Analysing and Producing Television Reports: A study of the Îles du Ponant that analyses how the audiovisual sector may contribute to Island Studies and Island Development

Abstract

This article is based on a study conducted on the Iles du Ponant islands in western France which focused on the relationship between islands and the medium of television. Two approaches were developed. First, a large corpus of television reports was analysed. Second, two geographers produced a documentary series presenting the results of a study on the social, economic and regional dynamics of the Iles du Ponant. Our objective is not to expand on the contents of the representations of these islands which were disseminated by traditional television media or in the documentary series developed by the above-mentioned geographers. Rather, we seek to show how this approach may prove beneficial, both for island territories and for research. We will also question the role audiovisual media play in Island Studies more generally.