This reader offers an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the study of television. Primarily intended for students at undergraduate level, it raises questions about the nature of television as a medium and a practice and looks at the analysis of programmes, policy and organizations, considering the various political and social contexts of contemporary television. The collection addresses the importance and complexity of television today by generating questions of theory and method from a wide range of substantive commentary and analysis, with each item accompanied by editorial discussion. Throughout the text, emphasis is placed on both the specificity of television and its relation to other political, social and cultural factors. The nature of television both as a medium of cultural constraint and of cultural change is explored. With a strong editorial introduction, carefully sequenced pieces and pointers for further reading, the book should provide a helpful and coherent set of guidelines for further reading.