Television and Transmedia Storytelling

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Up until recently television has been the most prominent medium of entertainment and information in our lives. Nothing could beat Saturday morning cartoons, the six o'clock news and zoning out from the world by the distractions of prime time sitcoms. It is all of these things and more that formed television into what was thought to be the ultimate entertainment medium, that is, up until now. Television in the twenty-first century is not the television our parents watched or in fact what we watched as children. Today’s generation are no longer satisfied with the traditional television experience. Today’s audience no longer has to follow the network’s predetermined schedule nor is television the one dimensional experience it used to be. Viewers no longer need to schedule a fixed time in order to gather information or watch their favourite show (Smith 5). They can record it with the push of the DVR (Digital Video Recording) button or watch it on a device and obtain background information via the Internet. In addition, viewers now have the opportunity to interact with, share, and produce their own material from their favourite show (5). In order to not lose the authenticity of television, media theorists have created transmedia. This new twist on television gives the user more control and more involvement than ever before. The concept has been termed as transmedia storytelling. The online journal Infoline defines transmedia storytelling in its January 2014 issue as “social, mobile, accessible and re-playable.” Originally coined in the 1990’s it was not until 2003 when Henry Jenkins, a professor of communications at the University of Southern California, wrote his article “Transmedia Storytelling” that the term began being ...

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...Sangalang, Angeline, Jessie M. Quintero Johnson, and Kate E. Ciancio. "Exploring Audience Involvement With An Interactive Narrative: Implications For Incorporating Transmedia Storytelling Into Entertainment-Education Campaigns." Critical Arts: A South-North Journal Of Cultural & Media Studies 27.1 (2013): 127-146. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Scolari, Carlso Alberto. “Transmedia Storytelling: Implicit Consumers, Narrative Worlds, and Branding in Contemporary Media Production.” International Journal of Communication 3 (2009): 586-606. Print.
Smith, Aaron. “Transmedia Storytelling in Television 2.0.Strategies for Developing Television Narratives Across Media Platforms” A discussable version of Aaron Smith’s thesis for Middlebury College. (2009) Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
"Transmedia Storytelling." T+D 68.1 (2014): 19. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

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