We live today in a society structured on, shaped by, and dependent on mass communication which is itself structured and shaped in terms of a mixture of visual and auditory information. We have methods of mass communication which make use only of one of these forms of information--the printed word, the photograph, and the painting are visual means of communication, and music and the radio are auditory means of communication. Television followed the lead of the motion picture and more and more has tended toward a mixture of visual and auditory stimuli, and the computer is following this same lead by using technical innovations to produce interactive sound and image involving the user even more. Even silent films were accompanied by music which supported the mood of the image, and the sound film brought a new aesthetic to the motion picture. Television has developed a mixed style during its history, from beginnings where technical limitations on both sound and image prevented much coordination or experimentation to the technologically advanced present where sound and image can be manipulated in a wide variety of ways to enhance communication. An examination of television production today suggests that the possibilities inherent in the combination of sight and sound are not being exploited to the full and are not being used to best advantage in communicating with the viewer. My own experience as an intern on the television show Entertainment Tonight (hereinafter referred to as E.T.) suggests that the image and information are given more value than the sound, which is used to support and emphasize the image rather than for its own communicative power.
Chion (1994) points out that in film there is only one place for images, and this applies to television as well. In film, that place is the frame, while the corresponding term for television is the screen, which is where the image appears (We are speaking here of "live" or taped te...