Despite my students' difficulty finding critical web sites about television shows, I continue to teach the internet research assignment. I turn the situation around to ask my students why they think the information is lacking editorial reflection. Students, having seen many other forms of overt advertising on the Net, recognize the obvious need on the part of television networks to advertise their shows, just like any other product. Students re-interpret this information-gathering experience back to what they recognize as obvious commercials on the World Wide Web, such as the Honda home page and the VISA ads which adorn the margins of search engines. My students' research results lead us to discuss several different topics:
- how television shows are in actuality television "products,"
- how the lines between editorial information and advertising were (and are) not totally clear and continue to get blurrier,
- how like television shows, products can have a narrative of their own in popular culture, as seen through narrative advertising such as that of the Coca-Cola and Gramercy Press networkMCI pages.
Students gain insight about the changing character of information and storytelling by re-experiencing advertising and television through the net.
