Institutional Influence on Documentary Form: an Analysis of PBS and HBO Documentary Programs

Abstract

INSTITUTIONAL INFLUENCE ON DOCUMENTARY FORM - A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PBS and HBO DOCUMENTARY PROGRAMS by Mark Irving The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, 2015 Under the Supervision of Professor Michael Z. Newman Beginning in the 1980s, the documentary genre has undergone a transformation to accommodate modes of stylistic expression and subjective thematic exposition previously not evident in the genre. This deviation from the form’s traditional modes of expression typically associated with fact-based, journalistic pursuits can be attributed to the institutional underpinnings of media outlets that exhibit documentary programming. These institutional factors, a consequence of an evolving marketplace and shifts in the political and regulatory landscape, have motivated programming mandates or practices often discordant with a media outlet’s stated or presumed mission. This research identifies documentary themes and modes of representation and notes their evolution over time by examining documentary programming on two dominant television networks. I relate these shifts to institutional factors such as fluctuations and changes in funding, administration, regulations and the marketplace - factors such as the decrease in public/tax and consequent rise in private/underwriter funding of public television, and the diversification and increase of programming by commercial media outlets in response to an expanding marketplace. I also draw conclusions about the function of the documentary genre and the nature and purpose of the television institutions that exhibit them - documentary as popular entertainment, journalistic inquiry or historic artifact