Description
Book SynopsisLooks beyond broadcasting's mainstream, toward cable's alternatives, to critically consider the capacity of commercial media to serve the public interest. This work offers an overview of the industry's history and regulatory trends, case studies of cable newcomers aimed at niche markets, and analyses of programming forms introduced by cable TV.
Trade ReviewCable Visions is a compelling exploration of contemporary U.S. television that grapples with the contradictory logic of consumerism and citizenship upon which cable TV is based. Thoroughly researched, accessible, and innovative in design, the essays trace cable from its early utopian beginnings as ‘alternative’ TV to its current-day realization as a multichannel (but not necessarily diverse) commercial system aimed at niche tastes. A ‘must read’ for anyone interested in understanding the opportunities and limits of the new media environment. -- Lynn Spigel,author of Make Room for TV and TV by Design
Through a series of highly original and carefully researched essays, Cable Visions offers a lively and comprehensive survey of the contemporary multichannel television landscape in the United States. -- William Boddy,author of New Media and Popular Imagination: Launching Radio, Television, and Digital Media in the United States
This comprehensive survey is a must for anyone interested in the opportunities, limits, and future projections of the new-media environment. * CHOICE *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part I Institutions and AudiencesIntroduction 1 The Moms 'n' Pops of CATV Megan Mullen2 A Taste of Class: Pay-TV and the Commodi?cation of Television in Postwar America John McMurria3 Cable's Digital Future Francois Bar and Jonathan Taplin4 If It's Not TV, What Is It? The Case of U.S.Subscription Television Amanda D. Lotz5 Where the Cable Ends Lisa ParksPart II ChannelsIntroduction 6 Discovery's Wild DiscoveryCynthia Chris7 Tunnel Vision and Food: A Political-Economic Analysis of Food NetworkCheri Ketchum8 Target Market Black: BET and the Branding of African America Beretta E. Smith-Shomade9 Monolingualism, Biculturalism, and Cable TVKatynka Z. Martinez10 Gay Programming, Gay PublicsAnthony Freitas11 The Nickelodeon BrandSarah Banet-WeiserPart III Cable ProgramsIntroduction 12 Cable Watching: HBO,The Sopranos, and Discourses of Distinction Dana Polan13 Bank Tellers and Flag Wavers: Cable News in the United States Toby Miller14 Dualcasting: Bravo's Gay Programming and the Quest for Women Audiences Katherine Sender15 "I'm Rich, Bitch!!!"Christine Acham16 Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment's Global ReachEllen SeiterAbout the Contributors Index
