Product Description
According to popular wisdom, humans never relate to a computer or a television program in the same way they relate to another human being. Or do they? The psychological and sociological complexities of the relationship could be greater than you think. In an extraordinary revision of received wisdom, Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass demonstrate convincingly in The Media Equation that interactions with computers, television, and new communication technologies are identical to real social relationships and to the navigation of real physical spaces. Using everyday language, the authors explain their novel ideas in a way that will engage general readers with an interest in cutting-edge research at the intersection of psychology, communication and computer technology. The result is an accessible summary of exciting ideas for modern times. As Bill Gates says, '(they) ... have shown us some amazing things'. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Nothing New
This book can be summed up in two sentences: "People instinctivly react to artificial interactions (with computers and media) the same way they react to interactions in real life. This can be used to manipulate people."

Except for the authors' pro-manipulation bias, this media=reality "equation" is nothing new - Steven Pinker talked about "new media and old brains" in his first book, published in the 1980's. Ted Nelson said that users instinctivly interact with computers "naturally" in "Thinkertoys", published in the 1970's. Even Arthur C. Clarke mentioned the phenomenon in "3010."

In this book, the authors report on previously done social science research they have replicated and repackaged with a popular, marketing spin. Academics working in the social or cognitive sciences will find nothing new here. The authors enjoyed a brief heyday among dot-commers, but these were the same people who were buying $500 office chairs.

Don't bother.

Must read popularization
The media equation, as introduced by Nass and Reeves, is that "media equals real life" and that our interactions with media are "fundamentally social and natural" (p. 5).This book is a popularization of established, replicated research on how people interact with television advertising, tutoring systems, error messages, loud noises, sudden movement, etc.For instance, one widely replicated result is that computer tutoring systems get better evaluations if the evaluation program is run on the same computer.Moving the reviewer to a new computer (with the same program), significantly lowers the score.The social science literature shows that teachers who collect their own evaluations score much more highly than those whose evaluations are collected by others.This is the kind of evidence Nass and Reeves bring to bear in support of the media equation.They don't claim that we are consciously thinking about the computer's feelings and don't want to hurt them.Rather, to the contrary, subjects claim they were doing no such thing.Yet the evidence of our behavior seems incontrovertible.

The media equation is a good enough predictor of user behavior, at least for telephone-based spoken dialog systems of the form my company builds, that it has informed our designs from top to bottom.Our applications apologize if they make a mistake.Callers respond well to this.Sure, the callers know they're talking to a machine, but this doesn't stop them from saying "thank you" when it's done or "please" before a query or feeling bad (or angry) if the computer can't understand them.Another strategy recommended by Nass and Reeves that we follow is trying to draw the caller in to work as a team with the computer; again, Nass and Reeves support this with several clever experiments.There is also a useful section on flattery, looking at the result of the computer flattering itself and its users; it turns out that we rate computers that flatter themselves more highly than ones that are neutral.

Among other interesting explanations you get in this book are why we're more tolerant of bad pictures than bad sound, why we focus on moving objects, speaking rate equilibrium, what we can do to make someone remember an event in a video, and the role of gender.

This book is very quick and easy to read. I read it in two days while on vacation it was so fascinating. In contrast to the classical yet dry social science format of hypothesis, experimental methodology, results, and essentially a summary of the results as a conclusion, Nass and Reeves only vaguely summarize their experimental methodology and take a no-holds-barred approach to drawing conclusions.This may annoy social scientists, most of whom expect their own kind to be far more circumspect.

This book is an absolute must-read for anyone designing mediated interfaces. For those who don't believe the results, I'd suggest running some experiments;our company did, and it made us believers.

The whole world is a media equation????
Reeves and Nass find that people use social conventions towards intelligent systems. Without further thinking they decide it is something new, something great. We are thinking of interactive systems as other social beings is their explanation. With some imagination you could come up with a number of other explanations, that equally well fit the data.

I do not disagree with their findings, but I really disagree with their conclusions, especially the eagerness and determination with which they jump to them. However I notice their ideas seem pretty convincing, and here lies my real worry with this book. So if you decide to read it anyway keep asking yourself if the conclusions Reeves and Nass jump to are really as worthwhile as they make them appear.

Back to Basics
This book is one of there rare ones that really is based on scientific material. Reeves and Nass make their extremely interesting and useful observations on how users react to media available to the HCI professionals in an intelligent and intertaining fashion. Their findings are of great value to anyone engaged in computers and media. The book is not a how-to-do guide, but at the end of each chapter you will find useful recommendations on how to help your users/viewers feel more comfortable with your product.

I highly recommend this book.

Solid Social Science
A previous review called this book "psuedo-scientific drivel."

In fact, this book is far from it.Well, as far from it as social science can get.In fact, is the most "scientific" of the user interface books I have read.

The main point I took away from the book is that people interact with objects, especially interactive and media devices, as if they were people.They demonstrate that when user interfaces are designed to be polite and interact in a positive social manner, the person has a much more enjoyable and profitable interaction.

Other books on the topic of user interface design are far less scientific, relying on generalizations and suppositions rather than constructing a study.Some use data from a usability evaluation, but these are often far from scientific.

The authors construct hypotheses, usually based on the results of studies of interaction between humans, and see if the results of the results hold true for human-machine interaction.

