonathan Gray
26. Walking a Tightrope: The Global Cultural Economy of Canadian Television. Serra Tinic
3. Post-Network TV
27. The Future of Television: Revolution Paused, Media Conglomeration ContinuedTanner Mirrlees
Discussion Questions and Suggestions for Further Reading
Glossary