New York Times bestselling author, comedian, actress, and producer Phoebe Robinson is back with a new essay collection that is equal parts thoughtful, hilarious, and sharp about human connection, race, hair, travel, dating, Black excellence, and more. Written in Phoebe's unforgettable voice and with her unparalleled wit, Robinson's latest collection, laced with spot-on pop culture references, takes on a wide range of topics. From the values she learned from her parents (including, but not limited to, advice on not bringing outside germs onto your clean bed) to her and her boyfriend, lovingly known as British Baekoff, deciding to have a child-free union, to the way the Black Lives Matter movement took center stage in America, and, finally, the continual struggle to love her 4C hair, each essay is packed with humor and humanity. By turns insightful, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartfelt, Please Don't Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes is not only a brilliant look at our current cultural moment, but a collection that will stay with you for years to come.

The Transformation of Television Sport: New Methods, New Rules examines how developments in technology, broadcasting rights and regulation combine to determine what sport we see on television, where we can see it and what the final output looks and sounds like.

Behind the Wireless tells the story of women at the BBC in the 1920s and 30s. Broadcasting was brand new in Britain and the BBC developed without many of the overt discriminatory practices commonplace at the time. Women were employed at all levels, except the very top, for instance as secretaries, documentary makers, advertising representatives, and librarians. Three women held Director level posts, Hilda Matheson (Director of Talks), Mary Somerville (Director of School Broadcasting), and Isa Benzie (Foreign Director). Women also produced the programmes aimed at female listeners and brought women broadcasters to the microphone. There was an ethos of equality and the chance to rise through the ranks from accounts clerk to accompanist. But lurking behind the facade of modernity were hidden inequalities in recruitment, pay, and promotion and in 1932 a marriage bar was introduced. Kate Murphy examines how and why the interwar BBC created new opportunities for women.

The story of radio begins alongside that of the Soviet state: Russia's first long-range transmission of the human voice occurred in 1919, during the civil war. Sound broadcasting was a medium of exceptional promise for this revolutionary regime. It could bring the Bolsheviks' message to the furthest corners of their enormous country. It had unprecedented impact: the voice of Moscow could now be wired into the very workplaces and living spaces of a population that was still only weakly literate. The liveness and immediacy of broadcasting also created vivid new ways of communicating 'Sovietness' - whether through May Day parades and elections, the exploits of aviators and explorers, or show trials and public criticism. Yet, in the USSR as elsewhere, broadcasting was a medium in flux: technology, the broadcasting profession, and the listening audience were never static. Soviet radio was quickly earmarked as the mouthpiece of Soviet power, yet its history is also full of unintended consequences. The supreme irony of Soviet 'radiofication' was that its greatest triumph - the expansion of the wireless-listening public in the Cold War era - made possible its greatest failure, by turning a part of the Soviet audience into devotees of Western broadcasting. Based on substantial original research in Moscow, St Petersburg, and Nizhnii Novgorod, Russia in the Microphone Age is the first full history of Soviet radio in English. In addition to the institutional and technological dimensions of the subject, it explores the development of programme content and broadcasting genres. It also goes in search of the mysterious figure of the Soviet listener. The result is a pioneering treatment of broadcasting as an integral part of Soviet culture from its early days in the 1920s until the dawn of the television age.

There have been many well-publicized cases of invasive species of plants and animals, often introduced unintentionally but sometimes on purpose, causing widespread ecological havoc. Examples of such alien invasions include pernicious weeds such as Japanese knotweed, an introduced garden ornamental which can grow through concrete, the water hyacinth which has choked tropical waterways, and many introduced animals which have out-competed and displaced local fauna. This book addresses the broader context of invasive and exotic species, in terms of the perceived threats and environmental concerns which surround alien species and ecological invasions. As a result of unprecedented scales of environmental change, combined with rapid globalisation, the mixing of cultures and diversity, and fears over biosecurity and bioterrorism, the known impacts of particular invasions have been catastrophic. However, as several chapters show, reactions to some exotic species, and the justifications for interventions in certain situations, including biological control by introduced natural enemies, rest uncomfortably with social reactions to ethnic cleansing and persecution perpetrated across the globe. The role of democracy in deciding and determining environmental policy is another emerging issue. In an increasingly multicultural society this raises huge questions of ethics and choice. At the same time, in order to redress major ecological losses, the science of reintroduction of native species has also come to the fore, and is widely accepted by many in nature conservation. However, with questions of where and when, and with what species or even species analogues, reintroductions are acceptable, the topic is hotly debated. Again, it is shown that many decisions are based on values and perceptions rather than objective science. Including a wide range of case studies from around the world, his book raises critical issues to stimulate a much wider debate.