Usually, it does. ... Read more

Product Description
Combining cutting-edge theories of culture and government with programming examples—including Todd TV, Survivor, and American Idol—Better Living through Reality TV moves beyond the established concerns of political economy and cultural studies to conceptualize television's evolving role in the contemporary period.

• A major textbook on the impact of reality and lifestyle television on today’s programming, and on broader social, cultural and political trends
  
• Draws on a range of examples from The Apprentice and American Idol to Extreme Makeover and Wife Swap
  
• Argues that reality television teaches viewers to monitor, motivate, improve, transform and protect themselves in the name of freedom, enterprise, and personal responsibility

Customer Reviews (3)

Insightful Study
Better Living Through Reality TV is an impressive study which makes a strong argument for taking seemingly trivial programming seriously, not least because of how such fare can articulate contemporary and deepening socio-political trends.

As others have indicated, there is much substance in the authors' arguments regardinga neo-liberal,post-welfare, and entrepreneurialpolitical climate as played out on and as enabled by TV. What is particularly striking for those interested in Media Studies is how Ouellette and Hay go beyond assessing how TV reflects socio-political issues to examining how television programming actually participates in the government of everyday life. For example, they illustrate how Reality programming goes beyond entertainment to act as a resource for inventing, managing and protecting viewers as citizens. Those who cling to the notion that there is a separate category of "politics" (maybe this is what is on Fox news?) which is distinct from all the other stuff (like Reality TV) will probably just not get it: they won't understandthe purpose or argument of such a book. But for those who are interested in how television can give us a way to think about serious contemporary issues, then this book does a really excellent job. The writing is lucid and any historical or theoretical insights are patiently explained, so that the book should be of interest to both academic and general readers.

Better Living Through Reality TV: Television and Post-Welfare Citizenship
As a person who read and re-read Better Living Through Reality TV and loved the rich arguments the author make in the book, I felt compelled to write a review of my own after reading the nonsensical and erratic rant posted by one clueless so-called reviewer as a review for the book. Instead of pointing out all the wrongful accusations that the previous "reviewer" made (when the arguments are not grounded in accuracy and truth, it is meaningless to highlight the arguments and counterargue) I hope to do justice by "rightfully" conveying the authors' (Ouellette and Hay) main arguments in the book which have somehow eluded the "reviewer."

Better Living... is (to borrow from Douglas Kellner) a "diagnostic critique" of contemporary society and culture through the lens of popular culture (reality TV). Based on Foucault's concept of governmentality (by the way, I can't understand how one can review this book without mentioning Foucault or governmentality) the authors argue how reality TV with its lifestyle guidelines and tutorials has become a cultural technology of everyday citizenship that advances and rationalizes "neo-liberal" government and contemporary democracy. By examining various different categories of reality TV (Makeover TV, Charity TV, Intervention TV, and so on), the authors try to show how reality TV promotes the neoliberal rationality of privatization, volunteerism, entrepreneurialism, and responsibilization.The authors also critically diagnose the new social environment we live in (Risk Society, Security Society, Ownership Society, etc.) and argue how reality TV has become an important resource for individuals to mange and control their lives in a world full of risk and insecurities. Then by examining the "neo-liberal" citizenship through group and participatory governance, the authors question today's practice of democracy and how it isrationalized.

There are many more great arguments that the authors make in the book and I believe those who are interested in understanding reality TV within a historical, cultural, and social context will be greatly intellectually satisfied.So for those who want to read "Reality TV for Dummies" type of book (maybe this was what the previous "reviewer" was looking for?), Better Living Through Reality TV may not be what you're looking for.However, by providing many detailed textual examples, Ouellette and Hay do a great job in making somewhat "complex" arguments accessible and enjoyable to read (but as the mediaman's rant shows, I guess not everybody gets it regardless of the authors' efforts).

Re-Thinking Reality TV
Better Living Through Reality TV is thoughtful and insightful investigation of the politics of reality television.These authors remind us of the history of reality-based programming in the United States and make a convincing argument as to why reality TV proliferates and thrives today. They link the recent explosion of reality programs--from charity shows like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to competitions like Survivor--to transformations within our political and social culture.These recent changes have to do with the adoption of neo-liberal policies by the US government that seek to privatize social services and demand that citizens take more responsibility for their lives.They argue that reality TV offers citizens a vast array of templates for navigating these changes, and thus becomes a partner in government.My favorite chapter is entitled "Makeover TV: Labors of Reinvention."Here the authors discuss the demands of contemporary work life in relation to makeover shows.They show how makeover programs connect to a need for workers to become CEOs of themselves in order to stay afloat (or at least try) in the new "flexible" economy.

This book raises a whole new set of questions about reality TV.Less concerned with the "reality" of the shows, these authors force us to confront the realities of our contemporary culture.This book is perhaps less for fans and more for those who want to think deeply about contemporary television and its relationship to the pressing political and social issues of our time.Despite the academic nature of this book, I think committed readers interested in popular culture will find it incredibly useful and provocative.Students of television have no excuse: you must read this book.
... Read more

Product Description

Conventional wisdom holds that television was a co-conspirator in the repressions of Cold War America, that it was a facilitator to the blacklist and handmaiden to McCarthyism. But Thomas Doherty argues that, through the influence of television, America actually became a more open and tolerant place. Although many books have been written about this period,Cold War, Cool Medium is the only one to examine it through the lens of television programming.

