This practical reference book is concerned mainly with the technology of digital terrestrial television broadcasting. The author describes the latest developments in digital television, the status of analog technology, and the basics of digital technology and its specifications. The operating and measurement procedure is given especially extensive treatment. Technical future scenarios are also discussed. The book thus gives a self-contained account of this topical theme which will be useful for trainee engineers as well as media experts and broadcasting professionals.

A stimulating treatment of an area of public life which is a subject of continuing debate and controversy. This volume covers the years in which ITV faced more challenges than at any time in its history and its regulator, the IBA, was subject to political pressures so extreme that they brought about its abolition and rebirth as the Independent Television Commission. The book gives detailed accounts, based on documents not previously available and interviews with over sixty senior figures in the industry, of the changes and controversies of the period. Highlights include: the conflict with government over the programme Death on the Rock , the battle with the BBC for possession of the rights to Dallas , the financial crisis at ITN, the impact of the Peacock Committee Report and the 1990 White Paper on Broadcasting, as well as detailed accounts of the broadcasters' and the regulator's battle with the government over the Broadcasting Bill and the subsequent 'auction' of ITV licences.

Using journalists' own standards as the measure, an exhaustive analysis of nearly 3000 network news reports from the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations reveals that the networks may do more to misinform than inform on a whole range of complex issues related to national defense. This study paints a disturbing picture of the inadequate coverage ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News provide to millions of viewers each night. Aubin concludes that network coverage of defense issues was too often tainted by preconceived attitudes and lapses in journalistic standards. While as much as twenty-five cents of every dollar went to the defense budget during some of the periods reviewed, the networks hardly covered the key issues surrounding the Reagan defense buildup or the dramatic cuts that followed the end of the Cold War. In addition to their inadequate coverage, the networks also deprived Americans of balanced coverage of the investments made in high-tech weapons that ultimately prevailed in the Gulf War. Though the networks receive good marks for foreign policy coverage, they need to improve the quality of defense reports. This book provides them with the lessons and prescriptions for doing so, and it serves as a primer for all Americans who want to know just what it was that the networks failed to tell them.

Love, Light, and a Dream is a timely and provocative look at the medium of television as one of the cultural vehicles carrying us toward the 21st century. It provides an up-to-the-minute review of developments and trends shaping the policy and regulatory issues that exert the strongest influence on the evolution of information technology. Topics covered in this study include the Federal Communications Commission and its role as a regulatory body, the relationship between cable services and telephone systems as information providers, television advertising campaigns and the structure of the agency business, public television and its struggle for financial independence, and the culture of television news and the creation of a journalistic mythology.

From the first notions of 'seeing by electricity' in 1878, through the period of the first demonstration of rudimentary television in 1926 and up to 1940, when war brought the advance of the technology to a temporary halt, the development of television gathered about it a tremendous history. Following the discovery of the photo-conductive effect, numerous schemes for television were suggested but it was in the wake of Baird's early demonstrations that real industrial interest developed and the pace of progress increased. Much research and development work was undertaken in the UK, the US, Germany and France. By 1936 television technology had advanced to the point where high definition broadcasting was realistic. This meticulous and deeply researched book presents a balanced and thorough international history of television from 1878 to 1940, considering the factors - technical, commercial and social - that influenced and led to the establishment of public services in many countries. Highly illustrated throughout, this is a major book in the study of history of science, technology and media.

This is an insider's tour, touching on the network's dizzying decision-making process, and the artists who have revolutionized the medium.

First published in 1980, this compact introduction to television broadcasting as an industry offers jargon-free analysis of every many aspects of broadcasting.;Stuart Hood draws on his inside experience of the industry (and its politics) to present this work as an unashamed - but increasingly critical - defence of television as a legitimate public forum. Updated to include the momentous changes in broadcasting over recent decades, and coverage of specific broadcasting "events" such as the Gulf War, the 4th edition of this work provides a key text for those with an interest in studying television as a medium.

