Page 215 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 8

Open—do not attract a particularly large audience. However, televised
Professional Golfer’s Association (PGA) matches attract a demographic
group with the highest percentage of disposable income of any major
sport. Consequently, in 2006, more than seventy hours of live television
coverage will be devoted to PGA of America events. The sponsors for
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these programs, such as General Motors, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Lib-
erty Mutual Insurance Company, MasterCard, and Lincoln Continental,
are high-end companies that find it lucrative to advertise to this audience
base, which typically has a large discretionary income.
Media executives who are responsible for the bottom line do not
hesitate to embrace genres if they fill the coffers of the company. When
the reality genre first hit the television scene in 2000, many members of
the media establishment were dismissive of the genre. However, after
the success of shows such as American Idol and Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire, executives began to reassess their original opinions. Gary
Newman, the president of 20th Century Fox Television, which had steered
clear of reality programs, had a change of heart after he saw the ratings
for the studio’s first entry, The Simple Life: “I said, ‘The heck with it. If
you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.’” 12
Industry considerations can also explain the inclusion of the content
of genric programming. In 1991, Deidre Hall was added to the cast of the
soap opera Days of Our Lives, playing the role of serial killer Dr. Marlena
Evans. According to co-star Drake Hogestyn, Dr. Evans’s serial-killing
spree was actually a cost-cutting move by the producers, saving the cost
associated with the salaries of nine or ten veteran actors. 13
In addition, industry considerations can provide insight into the
structure of popular genres. As an example, NBC executives initially
discouraged producer Dick Woolf from developing the concept of Law
& Order, the conventional wisdom being that an hour-long dramatic
series would not be marketable in syndication. In response, Wolf cre-
ated an ingenious framework for the series. The first half hour of each
show focuses on the police tracking down the criminal, while the second
half shows the courtroom trial of the suspect. With this structure, each
program could be shown in its entirety or divided into two separate
half-hour shows.
Advertising also has an impact on the structure of popular genres.
When soap operas first appeared on radio and television, writers were
forced to develop storytelling techniques that accommodated the fifteen-
minute sequences between commercial breaks. These quarter-hour

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