Nickelodeon Nation: The History, Politics, and Economics of America's Only TV Channel for Kids / Edition 1

by Heather Hendershot

Overview

Nickelodeon is the highest rated daytime channel in the country, and its cultural influence has grown at an astounding pace. Why are Nickelodeon shows so popular? How are they developed and marketed? And where do they fit in the economic picture of the children's media industry? Nickelodeon Nation, the first major study of the only TV channel just for children, investigates these questions.
Intended for a wide range of readers and illustrated thorughout, the essays in Nickelodeon Nation are grouped into four sections: economics and marketing; the production process; programs and politics; and viewers. The contributors—who include a former employee in Nick's animation department, an investigative journalist, a developmental pyschologist who helped develop Blue's Clues, and television and cultural studies scholors—show how Nickelodeon succeeds, in large part, by simultaneously satisfying both children and adults. For kids, Nick offers gross-out jokes and no-holds-barred goofiness, while for adults it offers a violence-free world, ethnic and racial diversity, and gender parity. Nick gives kids the fun they want by gently violating adult ideas of propriety, and satisfies adults by conforming to their vision of "quality" children's programming.
Nickelodeon Nation shows how, in only twenty years, Nickelodeon has transformed itself from the "green vegetable network"—distasteful for kids but "good for them," according to parents—into a super-cool network with some of the most successful shows on the air. This ground-breaking collection fills a major gap in our understanding of both contemporary children's culture and the television industry.
Contributors include: Daniel R. Anderson, Sarah Banet-Weiser, Henry Jenkins, Mark Langer, Vicki Mayer, Susan Murray, Heather Hendershot, Norma Pecora, Kevin S. Sandler, Ellen Seiter, Linda Simensky, and Mimi Swartz.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814736524
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2004
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Heather Hendershot is associate professor of media studies at Queens College, City University of New York. She is the author of Saturday Morning Censors: Television Regulation Before the V-Chip and Shaking the World for Jesus: Media and Conservative Evangelical Culture.

Table of Contents

Contents
Introduction: Nickelodeon and the Business of Fun
Heather Hendershot
I Economics and Marketing
1 Nickelodeon Grows Up: The Economic Evolution of a Network
Norma Pecora
2 “A Kid’s Gotta Do What a Kid’s Gotta Do”: Branding the Nickelodeon Experience
Kevin S. Sandler
3 “TV Satisfaction Guaranteed!” Nick at Nite and TV Land’s “Adult” Attractions
Susan Murray
II The Production Process
4 The Early Days of Nicktoons
Linda Simensky
5 “You Dumb Babies!” How Raising the Rugrats Children Became as Difficult as the Real Thing
Mimi Swartz
6 Diversifying Representation in Children’s TV: Nickelodeon’s Model
Ellen Seiter and Vicki Mayer
7 Interview with Geraldine Laybourne
Henry Jenkins
III Programs and Politics
8 Ren & Stimpy: Fan Culture and Corporate Strategy
Mark Langer
9 Nickelodeon’s Nautical Nonsense: The Intergenerational Appeal of SpongeBob SquarePants
Heather Hendershot
10 “We Pledge Allegiance to Kids”: Nickelodeon and Citizenship
Sarah Banet-Weiser
IV Viewers
11 Watching Children Watch Television and the Creation of Blue’s Clues
Daniel R. Anderson
About the Contributors
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The phenomenal success of Nickelodeon reveals a great deal about the changing nature of the modern media, and about changing conceptions of childhood. Nickelodeon Nation offers a comprehensive account of the channel's evolution, providing fascinating insights into production and programming, and the responses of children themselves."

-David Buckingham,Institute of Education, University of London

"With both dispassionate market analyses and insiders' personal accounts, Nickelodeon Nation covers the channel's history and evolving philosophies thoroughly—like a bucket of Nick's signature green slime! Even 'Nicksperts' will find new insights and understanding."

-David W. Kleeman,Executive Director, American Center for Children and Media

Editorial Reviews

"“The phenomenal success of Nickelodeon reveals a great deal about the changing nature of the modern media, and about changing conceptions of childhood. Nickelodeon Nation offers a comprehensive account of the channel’s evolution, providing fascinating insights into production and programming, and the responses of children themselves."

David Buckingham

"“With both dispassionate market analyses and insiders’ personal accounts, Nickelodeon Nation covers the channel’s history and evolving philosophies thoroughly—like a bucket of Nick's signature green slime! Even ‘Nicksperts’ will find new insights and understanding."

David W. Kleeman

With both dispassionate market analyses and insiders’ personal accounts, Nickelodeon Nation covers the channel’s history and evolving philosophies thoroughly—like a bucket of Nick's signature green slime! Even ‘Nicksperts’ will find new insights and understanding.”

-David W. Kleeman,Executive Director, American Center for Children and Media

From the Publisher