Students
ICOM201 – International Television and Beyond
2015 – S2 Day
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Unit Convenor
Dr Lauren Gorfinkel
Contact via lauren.gorfinkel@mq.edu.au
Y3A 165B
Please email for an appointment.
Tutor
Mehal Krayem
By consultation
Tutor
Mei Li
By consultation
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| Credit points |
Credit points
3
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| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
15cp
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| Corequisites |
Corequisites
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| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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| Unit description |
Unit description
This unit discusses international television programs and the way in which these are constructed and distributed by media companies, and how they are interpreted within different cultures. The globalisation of production and distribution models for the television industry are examined, as are the interpretive practices audiences bring to bear on television programming that originates from elsewhere. News and current affairs television are studied, as are entertainment and educational programming.
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Important Academic Dates
Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of key theories and concepts in the study of international television.
- Acquire research skills by employing quantitative and qualitative media research methods.
- Critically analyse and interpret research data using appropriate framework.
- Present written arguments in a coherent form and demonstrate skills in oral presentation.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Summary Paper | 10% | 11pm Tues 25 August |
| TV Game Show | 20% | Weeks 4-12 |
| Content Analysis | 30% | 11pm Fri 11 September |
| Audience ethnography | 40% | 11pm Tues 3 November |
Summary Paper
Due: 11pm Tues 25 August
Weighting: 10%
The summary paper assesses your understanding of unit readings and lectures up to Week 4. Choose one question from each week’s tutorial activities in Weeks 2, 3 & 4, list which 3 questions you are answering, and write short answers to these questions (150-200 words each).
Submit your three summaries in one document on Turnitin.
Students will be assessed on their ability to:
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key theories and concepts in the readings, with reference to examples.
- Present ideas in a clear, concise and direct way, without grammatical and spelling errors.
- Provide appropriate references in the correct style (Harvard referencing style is preferred).
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of key theories and concepts in the study of international television.
- Present written arguments in a coherent form and demonstrate skills in oral presentation.
TV Game Show
Due: Weeks 4-12
Weighting: 20%
In an allocated tutorial, in teams of three, you will design and present a television game show that draws on the readings for that week and tests the knowledge of your peers. Your show should be based on one or more existing TV game shows from anywhere around the world. During the presentation, all team members will act as hosts for show.
The presentation should begin with an engaging 5 minute summary of key theories and concepts from the readings for that week (make references to key scholars/authors where appropriate). Each team member should contribute to this part. Include a brief history of the game show (or shows) you are drawing on, then clearly explain how to play it. Creatively come up with ways that will involve ALL students and will require them to discuss their views on the weekly topic, lecture and readings. It is strongly encouraged that you have small group activities as well as whole class discussions built into the show.
Note that while many TV shows request simple right/wrong answers, for this assignment use your creative licence to ensure there are aspects that allow for some extended discussion (e.g. around why a certain answer is right or wrong). Involving students in the analysis of TV clips on YouTube in relation particular concepts is also strongly encouraged.
Briefly end your presentation with a clear articulation of what you hope your classmates learnt from participating in the show, linking back to the key concepts for this week.
Each student must also demonstrate his or her contribution towards the planning of the team activity. Before commencing your game show provide the tutor with a printed one-page explanation which details what each member was involved in during the preparation and delivery stages of the game show as well as a summary of the key concepts in the readings that will be addressed and how these will be creatively included in the show.
The presentation should take about 40 minutes, allowing some time at the end for feedback.
Students will be assessed on their ability to:
- Demonstrate understanding of key theories, concepts and wider debates in the study of international television based on the readings through examples, comparison and contrast.
- Demonstrate awareness of cross-cultural or alternative perspectives, through encouraging considerate and insightful analysis of examples of television content from around the world.
- Create an effective, compelling and creative tutorial that invites all peers into a meaningful discussion of issues without the tutor's help.
- Demonstrate effective teamwork.
- Submit a well-formatted, clearly written one-page handout for the tutor that highlights key ideas and concepts, and details the contribution to the activity of each member, and includes references.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of key theories and concepts in the study of international television.
- Present written arguments in a coherent form and demonstrate skills in oral presentation.
Content Analysis
Due: 11pm Fri 11 September
Weighting: 30%
This assignment assesses your ability to critique two culturally divergent global television news services by analysing their online news content.
Length: 1500 words.
