The Impact of International Television: A Paradigm Shift (Routledge Communication Series)

This work tackles the task of conceptualizing, detecting, and labelling the influence of imported television. Its approach significantly differs from the existing published books concerning this topic in two ways. Firstly, it challenges the "de facto" dominant paradigm of cultural imperialism that is used as a basis for most writings concerning matters of international television programme influence. Secondly, it demonstrates the applicability of quantitative methods to a topic that has been usually tackled using argumentation, critical theory, and other qualitative approaches. Bringing the work of several independent researchers together, the volume bridges more than 40 years of research efforts that challenge the de facto homogenous and strong effects assumed by those who subscribe to the cultural imperialism paradigm. By doing so, it offers an alternative paradigm that researchers might wish to consider when conceptualizing the effects of cross-border TV. The text illustrates: the contentions of cultural imperialism and the context in which its assumptions emerged and developed; the complexities of the relationship between exposure to foreign TV and its subsequent effects on local audience members and the difficulty of achieving strong and homogenous effects; the inadequacy of cultural imperialism theory in explaining the variation in the culturally-specific behaviours of Greek adolescents; the impact of imported American television upon the beliefs that adult professionals in Argentina have of the United States; and the effects that imported television programmes have - and do not have - upon local viewers.