Web, Television and Debate

Web and Television Interest Group,
Philosophy of the Web Community Group,


Show Concept: Great Debates

An idea for a PBS or a Web series show, tentatively titled, for purposes of discussion, Great Debates, includes scholars, lawyers, pundits, and orators from around the nation, or the entire world, arguing and debating in each existing discussion or debate format as well as explorations of new debate formats, for example including the use of portable computers at podiums for advanced forms of notes and Web use.

In addition to topics resembling those debated on the 1970's show The Advocates, Great Debates topics could include a broader set of philosophical, scholarly and scientific debate topics.

Web series are a new possibility available with Web and video. There are also new possibilities from combinations of episodic shows and show website features and content, new features from combinations of the Web and television. Some website topics for Great Debates include audience participation with regard to the selection of debate topics as well as the linking to of an inclusive number of third parties' post-debate analysis segments per episode.


The Advocates

The Advocates was a public television network presentation of KCET, Los Angeles and WGBH, Boston made possible by grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Ford Foundation. The purpose of the series was to stimulate public participation, and understanding, by focusing on realistic choices that must be made in the future, by having both sides of the question presented, and by demonstrating the interest which public officials have in both reasoned arguments and the views of their constituents. Having a one hour time slot, the program topics varied depending on current news and concerns of the public. The program ran from October 5, 1969 through May 23, 1974; then again bi-weekly from January 26, 1978 through September 9, 1979.

The Advocates invited the public to mail in their votes to determine the winner, as other television shows would later come to do with cellular telephones, text messaging, and the Web. Influential figures who appeared on the show include Vice President Joe Biden who appeared on the show in 1974.

http://openvault.wgbh.org/collections/advocates-advocates
http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/mss/advocates/advocates.shtml
http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/mss/advocates/boxlist.shtml
http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/1994/94-003.html
http://wgbhalumni.org/2012/09/12/roger-fisher/


A Website for a Great Debates Show

After each Great Debates episode airs, the content could become available on the show's website. The show's website could include searching into episode transcripts, and other Web video features and ergonomics resembling those observed on other websites such as YouTube including: the use of phones and tablets as remote control devices (http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2012/11/making-it-easier-to-watch-youtube.html, http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2013/01/yt-ces-2013.html) and enhancements with regard to navigating video (http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2012/03/looking-ahead-in-youtube-player.html) and between videos.

Transcripts, WebVTT tracks, and other post-production data could be of use for the indexing, searching, retrieving and navigating of show content. XML-based transcripts could make use of RDFa.

Multiple categories of search result content are simultaneously possible on the show's website; in addition to the show's episodes, other venues with regular debate content, for example university debate clubs, could upload content to or ping the show's website, as could video bloggers, including in response to content on the website.

The audience could participate in the selection of debate topics on the website. Audience participation can also be enhanced by a Web discussion forum area hosted on the show website or linked to from the show website.

User interface topics can include feedback buttons on video players; users can indicate when they agree with something that an orator said in a video, for example.


Post-Debate Analysis and Discussion

The Great Debates website can link to and/or host post-debate analyses and discussion segments from an inclusive number of third-party teams per episode. When watching episodes from the show's website, menus could indicate options for post-debate analyses and discussions, as well as other Web-based features and content.


3D Video Technology

Utilizing RGBD sensor technologies on the set, a number of RGBD sensors simultaneously, photographs can be obtained during post-production. During post-production, moments can be selected by photographers, moving around virtually in the 3D space of the debate studio, obtaining pictures for the website, including to enhance website content, multimedia presentations, or navigation with transcripts into video content.


Studio Audiences

People might enjoy attending the filming of some debates. With advancements in audio technology and digital signal processing, studio audiences can be present during the filming of debates without audience reactions appearing in post-produced audio tracks or with studio audience reactions in separate audio tracks.


Moderators

Great Debates could have a number of moderators, and possibly guest moderators. Some debate formats might include one moderator and other formats a group of moderators. Moderators could add value to episodes of the show though the bulk of the content would be from the scholars, lawyers, pundits and orators.

One show moderator could be a DOJ, FBI, NSA, or military employee which could add additional value insofar as illustrating to the audience that Americans can debate broadly and comfortably in the presence of public sector personnel including on the topics of laws and policies, law enforcement policy, national security policy, and military budget policy.


Conclusion

An exciting idea is described for a PBS or a Web series show, tentatively titled, for purposes of discussion, Great Debates, expanding upon the concepts of the 1970's television show The Advocates.  New features available with combinations of episodic shows and show website features and content, new features from combinations of the Web and television, are described as are some other modern technological and show production topics.



Kind regards,

Adam Sobieski