SCMS 2006 Vancouver

Television Studies Steering Committee

Introduction

It has been a very good year, 193 members, have rights of a caucus ($300), Cinema Journal special focus, 40% of panels have TV studies, and plenary

Business of the minutes from London, Jason Mittell seconded and approved by all.

Announcements

General Membership meeting at 12:15

Wisdom of late Friday panels

Public relations person for the org.

Do we want to generate an “experts” list org. wide

Reception tonight with Flow—Yaletown Brewing Company. Thank you Michael Kackman

Flow Conference-October 26-29 Austin, TX—Avi Santo and Allison Pearlman

Organized by roundtable—question around which to have a conversation, no papers or panels, currently 25 roundtables, 500-800 word response to the central question of the roundtable to be posted on Flow on the website before the conference. www.flowconference.org

Website: Christine Becker

Are their ways we can better utilize the website?

Janet Staiger: Email announcements to notify us of substantial changes or important information

Dan Marcus: Recently published books and article lists

Mary Kearney: members should update profiles, email Chris with information

Jason Mittell: also syllabus repository available and needs updating—send them to Chris in PDF

Jeremy Butler: also Screensite.org

Sharon Sharaf: is there an easier way to sign up to be part of the group

Action Committees—

Ongoing

Committee Members needed for organizational level participation, particularly senior faculty—program committee, executive council, etc.

Media Policy Committee—Jason Mittell

Request for SCMS to take more activist role has happened, Committee has formed about a month ago: Toby Miller, John Beltan, Rebecca Bachman, Paula Massood, Jason Mittell Peter Decherny; working primarily on intellectual property, copyright, and fair use; hope to issue policy statements for the organization, updating Kristin Thompson’s document, clear statements of what policy we are endorsing; also want to support testimony and amicus briefs; help facilitate scholars who want to participate in policy initiatives; figuring out how to deal with national level policies for an international organization

Current states of TV and New Media Studies—Panel or Plenary--Tim

In response to in focus piece; clear presence of television and new media in the organization, thinking about both the place of theses studies within the field and the organization

Mary Kearney—try to include a non-US/non-British scholar on the panel

Issues in Publication of TV Studies—Panel--Amanda

Panel for 2007 places to publish and strategies for publishing TV work

Global TV Studies—Sharon and Tim

Consciousness raising group, lack of place for non-US television studies; not an absence of work but ghettoized and oddly positioned (Eastern Europe and Indian panels in particular, geography as determinant)—need greater sensitivity in panel composition, also trying to encourage more international television scholars to come to SCMS—many go to ICA which isn’t really a clearly established place either.

Derek Kompare: best answer is in pre-constituted panel

Public (Practical) Intellectual--Marsha

Academic in the public sphere, generate an experts list, specifically targeted to coordinating with Chicago press for next conference

Scholarship, Grants, and Awards

Is there interest in forming a committee?

Additional

Sound and Popular Music: Norma Coates

Pending Questions

Endorsing Panels? Still needed, what kind of criteria—

Bambi Haggins—can we better coordinate with other caucuses

Janet Staiger-aren’t their problems with not sponsoring all

Peter Feng-creative ways of using sponsorship—use the TV studies endorsement when panel isn’t on the surface

Jason Mittell—makes sense to focus the endorsement on things coming out of the group—our action items—rather than just a panel about television; generic TV panel doesn’t really need endorsement anymore

Is it still necessary to highlight panels and papers in the program about television?

Mary Kearney: Can we instead have a list of papers and panels that speak to action items?

Miranda Banks: Use the website to draw attention to TV papers that may be embedded in more filmish panels or without TV in the name?

Avi Santo-use the endorsements for panels that are not receiving attention—global, and policy?

Consensus seemed to emerge that it would make most sense to endorse those panels that advance the interest group’s action items (thereby not sponsoring everything TV related or forcing an additional layer of vetting). And that it was no longer necessary to compose a list of panels/papers that have TV in them. Those with “hidden” TV might elect to use the website to draw attention to their papers/panels.

Spending $300

Can money be determined by steering committee? Janet Staiger-so moved, Norma Coates, seconded.

General Announcements

Jeremy Butler-New edition of book coming out

Elana Levine-Console-ing Passions-May 26-29 in Milwaukee, very affordable graduate student registation rates

Mark Williams-Journal of E-Media Studies will premiere later this spring or early this summer; seeking a SCMS annual issue

Devorah Heitner-Screening Noir, new journal out of UCSB

Avi Santo-Flow Journal is seeking new columnists.