Guest Speaker: John Fink

Television, like any media industry, is a constantly changing medium.  It is not easy to survive and make it within the industry.  But those who end up staying, and making a living within the industry, do learn some tricks about the industry that can be seen through the manner in which they present themselves.

Broadcast television mogul John Fink, who is the current general manager of KFVE, came recently and spoke to a group of college students at Hawaii Pacific University under the pretense of sharing knowledge about his experience within the industry, as well on the changing medium as a whole.  Fink arrived at the class to speech dressed quite casually.  Though a Caucasian male, he adorned a fairly worn-in Aloha shirt with dark colored slacks.  The attire denote the history he has had with the island and the local culture. 
Fink's appearances and presentation was very professional.  As he spoke to the students in a very professional manner.  Fink did not have any elaborate accessories, and could have by any standards passed as a Kama' aina (local)  by any standards.  Throughout the speech he gave to students he would intermittently include in very subtle smiles.  Fink appeared very professional, and was, to say the very least, camera ready at any moment. 

The Hegemonic Process in Television Entertainment: Thought's on Todd Gitlin's Prime Time Ideology

Giltin shines an interesting light on the television broadcast industry in his essay Prime Time Ideology:The Hegemonic Process in Television Entertainment.  The essay is within itself very insightful in its examination of the structure of television.  Gitlin points our specific aspects of the television industry that work to support and  maintain the hegemony in the industry.

Does one ever wonder about the particular format in which television is presented?  Why shows are completed and formatted to a specific duration, or why they are scheduled for specific time slots? One of the first hegemonic aspects of television is its format.  As Gitlin explains it, the particular way in which programming is formatted promotes an assembly-line type of a commercial and production process and environment.  It makes producing segments easier, as the assembly-line production formula makes it easy for companies to hire writers to "write for standardized, static characters than for characters who develop."

Commercials are a major part of what we know as present day television.  Gitlin's breakdown of the commercial aspect of television as both a market shaping vehicle within the medium, as well as a psychologically altering tool.  Gitlin was very clever in shinning a light on how commercials in television not only work to maintain and shape markets, but they also indirectly make us think of ourselves as consumers and not citizens.  Reflecting upon my own television viewing alone, I was able to notice that when viewing television, I do often put myself in the shoes of being a consumer when I view certain commercials that come on-air. 

The simple solution aspect of television that Gitlin points to is also very integrating.  As we, the audience, do continually tune in each week to different episodes of certain series which start off with certain problems, and somehow end, within the allotted time slot, with a "solution."  Gitlin is very clever in pointing out this hegemonic aspect of television that we all tune into, and have become so accustomed to living with.  Though cynical in many ways, Gitlin makes very powerful points about the television medium and it's hegemonic workings.  The essay is an interesting read for anyone looking to take a better look at the television medium and its effects on audience members. 

Global Crime: A Global Sensation, or Global Scare?

Crime, the irresistible sensation that spreads that wild fire on both the screen, and off the screen, has the power to capture and take hold of minds all over the world.  Crime dramas such as CSI, Cracked, and Criminal Minds have not only entertained and reached audiences throughout the world, but have also stirred up a fury of interest in the category.  At any time of the day, one will surely be able to turn on their television set and be able to find at least one crime drama airing on a channel. 

Though I truly enjoy the thrill and adventure of crime dramas such as CSI Miami and Criminal Minds, I am not one who will keep up to date and follow every twist and turn within series' plot.  What attracts me most to crime dramas, as well as what I feel attracts most people to crime dramas is the excitement and fast-paced story plot of the series.  Comedies and sci-fi television for example are great forms of entertainment, but often times one must keep up with the background plot of the series to truly appreciate and be entertained by the series.  With crime dramas however, one can simply tune into an episode of the series, and without too much background information into the storyline of each character, be entertained and excited by the drama.

Though the crimes within crime drams may not be real, the scenarios, which they depict, are very real. The global international crime culture, which has been populated to society, is a very real phenomenon that affects the lives of billions around the world.  It is easy for one to simply be fascinated by the crime and action that is depicted within primetime drama series, but the circumstances and instances, which they depict, are very real.  The Chinese Triad for example is a very real organization that participates in illegal activities such as drug dealing, prostitution, kidnapping, and extortion on a daily basis. 

The entirety of the global criminal economy is a truly scary phenomenon that has only gained momentum, and become more ubiquitous thanks to the globalization of the 21^st century society.  The daily lives of each and every one of us has been touched by the hand of the global criminal economy, as the illegal criminal industry liquidates and moves its funds though legal markets within society.  

The fact that the global criminal economy comes into such close proximity of each and everyone of us on a daily basis is a truly scary fact.  Many of us like to only think of the thrill and excitement within crime industry, as depicted in our favorite crime dramas.  But the truth is that organized crime is a very real occurrence in society that hurts millions, and that makes its way into our daily lives whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

Newton Minow: Vast Wasteland Speech

The complexity and problems of television are not unlike those that plague other mediums of the 21st century.  On May 9, 1961 Newton Minow, the chairman of the Federal Communication Commission, tried to address and motivate movers of the broadcast industry to fix and improve the medium.  Minow was critical of the television medium in his 1961 speech at the National Association of Broadcasters conference.   He called the television medium a wasteland that was not properly catering to the real needs of the general public. 

Minow's speech was indeed impressive, as he was able to point out the flaws of the television medium in such a way, as to try to motivate those within the industry to work to change the medium.  Within Minow's speech, he does not simply sit those working within the television industry down for a scolding, he points out problems yes, but more than that, he provides input about how the medium could be better.  Minow advocates throughout his speech for example for better educational programming for children.  He points to how the home, school, church, and now television, influence to a great degree the lives of children.  Children he says now spend as much time in front of the television as they do in school.  What this means Minow says is that television embodies a great ability to influence and shape the minds of these children who will one day lead and contribute to society. 

He challenges those powerful individuals within the industry to sit for one whole day in front of the television, and watch their own programming.  He asks them to not have any other materials that could work as distractions from the programming.  Through his challenge he is able to point out and assert his point about how the television medium has turned into a wasteland; as the majority of programming is no better than waste.  Minow says that because those working in the television broadcast industry are making money and earning a living from this "public airway," they have a responsibility to improve and make the medium benefit the public as best they can.

Minow's speech is motivational, and the points he makes in his speech are still problems that plague the television broadcast industry of today.  Though individuals may not be spending as much time sitting in front of televisions watching traditional broadcast television, individuals are still watching television programming to a great extent on other devices.  Advertising dollars and ratings still affect the types of programming that viewers are shown.  And although PBS does try incorporate and include more more educational programs into the broadcast industry, a lot of the television programming of today is still the wasteland that Minow described almost 50 years ago.