Blackwell Reference Online

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Television history has developed relatively recently. After pioneering work in the UK ( Briggs 1961–1995 ) and the US ( Barnouw 1976 ), national histories of television (and broadcasting) have been written, mostly in Europe and sometimes beyond (bibliographies can be found at André Lange's history of television website). Historians have focused mostly on political and institutional history. Television content has long been ignored except for countries (or researchers) rich enough to have access, and this remains a problem except in privileged situations (as in France, where the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel [INA] archives televsion programs for free access: http://www.ina.fr ). However, the growth of →  cable television has made, somewhat haphazardly, some past programs available. The main missing link in historical work is the →  audience , a notion hard to historicize both from a methodological (→  Audience Research ) and epistemological viewpoint. Therefore television history has trouble connecting with major debates of the field that focus on audiences. In sum, globalizing mostly national efforts and digging into the past of television viewing remain the major challenges facing television historians. Taking stock of their efforts cannot be done without first attempting to integrate varied national data. There is a paradox at the heart of television history ( Bourdon ... log in or subscribe to read full text