Programming for TV, Radio & The Internet, Second Edition: Strategy, Development & Evaluation Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a very solid job at describing a constantly moving target. The authors (the first and third are at California State University-Fullerton, while Brian Gross teaches out in Jakarta and has enjoyed extensive experience in all three media) help to bring ever more important Internet content into the media mainstream with their treatment. Chapters cover the history of programming in all three services (and related areas such as video games), sources of television programming, sources of radio and Internet content, development of content for each of the three, testing of audience reactions, elements of successful programming, factors influencing television programming, factors impacting radio and Internet content, scheduling strategies for each of these services, program evaluation, changing and canceling programs, and ethical issues. The book is more descriptive than critical in approach, and helps readers get behind the scenes to better understand the players and process.

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Where do program ideas come from? How are concepts developed into saleable productions? Who do you talk to about getting a show produced? How do you schedule shows on the lineup? What do you do if a series is in trouble? The answers to these questions, and many more, can be found in this comprehensive, in-depth look at the roles and responsibilities of the electronic media programmer. Topics include: Network relationships with affiliates, the expanded market of syndication, sources of programming for stations and networks, research and its role in programming decisions, fundamental appeals to an audience and what qualities are tied to success, outside forces that influence programming, strategies for launching new programs or saving old ones. Includes real-life examples taken from the authors' experiences, and 250+ illustrations!* Completely updated to include: new programming forms, changes in programming style, and more!* Updated Glossary!* Study questions for each chapter* Companion website for students and Instructor's Manual

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Producing for TV and New Media, Second Edition: A Real-World Approach for Producers Review

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(More customer reviews)This book has great information and really helped me get a feel for all the different facets of producing a TV show. However, it was most frustrating and aggravating to me that a companion website was referenced everywhere with what looked like would be a great place to see sample forms and documentation, etc. but every time I tried to visit the website it was "Under Construction" and to "check back soon!" Well I have been checking since November 2008 and there is still no website! Focal Press needs to get on the ball if a book is released with companion website information than the website should be released the same day as the book! I have also sent e-mails to there customer service and called with no response as to when the site would be completed.

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Producing for TV and New Media provides a comprehensive look at the role of the "Producer" in television and new media. At the core of every media project there is a Producer who provides a wide array of creative, technical, financial, and interpersonal skills. Written especially for new and aspiring producers, this book looks at both the Big Picture and the essential details of this demanding and exhilarating profession.A series of interviews with seasoned TV producers who share their real-world professional practices provides rich insight into the complex billion-dollar industries of television and new media. This type of practical insight is not to be found in other books on producing. This new edition now covers striking developments in new media, delivery systems, the expansion of the global marketplace of media content.The companion website contains many of the crucial forms and charts included in the book. The site is available to readers of the book and may be accessed using the unique access registration code printed on the inside cover of the book. http://booksite.focalpress.com/Kellison* Comprehensive coverage of the nuanced and multi-dimensional role of a Producer presented in a clear and engaging writing style* Traces a project from conception to a finished piece of broadcast quality* Interviews with estabilished industry professionals offers readers real-world insight into the world of television production

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Leveling the Playing Field: How the Law Can Make Sports Better for Fans Review

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(More customer reviews)Many of the major issues of modern professional sports revolve around issues of the law. Harvard's Henry J. Friendly professor of law Paul C. Weiler believes this firmly and "Leveling the Playing Field" is his attempt to explore this subject. Much of this terrain has been pursued in other works, but Weiler's perspective is interesting. Weiler takes the reader through the looking glass world of the sports business, exploring the nature of free agency, the various revenue streams of the major sports franchises, the long history of the shakedown for new sports complexes paid for with public money, the problems of steroids and other methods of cheating, and television and other revenues generated through sports activities. It is a familiar story, and Weiler tells it relatively well. His approach is balanced and his tone is evenhanded, even when the subject does not deserve it.
His solution to the problems of Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League boil down to one piece of national legislation. "The only way to avoid a regular replay of the experience of the 1990s is to have Congress pass a law that bars redistribution of middle-American taxpayer dollars into the pockets of wealthy Americans like George Steinbrenner." He adds, "I hope my readers now understand that as fans we would be better off if our favorite sports had the combination of a salary tax and a stadium cap" (p. 345). That might help, although I am opposed to any restraint on the ability of players to receive whatever income they are able to negotiate for their services since they are fundamentally the stars of the show, but I only wish it were that simple! I very much question all the problems of the sports business could be cured in this way, and I must add that the devil would be in the details of any such congressional action and its ramifications might be strikingly different from what was intended. Witness the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act and how it simply changed the rules of the game; it did not appreciably alter the game itself. Additionally, the ability to pass legislation of this type in early twenty-first century America appears virtually nil.
While I found this book quite interesting and worthy of consideration, I was annoyed by the relative lack of academic rigor in the discussion. At no point, for instance, did Weiler offer detailed thoughts on the nature of the legislation that he believes is necessary. Additionally, the book is completely without scholarly apparatus, not even a selected bibliography, and I find this unacceptable in a serious work.

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