Global TV

Divergent Paths

• US: commercial, private broadcasting• UK: public (BBC, 1927)

US Dominance

• As in film, US TV finds global audience post-WWII

• McLuhan’s “global village” (1960s)

• “Media event”• Seen by estimated 530 million people (1969)

• Compare to M*A*S*H* finale (1983) w/ 125 million viewers

The Dallas Study

• Aired from 1978-1991• Elihu Katz and Tamar Liebes, The Export of Meaning (1990)• Coding and decoding

American Influence amid Global Diversity

• National TV cultures– Telenovelas (similar to soap operas)– British sitcoms and dramas

A New Public Sphere?

• Proliferation of private/satellite networks• Vs. traditional state control– Aaj and Geo in Pakistan– Al Jazeera in Qatar