To the unjaded viewership of Cold War America, the television set was not a harbinger of intellectual degradation and moral decay, but a thrilling new household appliance capable of bringing the wonders of the world directly into the home. The "cool medium" permeated the lives of every American, quickly becoming one of the most powerful cultural forces of the twentieth century. While television has frequently been blamed for spurring the rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy, it was also the national stage upon which America witnessed -- and ultimately welcomed -- his downfall. In this provocative and nuanced cultural history, Doherty chronicles some of the most fascinating and ideologically charged episodes in television history: the warm-hearted Jewish sitcomThe Goldbergs; the subversive threat fromI Love Lucy; the sermons of Fulton J. Sheen onLife Is Worth Living; the anticommunist seriesI Led 3 Lives; the legendary jousts between Edward R. Murrow and Joseph McCarthy onSee It Now; and the hypnotic, 188-hour political spectacle that was the Army-McCarthy hearings.

By rerunning the programs, freezing the frames, and reading between the lines,Cold War, Cool Medium paints a picture of Cold War America that belies many black-and-white clichés. Doherty not only details how the blacklist operated within the television industry but also how the shows themselves struggled to defy it, arguing that television was preprogrammed to reinforce the very freedoms that McCarthyism attempted to curtail.

Customer Reviews (3)

THIS BOOK IS NEEDED
I purchased this book as part of my research to a follow-up book, Don't Weep for Me, America: How Democracy in America Became the Prince (While We Slept). I wanted to see if the Cold War was the same big fraud as today's War on Terror. Thanks to author, Thomas Doherty, I learned that not only was McCarthy THE chief propagandist for the "red scare", but that television was almost invented for the purspose of providing its platform. The blacklist that author Doherty details in his excellent chapter, "The Gestalt of the Blacklist" is an incredible story that a reasonable person would have trouble understanding could happen in a true constitutional republic. But it did happen. And today, the level of crime committed by the state, through planned and systematic propaganda has reached its...zenith...

Superior Socio-Cultural History
The author should take a bow. He has written a wonderfully balanced, anecdotal-rich account of the simultaneous evolution of the Cold War, TV and political culture in the Age of McCarthy (which is, in all too many ways, an age we are still in.) That the junior senator from the cheeshead state was a craven opportunist is as well known now as it was even then, but what he exploited via the new electronic medium was the pervasive fear that subversion lurked behind every vacuum tube as well as behind every State Department desk.

Terrific
Cold War, Cool Medium is a terrific and compulsively readable study of McCarthyism in the context of the early history of television.Doherty astutely establishes the way televison worked in its formative days.Then he shows how its weaknesses aided in the rise of McCarthy and how both its strengths and weaknesses aided in his fall.Superb and easiy to read history. ... Read more

Product Description
This book offers the most in-depth analysis of journalistic attention to the Supreme Court (primarily television) currently available.It combines penetrating and remarkably frank interviews with prominent Supreme Court journalists with extensive examination of videotapes of network television news coverage of the Court, to provide a comprehensive picture of how numerous constraints faced by reporters covering the Court (imposed by the nature of the television news industry and the Court itself) contribute to the pattern of infrequent, brief, and in too many instances, incorrect and misleading stories that are aired about the Court.The implications of this situation for the American public are explored. ... Read more

Product Description
Reading Television was the first book to push the boundaries of television studies beyond the insights offered by cultural studies and textual analysis, creating a vibrant new field of study. Using the tools and techniques in this book, it is possible for everyone with a television set to analyze both the programmes, and the culture which produces them.
In this edition, Hartley reflects on recent developments in television studies, and includes suggestions for further reading. His new foreword underlines the continuing relevance of this foundational text in the study of contemporary culture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Contribution to Media Literacy
Semiotics is the scientific study of signs. In reading television, one must consider such factors as manifest and latent meanings, source, intended audiences, sponsorship, scheduling, genre, cast, plot, technical aspects, and myriad other variables that all have a bearing on the way a given program will potentially be interpreted by viewers. Reading television is complex. This book provides the terms and the overview of attributing meaning to television content.

One should not feel overwhelmed in attempting to understand television, however, as life itself has its own complexities. "Reality is itself a complex system of signs interpreted by members of the culture in exactly the same way as are film or television programmes," the authors write. This book helps you to gain an understanding you would not otherwise have of a ubiquitous medium. ... Read more

Product Description

Trick-or-treating has never been more fun—with scary costumes, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Sally, Schroeder, Linus, and, of course, the Great Pumpkin. Since its first airing forty years ago, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" has become synonymous with Halloween. This collection of remembrances and behind-the-scenes treasures celebrates the timeless television classic with:

Customer Reviews (3)

Great Companion to the "Great Pumpkin"
"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: The Making of a Television Classic" takes you behind the scenes of the Halloween classic. While Charles Schulz is sadly missed, executive producer Lee Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez serve up many interesting tidbits. It's surprising to hear how tentative the TV execs were, even after the monster hit that the Peanuts gang delivered with their Christmas special. At the time, Halloween was not the powerhouse holiday that it is today in the US.

This book contains the full script, along with never-before-seen photographs, storyboard excerpts, production materials, and interviews with the original child actors (who changed every few years as their voices changed). While the focus is on "Great Pumpkin," the book spans the years. (There's no interview with the Black-Eyed Peas' Fergie, though, who played Sally in one of the later TV specials.) If you enjoy this one, definitely check out the companion A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition.

