Television

video-cassettes, satellite transmission, large screen receivers, cable distribution, videotape; this is the new technology that is going to extend dramatically the scope of television – internationally, publicly and privately – in the next decade. Who will control these resources, on the other hand, has still to be determined. Yet an issue is no less that the recovery of effective communication in a complex urban and industrial society.

Why this is the case is the subject of Raymond Williams’ challenging new book. Through a survey of the development of television and of broadcasting institutions in Britain and America, and an analysis of the different programme forms and their scheduling by BBC, ITV and American networks, he seriously questions current assumptions on television as a technology, and puts a critical approach to programmes such as ‘Coronation Street’, ‘Match of the Day’ and ‘News at Ten’.

Television: Technology and Cultural Form is a vital assessment of the relationship between technology and social change, and of the place of visual broadcasting within contemporary culture.