Structuring the Field(S): User-Generated Tags and the Archive at Cbut Vancouver
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STRUCTURING THE FIELD(S): USER-GENERATED TAGS AND THE ARCHIVE AT CBUT VANCOUVER by Chris Jeschelnik B.A. (Communication & Psychology), Simon Fraser University, 2002 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Chris Jeschelnik 2010 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer, 2010 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for Fair Dealing. Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Christopher Jeschelnik Degree: Master of Arts (Communication) Title of Thesis: Structuring the Field(s): User-Generated Tags and the Archive at CBUT Vancouver Examining Committee: Chair: Dave Murphy Dr. Brian Lewis Senior Supervisor Professor, School of Communication Concordia University Dr. Jan Marontate Supervisor Associate Professor, School of Communication Concordia University Dr. Stuart Poyntz Internal Examiner Assistant Professor, School of Communication Concordia University Date Defended/Approved: February 26th, 2010 ii Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. 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Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Last revision: Spring 09 STATEMENT OF ETHICS APPROVAL The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: (a) Human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, or (b) Advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Care Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research (c) as a co-investigator, collaborator or research assistant in a research project approved in advance, or (d) as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for approval and letter of approval are filed with the relevant offices. Inquiries may be directed to those authorities. Simon Fraser University Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada Last update: Spring 2010 Abstract This thesis explores the potential conflict between user-generated tags and traditional archiving practices in the broadcasting industry. Changing technological configurations in the field of television news often have unforeseen consequences. The installation of a digital video server at Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Vancouver Television in 2007 has the potential to shape the process of accessioning records used by the media librarians by creating new possibilities for the collection of tags throughout the production process. The current information architecture consists of a data structure and a set of practices that combines descriptive metadata constructed by media librarians with automatically generated metadata gathered from the production process. Allowing user-generated data in the form of descriptive tags attached to media assets to pass through to the information architecture has the capacity to destabilize the existing taxonomy of controlled terms used by the librarians. Any move towards allowing tags into the system should proceed with extreme caution. Keywords: Taxonomy; folksonomy; CBUT; field; archives; journalism iii Dedication For Nicole and Shaela who patiently waited for this to be finished. iv Acknowledgements Thank you to Brian Lewis and Jan Marontate for guiding my efforts throughout this process with an incredible level of expertise and similar amounts of good humour. I would also like to thank the staff, faculty and students of the School of Communication. In particular, I am deeply indebted to: David Murphy, Stephen Kline, Catherine Murray, Richard Smith, Lucie Menkveld, Denise Vanderwolf, Jason Levis, Neena Shahani, and Monique Cloutier. A special thanks to Joan Wolfe for her unrelenting attention to detail in the final proofreading of this document. It goes without saying that none of this would have been possible without the support of my family, I thank you all with everything I’ve got. v Table of Contents Approval............................................................................................................................ ii Abstract.............................................................................................................................iii Dedication .........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements........................................................................................................... v Table of Contents..............................................................................................................vi List of Figures..................................................................................................................viii List of Abbreviations..........................................................................................................ix Glossary............................................................................................................................ x 1. Introduction ..............................................................................................1 2. Data Fields in Television Archives .........................................................5 2.1. Introduction............................................................................................................ 5 2.2. Information Architecture ........................................................................................ 5 2.3. Taxonomies and Folksonomies........................................................................... 11 3. The Field of Television Journalism ......................................................14 3.1. Disciplinary Approaches to the Study of Journalism ........................................... 14 3.2. Bourdieu’s Journalistic Field................................................................................ 15 3.3. Actor-Network Theory ......................................................................................... 18 4. Methodological Considerations............................................................24 4.1. Introduction.......................................................................................................... 24 4.2. Qualitative Measures of Quality .......................................................................... 25 4.3. Participant Observation ....................................................................................... 29 4.4. Interviews ............................................................................................................ 35 4.5. Documentary Research....................................................................................... 39 4.6. Observations: The CBUT Database Structure .................................................... 41 4.7. Cards in Drawers................................................................................................. 41 4.8. The Rolodex........................................................................................................ 44 4.9. The Electronic Database ....................................................................................