Remembering Television

This path-breaking book extends our knowledge of the social and cultural impacts of television, asking new questions about the ways television’s technologies and programming have been experienced, understood and remembered. Television has served as a companion to the historical events that have unfolded in our everyday lives both on and off the screen, and its presence is intricately bound up in our memories of the past and actions in the present. As this volume demonstrates, the influence of television over individual and family behaviours, national identity and ideas of global citizenship is complex and wide-ranging. Drawing upon recent developments in memory studies, history, media and cultural studies, and with particular reference to Australia, leading scholars explore the histories of television, and how its programs and personalities have been celebrated, recalled with nostalgia or simply forgotten. Topics covered include the pre-figuring of television; memories of the struggle for transmission in remote locations; the transnational experience of television for immigrant communities; the evocation of television programs through spin-off products; televised war reportage and censorship; and the value of ‘unofficial’ television archives such as YouTube. As a whole, these essays offer a striking and original examination of the connections between history, memory and television in today’s world.

This original book asks how, in an age of convergence, when 'television' no longer means a box in the corner of the living room that we sit and watch together, do we remember television of the past? How do we gather and archive our memories? Kristyn Gordon and Joanne Garde-Hansen explore these questions through first person interviews with tv producers, curators and archivists, and case studies of popular television series and fan communities such as 'Cold Feet' and 'Doctor Who'. Their discussion takes in museum exhibitions, popular televison nostalgia programming and 'vintage' tv websites.

This original book asks how, in an age of convergence, when 'television' no longer means a box in the corner of the living room that we sit and watch together, do we remember television of the past? How do we gather and archive our memories? Kristyn Gordon and Joanne Garde-Hansen explore these questions through first person interviews with tv producers, curators and archivists, and case studies of popular television series and fan communities such as 'Cold Feet' and 'Doctor Who'. Their discussion takes in museum exhibitions, popular televison nostalgia programming and 'vintage' tv websites.

Is television harmful to children? Does it destroy imagination, provode delinquency and violence, undermine family life and have other detrimental effects on children?; The author, himself a parent, teacher and researcher investigates the complex ways in which children actively make meaning and take pleasure from television. Chapters cover the popular debates about children and television from a general and academic perspective. The characteristics of children's talk about television are explored, as children interact with other children and other family members in "family viewing" sessions.; Key concepts which inform children's talk about television are investigated i. e. genre, narrative, character, modality, and agency. Finally, conclusions are presented and issues outlined for further research.; Drawing on theories and ideas developed within media and cultural studies, English, education, psychology, sociology, linguistics and other related areas, this book will be useful to both students and teachers in the field, and to the general reader with an interest in children and the media.

Television in Canada has been undervalued as a cultural form. Despite being publicly funded, Canadian television programs are also notoriously difficult to access once they go off the air, which has compounded the problem. In What Television Remembers Jennifer VanderBurgh intervenes in the story of the medium in Canada by exploring the long relationship between TV and the city of Toronto. From the first demonstration of television at the Canadian National Exhibition in 1939 and the mass viewing of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation broadcast in 1953 to the late-century installation of TV screens in public spaces around the city, television has shaped Toronto’s collective imagination and affirmed viewers in their multiple identities as local residents, national citizens, and transnational consumers. In a close reading of Toronto-based CBC dramas from the 1960s to 2010, VanderBurgh explains how the city has functioned as a strategic location in CBC programming, reflecting dramatically changing ideas about Canadian identity, community, and citizenship. At a time when many are suggesting that the era of television is over, What Television Remembers sounds the alarm that we are in danger of forgetting TV in Canada without appreciating the complexities of its contributions and legacy.

Exploring the important issue of impartiality in news reporting, with special reference to news broadcasting on television, this book examines the position of impartiality or bias within the context of news objectivity by exploring accusations of bias by aggrieved parties claiming to have been treated unfairly, misrepresented, or underrepresented.

Research shows that, while people around the world consistently nominate television as their most important news source, much of the content of news bulletins is lost to viewers within moments. In response, Barrie Gunter argues that this can be explained by the way in which televised news is written, packaged and presented.

First Published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.