Appraisal and Processing. Final Reportandmadison, Wisconsin Television Newsfilm 1968-1972
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 341 105 CS 507 712 TITLE Early Wisconsin Television Newsfilm Archives: Appraisal and Processing. Final ReportandMadison, Wisconsin Television Newsfilm 1968-1972. A Descriptive Guide and Index to the Holdings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. INSTITUTION Wisconsih State Historical Society, Madison. SPONS AGENCY National Historical PublicationE and Records Commission, Washington, DC. PUB DATE 91 CONTRACT 88-115 NOTE 75p.; Some material in the appendixes may not reproduce legibly because of faint type. PUB TYPE Reports - Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Archives; Commercial Television; Database Design; Evaluation Problems; Film Libraries; *Films; Naws Reporting; Program Descriptions IDENTIFIERS Local Television Stations; *Television News; *Wisconsin (Madison) ABSTRACT This final report describes a pilot program for the simultaneous appraisal and description of concurrent television newsfilm from the holdings (dating from 1955 to 1972) of three Madison, Wisconsin television stations. The sections of the report are:(1) Project Background and History;(2) Problems of Estimating; (3) Evaluation of the Physical Condition of the Film;(4) Appraisal Issues;(5) Use of Form Headings;(6) Database Construction;(7) Software; (8) Information Sharing; and (9) Results and Conclu,lons. The report concludes that the content of the bulk of the local newsfilm in the holdings is not worthy of the expense of preserving and making it accessible in the labor intensive manner initially employed by the project. Appendixes containing a list of project personnel; selected pages from the descriptive guide and index developed by the project; a chart indicating the work completed on the project; guidelines for film inspection, repa.;.r, identification and assembly; worksheets for information gathering on a sample record; a list of equipment and supplies; appraisal and processing concurrent TV newsfilm collections; advisory committee responses; and collection descriptions in RLIN database are attached. (RS) *********************************************************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be macle * * from the original document. * *********************************************************************** Early Wisconsin Television Newsfilm Archives U.S. DEPARTMENTOF EDUCATION <Mice or Educational Research and improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document hasbeen reproduCed as received from theperson or organization originating it fittincy chanoes have beenmade to improve reproduction quality Pointsotvieworopanronsstitedinlhisdpcu mei" do not necesterily represent official OEM position or policy Appraisal and Processing THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN Madison, Wisconsin BEST COPY AVAILAILE EARLY WISCONSIN TELEVISION NEWSFILMARCHIVES: APPRAISAL AND PROCESSING Final Report to The National Historical Publications and Records Commission Grant No. 88-115 Visual and Sound Archives Archives and Research Services Division State Historical Society of Wisconsin 816 State Street, Madison Wisconsin 53706-1482 (608)264-6470 CONTENTS 1. Project Background and History 1 Problems of Estimating 4 III. Evaluation of the Physical Condition of the Film 5 IV. Appraisal Issues 7 V. Use of Form Headings 9 Chart: Incidence of Use of Form Headings for Minimal Description Chart: Analysis of 11,437 Form Headings Assigned to 11,206 Segments VI. Database Construction 12 MARC Format Inacauma Narrative Descriptions * VII. Software 16 VIII.Information Sharing 18 IX. Results and Conclusions 19 Project Results Ong Qing_andlutumWark Conclusions 4 X. Appendices A. Project Personnel B. Madison, Wisconsin-Television Newsfilm,_1968-1972: A Descriptive Guide andindex to the Holdings at the SiatellisIoriisonsin (selected pages) C. Chart: Work Completed on NHPRC Wisconsin Television Newsfilm Project 1988-1991 D. Guidelines for Film Inspecfion, Repair, Identification and Assembly E. Worksheets for Information Gathering on Sample Record WKOW 896 1. Film Condition and Assembly Worksheet 2.Early Wisconsin Television Newsfilm Condition and Content Record 3,Subject Access Terms 4.Full MARC/Local Television Newsfilm Record F. Equipment and Supplies G. AppraisaLanl_aocessinancurrent_TY Newsfilnt Collections (WISC, WKOW, WMTV segment comparisons) H. Advisory Committee Responses I. Collection Descriptions in RLIN Database The State Historical Society of Wisconsin's television newsfilm collections forma significant portion of the Mass Communications History Center (MCHC), one of the nation's major repositories of records on the mass media--radio, television, advertising, public relations, theater and