Compliments the Classic!
My wife talked me into this one.Love "Peanuts" and certainly "The Great Pumpkin", just not into reading books about them.Well, I take that back, I enjoyed "Good Grief", the biography on Charles Schulz, as well as a treasury of his works.Anyway, finally sat down to read this one over the holidays, and I was glad she talked me into it.They broke the mould with Schulz, and this was a nice trip down memory lane.

As good as the Christmas one
If you own the Christmas edition one then the Great Pumpkin one is in the same format.It has interesting facts, two piano score pages,and the colored story of it.It is worth your money and is good for any Peanuts fans collection. ... Read more

Product Description
A TV guide includes more than 5,400 series, prime-time fall schedules for every season, more than one thousand noteworthy specials, more cable series than ever before, Nielsen's top twenty season by season, Emmy and Peabody award winners, and more. Amazon.com Review
If you're a fan or student of American TV, you must have thisbook, which provides descriptions of 5,400 series and their majorparticipants from 1948 to 1995. The information is presented inalphabetical order in entries up to several pages long. Specialbroadcasts are also listed chronologically in an appendix. Thankfully,the index is comprehensive, so you can easily trace the mayfly-likeflitting of stars, personalities, and lesser deities from show toshow. And, I don't usually say this, but it's really a heck of abargain. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Total Television Revised Edition
My husband had a much older edition.I order this newer edition for him for Christmas.It arrived timely, in great shape, and he is now enjoying the updated version.Thanks so much for great service!

Total Television
This reference is superb in it's completeness. Anything you want to know about any program broadcast from 1948-1996 is in this 1251 page book.The 88 page index of names of performers appearing during those years is unbelievable. It includes specials, miniseries and the top 20 rated shows for each of those years.I use this reference at least 2 to 3 times a week.

Fun and Informative
First, we might note that "... To the Present," in the book's title, means through late 1995.So nothing in the last ten years is included.For years, I have enjoyed "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present" by Brooks and Marsh.I prefer the format of the Brooks and Marsh book to that of the NcNeil book--e.g., the cast is in list form, which makes for easier and quicker reading; the showing time is also included.The chief advantage of the McNeil book is that it includes daytime TV, which the Brooks and Marsh book does not.

Exhaustive and necessary
Where this book is not as easy to use as Brooks and Marsh's "Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows"(see my review for this one), it offers more-as far as the addition of daytime shows and more explanation of the entries. I like the other guide mainly because it's a good quick reference for prime time. However, if I'm really interested in detail or, again, a daytime program-like some Saturday morning cartoon of my childhood-then this is the one to get. I have both books, actually-for reasons specified here.

The Ultimate TV Reference
Alex McNeil's "Total Television" is the Mother of all TV reference volumes.If you can't find it here, it ain't worth knowin' about.How he was able to compile all this information covering 50+ years of TV is beyond me. Crack open this book at any page and you will be reading for hours, probably days. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A indie filmmaker's dream
A thousand thanks for giving us simple to use materials that cover our bases in so many situations.Just what the doctor ordered!

Good book - no CD
I was led to believe that this book came with a CD.I'm kicking myself because I got the book and found no CD in it!That's primarily why I bought it.The CD with the contracts on it is much more expensive so you better be a good typist and recreate the contracts.The good part of the book though is that it really does help to explain all of the hard to understand parts of the contracts so I am still glad I bought it, but was still hugely disappointed that it didn't come with the contracts.

Should come with the cd
A good, albeit US centric book, with some handy contracts. Unfortunately the digital version of these contracts are only available buy paying much more seperately. Would be nice if these were included or downloadable.

Great!
Although he is based in L.A. and this book can throw New Yorkers off a tad, Litwak offers great information, clean and concise. Could not ask for more. Happy with the purchase and do recommend this to anyone needing these types of contracts. Although I do wish his CD (with these contracts) was alot more cheaper than what it is going for now.

For those serious about producing
Good basic legal information oriented towards the independent feature film producer but useful for anyone who wants to produce film or other distributed video.Won't replace having an attorney but will allow you to do some things by yourself and understand what is going on when you need to hire one.Similar to "The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide" but with enough distinct material (example contracts for instance) to be worth having both. ... Read more

Product Description
Channels of Discourse fills a significant gap in the critical literature on television. The eight distinguished scholars whose essays make up the collection consider commercial televisionin relation to the major strands of contemporary literary, cultural and cinematic criticism. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

hard to understand
this was a text book for my class and it is hard to get but its very useful and i am happy i kept it after that class because like i said it is useful

A good starting point
I found this book to be very helpful in getting me up to speed on TV studies as it was in the '80s and early 90's.I would also suggest reading Corner's 1992 book Critical Ideas in Television Studies and Buonanno's new book The Age of Television: Experiences and Theories.Overall, this is worth the 5 or 6 bucks it will cost you to acquire.

Excellent Overview of Media Studies Methodologies
In a critical writing course I taught in Spring 2002, I used Channels of Discourse, Reassembled as the core text for the course readings.The many chapters within are written by the best of the best in the fields of media studies and cultural studies, and the methodologies are presented in an easy-to-read manner which is informative and full of examples and case studies.This is an excellent book for media studies students, as its chapters lay out the basic information they should know about many of the methodologies often used in media criticism. ... Read more

Product Description
A reference designed by the directors of this prestigious workshop to guide aspiring writers of TV sitcoms and dramas.

