Review by Choice Review
That television shows are a global phenomenon is beyond question. However, while research has been devoted to the content, reach, and cultural impact of television programming, less work has been done on the question of how that content becomes available in the first place. Sociologists Bielby (Univ. of California, Santa Barbara) and Harrington (Miami Univ.) attempt to fill that gap by examining the global television marketplace. In other words, their book is on the business of television around the world. The speculation about the spreading of cultural frameworks through programming has created a cultural hegemonic order based in the West, or more specifically, the US. But as the authors indicate, there has not been research to examine the underlying mechanisms that drive the spread of television media. Through an ethnographic examination of the social organization of the global television marketplace, Bielby and Harrington make an important contribution that furthers understanding of the nature of global television business. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. G. C. David Bentley University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
