Category: media

“The relationship between reality TV and documentary is a tangled one… While audiences display a definite appetite for the real, it’s not clear whether the dominance of reality television has fed that desire or turned it into a craving for game shows and tabloid celebrity junk food tricked up as the truth.”

“There is a genuine debate to be had about whether the BBC should shrink, with strong arguments to be made that it should. Yet that debate has not even started, because the BBC – with its internal, infernal, interminable Strategy Review – has no incentive to raise the issue.”

“A study by psychologists at Iowa State University found that kids who exceeded the recommended two hours per day of screen time were 1½ to two times more likely to have attention problems in the classroom.”

“If we were in Los Angeles or Phoenix, the only reason to go to a movie would be to see it. But in a small town, the theater is like a neighborhood. It’s the see-and-be-seen, bring everyone and sit together kind of place.”

“Researchers analyzing episodes of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and Fox’s House determine the hospital dramas are ‘rife’ with incidents that violate professional codes of conduct.”

“The president still wants to continue his dialogue with the American people,” said a (fictional) spokesperson. “However, he’s been getting really into Nam June Paik lately, and is passionate about using new technologies and techniques to communicate his message of hope and progress.”

“Federal authorities announced that they had seized domain names from nine websites engaged in the ‘criminal theft of American movies and television.’ The websites include TVShack.net, PlanetMoviez.com, ThePirateCity.org and Ninjavideo.net. Combined, the sites drew 6.7 million visitors a month, authorities said.”

“Tryouts for Fox’s high school musical Glee will be televised on the cable channel Oxygen next year. In a deal outlined on Tuesday, Oxygen will start a Glee casting-call reality show in June 2011 as part of a broader deal with Twentieth Television to show repeats of Glee in syndication beginning in 2013.”

The TV network-owned video website has “announce[d] the launch of an ad-supported subscription service that will offer top broadcast shows in high definition to be viewed from a plethora of devices, including Internet-connected TVs, set-top boxes and game consoles, as well as portable devices such as Apple’s iPad and iPhone.”

“With financial reform legislation that would outlaw trading in box-office futures headed toward final passage, the company is giving up on its plans, said Richard Jaycobs, the executive heading the effort for Cantor Fitzgerald. … ‘The bill is quite clear,'” he said.