Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1. Turning on the Idiot Box
• 2. From Roots to Stem
• 3. High-Definition Control
• 4. From Couch Potato to Binge-Viewer
• 5. Rituals and Motives of Binge-Viewers in Action
• 6. Reflection and Postmortem of the Idiot Box and the Couch Potato
• Epilogue
• Chapter Notes
• References
• Index

About the Author

Emil Steiner is an assistant professor of journalism and sports media at Rowan University, where he researches the intersection of popular culture and technology. Prior to joining the academy he was a reporter and editor at The Washington Post and a member of the newsroom awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting.

Reviews

Steiner exceeds his goal of making scholarly writing more accessible to all. That's no small feat... The book's chapter notes and bibliography are especially useful for researchers who are working to connect the past and present. Readers will also appreciate the book's 'commercial breaks,' designed in the form of inset boxes that point to related topics throughout the text. ... An accessible and essential read for TV enthusiasts who enjoy reading about the history of the medium as much as they do watching it."—Library Journal "An outstanding cultural, social, and technical history of television and its viewing practices."—Lothar Mikos, professor of television studies, Filmuniversität Babelsberg