cinema.The television newsfilm collections cover the life and politics of Madison, Wisconsin, and the surrounding suburban and rural areas, from 1955 through 1983, with less comprehensive holdings from other stations around the state. The Madisoncoverage includes the three commercial stations: WISC (the CBS network affiliate), WKOW (ABC), WMTV (NBC), and WHA (the University of Wisconsin PBS affiliate). Events and personalities typical of all local news coverage are well represented, but because Madison is the state capital anda Big Ten university community, state politics, university affairs and the issues of agriculture and industry are covered as well.The Society acquired its first newsfilm in 1969 from former WKOW-TV news director, Blake R. Kellogg, and has subsequently received allextant film footage from the three local network affiliates. Newsfilm such as this often provides the only available visual and sound rcsource for the study of local events, individuals of both local and national influence, and the appearance of the physical environment. Local newsfilm alsocan provide direct evidence of the changing patterns of dress, speech, gender roles, and lifestyles. Historians find such film useful for its informational value and for its documentation of attitudes, values and cultural themes.Communications specialists use it to chart changes in media coverage, techniques, and emphasis. Documentary filmmakers have begun to turn to newsfilm to supplement other archival and video footage for new film and television productions. The National Historical Publications and Rccords Commission (NHPRC) supported theAmerican Film Institute (AFI) National Center for Film and Video Preservation Conferenceon Local Television News Archives held in Madison, Wisconsin in October,1987which called attention to the complex and urgent problems of television newsfilm archives.Of the twenty public institutions represented at the conference, six reported holdingson three or more stations. However, those institutions involved in processing had concentratedon single station holdings, and the confercnce recommended studyingnew appraisal and procesging strategies for multiple stations with concurrent coverage. In 1988, the State Historical SoLiety of Wisconsin(SHSW) requested funding from the NHPRC for a two-year project to "developa pilot program for the simultaneous appraisal and description of concurrent television newsfilm using its earlyholdings from three Madison, Wisconsin stations,1955-1972." The project goals were to physically arrange, evaluate and repair approximately 800,000feet of deteriorating 16mm newsfilm, to develop and implement appraisal criteria (especiallyfor repeated classes of events such as crimes, fires, and car accidents), andto describe and provide access to the collection using a record structure compatible with MARC (MAchine ReadableCataloging) and NAMID (National Moving Image Database). A printed finding aidwas the intended final product. The project began on October 15, 1988 and was originally scheduledto end October 15, 1990. The Society received an original grant of$68,764,and the total project budget was $140,924. 1 ti A no-cost extension continued the project until April 30, 1991. George A. Talbot,curator of the Visual and Sound Archives was the initial project director, but after his retirement in June,1990, Christine Schelshorn, archivist in the Visual and Sound Archives and Karen Baumann,senior archivist for automation in the Archives Division jointly assumed those duties. The project archivist, Jean Mac Nichol was with the project throughout its existence, viewingfilm and preparing segment descriptions, indexing for data entry, and providing training anddirection for all part-time staff. The only other staff hired on the projectwas film technician, Sam Rowe, although the project was assisted by University of Wisconsin-Madison studentsemployed through the federally-fundedWork-Study program as part of the Society's match.(See Appendix A. for a summary of all personnel usedon the project.) The holdings from the three Madison commercial affiliates consist largely of livenews footage shot as part of daily news coverage from thc beginning of commercial televisionin Madison in the early 1950's and continuing until the early 1980's when 16mm filmwas replaced by 3/4" videotape in local news production. The film, especially that which dates fromthe period 1955 to the early 1970's, includes both footage which was edited and airedas part of news broadcasts and the unaired "outs." The holdings do not contain complete broadcasts,but only the newsfilm segments shot for them. Physically the holdings originally consisted ofcans which held rolls of varying size, many containing numerous segments. Segmentswere often preceded by a piece of film leader or masking tape carrying