Combining institutional textual and audience analysis, this book introduces students to the factors which have shaped television's development in contemporary Europe, and invites them to assess the issues that are at stake in its future. It also features boxes of key facts, activities and notes for further reading.

Preface - Jan Wieten, Graham Murdock and Peter Dahlgren PART ONE: TELEVISION ENVIRONMENTS: TRADITIONS AND TRANSITIONS Introduction - Peter Dahlgren The Status of TV Broadcasting in Europe - Kees Brants and Els De Bens Key Trends in European Television - Peter Dahlgren Digital Futures - Graham Murdock European Television in the Age of Convergence PART TWO: TELEVISION TRENDS: ORGANIZATION AND REPRESENTATION Introduction - Graham Murdock Programming and Channel Competition in European Television - Taisto Hujanen Popular Drama - Albert Moran Travelling Templates and National Fictions Programme Making across Borders - Aur[ac]elie Laborde and Michel Perrot The Eurosud News Magazine Television Audiences - Winfried Schulz PART THREE: TELEVISION GENRES: BORDERS AND FLOWS Introduction - Jan Wieten Music Television - Keith Roe and Gust De Meyer MTV-Europe Arts Television - Marit Bakke Questions of Culture Breakfast TV - Jan Wieten Infotainers at Daybreak Talk Shows - Graham Murdock Democratic Debates and Tabloid Tales Television Current Affairs - Greg McLaughlin The Case of Northern Ireland Television News - Sari N[um]asi The Case if the French Road Blockades