"In 1984, Congress simultaneously eliminated state-local regulation of cable television rates and banned telephone companies from offering cable service in their own franchise areas. Five years later, the General Accounting Office discovered that basic cable rates had risen more than four times as rapidly as the overall consumer price level since rate deregulation. As a result, Congress began to move to reimpose cable rate regulation once again, finally succeeding (over President Bush's veto) in 1992. In this book, Robert Crandall and Harold Furchtgott-Roth examine the case of reregulating cable television and find that viewers gained far more than they lost during the brief deregulatory era because cable services expanded so rapidly in the deregulated environment. Moreover, they show that new technologies, such as direct-broadcast satellites, are likely to provide considerable market discipline for cable operators in the next few years, weakening any case for rate regulation. Given regulation's history of impeding innovation, they conclude that economic welfare is more likely to be enhanced by policies aimed at encouraging new entry into video services than by rate regulation. "

A timely and controversial study of the tactics and impact of Japanese competition on a major American industry.

The history of radio broadcasting is traced from its earliest origins, through its role as a subversive tool in World War II to the cold war era, and finally to itspresent day use as an instrument of foreign policy used by over 160 countries. The effects on the cold war, in which propoganda broadcasting was the ultimate weapon, contributing in no small measure to the collapse of communism in the USSR, are analysed. The roles of Voice of America, the BBC World Service and others come under scrutiny, and the concluding chapters report on the explosive growth in international broadcasting now taking place in the aftermath of recent political events. The book is supplemented with up-to-date technical data and statistics on major expansions now under way or being planned in many countries, particularly the USA and the Arab states, some of the latter having a broadcasting capacity that dwarfs most western countries. The appeal of the book is by no means restricted to scientists and engineers and many will find much to stir their memories of international radio broadcastsin wartime and peacetime alike.

This book is about how TV makers--notably writers, producers, and network programmers--are deeply influenced by public pressures outside their craft. Many scholars assume that the relationship between society and television is one-way, that the traffic of influence moves from the content of a program to the behavior of those who view it, and that if a show is too exploitative or violent or stereotypical, it transforms the minds of those who watch it in some manner. Authors Selnow and Gilbert maintain that the one-way influence is only half-true. Even as television makes its impact on viewers, viewers, society, and society's institutions make their impact on television, often with more noticeable effect.

Some of television's most influential and best known producers and programmers (including Grant Tinker, Norman Lear, Steven Bochco, and Gary David Goldberg) discuss the forces that affect their selection of themes and treatments, why they include or reject material, and how they view their opinion leader roles and their roles as members of the society that is so influenced by their products. Selnow and Gilbert examine many of the obvious as well as less apparent forces that affect content decisions: government regulations, interest groups, and advertisers. They argue that the rapid advancement in telecommunication technologies has as much to do with what we watch as any of the social forces. The authors look not only at the current control of content, but point toward the consortium of influences that will affect the medium as it evolves rapidly throughout the next decade.

British Radio Drama, 1945-1963 reveals the quality and range of the avant-garde radio broadcasts from the 'golden age' of British radio drama. Turning away from the cautious and conservative programming that emerged in the UK immediately after World War II, young generations of radio producers looked to French theatre, introducing writers such as Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco to British radio audiences. This 'theatre of the absurd' triggered a renaissance of writing and production featuring the work of Giles Cooper, Rhys Adrian and Harold Pinter, as well as the launch of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Based on primary archival research and interviews with former BBC staff, Hugh Chignell places this high-point in the BBC's history in the broader context of British post-war culture, as norms of morality and behavior were re-negotiated in the shadow of the Cold War, while at once establishing the internationalism of post-war radio and theatre.

Students and others interested in radio history will be intrigued by this fast-paced biography of Gordon McLendon's career in the radio industry, touching also on his work in motion pictures and involvement in Texas politics. Following a glimpse into his childhood, education, and military career, Ronald Garay describes McLendon's station ownership and management in Palestine, Texas; the development of a major network, the Liberty Broadcasting System; his live and recreated baseball and football programs; and his skirmishes with the major league baseball establishment. Much attention is given to how McLendon "re-invented" radio and competed with television and print media through his Top 40 music hits, disc jockey programming, and the use of local news. Important concerns regarding station "trafficking," editorializing, and public interests are considered as well in this extraordinary book.

Expatriates posing as detached yet patriotic American commentators, and using the news-of-the-day voice of the stereotypical radio announcer, sought to turn U.S. opinion against the British and achieve the political objectives of their media-savvy employer--master propagandist Paul Josef Goebbels. Riveting biographies in "Berlin Calling" put real names and faces behind the voices of The Georgia Peach, Mr. O.K., Paul Revere, and others. Were they motivated by antipathy towards New Deal programs or were they simply hucksters in search of a payroll check? Ten years on historical research have culminated in a landmark book with intriguing answers to these puzzling questions.

Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of America's entry into World War II, this volume chronicles the careers of eight U.S.A. Zone commentators who worked for Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels. Drawing upon a variety of documentary sources--letters written by the subjects to family, friends, and colleagues; treason trial transcripts; the contents of the BBC's wartime monitoring service; and FBI case files on the broadcasters--the author explores each broadcaster's political and personal motivations, and the influence of their broadcasts.

The crucial decade for the development of the domestic wireless was 1924-34. At the beginning of the period most receivers in Britain were crystal sets, but by the end nearly all sets were on the mains, using valves and mostly with superhet circuits-broadly the same as those in use today. This book describes the broadcasting trends and receiver developments in Europe and America, and includes a detailed account of wireless development in Britain. The vital changes in radio valves are described, and the book concludes with a fascinating account of the rise and fall of home construction of wireless receivers from kits of parts. In the early years it was a nationwide activity. By the end of the decade it had virtually died out. Sets had become too complex for the amateur and commercially produced sets were almost as cheap as construction kits. The author has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject. Much of the information comes from his private collection of papers and early magazines, complete with their advertisements - material that is not generally available in public collections. The crucial decade is likely to prove the definitive work on the subject. It is essential reading for those interested in the history of wireless and the development of its technology.

A companion to volume 3 Politics and Control, 1968-80, this book covers aspects of the same period and completes the history of Independent Television from its origin and foundation to the end of 1980. The division between volumes 3 and 4 reflects the system whereby a regulatory body, which was by statute the publisher and the editor of all programmes, employed contractors to undertake the primary function of programme-making. This arrangement built stresses into the structure, and plenty of instances of tension between the supervisors and supervised are recorded. Other drawbacks were an Authority more reactive than proactive; the need for much industry and inter-company decision-making by committee; and a short-term approach to planning resulting from limited-period contracts and the uncertainty of renewal.

Studying the increasingly powerful role television plays in the political process, Fredric T. Smoller offers a persuasive argument that the big three network coverage of the presidency is gradually eroding public support for and confidence in that office. This book argues that network coverage of the presidency is determined by the political, technical, and commercial nature of the medium itself, producing a bias toward extensive and negative coverage. Smoller studies the thematic nature of television's presidential coverage, demonstrating how producers and correspondents integrate their daily coverage into ongoing themes which provide dramatic unity over a prolonged period of time. Thus, television's portrayal of the White House generally starts out favorable but soon becomes unfavorable. Attempts by the White House to combat these negative portrayals by managing news coverage and isolating the president will subvert democratic values.

"The Six O'Clock Presidency" argues against generally accepted views that network coverage of the presidency is too favorable and reveals the power of the networks to unravel the career of individual presidents and the public's support for that office. Noting that television news is getting tougher on the presidency as each full-term administration president since Richard Nixon has received a bigger measure of poor coverage than its predecessor, the author spent several weeks with the White House press corps to determine how this could be explained. He interviewed television news executives, correspondents and technicians for ABC, CBS, and NBC, as well as White House officials. The result is a comprehensive study of the economics, technology, and personnel of network news and its coverage of the presidency.

Since 1948 when television began its rapid--almost exponential--growth, America has literally focused on TV, but the average viewer has been unaware of the key behind-the-scenes role of the TV director. In Take One, Jack Kuney shows what the director does in his equipment-filled twilight zone--the TV control room. The author identifies the crucial aesthetic contribution of the director who in selecting shots determines not only what millions of viewers will see but also how closely they will see them and in what sequence. More important, Kuney's interviews affirm that generally the director's talent, aesthetic judgements, and instincts set the tone of the program and determine a show's impact on its audience. The volume consists of a series of ten interviews, collected over a period of four years, with directors of television programs, each a specialist in a different field, who show a diversity that ranges from New York to Hollywood, the Metropolitan Opera to the Super Bowl. Their insights explain that various types of programs dictate the degree of the director's involvement: the director's role changes with the nature of the program, be it concert, game show, news, discussion, documentary, special event, drama, panel show, or the Miss America Pageant. In each interview the author's commentary acts as a guide and summation to the observations of the director. Dealing with the unique aesthetics of contemporary television, Take One is the most up-to-date work in the field and will be important and useful reading for students of production, and aspiring directors in the field.

