"Quite simply, a tour de force--a wonderful synthesis of history and criticism."--Daniel Czitrom, author of "Media and the American Mind" "A cooly sophisticated analysis . . . of American televsion."--"American Studies International" In "Demographic Vistas," David Marc shows how we can take television seriously within the humanist tradition while enjoying it on its own terms. To deal with the barrage of messages from television's chaotic history, Marc adapts tools of theatrical and literary criticism to focus on key personalities and genres in ways that reward serious students and casual viewers alike. This updated edition includes a new foreword by Horace Newcomb and a new introduction by the author that discusses the ways in which the nature of television criticism has changed since the book's original publication in 1984. A new final chapter explores the paradox of the diminishing importance of over-the-air broadcasting during the period of television's greatest expansion, which has been brought about by complex technologies such as cable, videocassette recorders, and online services. From reviews of the first edition-- ""Demographic Vistas" analyzes television in the tradition of a Gilbert Seldes or Michael Arlen. Exhibiting fluency in television history, theories of culture, and American literature, the book offers a thoughtful, idiosyncratic interpretation of television's life so far in American culture."--"Critical Studies in Mass Communication" "Marc does a good job of drawing links between the American literary tradition and television themes, which illustrate that television texts are not isolated from the critical mainstream of American creative efforts. . . . These links illustrate that television texts offer themselves to much the same analytical forms as any other literary endeavor."--"Southern Speech Communication Journal" David Marc is Adjunct Professor, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California, and Visiting Professor, School of Theater, Film and Television, University of California, Los Angeles.

First published in 1976, Television: The Critical View set the foundation for the serious study of television, becoming the gold standard of anthologies in the field. With this seventh edition, editor Horace Newcomb has moved the book from one merely intended to legitimize the critical inquiry of television to a text that reflects how complex critical approaches to television have become today. Comprised of virtually all new selections that deal with both classic and contemporary programming, the seventh edition adds new material on television history, the reception context of television, and international programming such as Chinese soap operas and Brazilian telenovelas. Television: The Critical View remains a well established and critically acclaimed text essential for courses in critical studies, communication studies, cultural studies, media history, television criticism, television history, and broadcasting.