Deborah Pearlman and Abby Finer of the Warner Bros.Television Writers Workshop reveal in this essential guide insider tips and tricks aimed at paving the way to better scripts by new writers.

The book focuses on all aspects of writing for television, from the definition and importance of sample material to what it takes to be a successful TV writer. The authors offer invaluable insider information on the keys to writing a good script and how to choose the right show for sample material. In particular, they provide instruction on troubleshooting scripts - with a do and don't list. For the novice scriptwriter, they include advice on how to research, brainstorm ideas, and write a beat sheet and outline through to a polished draft. Filled with practical advice and up-to-date industry information, each chapter provides strategies and insights that will jumpstart a fledgling writing career toward success. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A Great Guide to Spec Writing
I have read a ton of TV writing books and this one does a fantastic job of talking about what executives are looking for in a spec.It is NOT a book on how to write, it is a book on all the tricks of the trade to make your spec read like a professional sample.It gives great insight into how to view your script through the eyes of professional readers and TV executives.I spent a year reading scripts at a top agency and 80% of them did not even follow the basics covered in this book.

Why?
Why would you buy a book on writing written by non-writers?Save your money.Those who can, do.Those who've never even tried write sham books about how to do it.I'm a writer who's been working steadily in network TV since I came out of the WB workshop many years ago.We were taught by talented guest television writers who came in each week, not the program administrators.That would be like learning how to have sex from a nun. Honestly, the very existence of this book makes me mad.

Very helpful book
I found Starting Your Television Writing Career a very helpful book.

If you want to get into television writing, then Abby Finer is the person to learn from.

It is to the point, and it is obvious this is written by a pro with first-hand knowledge of the industry.

This book is a great start and I certainly hope the author decides to come out with a volume 2.

[...]

Lame!Nothing Like I Had Hoped...Save Your Money!!
I bought this book because I was interested in finding out some tips on getting my script accepted by the decision makers of the Warner Bros. Writer's Workshop.After all, those of us considering such a workshop already know how to write a script.

Yet this book was a weak attempt at showing someone how to write a television script.And it didn't do a good job at that!There are MUCH BETTER books on television script structure for both comedy sitcoms and drama series.Anyone reading any information on television writing for the first time would be SEVERELY MISGUIDED by taking the information from this book and attempting to apply it successfully to a television script.

But again, why is this book even about the structure of a television script?It SHOULD be about how to break into the Warner Bros. Writer's Workshop.It should have addressed what kind of writing the workshop accepts and which they turn down.It would help to know what those who are getting turned down all the time are doing wrong!That's what they should be talking about...How to GET IN!

PASS ON THIS BOOK!IT'S A TOTAL RIP OFF!

Disappointed
The book consists of: 51 pages of overview of how you write a good spec script and what you do with it; 49 pages of a comedy outline and script; 90 pages of a drama outline and script; and 27 pages of interviews with established TV writers.

I found the overview frustrating. Granted I'm not the best audience for this book, because it's written for nonprofessionals who want to get into the business, and I've written for TV. But I have read TV writing books that taught me stuff, particularly the brief but superb pamphlet the WGA has on its site, Writing for Episodic TV. I agree with the things the overview says. The problem is it says them generally instead of specifically. It gave me the impression that it was written by someone who sat in on meetings with experienced writers and then wrote down -- quickly -- what they said. In fact, the authors each have one television credit on the IMDb, are TV pro's, and run the Warner Bros TV Workshop (though their author bios don't actually say they are TV writers). But who can say in 57 pages all you need to know to write TV? You can say more or less what you need to do, but not how.

The interviews were fine, but they were similarly more directed at end results than processes. Not, "How do you come up with...?" and "How do you deal with...?" but "What was your first sample script and how did you get someone to read it?" I found them less compelling than the yards of interviews the WGA has up on its site.

I would also have found it more interesting if each interviewee was answering different questions.

The bulk of the book, though, is the scripts. And I gotta ask: what's the point of putting one comedy script and one drama script into a book? You need to read dozens of TV scripts, not one each of drama and comedy. And there are dozens to read on the Net -- see my right sidebar, "Links to downloadable scripts."

So, in all, I was disappointed. I really wanted to like this book.

One interesting point though: I did notice that this book uses different terminology than I've heard. For example, it says a typical scene will have three or four "story beats." That's a different use of the word "beat" than I've run across. In my experience it's rare to have more than two beats in a scene; usually it's one per scene or even per sequence. The book defines "act break" as "the place in the script where the action reaches its highest point." I've only heard "act break" used as a synonym for "act out," a term the book leaves undefined. And I'd never heard of a "clam," which apparently is an overused trendy phrase (e.g. "Talk to the hand"). It may be helpful to know these usages, so it might be worth checking out the glossary. ... Read more

Product Description
The Cam Jansen books are perfect for young readers who are making the transition to chapter books, and Cam is a spunky young heroine whom readers have loved for over two decades.Now the first ten books in the series have updated covers that bring new life to these perennial best-sellers.Old fans and new readers will love Cam's cool, modern look! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Quick easy way to purchase kids book
I prefer actual books, but when it was late, no book store open and we needed book for book report...it was perfect...instant book with illustrations

Great books for 1st and 2nd graders
These books are great for beginning readers.My daughter loved the whole set of these! I recommend Judy Moody too!

