Suffering, Compassion and the Telethon

An explorative study is conducted on La Marató de TV3, as it is the most popular telethon in Catalonia and is responsible for the most fundraising in all of Spain. The most recent edition, in December 2010, raised EUR 8,735,103, the highest amount raised in the telethon's history. This study focuses on the two aspects that are key in explaining the success of this Catalan telethon: the production and the audience. The production of the telethon with references to the content and the audience reactions and involvement (participation and donation) are studied to find out what specific elements enable the telethon's success. La Marató de TV3 is not yet analyzed in this way by other researchers.

Autorentext

Marta Domènech Baldó, Máster en Medios de Comunicación y Periodismo, especialización en Medios de Comunicación, Cultura y Sociedad en la Universidad Erasmus de Rotterdam. Country Manager en Openprovider B.V., España.

Zusammenfassung

• Hiroto, a part-timer without a steady job, is on his lunch break in the park when a cute little boy appears in front of him and stares enviously at Hiroto's lunch. The child looks so irresistibly cute and hungry, Hiroto shares his lunch with the boy. When the child's father, Suguru, finally shows up and sees his picky-eater son enjoying a meal, he offers Hiroto a housekeeping job! The father is a pilot and cannot be home all the time, and needs a caretaker for the boy and their beautiful home. Just as things start going well for Hiroto, he begins to fall for Suguru...and learns that the previous housekeeper had to resign because of romantic involvement with the dashing pilot! Can Hiroto keep his emotions in check?