On Television [Paperback]

Pierre Bourdieu (Author), Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

Hailed by the New York Times as "illuminating...vivid and clearheaded," Pierre Bourdieu's "acid appraisal [of television] will provide shudders of recognition for American readers" (Publishers Weekly). France's leading sociologist shows how, far from reflecting the tastes of the majority, television, particularly television journalism, imposes ever-lower levels of political and social discourse on us all. Quickly selling out its first hardcover edition, On Television has provoked widespread comment among journalists, academics, and television viewers. Katha Pollitt wrote, "anyone seriously interested in journalism must read this book," and Todd Gitlin called it "indispensable."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Television permeates our culture like no other medium. Sitcoms, sports, murder trials, fast-food commercials, and distant wars are beamed into our homes in an endless stream. Given its pervasiveness, and the ways in which it shapes our view of the world outside our homes, it is vital that a rigorous critical apparatus exists to help us understand what all this TV means. On Television is a transcript of two lectures given by French critic Pierre Bourdieu, in which he expresses his concern that television in its current form is "a threat to political life and to democracy itself." He argues that television provides only the illusion of freedom, and that almost every image that reaches the screen is thoroughly mediated by corporate and political interests. The desire for larger audiences results in a medium that caters to the shortest attention span, and the news is reduced to a series of prepackaged sound bites and sensational video footage. On the networks, if it bleeds it leads.

Bourdieu's critique may be dismissed by some as excessively pessimistic, and he offers few solutions to the problems that he describes. Yet although the end may not be as nigh as Bourdieu imagines, the influence of television continues to grow, and this is a fascinating contribution to an increasingly important debate.--Simon Leake --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Bourdieu's withering critique of television created a furor in France that lasted several months after airing of the two televised lectures that this broadside comprises. The author, a sociology professor in Paris, damns television as an enemy of critical discourse and a tool of social control that reinforces the status quo by decontextualizing events and fostering ignorance and passivity. For American readers, his acid appraisal will provide shudders of recognition, as when he writes: "Our news anchors, our talk show hosts, and our sports announcers have turned into two-bit spiritual guides, representatives of middle-class morality. They are always telling us what we 'should think.' " Tabloid TV journalism, endless trivia and "human-interest" stories, programs pandering to mass audiences, telejournalists' defining of a narrow agenda of acceptable issues are served up with Gallic intellectualism and a dollop of structuralist analysis.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: New Press, The (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565845129
• ISBN-13: 978-1565845121
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #594,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) was one of the most influential social scientists of the twentieth century. A professor of sociology at the Collège de France, he is the author of thirty-six books, including Distinction, named one of the twentieth century's ten most important works of sociology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Critique on Journalism, January 26, 2000

By 

rareoopdvds (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: On Television (Paperback)

Bourdieu's book, which is actually a lecture transcibed, is a look into the world of journalism on print and on television. Print, now being rivaled by the television news casthas to follow the steps in which television provides the material and the print media has to be there to create a uniformity in competition. If one veers, then people are unsure of what to read, and given the times and the message Bourdieu is giving, I would assume most would follow the TV news. The title of the book might be misleading in that its more about journalism than television itself. The author makes many profound obsevations as well as unveiling some of the competition that actually goes on in journalism where he asks the question "Where does news come from?" Answering quite plainly that the journalists do indeed choose what is news, and what isn't. A good read, a short book, however at some points dense and other points dry and repetitive. Overall highly reccomended for those interested in media theory.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A devastating critique of television journalism., August 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: On Television (Hardcover)

Turn off your television set for an hour to read this book, and then see if, after finishing it, you feel like turning the set back on. Bourdieu, a French sociologist and one of the world's leading intellectuals, has performed a profound critique of what nowadays passes for journalism, both on television and, increasingly, off it as well. The main body of Bourdieu's text was originally given as lectures and is accessible and stimulating to any concerned reader. The translation is excellent and the endnotes are helpful in defining the French context of Bourdieu's remarks. Highly recommended, especially to anyone who practices journalism in any medium.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars On Pierre Bourdieu's On Television, May 18, 2005

By 

David C. Gomez (Laredo TX 78043) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Television (Paperback)

An incredible friend of mine recommended this book to me, and I must do the same for you. If you are interested in social theory and are concerned about why reality shows and other unintelligent or unintelligible shows are proliferating and becoming more prominent, then you need this book. Though this book slightly predates reality television, Bourdieu's book is a concise beautifully written treatise discussing practical reasons why such absurdities are chosen for us to watch. I highly recommend that you read this book.