Literature Summary: Role of Television in Post-Broadcast Era

This report provides a comprehensive literature summary on the post-broadcast era, focusing on the transformation of television from a primary mass media tool to one shaped by technological advancements, cultural shifts, and evolving audience behaviors. The report begins by defining the broadcast and post-broadcast eras, highlighting the transition from government-controlled, nationalized content to multi-channel, customized programming. It examines the influence of time-shifting technologies and digital platforms like iTunes and Netflix, which have enabled personalized content access and consumption. The report also contrasts technological developments with the changing values and culture of audiences, arguing that the post-broadcast era is defined by both. It discusses the impact of globalization and the rise of subscription-based services on cultural identity. The conclusion emphasizes the changed role and purpose of television, where it no longer serves as the sole broadcasting medium, nor is it solely a tool of government, but rather a dynamic component of a wider, evolving media landscape.

Running head: LITERATURE SUMMARY
Literature Summary
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1LITERATURE SUMMARY
Television has always been an important tool of mass media since its inception.
However, the nature of television entertainment and its public perception have undergone
drastic changes over time. The presented article in this context describes this shift of
television entertainment along with its transformed role and purpose in the lives of common
people. More specifically, the article explains the role and nature of television as a form of
post-broadcast media. The research problem, however, in this article is to identify the purpose
and function of television as a tool of post-broadcast era.
The development of mass media can be categorized into two sections, i.e. broadcast
era and post-broadcast era. The concept of post-broadcast era was popularized by Amanda D.
Lotz. As opposed to the broadcast era that spanned from the 1950s to 1980s, the post-
broadcast era distinguished itself by the feature of multi-channel transition from the earlier
broadcast era, where cable networks had taken over the control of television as compared to
the government channels (Lotz (Ed.), 2010). To elucidate, the broadcast era of television
majorly was governed by the nationalised channels that telecast nationalised contents.
However, in the post-broadcast era, the inclusion of multiple cable channel networks
delivered a wide range of programs, which catered to the customised preferences of customer
niche groups.
Lotz also maintains that this specific era is defined by five aspects, namely control,
choice, customization, convenience and community. She specifies the transformed televised
entertainment are a consequence of advanced technology that influences these 5 Cs. First, the
development of media with time-shifting capabilities such as VCRs and DVRs has rendered
the on-air runtime of programs irrelevant. Audience can choose conveniently what to watch
and when to watch them. Besides, digitization of contents has only aided to this phenomenon.
It has brought television out of the confinement of home through platforms such as iTunes
and Netflix. As a result of this, people has personal access to contents and programs, instead

2LITERATURE SUMMARY
of sharing the watching experience with a group. Consequently, the channels now promote
customised program lists to the individual audience, based on their taste and preferences.
However, the present article differs from Lotz’s claim by arguing that this shift in
television’s role and nature does not arise from technological development alone, it is also a
consequence of the changed values and culture of the audience. The authors suggest that this
change in audience has marked the initiation of post-broadcast era by claiming “The post-
broadcast era is not defined by a change in technology, but by also, audiences and culture”
(Mediafactory.org.au).
Following this perspective, the article suggests that the role and purpose of television
have also changed in the present post-broadcast era, as it no longer serves as the sole form of
mass media as it used to do. The implication does not mean that the medium has ceased to
exist in the current age, rather it points out that the role of the media has been drastically
changed due to the societal values attached to it. In the previous broadcast era, the mass
media was primarily controlled by the governments of the respective countries that used the
medium to send out their social and political messages to the mass. This framed the content
of televised media within a nationalised identity. However, in the post-broadcast era, the
introduction of multiple channel-based television experience gives the audience an access to
foreign culture and values that has a deep impact on their personal value-system.
This transformation of value system poses as a threat to the cultural identity of the
audience, as they have a wide array of content to choose from and appropriating them in their
culture. Hence, the article suggests that the television programs requires the controlled
incorporation of a certain degree of nationalised content to retain the cultural identity and
fostering a sense of community among the audience. As an evidence, it points out that this
lack of geographic limitation and the rise of subscription based television services has created

3LITERATURE SUMMARY
an Americanised culture all over the word (Mediafactory.org.au).Thus, the globalised
contents diminish the impact of national and cultural aspects on people.
Thus, the article portrays that the nature of television programming has been
transformed due to the changed cultural perspective and value system, where media houses
and broadcasting companies are catering to the personal choices of the audience.
Additionally, the advancement in the technology have introduced several new platforms and
media that facilitates individual experience of broadcast contents (Mediafactory.org.au). To
conclude, the changed perspective and demands attached to it in this new era have changed
the role and purpose of television where television no longer serve as the sole medium of
broadcasting, neither it is used to serve the purpose of government.

4LITERATURE SUMMARY
References
Lotz, A. (Ed.). (2010). Beyond prime time: Television programming in the post-network era.
Routledge.
Mediafactory.org.au. (2019). The Post-Broadcast Era | Broadcast vs Post-Broadcast.
[online] Available at: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/2015-media1-projects-broadcast-vs-
post-broadcast/the-post-broadcast-era/ [Accessed 2 Sep. 2019].