How to Watch TV News
Postman, Neil,Powers, Steve
ISBN 10: 0140132317 ISBN 13: 9780140132311
Published by Penguin Books, 1992
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paperback
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About this Item
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Seller Inventory # mon0000586650
Synopsis:
A guide to watching television news discusses the calculated programming, the viewer manipulation, and the big business behind today's news networks and shows readers how to interpret what they are hearing and seeing. Original.
Reviews:
Academic Postman ( Amusing Ourselves to Death ) and television newsman Powers (of Fox Five in New York) offer a brief, helpful analysis of America's most popular news source. In a sober but accessible style, the authors address theoretical issues, such as the difficulty of portraying nonvisual abstractions (for example, a new scientific theory) on televison, and describe the selling of the news through techniques such as the "tease" and the formation of an on-air "pseudo-family." They reveal how stories originate--often from newspapers and press releases--and show how difficult it is for harried reporters to provide substantive news. The most provocative chapter analyzes the inherent biases and limitations in both language and pictures. The authors conclude with several none-too-radical pieces of advice, including the suggestion that parents seek ways to have schools train children in watching TV news. Regrettably, the authors don't discuss the role of TV criticism or what television news does well. Further, the book would have been much richer if Powers had included anecdotes from his career and reflected from his own experience on in-house decision-making.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Bibliographic Details
Title: How to Watch TV News
Publisher: Penguin Books
Publication Date: 1992
Binding: paperback
Condition: Good