Written from an insider's extraordinary working encounters and packed with never-seen-before pictures, this compelling and entertaining compendium of astonishing (and often hilarious) anecdotes, is a must-read for anyone who appreciates the sounds and sights of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Fascinating encounters and working relationships with over fifty global super-stars - from Madonna to Miles Davis, David Bowie, Little Richard, Ozzy Osbourne, Bryan Ferry, Malcolm Maclaren, Sting, Elton John, Jane Fonda and many more, are described with wry humour. Amongst many, there are first-hand tales of the great Miles Davis being ordered to stop playing his trumpet ("that thing") in a Newcastle pub; Chris paying Madonna's train fare (standard class) with cash in brown envelope; Red Hot Chilli Peppers playing on top of a giant hot dog in Hollywood, and a meeting with Grace Jones wearing a Micky Mouse hat in Birmingham Botanical Gardens. "Namedropper - an unorthodox biography" is jam-packed with similar observations and anecdotes on the rich and famous of the day and is written with huge warmth and wit by broadcaster, film maker and former producer of Channel 4's The Tube, Chris Phipps.

In Vers & Kapittel: Artikels, rubrieke en naskrifte oor die digkuns slaag die gerespekteerde skrywer en digter Daniel Hugo daarin om die internasionale wereld van digkuns vir die gewone leser nie net toeganklik nie, maar ook aangrypend te maak. In die nagenoeg 50 artikels ontdek die leser die wonders van die Afrikaanse en Nederlandse digkuns, terwyl Hugo se outobiografiese stukke ’n persoonlike blik werp op verskeie bekende skrywers en hul werk. In elkeen van die rubrieke, artikels en naskrifte in Vers & Kapittel doen Hugo dit wat hy by sy meesters (D.J. Opperman en Gerrit Komrij) geleer het: hy bied interessante en insiggewende ontledings van gedigte sonder oordadige literere teoriee. In die bundel bewys Hugo dat al wat noodsaaklik is in die ontsluiting van gedigte “is gesonde verstand, belesenheid en die vermoe om prikkelend en kernagtig te formuleer”. Vers & Kapittel bevat ontledings van enkele werke van prominente Afrikaanse digters soos N.P. van Wyk Louw, J.C. Steyn, Elisabeth Eybers, Hennie Aucamp en Lina Spies.

New Media and Popular Imagination offers a highly original account of the ways in which successive media of electronic communication - radio, television, and digital media - have been anticipated, debated, and taken up in the twentieth-century United States. Intended as an intervention in the emerging scholarly and policy debates around contemporary digital culture, the book analyses popular responses to earlier moments of technological innovation in the twentieth-century. Successive electronic media have challenged the borders between private and public, disturbed notions of national identity, and disrupted the gendered routines and spaces of the private home. Illuminating both the continuities and disjunctions between old media and new, New Media and Popular Imagination offers new insights into the relationship between technological change and cultural form.

Journalists, TV producers, and other media workers are members of newly powerful occupations. Media Occupations and Professions is the first book in the field to provide a broad selection of research studies on media workers, from studies of career entry patterns and job security in the various media occupations through to studies of the media moguls and media stars, from the historical origins of the various media occupations to an analysis of the differences between media occupations in different countries.

In 1990, American television experienced a seismic shift when Twin Peaks premiered, eschewing formulaic plots and clear lines between heroes and villains. This game-changing series inspired a generation of show creators to experiment artistically, transforming the small screen in ways that endure to this day. Focusing on six shows (Twin Peaks, with a critical analysis of both the original series and the 2017 return; The Wire; Treme; The Sopranos; Mad Men; and Girls), Television Rewired explores what made these programs so extraordinary. As their writers and producers fought against canned plots and moral simplicity, they participated in the evolution of the exhilarating new auteur television while underscoring the fact that art and entertainment don't have to be mutually exclusive. Nochimson also makes provocative distinctions between true auteur television and shows that were inspired by the freedom of the auteur series but nonetheless remained entrenched within the parameters of formula. Providing opportunities for vigorous discussion, Television Rewired will stimulate debates about which of the new television series since 1990 constitute "art" and which are tweaked "business-driven storytelling."

British television has been a success story. One factor in this success has been the distinctive institutional structure of British broadcasting, a mix of state-regulated and publicly-funded services with commercial services. This book attempts to give a broad overview of British television by examining both the institutional framework and the programmes that it has produced. A range of reprinted writings from the work of acknowledged experts is supplemented by specially commissioned essays on such key topics as sport and British television in the global context.

