Realities of Change: The changing nature of television in the past twenty years

This thesis argues that in order to understand the changes that have occurred in the television industry and television spectatorship since the mid-1990s, it is important to look at the transitions which have occurred in three key areas: ‘textual production’, ‘reception and response’, and ‘economics’. Textual production refers to the various industrial structures which surround the creation of a text and impact its content; reception and response refers to the ways in which an audience receives their television content, and the methods by which they communicate about it with each other and with content creators; and lastly, economics refers to the variety of financial, commercial, and regulatory structures that surround the production, distribution and reception of the television text. By providing historical context in order to contrast and highlight the shifts in these key areas, as well as the technological environment in which they occur, a holistic understanding of the period can be gained, through the framework of a circuit model. This thesis argues that the changes that occurred during this period in the primary nodes of textual production, reception and response, and economics are interrelated, and could not have occurred independently of each other. The thesis draws on case studies from the period, specifically Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lost, and American Idol with each series illustrating one of the three key areas of transition. The fourth case study, Survivor, specifically the twenty-third season, is utilised to show the complex interrelations of these areas, and how their simultaneous analysis can elucidate the macro-level shifts that have occurred in the past twenty years. The case studies cover the major developments in entertainment programming of the period, namely narratively complex television, and reality television. Finally, comments are made about the possible future directions of both television and Television studies.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Stewart, Mark

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Jagose, A
• Perry, N
• Sender, K
• Kavka, M

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/24351

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/24351