Todd Gitlin discusses television and American culture in the mid-1980s and his study of program types, including soap operas, MTV, the series America, commercials, and news reporting. He edited a volume of essays titled Watching Television: A Pantheon Guide to Popular Culture.
At the time of this interview, Gitlin was participating in a conference on television and history held at the National Humanities Center. He was professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
