Russell Guerrero

210-999-8406

rguerrer@trinity.edu

Critics Review the State of Television as Part of Trinity's Stieren Series

March 13, 2000  - Two authorities on television, one an academic and the other a member of the media, will explore the importance of TV criticism as part of Trinity University's Stieren Arts Enrichment Series.  Horace Newcomb, communications professor and theorist, and Howard Rosenberg, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and television critic, will present "The Role of the Contemporary Critic in the Negotiation of Television Narratives" on Wednesday, March 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapman Center Auditorium.  The event is free and open to the public. Newcomb is the F.J. Heyne Centennial Professor in Communication at the University of Texas in Austin.  In 1974, Newcomb helped define the academic side of television criticism with his book TV: The Most Popular Art.  It was with this research that he began a career of pushing the boundaries of television criticism.  While at Trinity, Newcomb will examine the reasons television situation comedies and dramas continue to remain popular as entertainment on broadcast television. While Rosenberg's work as a television critic for the Los Angeles Times has yielded many awards, it is his work behind the camera with ESPN's Sports Look and Up Close with Roy Firestone that gives him a unique perspective as a critic.  Rosenberg currently teaches criticism and journalism at the University of Southern California while continuing his work with the Los Angeles Times.  Rosenberg's presentation will look at the competition among news stations to show viewers news as it occurs.  The downside of this competition, according to Rosenberg, is the unpredictable nature of some events.  For example, news stations in California interrupted local programming to show live aerial pictures of a police chase down a highway only to unintentionally show the suspect leave his vehicle and fatally shoot himself. The Stieren Arts Enrichment Series brings an array of leaders in the areas of art, music, drama, literature, communication, art history and aesthetics to Trinity.  The series is made possible through an endowment created by Jane and Arthur Stieren of San Antonio. For more information, call the Trinity University department of communication at (210) 999-8113.

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Last updated on November 8, 2000 by the Office of Public Relations