Television Studies Topic 5

2 Parts of Television

1. Television Industrial Framework: (production context) the system

2. The Professional Roles in Television: (creative development of television) the people

Producer Criticism

• Auteur criticism

  • the evolution of the auteur theory

  • auteur television criticism

• Production context criticism

  • political economy perspective

  • industrial relations perspective

Frameworks for Producer Context Criticism

• Hierarchies of decision-making power control

• Power Roles

Power Roles of Media Making, Fund Media

• Authorities

• Producers

• Creators

• Investors

• Clients

• Auxiliaries

• Unions

• Facilitators

Power Roles that Make Media Available

• Distributors

• Exhibitors

• Linking Pins

Power Roles that Consume, Respond to Media

• Public

• Public Advocacy Groups

Mandate and Types

primary objective of the media organization

1. Commercial

2. Non-commercial (public service, governmental, hobbyist)

Conditions and Key Conditions

structuring factors that media industries operate withing that are larger than any individual entity or organization

Key Conditions:

• economic

• regulatory

• technology

Practices

day to day routines and standard operating procedures that media industry workers and organizations employ

Hierarchies of decision-making power control

• Formal/informal

• the larger environment level of societal influences on the organization’s function

• the organizational level

• the small group and individual decision-maker levels

Television and Regulation

• TV is regulated by government policy

• State economy

• Liberalized marketplace

• mixed economy

• Regulatory bodies (CNMC in Spain, FCC in the US, OFCOM in the UK)

Content Regulation

• rights and obligations

• advertising standards and practices

• programme code

• diversity content- cultural identity

• European content/ co-official languages

Power v Equity

The tension between who controls media and who gets fair access or representation.

Public Responsibility v Private Profit

Media’s duty to inform and serve society versus its need to make money.

News v Entertainment

The struggle between producing serious information and creating content that attracts audiences.

Globalism v Localism

Media that reaches worldwide audiences versus media that focuses on local communities and issues.

Conglomeration v Fragmentation

Large companies owning everything versus media being split into many small, diverse outlets.

Diversity v Track Records

Choosing new, diverse voices versus relying on proven creators and familiar formats.

Routinization v Creativity

Following standard procedures versus encouraging innovation and originality

Types of Production

• Main or sole producer: sometimes independent, sometimes part of a media group.

• Several production companies: hierarchical relationship, some may be owned by the creator.

• Associated production company: channel + independent production company.

• Co-production.

• Funding support: local, regional, state, pan-national (e.g. Creative Europe).

• Importance of geographical origin.

• The production company as author: "track record"

3 Levels of Criticism

• Macro-level criticism: big-picture questions such as how a concentration of ownership affects diversity in programming or how the battles of news titans haven affected news coverage.

• Micro-level criticism: zooms in to look at pressures faced by television workers in doing their jobs.

• Mid-range criticism: provides case studies or critical analytical histories of organizational dynamics within one company or niche of the industry

François Truffaut Auteur Theory

The director is the main creative force in a film. You can see their authorship through mise‑en‑scène — the visual and stylistic choices that express their personal vision.

André Bazin Auteur Theory

A film should be judged by the personal imprint of the director.
If a director is an auteur, their style and themes stay consistent and even develop across multiple films.

Andrew Sarris (US) Auteur Theory

A director’s distinct personality should be visible across their films.

This means:

• recurring themes

• recognizable visual style

• consistent ways of thinking and feeling expressed through the film’s movement and look

Key TV Authorship Roles

• The creator

• The writer

• The director

• The producer

• The showrunner: writer-producer (hyphenates)

• The auteur: Steven Bochco

• The craftsman: Stephen J. Cannel

Steven Bochco

• A major TV screenwriter and executive producer.

• Worked his way up: assistant → editor → pilot writer → executive producer.

• Started at Universal (e.g., Columbo), then moved to MTM (Hill Street Blues).

• Known for being a writer who could develop and shape entire projects.

Jason Mitte’s Key Ideas About Authorship

How is television authorship understood?

• Authorship in TV is shaped by how showrunners become public figures — they’re treated like stars, and their personalities influence how audiences and critics interpret the show.

How do viewers use television authorship?

• Viewers imagine a creative author behind the show, and this helps them understand and interpret complex narratives.
  Thinking about “the author” becomes part of how we make sense of TV.