"Knowing No Boundaries: EC Television and the Establishment of a United European Culture"

Contemporary television has many purposes within a society. It can support traditional beliefs, foster new ideas, support or subvert social policy, and it can be used for much greater political purposes than to merely inform or entertain. As the European Community experiences market forces that change the type of television and the availability of video content, the social uses and the former government or industry philosophies will undoubtedly clash. Moreover, satellite, cable, videocassette and videodisc technologies are changing traditional media behaviors as well as offering new business opportunities and markets for visual content. This presentation focuses on the role of television and related technologies as they bring regional, national, inter, and intra-national information and entertainment into homes within the European Community. Structural issues of media institutions within nations and policies created to control television content are discussed and a proposal to ensure the viability of domestic television that concentrates on the perpetuation of regional culture is proposed