CFP: Congress Quality TV in Paris

From: Francois Jost.Paris 3 <[email protected]>

Call for papers****

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*International conference* : September 12 - September 14, 2012 in Paris.****

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*Organized by the CEISME (Media Images and Sounds Study Center), Sorbonne
Nouvelle-Paris3, with the support of the Laboratoire d’Excellence ICCA
(Laboratory of Excellence for Cultural Industry and Artistic Creations) and
Inathèque de France.*

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*What is quality television?*

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When it comes to television, we talk a lot about the audience, as if
quantification was the only measurement unit for programs. However, public
satisfaction is not correlated numerical results. TV channels know this
and, since 1975, the French public service is trying to develop
"indicators" of quality. ****

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The question of evaluation has thus returned to all areas. It has been
revived by the recent developments of formats - both in the United States,
where the success of TV series has led to the concept of "Quality TV", as
well as in South America and Europe, as the 2011 Obitel study on "calidad
de la ficcíon televisiva" has demonstrated. Moreover, public service
reforms in France and Portugal have engendered a whole new body of thought.
****


Of course defining the criteria for characterizing the quality of a program
engenders difficulties - especially since producers, broadcasters, authors,
but also the audience, do not necessarily share the same. Several points
should be examined: ****
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   - quality and style: is the quality of a program defined by its
   stylistic requirements, such as for example, the conclusions made by
   researchers and critics of the U.S. series may lead us to believe? What
   role does originality play? The topic? The audiovisual treatment? Are there
   “quality formats”? ****

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   - quality and type of program: judgment of quality is often connected to
   stock footage programs such as fiction and documentaries. How do we define
   quality in “light entertainment”? How do we define quality in relation to
   genre? What is a good sports program? shows? And, more generally, what do
   we call “a good program”? What are the criteria used by the critics? Do
   they converge with those of viewers? In contrast, how can we define "trash
   TV"? ****

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   - quality and technique : what role does technique play when judging the
   quality of a program? Do the new possibilities of watching programs such as
   screen sizes (from very small to very large) impose new standards? Many
   images, such as amateur programs, do not adhere to "broadcast" standards
   anymore. Does this entail an abandonment of these criteria? What does
   Internet on TV change ? ****

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   - quality and the public: in some countries, it seems that quality is
   rated by the public who is reached by a certain chain or programs. Thus,
   stations like TV Brazil or PBS in the United States try to appeal to the
   diversity within a community that shares common values. How can we
   establish a link between quality and social background? ****

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   - quality and the audience: how can we connect quality and a possible
   audience? Are quality programs aimed at small audiences or are only time
   slots taken into consideration? ****

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   - quality, programming, TV stations: does quality lie within programs or
   within programming? ****

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   - quality and televisual culture: can we imagine that certain programs
   of the past be part of a directory with the same workings as the one for
   movies? ****

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   - quality and ethics : what place should the ethical evaluation of a
   program have in their broadcasting ? ****

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All of these questions, which are not intended to exhaust the issue of
quality, must be addressed from different points of view, comparing the
different players in televisual communication. All methods are welcome:
historical, semiological, sociological, etc. The originality of this
conference will be to exchange ideas between scientists and professionals,
established researchers and young researchers on common subjects. ****

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Authors are invited to submit the proposal in French or English, in 3000
signs (500 words) maximum, at the address [email protected],
until March 4 2012. Each proposition will be evaluated anonymously by at
least two scientific committee members. The selected authors will be
informed at the end of March 2012.****


*Conference languages :* French, English

*CEISME Organizing Committee:*

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François Jost (Professor, Sorbonne Nouvelle), Marie-France Chambat-Houillon
(Professor, Sorbonne Nouvelle), Bernard Papin (Associate Professor, Paris
XI), Bruno Henocque (Associate Professor, Le Havre), Philippe Lavat (CEISME
).

*Scientific Committee:* ****


Director : François Jost (Professor, Sorbonne Nouvelle). ****


Marie-France Chambat-Houillon (Professor, Sorbonne Nouvelle), Gilles
Delavaud (Professor, Paris 8), Bernard Papin (Associate Professor, Paris
XI), Bruno Henocque (Associate Professor, Le Havre), Laurent Jullier
(University Nancy 2), Philippe Lavat (CEISME), Daniel Psenny (Journalist,
Le Monde), Jean-Michel Rodes (Director Inathèque de France), Myriam
Tsikounas (Professor University of Paris I). ****

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