Rethinking Docudrama and its Origins From Radio and Film to Streaming Media

This study offers a new perspective on documentary drama in the television, cable and streaming eras by mapping the trajectory of US media industry discourse about docudrama from the early twentieth century to the present. It uses aggregate data from eight entertainment trade journals to show that docudrama emerged in broadcasting and film in the 1930s and has played a significant role in US media culture ever since. It analyzes trade journal commentary and radio broadcasting practices to demonstrate that the two key components of docudrama-dramatization and a discourse of factuality-developed in the network radio era. The key radio innovation was dramatization, which required producers to re-create actual events, conform to generic expectations, and promote a particular ideological perspective on social events.

Automated summary

This study provides a new perspective on the development of documentary drama in the television and film industries in the United States. By analyzing data from entertainment trade journals, the study reveals the emergence of docudrama in the 1930s and its continuous significance in US media culture. It also examines the role of radio broadcasting and commentary in shaping the key components of docudrama, namely dramatization and a discourse of factuality.