http://justtv.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/soundbites/ random thoughts from media scholar Jason Mittell Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:45:10 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://justtv.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/soundbites/#comment-5062 The Chutry Experiment » Sunday Links Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:02:34 +0000 http://justtv.wordpress.com/?p=165#comment-5062 [...] Mittell of JustTV discusses his experience of being interviewed for an NPR segment on the appeal of American Idol. As Jason observes, [...] [...] Mittell of JustTV discusses his experience of being interviewed for an NPR segment on the appeal of American Idol. As Jason observes, [...]

]]> http://justtv.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/soundbites/#comment-5048 George Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:47:58 +0000 http://justtv.wordpress.com/?p=165#comment-5048 I see this piece as an interesting example of what we're studying in class about the strengths and limits of different media and their different rhetorics. I think I am correct in saying the NPR piece ultimately made the same point you would have made if they had played the full teenybopper clip. The point you were making was that American Idol had something for (nearly) everyone (note: not 20 year old male college students!). But their rhetoric for making this point was different than yours--they had the audio clips of different people enjoying the show for different reasons (including your scholarlyness). Although you probably made this point explicitly, it wouldn't have make for good radio especially in the context of a piece like this one on American Idol which isn't as highbrow as many NPR pieces. I see this piece as an interesting example of what we’re studying in class about the strengths and limits of different media and their different rhetorics. I think I am correct in saying the NPR piece ultimately made the same point you would have made if they had played the full teenybopper clip. The point you were making was that American Idol had something for (nearly) everyone (note: not 20 year old male college students!). But their rhetoric for making this point was different than yours–they had the audio clips of different people enjoying the show for different reasons (including your scholarlyness). Although you probably made this point explicitly, it wouldn’t have make for good radio especially in the context of a piece like this one on American Idol which isn’t as highbrow as many NPR pieces.

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