Carry out a content analysis of Internet television of two reputable news organizations, one Western and one non-Western by studying elements such as language, pictures and headlines in the reporting of a major international event or issue that is covered by both news organisations. The issue could, for instance, be related to politics, business/economics, a conflict, a natural disaster, or a particular person or celebrity. The issue should be important enough that it attracts sustained media coverage for at least 2 weeks.
In selecting your two television networks, ensure that they are comparable (e.g. both are global networks, or both are national-level networks). Students with skills in languages other than English are encouraged to compare an English and non-English language news organisation's coverage of the same issue, with key references, headlines and quotes translated into English. If you are interested in this inter-lingual option, your tutor and/or convenor can provide further assistance.
Over a 2-week period gather data from each TV news website looking at the news agenda relating to that event or issue. From the data gathered write a comparative analysis of news content focusing on the following questions:
- How is the issue or event framed? From what cultural/national perspectives are the stories being reported?
- What are the predominant news values?
- What sources are used as evidence? Who are the experts quoted? (i.e. their cultural, political or social orientation, whether they are from an elite or non-elite country or group)
- Who is the target audience? How do you know?
Your insights and analysis should be supported by examples from the evidence gathered from the TV news websites as well as course readings and other literature.
Include samples of your page views as an appendix for each website (no more than 4 pages).
Examples of global news networks you may choose include:
- BBC
- Al Jazeera
- CNN
- CCTV
- France24
- Xinhua News Agency
- ABC News World
- TimesNow.tv
Submit your analysis and samples as one document to Turnitin.
Students will be assessed on their ability to:
- Clearly articulate the aim and method of their research.
- Present robust data, using evidence to build an argument.
- Draw connections from different forms of evidence.
- Structure the essay in a clear, logical and engaging way.
- Provide a strong argument through interpretation of data and reference to relevant concepts.
- Effectively integrate cited material, with complete and appropriate referencing.
- Write clearly, concisely and directly, without spelling or grammatical errors.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of key theories and concepts in the study of international television.
- Acquire research skills by employing quantitative and qualitative media research methods.
- Critically analyse and interpret research data using appropriate framework.
- Present written arguments in a coherent form and demonstrate skills in oral presentation.
Audience ethnography
Due: 11pm Tues 3 November
Weighting: 40%
For this assignment you are required to develop a log and research report on the television viewing behaviours of a group of people (3-4 people) with whom you are in contact covering weeks 8-11. The participants may be members of your family (siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins), a selection of friends, people at work (e.g. if TV is shown in the workplace), or others who you are able to access watching TV. Not all your participants need to be viewing at the same time but there should be something that unites them as a group. The participants you follow may consume television in any of its myriad forms e.g. broadcast, online, on laptops or on mobile phones.
As an ethnographer your role is to temporarily step out of your participants' world and imagine you are from a different country or culture looking back at them with new eyes. What would you notice about their TV viewing habits that is interesting or unusual? Your main approach for this assignment is not to interview participants, but to observe them. However, if you are a participant ethnographer you may comment on conversations around shows that you have with your participants or that they have with others.
For ethical reasons, ensure you get verbal permission from your participants to observe them. You may use pseudonyms to protect the identity of your participants in your report.
Length: 2000 words
Log
Use the log sheet that will be available on ilearn and fill out details from your observations over the 4 weeks. Use Marie Gillespie's observations on the use of television among South Asian families in Southall as a guide (Gillespie 1995, Week 9 readings). These log sheets and all working notes on observations must be included in an appendix at the end of your report.
Your log must provide details on the following:
- Day, time, channel, type (e.g. free-to-air, pay TV)
- How TV is viewed (e.g. on TV screen, laptop, tablet, mobile phone)
- The nature of the content (programs watched, genre, language, advertisements etc.)
- Duration of viewing
- Other uses of television (e.g. to watch DVDs, use of games consoles etc.)
- The people who shared or participated in the viewing events (describe them)
- Activities that took place during the viewing events (e.g. Were participants doing something else at the same time as watching TV? What else was going on around them? If participants were having talking at the same time or tweeting, include salient quotes in your notes)
Research Report
In your report explain:
- the aim of your research (including research questions)
- your method (who you observed, why, when, where, and how; whether you were a participant as well as an observer; explain how readings on audience ethnography informed your approach)
- a key theory (or couple of theories) that underpins your study e.g. globalization, glocalisation, cultural proximity, old and new technology etc.
