My TiVo hates me…and other research opportunities

So much for less grading translating to more writing. We’re beginning week 3 of the semester, and I still have yet to find a writing rhythm. As usual, my ideas for new papers and conference panel collaborations trump my current projects. The late-night mess at NBC broke during Week 1, and it’s been downhill for me since, so much in fact that I think I broke my TiVo. I recorded most all of the network’s late-night shows, and what I couldn’t TiVo I watched online. Yesterday my TiVo’s hard drive officially crapped out (that’s an academic term). My unit is no longer under warranty, but the company is providing a decent discount on a refurbished replacement model. As such, today is day 2 sans TiVo. It’s interesting that the TiVo actually made it through Conan’s last show before it gave up entirely. For about a month the unit has sporadically reset (meaning turned OFF then back on after a 5-minute reboot process) mid-recording or viewing. Twice it did so on Big Thursday, when I’m triple-booked. Is there a heavy TiVo users’ support group or one that advises how to not abuse your TiVo? However, the hardware is designed to record two shows simultaneously. I wonder how many others have to live with this shame?

In all seriousness, I realize my snarkiness coincides with continued real-life crises. Just as the entertainment industry and the viewing public obsessed over million-dollar contracts for established white guys while Haiti’s infrastructure collapsed and its people mourned the dead, I am distracted by this pop culture obsession. Yes, I study television for a living, but I don’t want to lose sight of the irony that this feminist scholar appears more concerned over problems impacting the old guard of Hollywood than the humanitarian needs of an impoverished community. But here’s the thing: Hollywood once again proves its thread in the fiber of our society. Many of the stars that participated in the Clooney-helmed Help for Haiti Now telethon visited the late-night shows, as well as daytime talk, during the NBC Contract Wars of January 2010. While CNN and the major news outlets focused on Haiti, the entertainment news media, as well as major establishments like the New York Times, couldn’t cover Conan v. Leno enough. I’ve been dumping many of the blog and news links into a browser bookmark folder toward a panel for the National Communication Association Conference, whose deadline is Feb. 17. A few of my grad school colleagues will join me in proposing a panel about the social, political and theoretical implications of the late-night wars as an example of the continued evolution of the broadcast television industry.

I know the “changing media” panels come a dime a dozen, but the mobilization of young adult viewers via Twitter and Facebook, as well as all the time-shifting via Hulu and DVRs make late-night TV the perfect example of how the current TV model is broken. In addition, the narratives of masculinity and race and class politics, given the gender and race of the late-night guard, as well as the multimillion dollar contracts at stake, should make great conversation fodder and possibly an essay worthy of publication. On that note, I need to brainstorm some more writing ideas.