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Social Sci LibreTexts

8: Television

  • Page ID
    155660
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    • 8.1: The Evolution of Television
      Since replacing radio as the most popular mass medium in the 1950s, television has played such an integral role in modern life that, for some, it is difficult to imagine being without it. Both reflecting and shaping cultural values, television has at times been criticized for its alleged negative influences on children and young people and at other times lauded for its ability to create a common experience for all its viewers.
    • 8.2: The Relationship Between Television and Culture
      Since its inception as an integral part of American life in the 1950s, television has both reflected and nurtured cultural mores and values. From the escapist dramas of the 1960s, which consciously avoided controversial issues and glossed over life’s harsher realities in favor of an idealized portrayal, to the copious reality television shows in recent years, on which participants discuss even the most personal and taboo issues, television has held up a mirror to society.
    • 8.3: Issues and Trends in the Television Industry
      When television was in its infancy, producers modeled the new medium on radio. Popular radio shows such as police drama Dragnet and western cowboy series Gunsmoke were adapted for television, and new television shows were sponsored by single advertisers, just as radio shows had been.
    • 8.4: Influence of New Technologies
      The experience of watching television is rapidly changing with the progression of technology. No longer restricted to a limited number of channels on network television, or even to a television schedule, viewers are now able to watch exactly what they want to watch, when they want to watch it.


    8: Television is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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