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12
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
PORTRAYALS OF PROFESSIONS ON THE SCREEN
The workplace is a common setting for television shows. Since the early years of
television, viewers have embraced such diverse workers as bus driver Ralph Kramden,
shoe salesman Al Bundy, housemaid Hazel, and top defense attorney Perry Mason. On
ABC, nine of its 2010 – 2011 primetime series revolve solely around a work
environment, with shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice set in hospitals;
Rookie Blue, Castle and Detroit 1-8-7, set on the streets and showing the work of cops
and detectives; and even Super Nanny set in an in-home environment, but a workplace
nonetheless (“ABC”). Over on CBS, The Good Wife features a lawyer; Blue Bloods
tracks three generations of NY policemen, and the various CSI series show us the inner
workings of a forensics lab. Not to be left out, NBC gives us behind-the-scenes
workplace glimpses in The Office and 30 Rock. While these are fictional programs, cable
television channels such as Bravo show the workplace in a reality television setting.
These include Million Dollar Listing, about high-end real estate; Tabatha’s Salon
Takeover, where a hair professional revamps struggling salons; and The Rachel Zoe
Project, about a celebrity stylist. Other reality shows by Bravo are in competitive format,
such as Top Chef, a contest for professional chefs to win the “Top Chef” title; and Project
Runway, where professional fashion designers fight their way to win money to launch
their designs.
This proves the popularity of the workplace setting in television, whether it is a
fiction or reality series. As workplace images become more prominent in television
Object Description
| Title | Power party girls, good looking crowds and one hellish boss: The portrayal of the female entertainment publicist on reality television |
| Author | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Author email | chashem@usc.edu; chashem87@gmail.com |
| Degree | Master of Arts |
| Document type | Thesis |
| Degree program | Public Relations |
| School | Annenberg School for Communication |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-04-01 |
| Date submitted | 2011 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2011-05-03 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Thorson, Kjerstin |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Floto, Jennifer Saltzman, Joseph |
| Abstract | This thesis is an examination of the portrayal of the female entertainment publicist shown in reality television. With the large success rate of Samantha Jones from Sex and the City in the 1990s, female interest in public relations has increased, and good or bad, Jones has served as one of the predominate images of the publicist in the entertainment industry. Those who have performed critical analysis of the image of the public relations practitioner have deemed these representations as showing negative characteristics of those in the profession. While there has been previous research on the image of public relations in media, analysis of the female entertainment publicist in reality television has been left untapped.; The project consisted of a content analysis as well as interviews with various women in entertainment public relations. Three reality television shows featuring female entertainment publicists were watched: MTV's PoweR Girls (2005), Bravo's Kell on Earth (2010) and E! Network's The Spin Crowd. After conducting this analysis, the author found that the female publicist is put in one of two gender categories, the masculine bitch or the overtly sexy "PR Bunny." Other findings inferred that the dominant images within each series suggested that public relations is overall an easy field to enter, with little or no experience or professionalism needed. Finally, although the three series had some subtle differences, public relations is still shown as a glamorous job.; Interviewee responses showed that the negative representations of entertainment publicists on reality television are not indicative of the real life job itself, but that media's representation of it has led others to believe false or skewed images of the profession. Since these three shows' target demographics include young women about make a career decision, the impact they may have on this demographic, and how it may affect the future of public relations and the expectations of those about the enter the industry, is also discussed. |
| Keyword | communication; entertainment; media; public relations; reality television |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA |
| Coverage date | 1990/2010 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m3875 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Hashem, Camille Renée |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Hashem-4503 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Hashem-4503.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 12 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 12 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW PORTRAYALS OF PROFESSIONS ON THE SCREEN The workplace is a common setting for television shows. Since the early years of television, viewers have embraced such diverse workers as bus driver Ralph Kramden, shoe salesman Al Bundy, housemaid Hazel, and top defense attorney Perry Mason. On ABC, nine of its 2010 – 2011 primetime series revolve solely around a work environment, with shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice set in hospitals; Rookie Blue, Castle and Detroit 1-8-7, set on the streets and showing the work of cops and detectives; and even Super Nanny set in an in-home environment, but a workplace nonetheless (“ABC”). Over on CBS, The Good Wife features a lawyer; Blue Bloods tracks three generations of NY policemen, and the various CSI series show us the inner workings of a forensics lab. Not to be left out, NBC gives us behind-the-scenes workplace glimpses in The Office and 30 Rock. While these are fictional programs, cable television channels such as Bravo show the workplace in a reality television setting. These include Million Dollar Listing, about high-end real estate; Tabatha’s Salon Takeover, where a hair professional revamps struggling salons; and The Rachel Zoe Project, about a celebrity stylist. Other reality shows by Bravo are in competitive format, such as Top Chef, a contest for professional chefs to win the “Top Chef” title; and Project Runway, where professional fashion designers fight their way to win money to launch their designs. This proves the popularity of the workplace setting in television, whether it is a fiction or reality series. As workplace images become more prominent in television |
