Books & Ephemera
DOWN THE TUBE
- Item Number
- M4031-2106
- Estimated Value
- 24 USD
- Sold
- 5 USD to Glushbaugh
- Number of Bids
- 6 - Bid History
Item Description
Down the Tube - An Inside Account of the Failure of American Television by William F. Baker and George Dessart; with a Foreword by Bill Moyers. In the beginning, commercial television was filled with promise. Offering convenient entertainment 'round the clock and easy access to the latest news and information, it became the nation's hearth, the reliable medium whenever anything out of the ordinary came along. It helped us celebrate our greatest accomplishments and understand our most perplexing problems, and it brought us together during moments of intense national bereavement. We came to believe that it was a truly democratic medium, which enriched the lives of its citizens. Today, the airwaves are inundated by drivel that panders to the audience's most base interests. Americans are spoon-fed shows like Baywatch and Jerry Springer by a communications industry that regards human beings as little more than demographics. Explaining that the United State - almost alone among the nations of the world - surrendered virtually the entire command of its public airwaves to the commercial sector, Down the Tube reveals that television's primary purpose has nothing to do with quality programming. Its main concern is to deliver certain audiences or demographic groups - e.g., women ages 18-49, to advertisers. At one end of the television process, those on the air are exploited as objects of derision; at the other end, huge numbers of Americans, seeking only to enjoy themselves. are packaged and sold to the highest bidder.
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