A Study of Modern Television: Thinking Inside the Box

This much-awaited new book from Andrew Crisell is an enjoyable and accessible introduction to television, analysing its growth and its influence on modern culture and audiences. Beginning with a history of television and the broadcasting philosophies that have shaped it, the book goes on to discuss the main programme genres, tracing their cultural antecedents in newspapers, novels, the theatre, radio and cinema, and in organised forms of leisure such as sports and parlour games. It also examines the broader impact of television, notably the part it has played in the globalisation of popular culture and its theatricalising effect on the conduct of public life. Embracing history, genre, and social and cultural contexts, A Study of Modern Television provides a detailed account of this ubiquitous and pervasive medium. Brilliantly written and clearly structured, this book offers both an understanding of television and a contribution to the debates that surround it. The book's scope and clarity make it an essential introductory text for all students interested in the historical, cultural and social aspects of broadcasting.