- your key observations (findings) over the 4 weeks (include detailed observations and specific quotes from your log)
- a discussion that links your findings back to the key theories
- your ideas for further research that may be interesting to follow up on
Link your discussion as much as possible to key 'international' concepts. For instance, when describing your participants you may consider their cultural, ethnic, and national backgrounds. You may explain the programs they watch in international terms e.g. what countries they come from, whether they are global formats, hybridisations, or local etc. You may consider what might be driving your participants' TV choices culturally as well as any intersections with other factors like gender, class and generational differences as appropriate.
Submit your report and log as one document to Turnitin.
You will be assessed on your ability to:
- Clearly articulate the aim and method of their research.
- Use robust and varied data from ethnographic observations.
- Make connections using different forms of evidence.
- Keep a comprehensive log with relevant and substantial observational data over a four-week period.
- Refer to at least 4 relevant sources from the unit reader and at least 3 thoughtfully chosen academic sources beyond the reader.
- Structure the report in a clear, logical and engaging way.
- Discuss ideas with relevant frameworks, linking concepts to insights based on the findings.
- Effectively integrate cited material, with complete and appropriate referencing.
- Write clearly, concisely and directly, without spelling or grammatical errors.
NB: Detailed marking rubrics for all assessment tasks can be found on ilearn.
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of key theories and concepts in the study of international television.
- Acquire research skills by employing quantitative and qualitative media research methods.
- Critically analyse and interpret research data using appropriate framework.
- Present written arguments in a coherent form and demonstrate skills in oral presentation.
Delivery and Resources
LECTURES AND TUTORIALS
ICOM201 consists of a weekly 1-hour lecture and a weekly 1-hour tutorial.
Tutorials begin in week 2.
REQUIRED READINGS
The required unit readings can be found electronically on ilearn under the weekly topics and on the library's e-Reserve. Students are expected to read the weekly readings before each week's tutorial, make notes on the readings using the key questions and points in the unit schedule as a guide, and bring these to class to inform their discussion.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
Other recommended texts are available in the reserve section of library, and include:
Straubhaar, J (2007). World Television: from Global to Local, Los Angeles: Sage.
Moran, A. and Keane, M. (Eds.) (2004). Television Across Asia: Television industries, program formats and globalization, London: RoutledgeCourzon.
Wilson, T. (2004). Playful Audience: From talkshow viewers to Internet users, Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Parks, Lisa and Kumar Shanti (Eds.) (2003). Planet TV: a global television reader. New York ; London : New York University Press
Ammon, Royce J., (2001). Global television and the shaping of world politics: CNN, telediplomacy, and foreign policy. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarlan
French, David and Richards, Michael (Eds.) (2000). Television in Contemporary Asia. New Delhi: Sage.
Thussu, Daya Kishan (2000). International Communication. Continuity and change, London: Arnold pp.200-223
Barker, Chris. (1997). Global Television: An Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers
Thomas, A. O. (1996). Global diasporic and subnational ethnic, audiences for satellite television in South Asia, The Journal of International Communication, 3(2). pp.61-75
ILEARN
Students are also expected to regularly follow the unit on ilearn and stay informed of special announcements and additional information posted there.
ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION
All written assessments are to be submitted online via Turnitin, accessed through the ICOM201 ilearn site.
Students should record their tutor's email address at the beginning of the semester and all questions about ICOM201 should be emailed to the tutor in the first instance. Please contact the convenor if you have any concerns that cannot be addressed by the tutor. Generally student emails will be replied to within 48 business hours. Students should not expect emails to be returned on weekends and after hours. Students should ensure that they can receive emails sent to their MQ email addresses.
Unit Schedule
Week 1 Unit Overview and Assessments
Discussion of Unit outline and assessments – Please see iLearn
No Tutorials are scheduled for this week.
Complete readings for Week 2
Week 2 Study of Television
Until the arrival of the Internet in the late 1990s, television was the most glamorous field of study and research across the many fields of media scholarship. While technologies may eventually blur the distinctions between television and Internet content, audiences and broadcaster, the old box remains the key to widespread public access to information, entertainment and communication around the world.
Tutorial activity: What are the global frameworks within which the study of global television may be conducted as discussed by Straubhaar? Name some key approaches to television study as discussed by Burton.
Straubhaar, J. (2007) World Television: From Global to Local, Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 1-29
Burton, Graeme (2000) Talking Television. An introduction to the study of Television, New York: Arnold, pp.13-40
Week 3 Trends and Flows
Whether you’ve got access to one channel or 500, television has spread to virtually all parts of the world in one way or another over the last 50 years. At one level it is global and flows across national borders, at another it is local and reflects the character of its audiences.
