September CommQuote

Thomas Doherty writing in the September 21, 2012 Chronicle Review, coins a new term, Arc TV, don't know if it will stick, but there it is.

"Long top dog in the media hierarchy, the Hollywood feature film—the star-studded best in show that garnered the respectful monographs, the critical cachet, and a secure place on the university curriculum—is being challenged by the lure of long-form, episodic television. Let's call the breed Arc TV, a moniker that underscores the dramatic curvature of the finely crafted, adult-minded serials built around arcs of interconnected action unfolding over the life span of the series. Shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Homeland, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, and Game of Thrones—the highest-profile entrees in a gourmet menu of premium programming—are where the talent, the prestige, and the cultural buzz now swirl. Fess up: Are you more jazzed about the release of the new Abraham Lincoln biopic by Steven Spielberg or the season premiere of Homeland (September 30, 10 p.m., on Showtime)? The lineup hasn't quite yet dethroned the theatrical feature film as the preferred canvas for moving-image artistry, but Hollywood moviemakers are watching their backs."

He goes on to say that while Arc TV has its television antecedents its "real kinship is literary, not televisual. Like the bulky tomes of Dickens and Dreiser, Trollope and Wharton, the series are thick on character and dense in plot line, spanning generations and tribal networks and crisscrossing the currents of personal life and professional duty. Episode per episode, in milieux that stretch from the ruthless geopolitics of a medieval off-world to the gender dynamics of a post-zombie apocalypse, the tide of action ebbs and flows in a meandering but forward direction, gaining momentum over the course of a season (now likely to be a mere 13 episodes), before congealing and erupting in a go-for-broke season finale." 
---from Storied TV: Cable Is the New Novel, by Thomas Doherty, The Chronicle Review

GLAAD Where We Are on TV Report

GLAAD's (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Where We Are on TV Report: 2010-2011 Season has just been released.

From the Report's Overview:

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) representations have increased for the third year in a row to a record percentage according to an analysis of the 2010-2011 scripted primetime broadcast television season conducted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). The Where We Are on TV report forecasts the expected presence of LGBT characters in the upcoming 2010-2011 television schedule.

The study shows that LGBT representations will account for 3.9% of all scripted series regular characters in the 2010-2011 broadcast television schedule, up from 3% in 2009, 2.6% in 2008, and 1.1% in 2007. The number of regular LGBT characters on cable has also increased following a two year decline, up to 35 from a count of 25 last year.

Included in the Report are sections on Diversity on Scripted TV; LGBT Characters: Broadcast; LGBT Characters: Cable; Leading Roles; and Supporting Roles.

You can also access the four previous reports beginning in 2006-2007.

Snapshot of Television Use in the US (Nielsen)

Nielsen data comes at a high price for advertisers and academics alike. The former group can pay; the later group in most cases has to wait under the table for the crumbs to fall as general ratings and rankings are reported in secondary sources. Then there are the occasional reports Nielsen releases such as Snapshot of Television Use in the US (September 2010). It's not very big but there is some good info packed into it. Besides list of top ten shows for 2009-2010 which you can get a lot of places, you'll find comparisons of the size of the broadcast season audience over the last few years; viewing by genre; viewing by source (broadcast, public, ad-cable, premium cable, and other cable); and HD and DVR penetration.

Paley Center for Media database

This semester Penn Libraries is proud to be a test site for The Paley Center for Media's database of television and radio programming which they are in the process of making available to college libraries. The Paley Center's permanent media collection contains nearly 150,000 television and radio programs and advertisements, available both in New York and Los Angeles. It constitutes the largest single repository of American television programming in the world.

The online database offers synopses, along with production credits for the programs. For the first time, beginning with this trial, they are offering online access to 15,000+ digitized programs in their collection to selected universities. In addition to the digitized content, users will also have access to the metadata of the complete collection of over 150,000 programs.

The way it will work is like this. If you want to explore this resource at here at Annenberg you must access it at the work station in the Library right outside my office. You will first be asked to set up an account (simply provide your UPenn email address and give yourself a password). Once you do that you're in. You may also access the Paley database at Van Pelt.

Accessing the collection at Penn
By the terms of our contract with the Paley Center, the digital content will not be available for streaming directly to your computer. Instead, there will be specially designated PCs located at the following locations at the Van Pelt Library and the Annenberg Library.

I.Laptops (10)
10 laptops will circulate from Rosengarten Reserve Desk. Make sure you ask for a laptop configured with the Paley login.

II.Van Pelt Library Rooms (10)
A.Weigle Information Commons:
Room 124
Room 126
B.Class of 1955 Conference Room:
1 C55 CR
C.Ormandy Center:
1 Film Studies Classroom (Ormandy, Room 425)
5 Music & Media Rooms (Ormandy, Rooms 424.3-424.7)

III. Annenberg Library
Designated PC