Cam Jansen & the TV Dog
Was a good deal for this book. I do think shipping should have been cheaper than $3.99 (since it only cost about $1.50 to ship). I would deal with this vendor again. They were very prompt.

When you have a photographic memory, mysteries are fun...
You have to love Cam Jansen.When you're a kid, you read all of these stories about magic powers, mystery, and adventure.But everyone tells you magic can't exist.Cam Jansen manages to solve every case without the use of magic... she's a real girl.That's what makes her special and what makes you want to read more and more.Cam Jansen is a real kid superhero, and the thought that a person like her could actually exist... makes her the best kid detective ever!Our family loves Cam Jansen!

Cam Jansen by, K.S.
Cam Jansen and the mystery of the Television Dog is about a dog that has a twin. In this book there is a television dog named Poochie. And another person has a dog named Cloudy. Both of the dogs look exactly alike.

The owner of Cloudy switched them around and took Poochie. He left a note at the mall saying I'll meet you somewhere. Then you'll have to pay me to get Poochie back. Cam Jansen, Eric, and Eric's sisters were in line to get Poochies autograph.

Then Cam Jansen said, "CLICK" to remember stuff. Cam Jansen has a camera in her head. Every time she sees something weird she snaps a picture. Cam Jansen figured out that the dogs, were switched. But Cam Jansen can't figure out which is the real one. This book is a great mystery story.

At the end of the story Cam Jansen figures out the mystery. This book is about a dog that is a television *star* dog and there is another dog that looks exactly like him. You have to try to figure out which is the real one.

When you are reading this book you need to think of what's going to happen next. In the story you should look at the photos she took and see if you can tell which is the real television dog.

This book influenced me to read more mystery books. This book encouraged me to read more because it was very interesting. I liked this book so much. I hope this book can encourage more people to read mystery books about Cam Jansen. ... Read more

Product Description
Since the first boxy black-and-white TV sets began to appear in American living rooms in the late 1940s, we have been watching people chop, saute, fillet, whisk, flip, pour, arrange and serve food on the small screen. More than just a how-to or an amusement, cooking shows are also a unique social barometer. Their legacy corresponds to the transition from women at home to women at work, from eight-hour to 24/7 workdays, from cooking as domestic labor to enjoyable leisure, and from clearly defined to more fluid gender roles. While variety shows, Westerns, and live, scripted dramas have gone the way of rabbit ear antennae, cooking shows are still being watched, often on high definition plasma screens via Tivo. "Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows" illuminates how cooking shows have both reflected and shaped significant changes in American culture and will explore why it is that just about everybody still finds them irresistible. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

TV Foodies Unite!
This is a great history of the evolution of food shows on television.From the almost amateurish Julia Child shows in the 1960's(Julia and one cameraman on a simple set) to the enormous productions we see on Food Network with "superstars" like Emeril and all the rest.

a feast for the literary gourmand
Kathleen Collins cooks up a feast for the literary gourmand with her delightful book, "Watching What We Eat." My wife (a cook) received it for a gift but I (former TV exec) grabbed it and couldn't put it down. The book's rich content includes profiles of TV cooking hosts from when the medium began, up through today's multi-channel environment and offers a mouth-watering menu that focuses on some of television's most colorful personalities over the years. A great gift idea for anyone who cooks, watches TV or eats.

Expertly written piece of entertainment and education......
This book by Ms. Collins is certainly worth the read, to say the very least.!!
For one who counts himself among the kitchen illiterate, though for many years wanted to be the "sous chef", I found this to be a tremendously educating and inspiring book.

I would be redundant using words that have been well placed such as;great research,
clarity, wit, historical, educational, inspirational,etc...but, I must say that one such as myself who knows little and does little in the kitchen, I find Ms.Collins' book a boost to my pursuits in that same venue.I can see,watching at times the food channel and listening to friends comments on food and cooking in general, how the author came up with the idea for this book as everyone, young and old with no gender barrier seems to be "into it".! It is the kind of book you can pick up and select a few pages at random and enjoy it all over again, which I've done more than once already.!Hopefully this will be the first of many books from this talented author.!

James Doolin, Portland, ME.

P.S.I would like to briefly comment on a review written by a Ms. Appelton of Arizona.....This book is entitled, "The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows", NOT,.How Not To Overeat..!!Obesity, Anorexia and Bulemia are topics unto themselves and this was not supposed to be a medical journal or encyclopedia of same.
References to Japan/A-Bomb, Germany/Holocaust and Sixties/Vietnam as to matters being left out..!!??..seems to contradict your applause for both author and book.?
There is a plethora of books on the aforementioned subjects which you can buy and note that NONE of them will reference cooking shows or similiar venues.!!
BON APPETIT..!!!

Informative, witty, and entertaining!
This book is so enjoyable that you don't even know you are learning about the history of the food shows on TV.Kathleen Collins puts it all together like a story unfolding.

I hope this talented woman continues writing. She has a great, easy-to-read style, dry humor in many parts.

I look forward to reading more of Ms. Collins' works.