In "More Than a Movie," producer and entertainment attorney F. Miguel Valenti presents a compelling argument for the creative community to consider the consequences of its products, from movies to TV to the Internet. Valenti refrains from attacking the industries in which he himself works, but argues for reflection on the part of those who create media. "More Than a Movie "takes a pioneering first step toward outlining the issues in an insider fashion, and provides the tools to make ethical decisions about creating for the big and small screens. Edited by veteran media writer Les Brown and media consultant Laurie Trotta, "More Than a Movie "is written to stimulate debate in professional and academic arenas, and for the enjoyment of everyone who loves entertainment. The book contains a foreword by noted author and director Peter Bogdanovich, and commentary from producers Christine Vachon and David Brown. Mediascope, a Studio City, California-based media policy organization, commissioned the book upon discovering that ethical discussions seldom occur in film and television schools, although they are staples for studying law, medicine, business and journalism. Issues range from ethnic and gender stereotyping to excessive and gratuitous violence."It's not about censorship -- it's about having a responsibility for what we do," says author Valenti (no relation to MPAA's Jack Valenti). "The book outlines how we are helping to shape societal values and individual behavior with the artistic choices we make." A team of writers from across the nation offer essays: Neil Hickey, editor, "Columbia Journalism Review"; Annette Insdorf, Columbia University; Ted Pease, professor and columnist; Jack Pitman, "Variety"; Martin Koughan, Emmy Award-winning documentarian. The essays in "More Than a Movie "are interspersed with stories of actual ethical dilemmas told by noted screenwriters, directors and other practitioners in interviews by Manhattan writer Laura Blum.

Liveness is a persistent and much-debated concept in media studies. Until recently, it was associated primarily with broadcast media, and television in particular. However, the emergence of social media has brought new forms of liveness into effect. These forms challenge common assumptions about and perspectives on liveness, provoking a revisiting of the concept. In this book, Karin van Es develops a comprehensive understanding of liveness today, and clarifies the stakes surrounding the category of the 'live'. She argues that liveness is the product of a dynamic interaction between media institutions, technologies and users. In doing so, she challenges earlier conceptions of the notion, which tended to focus on either one of these contributors to its construction. By analyzing the 'live' in four different cases a live streaming platform, an online music collaboration website, an example of social TV, and a social networking site van Es explores the operation of the category and pinpoints the conditions under which it comes into being. The analysis is the starting point for a broader reflection on the relation between broadcast and social media.

The American public has consistently declared itself less concerned with foreign affairs in the post-Cold War era, even after 9/11, than at any time since World War II. How can it be, then, that public attentiveness to U.S. foreign policy crises has increased? This book represents the first systematic attempt to explain this apparent paradox. Matthew Baum argues that the answer lies in changes to television's presentation of political information. In so doing he develops a compelling "byproduct" theory of information consumption. The information revolution has fundamentally changed the way the mass media, especially television, covers foreign policy. Traditional news has been repackaged into numerous entertainment-oriented news programs and talk shows. By transforming political issues involving scandal or violence (especially attacks against America) into entertainment, the "soft news" media have actually captured more viewers who will now follow news about foreign crises, due to its entertainment value, even if they remain uninterested in foreign policy.

Baum rigorously tests his theory through content analyses of traditional and soft news media coverage of various post-WWII U.S. foreign crises and statistical analyses of public opinion surveys. The results hold key implications for the future of American politics and foreign policy. For instance, watching soft news reinforces isolationism among many inattentive Americans. Scholars, political analysts, and even politicians have tended to ignore the soft news media and politically disengaged citizens. But, as this well-written book cogently demonstrates, soft news viewers represent a largely untapped reservoir of unusually persuadable voters.

Television has radically reshaped the contours of knowledge and of pleasure in modern society and become a regular subject of scrutiny and argument. This important book, fully accesible to students yet a contribution to international debate, is the first to offer a systematic review of the ideas which have been most influential across a full range of television criticism and research from the first pioneering studies to the most recent theory and analysis. In the course of exploring key ideas, John Corner develops a clear and close engagement with television itself and the way it is changing. After an Introduction which provides a concise overview of how television has been studied and why, ten chapters take key features of the medium in order to raise questions and and assess arguments. With its focused summaries and its scope of reference, Critical Ideas in Television Studies will help the teaching and study of television to enter a new phase of improved clarity and self-awareness.

The environment for public, educational, and governmental (PEG) cable channels is being roiled by public policy and budgetary changes at the federal, state, and local levels and by technological changes in cable networks. More than 100 PEG access centres -- which provide community groups and individuals free access to video production facilities and equipment, training, and programming time -- have closed since 2005, and many more may close when provisions in recently enacted state laws that eliminate requirements for cable companies to provide funding support take effect. This book examines the challenges and policy considerations facing small-market television.

