Date of Award

2020

Degree Type

Essay

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

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First Advisor

Dr. Margaret O. Finucane

Second Advisor

Dr. Jacqueline Schmidt

Abstract

This study examined local television archives and collected data on the administrative issues of content, condition, funding, licensing rights, fee structure, promotion, and prioritization of needs. One intent of this work was to create a plan for the John Carroll University Northeast Ohio Broadcast Archives (JCU NOBA) that addresses operational concerns to provide suggestions for future development. Twenty-five local television archives responded to a survey on these administrative areas.

A subset of local television news archives was developed to draw comparisons between all the respondents and the more focused subset group. Most results saw large similarities between the all the respondents and the local television news subset. Areas emerging from the research as notable were database management, digitization, licensing, funding, and promotions. One of the major problem areas for local television archives is a lack of digitized materials. For aging video formats, this has become an urgent issue.

Survey results indicated that future research should be conducted around licensing and funding. The results also indicated that the greatest area for funding was from the institution that oversees the archive. There is a variance in licensing rates and a need for increased promotion. There are direct connections between promoting the archive and funding the archive. With greater promotion, archives are likely to experience greater income through licensing fees. Overall, the best way to ensure an archive’s success is for archive directors to develop a multi-faceted approach to operations. This plan should include funding, promotion, and preservation.

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