The Remote Control in the New Age of Television

(Hardback)

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Description

Remote control tuning encourages a form of interactive television using a technology already available in 80 percent of American households. Editors Walker and Bellamy have compiled the first book of state-of-the-art research on a topic of growing interest to media researchers, practitioners, and students. Chapter authors combine survey measurements with recorded observations of viewing behavior, an analysis of the program sources accessed during grazing, experimental studies of remote control use, and historical and critical analyses. Specific topics include: the history of the remote control device, gender differences in its use, family communication and parental control of the device, remote controls and selective exposure to media messages, the impact of remote controls on programming and promotion, remote controls and critical perspective on television, and future technologies. This volume is rooted in social scientific research, but theoretically and methodologically broad in scope.

Reviews

. . . . This is a highly useful collection on a topic everyone lives with but few have yet analyzed.-Communications Booknotes
The evolution of this small device as an interface of the technology that produced cable TV and the VCR is well presented, as are the statistics verifying its rapid and complete penetration into American TV households. The final three chapters, whose authors thoughtfully analyze the role of the remote in the larger of the political economics of the TV industry, along with Americans' infatuation with technology, and television's ability to confound fiction and reality, are provocative and indicative of where we should look for effects.-Choice
." . . . This is a highly useful collection on a topic everyone lives with but few have yet analyzed."-Communications Booknotes
"The evolution of this small device as an interface of the technology that produced cable TV and the VCR is well presented, as are the statistics verifying its rapid and complete penetration into American TV households. The final three chapters, whose authors thoughtfully analyze the role of the remote in the larger of the political economics of the TV industry, along with Americans' infatuation with technology, and television's ability to confound fiction and reality, are provocative and indicative of where we should look for effects."-Choice

Author Bio

JAMES R. WALKER is Associate Professor of Communication at Memphis State University. His research interests include studies of media audiences, and the impact of developing technologies on telecommunications industries. His work has appeared in such publications as Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media and Journalism Quarterly. ROBERT V. BELLAMY, JR. is Associate Professor of Communication at Duquesne University. His research interests include media programming, sports and media, and technological changes in media. He has published articles in the Journal of Communication, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, and Journalism Quarterly, among others.