Why TV Is Not Our Fault: Television Programming, Viewers, and Who's Really in Control (Critical Media Studies: Institutions, Politics, and Culture)

Meehan, Eileen R.

ISBN 10: 0742524868 / ISBN 13: 9780742524866

Published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005

Seller Inventory # 0742524868-3-32400131

Synopsis:

For more than five decades, we've been told by pundits, commentators, advertisers, scholars, and politicians that television is both a window on the world and a mirror reflecting our culture. We've been led to believe that it shows us the world's events through news programs and, through entertainment programs, reflects the preferences, values, beliefs, and understandings shared by most Americans. We're told that if you don't like what you see on TV, don't blame the industry, blame yourself. This book dispels the myth that the television industry is just giving viewers the programming they want to see and, thus, we as viewers are 'responsible' for the existence of shows like Fear Factor and yet another Survivor. In fact, Eileen Meehan explains, viewers exert no demand in the market for ratings, advertising slots, program production, or telecasting. She also counters the idea that TV programs reflect our culture directly. Introducing us to the political economy of television, Meehan covers programming, corporate strategies, advertising, the misnomer of 'competition' among networks, and organizations that seek more industry accountability. She tells us why TV isn't our fault_and who's really to blame.

About the Author: Eileen R. Meehan is the Lemuel Heidel Brown Chair in Media and Political Economy at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Why TV Is Not Our Fault: Television ...
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Publication Date: 2005
Binding: paperback
Condition: Good