Ellen Mickiewicz: Split Signals: Television and Politics in the Soviet Union (1990)

Television has changed drastically in the Soviet Union over the last three decades. In 1960, only five percent of the population had access to TV, but now the viewing population has reached near total saturation. Today’s main source of information in the USSR, television has become Mikhail Gorbachev’s most powerful instrument for paving the way for major reform.

Containing a wealth of interviews with major Soviet and American media figures and fascinating descriptions of Soviet TV shows, Ellen Mickiewicz’s wide-ranging, vividly written volume compares over one hundred hours of Soviet and American television, covering programs broadcast during both the Chernenko and Gorbachev governments. Mickiewicz describes the enormous significance and popularity of news programs and discusses how Soviet journalists work in the United States. Offering a fascinating depiction of the world seen on Soviet TV, she also explores the changes in programming that have occurred as a result of glasnost.

Publisher Oxford University Press US, 1990
ISBN 0195063198, 9780195063196
304 pages

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Patrick Barwise, A. S. C. Ehrenberg: Television and Its Audience (1988)

This book by two leading experts takes a look at the nature of television, starting from an audience perspective. It draws on over twenty years of research about the audience in the United States and Britain and about the many ways in which television is funded and organized around the world.

The overall picture which emerges is of: a medium which is watched for several hours a day but usually at only a low level of involvement; an audience which views mainly for relaxation but which actively chooses favourite programmes; a flowering of new channels but with no fundamental change in what or how people watch; programmes costing millions to produce but only a few pennies to view; a wide range of programme types apparently similar to the range of print media but with nothing like the same degree of audience ‘segmentation’; a global communication medium of dazzling scale, speed, and impact but which is slow at conveying complex information and perhaps less powerful than generally assumed.

The book is packed with information and insights yet is highly readable. It is unique in relating so many of the issues raised by television to how we watch it. There is also a highly regarded appendix on advertising, as well as technical notes, a glossary, and references for further reading.

Publisher Sage Publications, 1988
ISBN 0803981546, 9780803981546
206 pages

publisher
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PDF (updated on 2013-3-28)

Thomas Harding: The Video Activist Handbook, 2nd ed. (1998/2001)

This second edition of the highly popular The Video Activist Handbook includes numerous examples of contemporary video activism from around the world. The first book to provide the basic skills and know-how required for beginning video activism, it also offers a wealth of ideas on video strategies to those with some prior experience. Whether you are involved in campaigning, non-violent direct action, or simply want to know how to make use of video as a political tool, this book is for you. • Covers the key topics in a step-by-step guide – from choosing and using the right equipment and planning when and where to shoot, to supplying to TV, making a campaign video and legal considerations • Combines clearly written and illustrated practical advice, backed up by a wealth of resources, with first-hand examples of successful video activism • Critically assesses the mainstream media agendas and offers a lively survey of the international video activist scene.

Foreword by Anita Roddick
Publisher Pluto Press, 2001
ISBN 0745317707, 9780745317700
Length 255 pages

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