Television as a special case of media education

Abstract

Television as a widespread and most influential media represents a special subject of the media culture and education. Observing television includes analysis of its distribution and reception, basic characteristics and possible interpretations. To understand the scale and nature of the impact of television in Serbia, this paper provides an overview of the television system and the most watched programs - predominantly of informative and entertaining nature. It is stressed that in the creation of programs a market principle prevails, which often pushes the socially responsible role of television. The technology and the production processes are presented in order to underline the formal qualities and to understand the conditions under which the television content is created. The paper emphasizes artificial nature of the television products and their imperative for creating the illusion of reality. Finally, it suggests a semiotic approach as a practical basis for the interpretation of television messages, which leads to ideological analysis of the sending and receiving of messages. The significance of this research could be a comprehensive analysis in general which indicates possible angles of approach to the meanings of television. In media education it would relate to ethics of the media creators and the formation of a critical tool in consumers against the mechanisms of media manipulation.