Description
Book Synopsis
âœThis exciting book goes to the heart of a creative commercialand public service culture - it shows why ITV matters and howit was made to work so well. A tremendous contribution.â
Professor Jean Seaton, University of WestminsterâœThis is a valuable addition to studies of ITV's history andprogramming...â
Tom O'Malley, Professor of Media Studies, University of Wales, Aberyswyth, and Co-Editor of Media History.
Since breaking the BBCâs monopoly in 1955, ITV has been at thecentre of the British television landscape. To coincide with thefiftieth anniversary of the first ITV broadcast, this accessible bookoffers a range of perspectives on the complex and multifaceted history ofBritainâs first commercial broadcaster.
The book explores key tensions and conflicts which have influenced theITV service. Chapters focus on particular institutions, includingLondon Weekend Television and ITN, and programme forms, includingWho Wants to be a Millionaire?, Ups
Table of Contents
Introduction
Part 1: Histories
From Start-up to Consolidation: Institutions, Regions and Regulation in the History of ITV
A Prodigious Act of Memory: What Would an ITV Canon Look Like?
And the Rest is History: Lew Grade, the Creation Myth and Television Historiography
Part 2: Institutions
The Transatlantic Adventures of British Television in the 1950s: Funding, Production, Programmes, Formats and the 'Official' History of ITV
Mammon’s Television? ITV in Wales, 1959-63
From Newsreels to a Theatre of News: The Growth and Development of Independent Television News
LWT in the 1980s: Factual Programmes, Public Service Obligations, Financial Incentives
Part 3: Texts and Intertexts
Channeling Celebrity: ITV and the Construction of Television Fame
Rooms Within Rooms: Upstairs Downstairs and the Studio Costume Drama of the 1970s
Who Wants to be a Fan of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Television Criticism, “Popular Aesthetics” and the Question of Fan/Academic Tastes
Real People with Real Problems'?: Public Service Broadcasting, Commercialism and Trisha
Conclusion
Historical Timeline: The ITV Companies and the Broadcasting Acts
Index
