The survival of soap opera : transformations for a new media era / edited by Sam Ford, Abigail De Kosnik, and C. Lee Harrington.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ford, Sam.

De Kosnik, Abigail.

Harrington, C. Lee, 1964-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Television soap operas--United States--History and criticism.

Television soap operas.

Television soap operas--Social aspects--United States.

Television viewers--United States.

Television viewers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (355 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The soap opera, one of U.S. televisionÂ's longest-running and most influential formats, is on the brink. Declining ratings have been attributed to an increasing number of women working outside the home and to an intensifying competition for viewersÂ' attention from cable and the Internet. Yet, soapsÂ' influence has expanded, with serial narratives becoming commonplace on most prime time TV programs. The Survival of Soap Opera investigates the causes of their dwindling popularity, describes their impact on TV and new media culture, and gleans lessons from their complex history for twenty-first-century media industries.

Contents:

Learning from diverse audiences. Soaps for tomorrow : media fans making online drama from celebrity gossip / Abigail de Kosnik

Soap opera critics and criticism : industry and audience in an era of transformation / Denise D. Bielby

Hanging on by a common thread / Julie Porter

Perspective : fan site moderator QueenEve on fan activity around and against soaps / based on an interview by Abigail de Kosnik

The role of "the audience" in the writing process / Tom Casiello

The "missing years" : how local programming ruptured Days of our lives in Australia / Radha O'Meara

As the world turns' Luke and Noah and fan activism / Roger Newcomb

Constructing the older audience : age and aging in soaps / C. Lee Harrington and Denise Brothers.

Experimenting with production and distribution. "The rhetoric of the camera in television soap opera" revisited : the case of General Hospital / Bernard M. Timberg and Ernest Alba

It's not all talk : editing and storytelling in As the world turns / Deborah L. Jaramillo

Guiding light : relevance and renewal in a changing genre / Patrick Erwin

The evolution of the production process of soap operas today / Erick Yates Green

From daytime to Night shift : examining the ABC daytime/SOAPnet primetime spin-off experiment / Racquel Gonzales

"What the hell does TIIC mean?" online content and the struggle to save the soaps / Elana Levine

The evolution of the fan video and the influence of YouTube on the creative decision-making process for fans / Emma F. Webb

Capitalizing on history. Perspective : scholar Horace Newcomb on the pleasures and influence of soaps / based on an interview by Sam Ford

Perspective : scholar Robert C. Allen on studying soap operas / based on an interview by C. Lee Harrington

Growing old together : following As the world turns' Tom Hughes through the years / Sam Ford

Perspective : writer Kay Alden on what makes soaps unique / based on an interview by Sam Ford

Perspective : scholar Nancy Baym on soaps after the O.J. Simpson trial / based on an interview by Abigail de Kosnik

Of soap operas, space operas, and television's rocky romance with the feminine form / Christine Scodari

The ironic and convoluted relationship between daytime and primetime soap operas / Lynn Liccardo

Perspective : scholar Louise Spence on comparing the soap opera to other forms / based on an interview by Abigail de Kosnik

Perspective : scholar Jason Mittell on the ties between daytime and primetime serials / based on an interview by Sam Ford

Preserving soap history : what will it mean for the future of soaps? / Mary Jeanne Wilson

Did the 2007 writers strike save daytime's highest-rated drama? / J.A. Metzler

Challenges to the future of soaps. Introduction : the crisis of daytime drama and what it means for the future of television / Sam Ford, Abigail de Kosnik, and C. Lee Harrington

Perspective : scholars Barbara Irwin and Mary Cassata on the state of U.S. soap operas / based on an interview by C. Lee Harrington

Perspective : historian William J. Reynolds on memories of The edge of night / based on an interview by Sam Ford

Perspective : writer Patrick Mulcahey on changes in soap opera writing contracts / based on an interview by Giada da Ros

Perspective : actor Tristan Rogers on changes in soaps' industry, audiences, and texts / based on an interview by Abigail de Kosnik

Daytime budget cuts / Sara A. Bibel

Agnes Nixon and soap opera "chemistry tests" / Carol Traynor Williams

Giving soaps a good scrub : ABC's Ugly Betty and the ethnicity of television formats / Jaime J. Nasser

The way we were : the institutional logics of professionals and fans in the soap opera industry / Melissa C. Scardaville

Notes:

Includes interviews that provide various perspectives of the soap opera television.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-62103-776-2

1-282-93922-X

9786612939228

1-60473-717-4

OCLC:

688305851