The first two volumes of this history, written by Bernard Sendall, described the events behind the birth and early years of independent television up until 1968. This volume focuses on the central issues facing the Independent Broadcasting Authority and independent television companies during the years of enquiry and uncertainty between the beginning of a new contract period in July 1968 and the passage of the Broadcasting Act and the announcement of successful applicants for new contracts in December 1980

On 2 November 1936 the world's first high definition television station was inaugurated at Alexandra Palace. Two competing companies, Marconi-EMI Television Company Ltd and Baird Television Ltd, provided studio and transmitting equipment for the new service which operated, on an alternate basis, with the systems of the two companies. After a trial period the 405-line system of the Marconi-EMI company was adopted and the last transmission by the 240-line system of Baird Television Ltd was sent out on 30 January 1937. This book is concerned with the history of British television for home reception from 1922/23 to 1939, when the London Station closed down for the war years. Great care has been taken to ensure that an unbiased, accurate history has been written and the work is based predominantly on written primary source material. More than 900 references are given in the text, which is illustrated with many photographs and illustrations. An endeavour has been made to present a balanced history rather than a purely technical history. Thus the book considers the factors - technical, financial and general - which led to the establishment of the world's first, all-electronic, public, regular, high definition television broadcasting service.

Dr. Shaheen, studying over 100 different popular entertainment programs, cartoons and major documentaries telecast on network, independent and public channels, totaling nearly 200 episodes that relate to Arabs, has thrown new and revealing light on the stereotypes of people from the Middle East.

These two volumes, Zenith Radio, The Glory Years, 1936-1945, tell the story and highlight the products of the Zenith Radio Corporation between the early years (1919-1935) and the end of World War II. History and Product begins with an exploration of the history of the corporation from 1936-1945 in a profusely researched and illustrated way. It continues with color photographic portraits of outstanding examples of many of the products manufactured by Zenith in this period, providing a visual survey of the wide range of Zenith radios produced during the Glory Years. The Illustrated Catalog and Database includes a catalog that gathers the most complete collection of Zenith images ever published, followed by a Database which is the most complete listing of Zenith products. In addition, appendices to this volume include Commander Eugene MacDonald's Presidential speeches, information on telepathy experiments at Zenith, Zenith in the movies, and Zenith Annual Reports from 1936-1945. All told these two volumes represent a treasure trove for radiophiles in general and Zenith fans and historians in particular.

The ideal of a neutral, objective press has proven in recent years to be just that--an ideal. In "Governing with the News," Timothy E. Cook goes far beyond the single claim that the press is not impartial to argue that the news media are in fact a political institution integral to the day-to-day operations of our government. This updated edition includes a new afterword by the author, which pays close attention to two key developments in the twenty-first century: the accelerating fragmentation of the mass media and the continuing decline of Americans' confidence in the press.
"Provocative and often wise. . . . Cook, who has a complex understanding of the relationship between governing and the news, provides a fascinating account of the origins of this complicity."--James Bennet," Washington Monthly"
"["Governing with the News"] addresses central issues of media impact and power in fresh, illuminating ways. . . . Cook mines a wealth of historical and organizational literature to assert that the news media are a distinct political
institution in our democratic system."--Robert Schmuhl," Commonweal"

During the Jazz Age and Great Depression, radio broadcasters did not conjure their listening public with a throw of a switch; the public had a hand in its own making. "The Listener's Voice" describes how a diverse array of Americans--boxing fans, radio amateurs, down-and-out laborers, small-town housewives, black government clerks, and Mexican farmers--participated in the formation of American radio, its genres, and its operations.Before the advent of sophisticated marketing research, radio producers largely relied on listeners' phone calls, telegrams, and letters to understand their audiences. Mining this rich archive, historian Elena Razlogova meticulously recreates the world of fans who undermined centralized broadcasting at each creative turn in radio history. Radio outlaws, from the earliest squatter stations and radio tube bootleggers to postwar "payola-hungry" rhythm and blues DJs, provided a crucial source of innovation for the medium. Engineers bent patent regulations. Network writers negotiated with devotees. Program managers invited high school students to spin records. Taken together, these and other practices embodied a participatory ethic that listeners articulated when they confronted national corporate networks and the formulaic ratings system that developed.Using radio as a lens to examine a moral economy that Americans have imagined for their nation, "The Listener's Voice" demonstrates that tenets of cooperation and reciprocity embedded in today's free software, open access, and filesharing activities apply to earlier instances of cultural production in American history, especially at times when new media have emerged.