Television

It comes to something when I'm moved to write something in defence of television, as if it's some sort of dying medium. In some ways, I suppose, it is. Or at least I'm led to believe so. Whilst a cursory internet search yields no clear answers, I've heard often enough that young people don't watch TV anymore, that I imagine there must be some truth to the assertion. And empirically amongst friends and people I know, I get the impression that the internet, and social media, are more popular past times.

Perhaps it's ironic, then, that I'm taking to the internet to make my own homage to TV. But actually my doing so provides an neat example of one of the things I like about television. You see, the reason I'm writing about television on the internet is that I can't broadcast a television programme. It's an obvious statement perhaps, but making TV is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. And getting it broadcast requires getting the approval of many experts in the industry. So while the internet if full of half-baked efforts like this (that some unfortunate media student will happen upon when searching for reliable opinions on the subject), you can, in general, rely on TV for being well-researched, thought out, and put together.

I should make it clear that I'm not elitist or anti-internet. I'm all for the internet's power as a voice for ordinary people. I just think it's a shame if, as is apparently true, its growth is at the expense of television.

I also happen to believe that TV is a much more effective "deliverer of culture" than any other medium. The internet and social media, while pertaining to be windows to the world, are so good at delivering personalised content that the vast majority of their content passes us by. I, for example, probably visit ten websites regularly, and I doubt I'm unusual in this. And these websites are, naturally, concerned with things I'm already interested in. TV, on the other hand, broadcasts the same to everyone. Its content is much less specifically targeted. As such, I've often sat down with nothing particular in mind to watch, and ended up being wonderfully entertained, educated, or surprised by a programme on a subject I never thought I'd be interested in.

It's possible that I've mis-interpreted the warnings. Perhaps TV-watching will remain as popular as ever, but it just won't exist as a separate medium. It may become subsumed entirely into the internet. In my opinion, that would be a shame. Maybe I'm just lazy, but TV's role as a passive, rather than interactive, medium, suits me perfectly. If it joins the internet and becomes something I have to look for, then I won't learn half as much new information as I have done through TV previously.

I won't go on; after all, I'd rather be watching TV. I'll no doubt look back on this in a few years think myself a real dinosaur for the views expressed here. But, for now, I'm a staunch defender of TV. And if its days as a separate medium are numbered, then I imagine I'll be using it in the traditional way for as long as possible.