cover image The Five Myths of Television Power, Or, Why the Medium is Not the Message

The Five Myths of Television Power, Or, Why the Medium is Not the Message

Douglas Davis. Simon & Schuster, $19.5 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-671-73963-8

``I love this thing that I also hate,'' declares freelance writer Davis at the beginning of his provocative, sometimes overwrought attack on received wisdom about television in America. He sets out to debunk five popular notions: that TV determines elections; that it makes students lazy; that it is our main news source; that it encourages passivity; and that we love it. His contention that TV plays a smaller role than we believe in voting is propped up with case studies and scholarly findings, but other discussions are less convincing. Turning to TV's effect on students, Davis generalizes from his own child's interaction with a single educational program--and fails to address TV's impact on reading. The author's interviews as well as national polls and other studies support his conclusion that, ``rather than a god, TV has become something like a little brother or sister.'' Full of allusions--literary, philosophical and sociological--Davis is clearly spoiling for a fight; perhaps he hopes to debate the issue on a TV talk show. (Apr.)