Essay:Television
Television -- the most pervasive and persuasive of modern
technologies, marked by rapid change and growth -- is moving into a new era, an
era of extraordinary sophistication and versatility, which promises to reshape
our lives and our world. It is an electronic revolution of sorts, made possible
by the marriage of television and computer technologies.
The word "television", derived from its Greek (tele:
distant) and Latin (visio: sight) roots, can literally be interpreted as sight
from a distance. Very simply put, it works in this way: through a sophisticated
system of electronics, television provides the capability of converting an
image (focused on a special photoconductive plate within a camera) into
electronic impulses, which can be sent through a wire or cable. These impulses,
when fed into a receiver (television set), can then be electronically
reconstituted into that same image.
Television
is more than just an electronic system, however. It is a means of expression,
as well as a vehicle for communication, and as such becomes a powerful tool for
reaching other human beings.
The field
of television can be divided into two categories determined by its means of transmission. First, there is broadcast
television, which reaches the masses through broad-based airwave
transmission of television signals. Second, there is nonbroadcast television,
which provides for the needs of individuals
or specific interest groups through controlled transmission techniques.
Traditionally,
television has been a medium of the masses. We are most familiar with broadcast television because it has been with us
for about thirty-seven years in a form similar to what exists today. During those years, it has been
controlled, for the most part, by the broadcast networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS, who have been the major purveyors of news,
information, and entertainment. These giants of broadcasting have
actually shaped not only television but our perception
of it as well. We have come to look upon the picture tube as a source of
entertainment, placing our role in this dynamic medium as the passive
viewer.
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