CRITICAL ESSAY:

ANALYSE A TV PROGRAMME
 STRUCTURE

1500 to 2500 words. The essay must include:

TITLE (and optional subtitle): Formulate an attractive

title capturing the essence of your essay in a clear
and concise style.

ABSTRACT: Short and objective synopsis of your

essay, 100 to 150 word in a single paragraph. (Write
it after having completed your essay)

KEY WORDS: 4 or 5 key words related to your essay.

 STRUCTURE
INTRODUCTION: Introduce the topic, including the following
points: Present the TV programme you are going to analyse,
explain the reasons to choose that particular programme,
specify your main thesis/theory/approach and explain why you
think it´s relevant.

BODY: There are many ways to approach the subject and organize
the body of your essay.

CONCLUSIONS: Summarize the main ideas of your essay + add a

strong final idea/conclusion/deduction. You can include
questions for further investigation, considerations about the
future of the programme or recommendations.

BIBLIOGRAHPY AND REFERENCES: At least 5 references.

 ANALYSING TV

REMEMBER:
All media messages are constructions.
 The broadcasting conditions

When?
– How is it scheduled?
– Is it a live broadcast?
– How long has it been going on?
– What programmes are broadcasted at the same time
in other channels?

How?
– Length of the programme
– Fragmentation and seriality.
– Internal structure
– Referentiality & self-referentiality
 The broadcasting conditions

Who?
– What channel is broadcasting the programme?
– Are there other similar programmes in the same channel?
– Who owns the network?
– What else does this corporation own?
– Who sponsors the programme?
– Is there any relationship between the corporation/sponsors
interests and the values of the programme?
 THE ROLE OF TELEVISION
What role does the progamme you are
analysing play?
– Inform, educate, entertain?
– Distract?
– Indoctrinate?
– Amuse?
– Other?

What methods are used for that purpose?

Is the programme being effective in achieving

that purpose?
 ANALYSING THE CODES
• NARRATIVE CODES
• TECHNICAL CODES: lighting, camera angles, editing,
special effects, etc.
• REPRESENTATIONAL CODES: The thinking behind the
images. How settings, characters, props, images…
create meaning.
• AUDIO CODES
• SCRIPT
• COLORS
• LANGUAGE: informal, rude, erudite.
 CHARACTERS/PRESENTERS/
CONTESTANTS
• How do they look like, speak, behave?

• What is their role in the show/programme?

• STARS (performers who are more famous than the roles they
play). Does the TV show include stars? What part/personality/role
do those stars play? What values do they represent?

• ANALYSING FICTIONAL CHARACTERS:

– Major or minor / protagonist-antagonist-foil / flat-round-stock / Dynamic-
static.
– Describe the character arc.
– Describe the character traits.
 REPRESENTATIONS
• ROLES and STEREOTYPES: Social class, ethnic origin, gender,
religion, etc
– Are those aspects relevant for the show? Why?
– Is the show playing with roles? How?
– How are those aspects important for the roles played by characters?
– Are the characters/presenters/contestants stereotyped or realistic?
– What kind of stereotypes do they represent?
– What kind message/ideology/values are being spread with those
representations?
– Is there any character/situation that breaks with the traditional roles?

• Compare media images and portrayals of your surrounding

environment with your own reality.

• Compare the programme with other shows with the same subjects
or issues. Do they use similar or different perspectives? What are
the differences?
 GENRE

• What is the genre of the programme you have chosen?

• Does it fit into more than one genre?
• What are the norms and conventions of this/those
genres?
• Does the TV programme you have chosen fulfill those
norms?
• Compare the programme with other programmes of the
same genre? Similarities, differences?
• Are there similar programmes in other countries? Is this
genre/format successful abroad?
 AUDIENCE
• What kind of audience is the programme pretending to reach? (age,
social class, men/women, ideology, popular/enlightened, etc)
• What kind of audience is really watching the programme?
• Is the programme seeking the public´s involvement? How?
• Is audience being participative? How?
• Is it a successful programme? What do people say about it?

RATING: Total number of people watching a TV programme relative to

the total universe of homes with television, expressed as a %.
SHARE: Percent of people tuned to a specific programme relative to the
total of people watching TV at that moment.

KANTAR MEDIA: http://www.kantarmedia1.es/archivos/index

NIELSEN: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/top10s.html
 ADVERTISING
• What products are advertised in the frame of the TV
programme you are analysing?
• What kind of commercials are being used?
• Who is the audience for those commercials? Who
would buy those products?
• Does the audience for those commercial fit the
programme´s audience?
• Explore the relationship between the commercials
and the television programme.
 PRODUCTION VALUES

• Is it an expensive programme to produce? Or a

cheap one?

• Why? Actors/presenters? Settings? Script?

Technicians? Postproduction? Special effects?
Music, audio effects?

• Style and aesthetic: modern, traditional, original,

conventional?

• Production technology
 VIOLENCE
• Is the TV show/serie showing explicit violence?
• How is violence represented?
• What role is violence playing in the programme?
• Does the programme/serie show the consequences
of violence? Are the cultural, economic and social
consequences of the violence clear?
• Is violence over or under represented comparing with
reality?
• What are the possible impacts of this kind of violence
representation for the audience?
 ANALYSING NEWS
1- WHAT STORIES ARE TOLD? What stories are included or
excluded form the news? Why do some stories receive a great
deal of coverage and others receive less, little or none? What
is the important? News values.

2- HOW ARE THEY TOLD? Whose points of view are

represented and whose not? Do different points of view have
the same weight? Does the story tend to create a certain view
of the world? Are news made to entertain or to inform? How
explicit are the images (information or sensationalism)?

3- PRODUCTION CONTEXT: variety of institutional, ideological

and professional pressures on programme makers. Ownership
and advertising also important.

4- SOURCES: Where does the information come from?

5- AUDIENCE: Qualitative or quantitative approaches.