The holy wars of television evangelists focused public attention on religious broadcasting in the late twentieth century. Mimi White notes that religion on television clearly differs from mainstream programming, but the two forms share an important similarity—therapy, or an emphasis on interpersonal relationships.
In the second segment [14:20], according to John Fiske and Robert Stam, among the pleasures for viewers of TV journalism is an empowering and ubiquitous perspective on world and local events. But this perspective is an illusion of security reinforced daily at the dinner hour by “a happy family of broadcasters.”
At the time of these interviews in 1987, all three speakers were participating in a symposium on television and history at the National Humanities Center. White was a professor in the areas of radio, television, and film at Northwestern University.
Fiske was professor of communication arts at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Stam was professor of cinema studies at New York University.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
