"This is one of the best books I've read on the changing relationship of television to society. It provides a very good analysis of theoretical perspectives on television and makes excellent use of critical theory. An accessible book that at the same time challenges the reader to think more deeply about the role of television in a formally democratic society. —Vincent Mosco Carleton University In this pathbreaking study, Douglas Kellner offers the most systematic, critically informed political and institutional study of television yet published in the United States. Focusing on the relationships among television, the state, and business, he traces the history of television broadcasting, emphasizing its socioeconomic impact and its growing political power. Throughout, Kellner evaluates the contradictory influence of television, a medium that has clearly served the interests of the powerful but has also dramatized conflicts within society and has on occasion led to valuable social criticism.