Essay #5 - Jeff Jacobson - The British Television Community: Television without Borders

In recent years, the television market in most countries has become fragmented, with an increasing proliferation of free-to-air broadcasters and especially digital / satellite / cable broadcasters. In addition, the emergence of international media conglomerates and the international distribution of content mean that in many lands it becomes impossible to really view television ?as the location for the construction of a national community? (Turner, 2001, p. 373). While Graeme Turner suggests that the UK is one of the few places where one could still see such a community, I feel it would be beneficial in light of this week?s readings and discussions to step back to a broader community of those who watch British programming. Specifically, we will look at international viewers, in this case in the United States and see what communities they become part of. Once again we see the difficulty of breaking away from nationality as a frame of reference, even as we try to look at a transnational community. We will then discuss whether this transnational media should be a cause for concern.

An area where British broadcasting has become most directly accessible to Americans in recent years is through the digital channel BBC America. This channel, formed in a partnership with Discovery Networks, brings original programming from the BBC?including news, dramas, and comedies?more and more of which is programming that might not be seen on other traditional American outlets for BBC shows because of somewhat ?edgier? content. The network has found quite a bit of success with this format?in the first quarter of 2003 their ratings grew faster than any other non-news cable network, jumping ?28 percent among 25- to 54-yearolds [sic]? over the same period the previous year, landing it in 5th place (Gremillion, 2003, ¶6). More interestingly, the network is reaching an audience that might seem surprising at first blush. Jeff Gremillion spoke with two couples from Lafayette, Louisiana. His own characterization has them not fitting ?your standard definition of ?urbane?? (¶1). One couple, the Delahoussaye family, consists of a lawyer who likes to golf and his homemaker wife. ?They?re more likely to turn up at a backyard crawfish boil than a trendy club,? he says (¶1). Yet they?re part of an emerging trend finding a connection with what?s considered some of the best of British programming. They remind me of the ?local/global? connection James Clifford (1992) mentions arising from ?culture as travel??even if that travel is just through television (p. 103). The Delahoussayes are, by their own admission, ?hooked? on the British programming and in a way become part of the community of BBC viewers, wherever they are. Similarly they?ve made the ?leap out of the local? as mentioned by Paul Kennedy and Victor Roudometof (2002) on page 3 of the introduction to their compilation on transnationalism. Interestingly, Gremillion?s title for his article, ?Sex, please, we?re British? seems to be implying that even though the viewers are actually American, through their consumption of British media they become, at least partially or temporarily, British.

However, the Delahoussayes also form a part of another community: people in their same locality who watch the BBC. The Delahoussayes? good friends the Gremillions (related to the author of the piece on BBC America) also watch BBC America extensively (Gremillion, 2003, ¶3). Looking at the common definition of community as provided by Kennedy and Roudometof (2002) on page 6, their shared admiration of the same programming brings them shared ?rituals, signs and meanings? with which they form their social relationships. So the programming from the BBC creates not only one large community of BBC viewers, but also sub-communities.

I feel that as researchers look into the new issues raised by the emergence of transnational media, we should cease looking only at the media as a national phenomenon, or serving a national community. Instead, the media can create multiple communities and people can be part of multiple communities?communities that are defined, not by their location, but by what is uniting them. Through the research I?ve done in this course, it seems we do not need to be too worried about globalization destroying the distinct media production of one country with media from another. Instead, I would hope to see more media coming from other countries, increasing the diversity of programming and helping spread what seem to be positive transnational communal identities. From what I?ve seen, this will enrich our lives, rather than dull them.

References
Clifford, J. (1992). ?Traveling cultures.? In L. Grossberg, C. Nelson & P. Treichler (Eds.), Cultural studies (pp. 96?112). New York and London: Routledge.
Gremillion, J. (2003). ?Sex, please, we?re British.? MediaWeek, 13(23), SR8. Retrieved June 21, 2007, from Communication & Mass Media Complete database: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=10073242&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Kennedy, P. & Roudometof, V. (2002). Transnationalism in a global age. In P. Kennedy and V. Roudometof (Eds.), Communities across borders: New immigrants and transnational cultures (pp. 1?26). London and New York: Routledge.
Turner, G. (2001). Television and cultural studies: Unfinished business. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 4, 371?384.

Posted at 01:23PM Jun 22, 2007 by Jeff Jacobson in General  |  Comments[2]