Videography, editing, acting, set design, lighting and sound are analyzed and explained in terms of how they are used to tell stories, present news, and sell products to TV viewers.

This student-friendly text provides critical and historical contexts, discussing how critical methods have been applied to the medium and highlighting the evolution of television style through the decades.

Television is illustrated with hundreds of frame grabs from TV programs. Its companion Website presents color versions of these black-and-white figures and augments them with video clips, sample student papers, syllabi, and other material.

Reviews of the first edition:

"This is, quite simply, the best book out there for teaching introductory TV courses. The text is well-conceived and engaging, and Butler does a superb job of illustrating the formal and aesthetic structures of television in a clear and readable manner."

--Tara McPherson (USC School of Cinema-TV)

"An ideal text for courses introducing television to undergraduates."
--David Bordwell (U Wisconsin; Author, Film Art)

"The best textbook on television available today."
--Ellen Seiter (UCSD)