Production and Reception in British Television Documentary: a Genre-Based Analysis of Mass-Mediated Communication
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PRODUCTION AND RECEPTION IN BRITISH TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY: A GENRE-BASED ANALYSIS OF MASS-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION DANIELLE BELINDA ARON Submitted for the degree of PhD London School of Economics and Political Science UMI Number: U615815 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615815 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ) W B - S t z S F 76 o& 70&3 \% For Mum and Dad ABSTRACT This thesis explores the nature of communication in television documentary, based on an investigation of production, reception and their interrelationship. It assumes that social context is fundamental to an understanding of mass communication. Doise's (1986) levels of analysis (intrapersonal; interpersonal/situational; positional; cultural/ideological) provide the framework for conceptualizing social context. Audience reception research, which appreciates viewers’ active role in reception and influence on production, inspires the qualitative approach. Whilst these premises challenge a traditional transmission approach to mass communication, the thesis argues against simultaneously rejecting the concept of information transmission. The thesis is located within a ritual approach to communication (Carey, 1989), exploring the potential for information transmission by extending this approach to situational and positional levels. As a distinctive information genre, the television documentary is perfect for investigating transmission. In this endeavour, the thesis explores the assumptions of both broadcasters and audiences concerning the function, structure and content of documentary communication. The methodological structure comprises three qualitative studies - production context, reception context and a case study. The production study involves twenty one interviews with television documentary broadcasters and establishes two intersecting dimensions embracing their perspectives. The reception study includes eight focus group discussions, and finds documentary expectations differing by socio-economic status and gender. These studies provide the context for analysing the nature of communication in one documentary programme, "Parental Choice", comparing a producer interview with four audience focus group discussions. The results highlight a lack of awareness amongst broadcasters of the varying genre-specific criteria used by documentary audiences in programme interpretation. Information transmission is possible if viewers accept a documentary’s credibility. However, perceptions of credibility vary at the situational and positional levels, thus transmission is limited and ritually-based. The emerging nature of documentary communication contributes to academic debate on mass communication, audience research and the television documentary genre. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE ................................................................................................................................ 1 DEDICATION..................................................................................................................2 ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................9 CHAPTER 1 ASSESSING MASS COMMUNICATION: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 1.1 Outline ....................................................................................................................10 1.2 Communication theory............................................................................................11 1.2.1 Historical perspective ................................................................................ 11 1.2.2 Defining communication .......................................................................... 16 1.2.3 The problem ..............................................................................................21 1.3 The nature of communication ............................................................................... 23 1.3.1 Relating production and reception ............................................................ 23 1.3.2 The medium and the genre ........................................................................29 1.3.3 Communicating information through the television documentary 31 1.4 The importance of documentary communication ................................................. 35 1.4.1 Documentary, democracy and public service broadcasting......................36 1.5 Research objectives and implications ...................................................................40 1.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 43 CHAPTER 2 DISCUSSING DOCUMENTARY: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 2.1 Outline ................................................................................................................... 44 2.2 The origins and development of television documentary ..................................... 44 2.3 The British television documentary industry......................................................... 48 2.4 Theoretical issues ................................................................................................... 54 2.4.1 Documentary definition............................................................................54 2.4.1.1 Content and type ..........................................................................56 2.4.1.2 Stylistic construction.................................................................... 56 2.4.1.3 Narrative strategies ...................................................................... 58 2.4.2 The ’position' of documentary..................................................................60 2.4.3 Credibility and objectivity........................................................................62 2.4.4 Communication in television documentary..............................................67 2.5 Empirical audience studies ................................................................................... 71 2.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 76 4 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCHING DOCUMENTARY: THE METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH 3.1 Outline ................................................................................................................... 78 3.2 From theory to practice ......................................................................................... 78 3.3 Research design ..................................................................................................... 83 3.3.1 Production context....................................................................................84 3.3.2 Reception context......................................................................................86 3.3.3 Case study ................................................................................................89 3.4 Reliability, validity and sampling......................................................................... 91 3.5 Methods ................................................................................................................. 94 3.5.1 Producer interviews ..................................................................................94 3.5.2 Focus groups ........................................................................................... 98 3.5.3 Case study ..............................................................................................102 3.6 Conclusion............................................................................................................106 CHAPTER 4 THE CONTEXT OF TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION 4.1 O utline..................................................................................................................107 4.2 Framework of the study....................................................................................... 107 4.3 Results ................................................................................................................. 110 4.3.1 Common Debates ....................................................................................110 4.3.2 Coded themes ..........................................................................................114 4.3.3 Interview Interpretation ..........................................................................161 4.4 Discussion ........................................................................................................... 166 4.4.1 Structure of the industry ..........................................................................166 4.4.2 Communicative potential ........................................................................168 4.5 Conclusion ............................................................................. 172 CHAPTER 5 THE CONTEXT OF TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY RECEPTION 5.1 Outline ................................................................................................................