A worthwhile history of food via media to date.
I thought the book was generally well written and organized by definable category. For me, the size of the hardcover was a bit small and I would have appreciated larger type andpictures (more of them) It was fun to see the old B/W photos of the culinary hosts.I appreciated that Sara Moulton's comments and observations were included , along with Chris Kimball of the PBS show America's Test Kitchen, among others. The continuing analysis of the varied styles, trends,etc. of the evolution of food shows kept interest. It was obviously well researched and I would recommend it, and would hope the many more recent shows might be mentioned in more details in a new edition, or supplement. ... Read more

Product Description
Plain-talking intro to television's newest technology. Digital Television Fundamentals, Second Edition, by Michael Robin and Michel Poulin, is the ideal guide for everyone who deals with digital video production or equipment design - or who just wants to know how this new phenomenon works. Fully detailed and heavily illustrated, this easy-reading reference covers it all--from video and audio fundamentals...to bit-serial distribution and ancillary data multiplexing...to digital signal compression and distribution methods of coding and decoding. In this edition you'll find: multimedia television treatment covering technologies, hardware, systems, workstations, A/V signal processing, disk storage, servers, cameras, VCRs, CD-ROM, DVI--plus interconnections, multimedia software, systems, and applications and standardization activities; late-breaking information on the DTV standard and how it affects broadcasting equipment and operations; a focus on the importance of relevant SMPTE and CCIR-ITU standards; details on digital/analog equipment compatibility issues; much more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Not a fundamental book
Though title indicates this book is about fundamentals of Digital TV, it is for people who have prior knowledge of TV. This book is not beginners.

Understanding Digital TV.
This book does a great job of explaining audio & video concepts.It's perfect for technical folks who didn't know much about DTV (Jpeg, Mjpeg, Mpeg-1, Mpeg-2, etc ) and computer aspects of such Detailed descriptions ofalgorithms, methods of coding & decoding. Highly recommended toeverybody who deals withDigital Audio & Video production.

Nice job
This book is very good. Its four parts are very easy to search: analog audio, digital audio, analog video and digital video. They cover all of the existing aspects. As a university teacher, I use it for my course onTelevision Systems, but I think it is useful for an audio course, or acomprehensive audio and video course. I still think that books like theseshould have a spanish translation, for my students who do not read english.

Good for general knoledge
This is a Hybrid book - gives too much information to be a intructory book, but not enough information to be able to implement anything. the book covers a lot of grounds, from detialed description on analog television togeneral details on mpeg and more, and short intruductory to a lot oftopics, like firewire, scsi, ethernet, pci , etc...

Very in-depth on all aspects of digital video and audio
The name is a little misleading - the book is really about television, and digital video (JPEG,MJEPEG, MPEG-1,MPEG-2 etc.) and digital audio and computer aspects of such. Detailed descriptions of algorithms, methods of coding/decoding. Highly recommended to everybody who deals with digital video production, digital video equipment design or just wants to know exactly how it works. ... Read more

Product Description

Winner of the 2001 Ray and Pat Browne National Book Award for Outstanding Textbook, given by the Popular Culture Association From Ken Burns's documentaries to historical dramas such as Roots, from A&E's Biography series to CNN, television has become the primary source for historical information for tens of millions of Americans today. Why has television become such a respected authority? What falsehoods enter our collective memory as truths? How is one to know what is real and what is imagined -- or ignored -- by producers, directors, or writers? Gary Edgerton and Peter Rollins have collected a group of essays that answer these and many other questions. The contributors examine the full spectrum of historical genres, but also institutions such as the History Channel and production histories of such series as The Jack Benny Show, which ran for fifteen years. The authors explore the tensions between popular history and professional history, and the tendency of some academics to declare the past "off limits" to nonscholars. Several of them point to the tendency for television histories to embed current concerns and priorities within the past, as in such popular shows as Quantum Leap and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The result is an insightful portrayal of the power television possesses to influence our culture.

Product Description
You can trust Hilliard's WRITING FOR TELEVISION, RADIO, AND NEW MEDIA to provide you with thorough and up-to-date coverage of the principles, techniques, and approaches of writing for television, radio, and the Internet, including writing for a variety of formats such as interviews, sports, advertisements, scripts, and news. Hilliard's vast coverage of content, excellent organization, attention to form, and good examples ensure that you will be well-trained for a career in WRITING FOR TELEVISION, RADIO, AND NEW MEDIA. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fabulous Textbook Connections!!
All aspects of ordering this book to receiving it were wonderful. It was extremely easy to locate the book, order it and pay for it. Although I didn't have it shipped via express mail, it came promptly. My son was able to take it, as well as a fleet of others, along with him on his journey back to Castleton State College in VT. Thanks Amazon!!!

High price, good information but not worth it!
This was not worth the cost!!! It should be in hard cover for the price. Outrageous! One of the first times I felt like sending a book back.

