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Media's Ecological Transformations

Review by
Gabriela Martinez, University of Oregon

Global Media Ecologies: Networked Production in Film and Television, by Doris Baltruschat. New York and London: Routledge, 2010. ISBN 13:978-0-415-87478-6. 236 pp.

Media’s Ecological Transformations

Since the late 1980s we have been experiencing dramatic political, economic, and technological changes worldwide. New technologies in general, and more specifically the Internet, as one of the most significant technological innovations in the second half of the 20th century, has ha d tremendous impact on the ways in which media institutions and people produce, distribute, and consume content. Furthermore, this innovation entered the world markets accompanied by major economic and political shifts such as neo-liberalism, which has impacted cultural policies and international trade. Technological, cultural, and political -economic changes are substantially modifying the media landscape and manner in which media industries interact with governments, labor, and audiences at large. We see unprecedented corporate conglomeration, which challenges a true media plurality thus endangering democracy and citizens’ right to information. All of these significant issues, and more, are insightfully addressed in Doris Baltruschat’s volume Global Media Ecologies: Networked Production in Film and Television (2010).

From a political economy of communications approach, Baltruschat’s book contains an Introduction and Overview, and is divided in seven chapters. The volume also provides an Appendix with a descriptive list of international format production and distribution companies, and a handy Glossary of terms and institutions. Baltruschat’s work is international in scope covering North America, Europe, and Australia. The book’s analysis focuses on treaty and non-treaty co-productions, content production, format franchising, format adaptation processes, and the interactivity or participation of audiences with media content producers.

Drawing on a historical overview and cultural context, chapter one discusses how Canada, the U nited Kingdom and some other European countries, articulate international treaty and non-treaty co-production. Baltruschat defines treaty co-production as national programs, which allocate “government funding, tax credits and labor credits while, at the same time, satisfying local content ‘regulations’” (p.27). Non-treaty co-production is commonly referred to as co-venture, and most international co-productions tend to be co-ventures. However, Baltruschat suggests that since the 2000s co-productions are declining in the countries used as prime examples. The decline is due to changes in cultural policy and a fiscal shift that prioritizes global markets over domestic ones, which is detrimental for local production and works against the expression of a cultural diversity.

The second chapter explores the docudrama genre through analyzing the use of global co-production and the development of international markets for public service broadcasters. The main argument is that public service broadcasters suffering from cutbacks and diminished state support have a need to engage in co-production while at the same time seek to distribute their cultural products in the international market – thus they hav e to produce less localized content to suit a global audience. While Baltruschat criticize this fact, she also points out that the positive aspect emerging out of such co-production is the ability to probe significant global social problems such as the global sex/human trafficking and international terrorism. The chapter analyzes two programs produced under co-production between the Canadian Broadcast Corporation and Channel 4: Sex Traffic (Yates, 2004) and The Hamburg Cell (Bird, 2004).

Co-production is one aspect that globalization and neo-liberal policies have impacted, the other aspect, albeit not new to the world of film and television, is format franchising, which is the theme of the book’s third chapter. While reminding us that format franchising is an old practice, Baltruschat examines the changing nature of it in our time, which highlights the flexibility offered by our contemporary media environment of multi-channel and multi-platform ways of consumption and engagement. This chapter is a good segue on to the next one where she discusses reality television, analyzing American Idol as one of the key format franchises. Probing the American Idol phenomenon ,   chapter four dives into the processes for local adaptation of global formats, including a thorough analysis of active audience engagement via the Internet as key to glocalizing the cultural product (pp.116 and 117).

Chapter five continues with format franchising analysis through looking at American Idol, as well as Canadian Idol. However, in this chapter the author turns her view towards the audience and the reasons for involvement and active participation in the Idol phenomenon. She signals the need for better policy or stronger guidelines in the recruitment of participants – indicating the inherited exploitative nature of this engagement between audiences and content producers. Furthermore, this chapter illuminates some of the reasons people audition to participate in this program, revealing the current audience obsession with fame and celebrity status that in great part is promoted by popular cultural agents.

The highlight of the following chapter is its focus on content as the new currency in film and television production, especially within the framework of emerging business networking across non-traditional lines. Through critiquing the role of and the interrelationship between producers, digital content developers, advertisers, telecommunication providers, broadcasters, and interactive media consumers, Baltruschat argue s that the production of content as a new currency increases the significance of intellectual property management. Less interesting in this chapter is the discussion of product placement and branded entertainment. This section does not seem to have in-depth research based on primary sources, and appears as a repetition of arguments we have heard before.

The conclusion, chapter seven, wraps up nicely the key points of the prev ious chapters emphasizing the fact that there is a new media ecology system that we have to analyze with fresher eyes. This media ecology presents new challenges for political, economic, and cultural global life. Overall the book informs and provides new insights into the past twenty transformative years in the ecology of film and television. It is a quick read with significant information. The major criticism is the use of Idol as an example for two or three of the chapters since this is an overexposed and overanalyzed format. The readers could benefit from learning about other examples.