Public broadcasting is the single most important social, cultural, and journalistic institution of the twentieth century. In the past fifteen years it has been assaulted politically, ideologically, technologically, and is everywhere in retreat. This book considers the idea of public service broadcasting and examines in detail the assault made upon it with specific emphasis on global developments and events in the United Kingdom, Japan, Europe, and the United States. Michael Tracey argues that public service broadcasting has been a vital and democratically significant institution now experiencing a terminal decline brought about by changes in political, economic, and technological circumstances. Based on years of research and extensive contact with leading public broadcasters around the world the author examines the idea of public service broadcasting and how for the most part it has vainly (and often ineffectually) struggled to survive in recent years . The author concludes that public broadcasting is, as was once said of Weimar, a corpse on leave. Its likely disappearance constitutes an indication of a real and deep-seated crisis within liberal democracy.

Global Television and Film is the first non-specialist introduction to the economics of the contemporary film and television business. It explains how these global media markets operate taking into account the unique nature of cultural products and the consequences for public policy and business strategy.

This book explores the transmission of copyrighted sound recordings to the public by over-the-air AM/FM radio stations which is an activity that implicates the right of public performance under the Copyright Act. However, under current law, terrestrial radio broadcasters who play copyrighted music need only compensate songwriters for the performance of their musical compositions and not the holders of the copyright in the sound recording. Sound recording copyright holders assert that there is no justifiable reason for the copyright law to treat sound recordings differently from other categories of performable copyrighted works. They maintain that recording artists deserve to be fairly compensated by broadcast radio for public performance of their works just as songwriters and music publishers are currently being paid for such activity.

What is meant by an 'independent' television and press, and what affirmative role should any government have in the regulation of television? How do competing interest groups use media regulation to their advantage? What impact does television have on democratic values and the process of democracy itself? Television, the Public Sphere, and the National Identity focuses on these and other questions in a broad reinterpretation of television's role and influence on democratic societies in a time of increased globalization of the media. Monroe E. Price's lively and wide-ranging study is unique in developing a theory which covers media developments in both the United States and Europe, including the states of the post-Soviet transition (Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union). Examining the relationship between television and these societies, Price asks how the globalization of television affects the medium's impact on these nations and, indeed, on the survival of the nation state itself. The book also looks at the justifications and abuses that have arisen in television's regulation, and predicts the future role of TV in society.

New Patterns in Global Television focuses upon the development of television industries in some of the countries outside the traditionally dominant centres. It challenges the view that `cultural imperialism' from powerful metropolitan centres dictates the supply of television programmes and services in the world. Specialist researchers provide the first comprehensive overview of TV production in dynamic `peripheral' regions such as Latin America, India, the Middle East, Greater China, and, in the English-speaking world, Canada and Australia.

This book examines a critical point in US broadcasting in the late 1920s and early 1930s - the only period in which a strong opposition emerged to network-dominated, advertising-supported media such as radio. Although the opposition failed to secure airwaves for non-profit broadcasters, its critique of the formation and structure of early broadcasting anticipated much of today's most compelling media criticism.

This is an important study of the crucial issue of alternatives in commercial and public support of broadcasting in the U.S. and Europe. The Peacock Committee on Financing the BBC, a committee sponsored by the British government, commissioned Jay Blumler and Tom Nossiter to investigate the impact of alternate ways of financing the BBC on the range and quality of broadcasting. They then commissioned papers on broadcasting financing in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan to answer the question: "Should the BBC allow some commercial support in financing?" This is an essential collection for broadcast policy-makers and researchers.

In 1990, American television experienced a seismic shift when Twin Peaks premiered, eschewing formulaic plots and clear lines between heroes and villains. This game-changing series inspired a generation of show creators to experiment artistically, transforming the small screen in ways that endure to this day. Focusing on six shows (Twin Peaks, with a critical analysis of both the original series and the 2017 return; The Wire; Treme; The Sopranos; Mad Men; and Girls), Television Rewired explores what made these programs so extraordinary. As their writers and producers fought against canned plots and moral simplicity, they participated in the evolution of the exhilarating new auteur television while underscoring the fact that art and entertainment don't have to be mutually exclusive. Nochimson also makes provocative distinctions between true auteur television and shows that were inspired by the freedom of the auteur series but nonetheless remained entrenched within the parameters of formula. Providing opportunities for vigorous discussion, Television Rewired will stimulate debates about which of the new television series since 1990 constitute "art" and which are tweaked "business-driven storytelling."