Description
Silverman (communication arts, Valley City State U., North Dakota) describes the corporate censorship--as opposed to government censorship--of four television programs that aired on the four major broadcast networks between the 1967 and 2002. These are The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Richard Pryor Show, TV Nation, and Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher. He briefly traces the history of the government, commercial, and pressure-group regulatory forces that led to constraints on commercial network television in the US during the last half of the 20th century. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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In this illuminating book, David S. Silverman assesses four controversial television programs from the perspective of media history, assessing the censorship present at all four networks and the political and intellectual inertia it produces in broadcast television. Beginning with The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the sixties, the author also examines The Richard Pryor Show, TV Nation, and Politically Incorrect. Drawing on firsthand accounts by the writers, producers, and performers of these programs, Silverman offers an unbiased view of the ways in which censorship, sponsor intimidation, regulation, and network tampering force all American broadcasters to manipulate creative talent and stifle genuine controversy. Shedding new light on the prevalence of censorship in broadcast television, this book reinvigorates the subject of free speech in American society.
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