Tutorial activity: What are the characteristics of transnational television? Define and discuss cultural proximity in relation to audience reception of global television? Discuss the success of Ugly Betty as a format programming in different markets.
Chalaby, J. K. (2005), ‘Towards an Understanding of Media Transnationalism’, in J. K. Chalaby (ed.), Transnational Television Worldwide: Towards A New Media Order, London: I. B. Tauris, pp. 1-13.
Moran, A. (2009), New Flows in Global TV, Bristol: intellect. pp.89 -109
Setijadi, Charlotte (2005) ‘Questioning Proximity: East Asian TV Dramas in Indonesia’, Media Asia, Vol 32 N0 4
Week 4 Television News
Beyond direct experience, television news plays an important role in shaping the viewers’ knowledge about places, people and events around the world. However, the view of the world through television news can be distorted and disorientating. This can cause dire political, cultural and social misunderstanding.
Tutorial activity: Define and discuss two of the following - News Agenda, agenda setting, gate keeping and news values. What are some key professional practices and cultural factors that influence news production? Watch television news segments and identify some of these.
Watson, J. (1998) Media Communication: An introduction to theory and Process, London: Macmillan Press, pp. 105-129.
Hatchen, W. & Scotton, J. (2007). The World News Prism: Global Information in a Satellite Age, Malden: Blackwell Publishing pp. 35-63
Noblet, K (2001) Producing and marketing news for the International Audience, in Silva T. (Ed.) Global News, Perspectives on the Information Age, Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, pp.53-63
Extra Reading
Aguiar, L (2009) Framing a Global Crises: An Analaysis of the coverage of the latest Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Al Jazeera and CNN
Week 5 Reporting Conflict – The Power of Pictures
Television has been the battleground for fighting ideological wars.
Tutorial activity: Watch coverage of a conflict by CNN and Al Jazeera and discuss how their reporting may differ. Do they reflect any of the ten proposals for war coverage discussed by Galtung?
Iskandar, Adel and Mohammed el-Nawawy (2004) ‘ Al-Jazeera and War Coverage in Iraq’ in Allan, Stuart and Zelizer, Barbie (Eds.) Reporting war: journalism in wartime. London: Routledge pp. 315-332
Galtung, J and Vincent R. (1992) Global Glasnost, New Jersey: Hampton Press. Pp. 193-234.
Week 6 Development Television
Television has played an important role in the developing world in educating and informing the population as well as in the project of nation building.
Tutorial Discussion: Using the case study of Doordarshan discuss the development mandate of television broadcasting in India. How can television contribute to bringing a diversity of views in pluralistic societies such as nations in Africa?
Fursich, Elfride and Shrikhande, Seema (2007) ‘Development Broadcasting in India and Beyond: Redefining an Old Mandate in an Age of Media Globalization’ Journal of broadcasting & Electronic Media, 51(1), pp.110-128
Amienyi, Osabuohien, P. (2004) Broadcasting and National Development in Africa, in Okigbo, Charles, C. and Eribo, Festus (Eds)., Development and Communication in Africa , Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. pp.105-114
Week 7 State-Funded TV Services
Public service broadcasting has traditionally aimed at social agendas associated with concepts like nation-building, education and information dissemination. In recent years these concepts have been challenged by conservative political agendas that emphasise a reduced role for government in public services.
Tutorial activity: Discuss the principles of public service broadcasting and how it contributes towards a democratic society? How is Chinese State television different to western public service broadcasting?
Petley, Julian, (2006) Public Service Broadcasting in the UK in Gomery, D. and Hockley, L. (eds) Television Industries, London: BFI. Pp.42-44
Aufderdeide, Patricia (2006) Television, Public Service Broadcasting, Public Interest Mandates – US, in Gomery, D. and Hockley, L. (eds) Television Industries, London: BFI. Pp. 45-48.
Hu Zhengrong and Hong Li (2008) ‘China’s television in Transition’ in Ward, D. (ed.) Television and public policy: change and continuity in an era of global liberalization. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Semester Break
Week 8 Hybridity, Identity and TV Consumption
Many people worry about the amount of foreign TV programs that appear on their screens. This relates to the concern that exposure to foreign values, behaviours and practices will ruin local cultures and traditions.This debate remains one of the strongest themes in the study of international flows of programming.
Tutorial Discussion: How does audience identity play out in TV consumption?
