Aspects of Television Communication Question #1 The book The Perfect Machine, is

Certainly, since the dropping of the atomic bomb in 1945, the attitude about war, peace, and security has inexorably changed. One need only view films like The Atomic Cafe to realize just how much the specter of "the bomb" impacts on society at large. In the same vein, it is obvious that the fear of nuclear war has left a vital mark on the perceptions that society has about life, the enemy, and preparation for another war.1

For Joyce Nelson, the medium of television and its dissemination of the information and attitudes is the exact message. The media links itself to personal perceptions about the world, and often provides quick, packaged, and synthesized material for the individual to consume.

1 See, for example, Paul Boyer, By the Bomb's Early Light, (New York: Pantheon Press, 1985).

Television, in fact, has become something that contemporary culture relies heavily upon for the message, and little occurs in the way of interpretation.2

In basic terms, Nelson's argument is that television as a medium of communication has been manipulated in order to provide a rather propagandisti

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a form that is more readily accessible to the public. Additionally, the factual nature of news is further enhanced by the geographical location of the story, the way news programs use a variety of chronologically oriented interviews or clips to give the story authenticity, and the particular view or context the story engenders. Since television is primarily a visual medium, the real significance of news programming lies in the public's contemplation of the material from a visual standpoint. In fact, the very nature of television's credibility in reference to news stories comes from the "believability" of the particular images presented.7 One can then say, after viewing a televised news program, that he or she actually "saw" the event being depicted. In the public's mind, this leaves out any interpretation from the newscaster or producer and places the burden on the individual. In actual fact, the type, quality, and quantity of images presented are, by their very nature, biased and selective. These images then preconceive the way the public looks at news, and may even go as far as to interpret the news for them. ________________________ 7 Ibid., 21112. In a similar research study, the idea of "secondhand news" was pres
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Toronto Butterworth, York Mentor, Facticity Chapter, Chicago Press, Comedia Publishing, Clarke Clarke, Americans Observers, Pantheon Press, Perfect Machine, Joyce Nelson, contemporary culture, television coverage, family television, contemporary society, toronto lines 1987, media , extensions york, politics age,  extensions, nuclear age toronto, understanding media, understanding media , toronto lines,  extensions york, media  extensions,
Approximate Word count = 2134
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)