Television

THE PRIME TIME CLOSET offers an entertaining and in-depth glimpse into homosexuality on television from the 1950s through today. Divided into four sections, each devoted to a major television genre, this unique book explores how gay men and lesbians have been depicted in over three hundred television episodes and made-for-TV films. THE PRIME TIME CLOSET also reveals how television's treatment of homosexuality has reflected and reinforced society's ignorance and fear of gay men and lesbians. At the same time, it celebrates programs like Ellen and Will & Grace that have broken new ground in their sensitive and enlightened approach to homosexuality and queer themes.

Featuring ordinary people, celebrities, game shows, hidden cameras, everyday situations, and humorous or dramatic situations, reality TV is one of the fastest growing and important popular culture trends of the past decade, with roots reaching back to the days of radio. The Tube Has Spoken provides an analysis of the growing phenomenon of reality TV, its evolution as a genre, and how it has been shaped by cultural history. This collection of essays offers both a multidisciplinary approach and a cross-cultural perspective, considering Australian, Canadian, British, and American programs. In addition, the book explores how popular culture shapes modern western values. It analyzes how reality TV programs reflect the tensions between the individual and the community, the transformative power of technology, the creation of the celebrity, and the breakdown of public and private spheres.

Ever since the first scheduled television broadcasts began in the 1930s, newspapers and magazines took quickly to reviewing this revolutionary new medium. The task of television criticism in the public domain initially fell to radio critics and journalists, but the 1950s saw the rise of the dedicated TV critic. These critics, including Peter Black, Philip Pursor, and Clive James, played an important part in shaping the public discourse about television. This new book explores the evolution of television criticism in Britain, exploring different types of TV critics and reviewers, the form of their work, and evaluating their importance in our understanding of the way television has become such an integral part of modern culture.

The second edition reflects the technological, organizational, economic, and legal developments that started to change the Industry. To bring this account of broadcasting history up to 2001, this new edition includes: *A new chapter describing historical developments from 1988 until the present *A substantially expanded bibliography *Selected Further Readings for each chapter in an alphabetical format *Updated and reorganized historical tables, and *Several new historical tables on topics from public television programming to the relationship of television to presidential elections. Ebook.

There are two ages in the history of television: before HBO and after HBO. Before the launch of Home Box Office in 1972, the industry had changed little since the birth of broadcast network television in the late 1940s. The arrival of the premium cable channel began a revolution in the business and programming of TV. For the generation that has grown up with the vast array of viewing choices available today, it is almost inconceivable that our ever-expanding media universe began with a few hours of unimpressive programming on a single cable channel. Written by an insider, this is the story of HBO's reconfiguration of television and the company's continual reinvention of itself in a competitive and dynamic industry.