Straubhaar, J. (2007) World Television: From Global to Local, Thousand Oaks: Sage, pp. 221-256
Coutas, Penelope (2006) ‘Fame, Fortune, Fantasi:Indonesian Idol and the new Celebrity’ Asian Journal of Communication Vol. 16, No. 4 December pp. 371- 392
Week 9 TV Audience Research
Television can be found almost everywhere: from the lounge room to the airport lounge people can be found glued to it – or are they? Audience research illustrates the social, cultural, political and economic dimensions of television and just what it means to the viewer.
Tutorial Discussion: What are the differences between effects study and reception study in television research.
Seiter, Ellen (2002 reprint). Television and New Media Audiences, Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp.9-33
Gauntlett, David and Hill, Annette (1999). TV Living, London and New York: Routledge, pp.21-51
Gillespie, Marie (2000). Transnational Communications and Diaspora Communities, in Cottle, Simon Ethnic minorities and the media, Open University Press: Buckingham, pp.164-178
Extra reading
Lindhof, Thomas R. and Taylor, Bryan C. (2002) Qualitative Communication Research Methods 2nd Edition, pp.158-169
Wilson, T. (2004). The Playful Audience: From Talk Show Viewers to Internet Users. New Jersey: Hampton Press Inc. pp. 51-74.
Week 10 Indigenous Television
Indigenous and community groups want access to television production for cultural maintenance and social action. Aboriginal people in Australia and Canada are leading the world in the production of proactive messages for their people to counter mainstream programming.
Tutorial Discussion: Why is it important for indigenous and marginalised groups to have access to the means of television production?
Ginsburg, Faye (2003). Embedded Aesthetics: Creating a Discursive Space for Indigenous Media in Parks, Lisa and Kumar Shanti (Eds.) Planet TV: a global television reader. New York ; London : New York University Press.
Medrado, Andrea (2005) ‘Community Television: A Case Study from Favela da Rocinha, Brazil.’ Conference Paper, International Communication Association; 2005 Annual Meeting, New York, NY, 25p
Week 11 Commercial Imperatives - Entertainment TV
Television has become a promotional space that is aimed at matching audiences with advertisers. The pressures of commercialisation have reconfigured all aspects of television to generate profits and encourage the consumption of products and services.
Tutorial Discussion: How have commercial imperatives changed the business of television?
Thussu, Daya Kishan (2007) News as entertainment: the rise of global infotainment. London: SAGE pp.15-42
Iwabuchi, Koichi (2004) ‘Japan in the global television format business’ in Moran, A. and Keane, M. (Eds.) Television across Asia, London: RoutledgeCurzon
La Pastina, A. C. (2001). Product placement in Brazillian Prime Time Television: the case of the reception of a Telenovela, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic media, 45(4) pp.541-557
Week 12 New Media and Beyond
New media technologies like the Internet and mobile communications have completely reconfigured the entertainment and information business. Television audiences are disappearing and moving onto interactive and on-demand services while digital TV remains an unrealised revolution.
Tutorial discussion: Discuss your own consumption habits of television and Internet.
Heads, Wayne (2006) Digitalisation: Transforming Traditional Broadcasting. Media Asia Vol. 33 No. 3 & 4 pp. 175 – 179
Molyneaux, H. et. al. (2008) ‘New Visual Media and Gender: A Content, Visual, and Audience Analysis of YouTube Vlogs.’ Conference Paper, International Communication Association; 2008 Annual Meeting, 12p
Week 13 Review
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What is required to complete the unit satisfactorily
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Information is correct at the time of publication
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Graded units will use the following grades and be aligned/mapped to the listed numerical range:
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D Distinction 75-84
Cr Credit 65-74
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Graduate Capabilities
Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills
Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcome
- Demonstrate understanding of key theories and concepts in the study of international television.
Assessment tasks
- Summary Paper
- TV Game Show
- Content Analysis
- Audience ethnography
Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking
We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcome
- Critically analyse and interpret research data using appropriate framework.
Assessment tasks
- Content Analysis
- Audience ethnography
Problem Solving and Research Capability
Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcome
- Acquire research skills by employing quantitative and qualitative media research methods.
Assessment tasks
- Content Analysis
- Audience ethnography
Effective Communication
We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Learning outcome
- Present written arguments in a coherent form and demonstrate skills in oral presentation.
Assessment tasks
- Summary Paper
- TV Game Show
- Content Analysis
- Audience ethnography