Archiving of media productions : a critical analysis

Abstract

The aim of this study is to produce a set of guidelines to Malta's archiving system of media productions including news features of the national broadcasting television station, the PBS. This is in view of developing international standards and procedures. BBC was taken as a case study and potential model for the local system. A qualitative study in the form of a case study was used as a data collection method. Information was obtained from three interviews together with additional notes and photos taken during a visit to the PBS archives. The introductory chapter starts with the history of the Maltese broadcasting system. International standards and procedures adopted by the International Council on Archives (ICA), the International Federation of Television Archives (IFTA) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) are mentioned together with examples of news television archives; Vanderbilt Television News Archives (VTNA) and Columbia Broadcasting System News Archive (CBS.) The following chapter focuses on the current and past situation of the PBS archives together with future plans. Importance attached to the actual preservation of these items is also studied. Information about the BBC archives together with their system of organising, retrieving and cataloguing media productions is given. This study concludes with a list of guidelines that can be adopted by the PBS archives for taking better care of these audiovisual archives that form part of our historical heritage.