Page 15 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 15 of 76 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large (1000x1000 max)
Extra Large
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
|
15
In 2009, Nielsen found that television viewership in America was up 1.9% from the
previous year, with audiences watching 153 hours of television per month (2009). As the
amount of television hours watched increases, the audience sees more recurring images
than before. Viewers are watching more hours of television, and cultivation is explained
as “those who spend more time ‘living’ in the world of television are more likely to see
the ‘real world’ in terms of the images, values, portrayals, and ideologies that emerge
through the lens of television” (Morgan & Shanahan, 2010, p. 47). One example of this is
“mean world” syndrome. Based on cultivation theory, Gerbner, Gross, Morgan,
Signorielli and Shanahan (2009) found that television images of violence and little
altruism led viewers to believe that the actual world is dangerous. (p. 52). Similarly,
when a viewer sees an image of a particular character or profession repeated over and
over again on television, this same cultivation of recurring images will happen and the
viewer may believe the characteristics of the fictional professional are synonymous with
the real-life counterpart.
Portrayals of specific professions in the media are not only repetitive in a
cultivation system, but they also shape society’s perceptions of those professions in real
life as negative or positive. Karen Miller (1999) stated, “Mass media images are often
influential, particularly in the absence of other sources of information such as personal
experiences… that entertainment media images can affect perceptions of certain
professions” (p. 4). This means that when the viewer sees a profession on screen that
he/she has no personal experience with, he/she assumes that what is seen on television
about that profession is true. For example, if a viewer of a law show does not know any
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 15 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 15 In 2009, Nielsen found that television viewership in America was up 1.9% from the previous year, with audiences watching 153 hours of television per month (2009). As the amount of television hours watched increases, the audience sees more recurring images than before. Viewers are watching more hours of television, and cultivation is explained as “those who spend more time ‘living’ in the world of television are more likely to see the ‘real world’ in terms of the images, values, portrayals, and ideologies that emerge through the lens of television” (Morgan & Shanahan, 2010, p. 47). One example of this is “mean world” syndrome. Based on cultivation theory, Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, Signorielli and Shanahan (2009) found that television images of violence and little altruism led viewers to believe that the actual world is dangerous. (p. 52). Similarly, when a viewer sees an image of a particular character or profession repeated over and over again on television, this same cultivation of recurring images will happen and the viewer may believe the characteristics of the fictional professional are synonymous with the real-life counterpart. Portrayals of specific professions in the media are not only repetitive in a cultivation system, but they also shape society’s perceptions of those professions in real life as negative or positive. Karen Miller (1999) stated, “Mass media images are often influential, particularly in the absence of other sources of information such as personal experiences… that entertainment media images can affect perceptions of certain professions” (p. 4). This means that when the viewer sees a profession on screen that he/she has no personal experience with, he/she assumes that what is seen on television about that profession is true. For example, if a viewer of a law show does not know any |
