PBS SINGS THE BLUES: A HIGH-PROFILE DOCUMENTARY SERIES, COMMERCIAL MEDIA PRACTICES, AND MODERN PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Open Access
- Author:
- McIntosh, Heather
- Graduate Program:
- Mass Communications
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- August 13, 2009
- Committee Members:
- Dr Matthew P Mc Allister, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Matthew Paul Mcallister, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Kevin J Hagopian, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Jeanne Lynn Hall, Committee Member
Deborah Frances Atwater, Committee Member - Keywords:
- political economy
public broadcasting
documentary - Abstract:
- With its federal funding never guaranteed, U.S. public broadcasting has struggled from its formal inception in 1967 to achieve its mission and ideals. Originally conceived as operating independent from commercial interests and thereby serving greater audiences with more diverse programming, public broadcasting increasingly has partnered with companies in order to survive. Martin Scorsese's 2003 documentary series The Blues represents an extreme in those partnerships. This dissertation explores The Blues as a discursive and political-economic form in the context of the changing nature of public broadcasting. Specifically, it examines discourses and political economic practices associated with the series. The discursive categories analyzed are the auteur, genre/program scheduling, commercial sponsorship, and the blockbuster. Directors working in Hollywood and commercial television each created an episode for the series, and their positioning as auteurs raises questions about connections between public broadcasting and for-profit media. PBS's counterprogramming strategies demonstrate how this series works within and against the scheduling standards of the service and show how its generic structure and construction facilitates its distribution to and exhibition in other venues. Volkswagen's exclusive national sponsorship pushes the boundaries between not-for-profit and commercial interests, and becomes a model for future corporate sponsorships. The blockbuster model illustrates how PBS becomes a conduit for big media's workings, while the service manages to fulfill its expectations. Overall, the series shows an extent of public broadcasting's vulnerability, and without a source of permanent, independent funding, it becomes even more vulnerable to both governmental and commercial interests.