Writing for Television, Radio, and New Media
This is the seventh edition of this book which, although apparently written as a text for use in college courses, actually serves very well for those of us who are interested in writing for special audiences, i.e.,electronic media and video productions, etc.It's completely up to dateand even a little ahead of itself, which is no mean feat in this age ofrapid technology. I'm impressed with the way the writing principles andtechniques are put across, but mostly with all the examples of what thiskind of script should actually look like, on paper.Included are chapterson interviews and talk shows, corporate and children's programs, plays,everything.The book is quite expensive, but when I think about how muchit will be referred to and constantly skimmed for new information, I cancertainly justify the price. I am a creative writing teacher sometimesand a freelance writer all the time.As the author of The Complete Guideto Writers Groups, Conferences and Workshops (Wiley), I write thesubsequent spin-off Ask Eileen column for iUniverse and America Online'sWriters Club.I get tons of inquiries about how to write for the newinteractive media and find this book a marvelous resource. It covers everyaspect, leaves no stone unturned. I'm always referring to books on writersand writing and this one stands more than a cut above the rest. Oh, and onemore thing,it's responsible.It doesn't pretend to be a quick-fix tomaking tons of money; it emphasizes professionalism in the best sense ofthe word.It's a fine investment, a fine, fine piece of work. ... Read more

Product Description
This book examines the representation of blackness on television at the height of the southern civil rights movement and again in the aftermath of the Reagan-Bush years. In the process, it looks carefully at how television's ideological projects with respect to race have supported or conflicted with the industry's incentive to maximize profits or consolidate power.

Sasha Torres examines the complex relations between the television industry and the civil rights movement as a knot of overlapping interests. She argues that television coverage of the civil rights movement during 1955-1965 encouraged viewers to identify with black protestors and against white police, including such infamous villains as Birmingham's Bull Connor and Selma's Jim Clark. Torres then argues that television of the 1990s encouraged viewers to identify with police against putatively criminal blacks, even in its dramatizations of police brutality.

Torres's pioneering analysis makes distinctive contributions to its fields. It challenges television scholars to consider the historical centrality of race to the constitution of the medium's genres, visual conventions, and industrial structures. And it displaces the analytical focus on stereotypes that has hamstrung assessments of television's depiction of African Americans, concentrating instead on the ways in which African Americans and their political collectives have actively shaped that depiction to advance civil rights causes. This book also challenges African American studies to pay closer and better attention to television's ongoing role in the organization and disorganization of U.S. racial politics. ... Read more

Product Description
Hollywood's premier teacher of screenwriting shares the secrets of writing and selling successful screenplays

Anyone fortunate enough to win a seat in Professor Richard Walter's legendary class at UCLA film school can be confident their career has just taken a quantum leap forward. His students have written more than ten projects for Steven Spielberg alone, plus hundreds of other Hollywood blockbusters and prestigious indie productions, including two recent Oscar winners for best original screenplay-Milk (2008) and Sideways (2006).

In this updated edition, Walter integrates his highly coveted lessons and principles from Screenwriting with material from his companion text, The Whole Picture, and includes new advice on how to turn a raw idea into a great movie or TV script-and sell it. There is never a shortage of aspiring screenwriters, and this book is their bible. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The Humanist Guide to Screenwriting
Excellent!It touches heart and mind and gets to the soul of screenwriting.That is all I'll say.I met him at the Screenwriting Expo 2010 and he signed a copy of this book for me.

Screenwriting Book for Writers that Write
"Richard Walter is the best screenwriting teacher in the business," said David Koepp, a guy who knows one or two about writing, writer of JURASSIC PARK, CARLITO'S WAY, SPIDER-MAN, INDIANA JONES 4 (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), ANGELS & DEMONS and many more.

Why am I quoting Mr. Koepp? To make my point: Professor Walter is the best screenwriting teacher in the business. Take a look at his ESSENTIALS of SCREENWRITING; it tackles even the most complex issues in a way that a reader slaps himself on a forehead; how come I did not realize that earlier? It is so clear. Yes, writing is not easy but it should not be that difficult either. Moreover, ESSENTIALS feel like Walter really love writers, all those that stand outside the world his book describes while laboring over their dreams. And mind you, Walter also says: "Writers don't fail; they give up," and this book would keep you writing even when it seems senseless to try to penetrate Hollywood's arcane and often hostile maze.

He gives screenwriting dodge a human dimension and peels off so many myths of it. The bottom line: all one has to do is to write. Walter's book is for writers who actually write. And it helps them to write better, or to say the least, to understand their own processes better.

STRONGLY RECOMMENDEN
Screenwriting is difficult enough, this book doesn't tell you the contrary, but it does show how to focus on what is important and forget all the noise that can contaminante your work so you can polish it and make it the best it can be.

Essentials of Screenwriting
Some teachers teach because they love school and never want to leave.Others teach because they get summers off.But the best teachers in the world do it because they have an insatiable desire to master a subject and share it with anyone who'll listen.If you're ever fortunate enough to find yourself in the same room (or book) as one of these types, it can be a life changing experience.

Professor Richard Walter, UCLA's Screenwriting Chairman, is one of these guys.He's been pondering the dynamics of story and structure every day for the past several decades and doesn't break a sweat referencing everything from Aristotle to Avatar in the same breath.

Essentials of Screenwriting covers all the big stuff in detail-- theme, conflict, character, dialogue, etc.But this book goes deeper, exploring the interplay of psychology, art and commerce before defining a 'foolproof, shockproof, waterproof, tamper resistant' method for reaching an agent.

Throughout these pages Richard also lays out a series of Screenwriting Principles.They are short and sweet, barbed and brilliant.These sixty odd philosophies (along with the story of the clueless Kindergarten teacher) are alone worth many times the cover price of this book.

Essentials cuts to the chase with more style, wisdom and funny than all of the other screenwriting books I've ever read... combined.It's a fun and informative read packed with practical knowledge about the biz along with profound insights on every conceivable subject, mistake, obstacle and/ or challenge a screenwriter is likely to face.

Professor Walter knows that movies are much more than just a way to kill a few hours on a Saturday night.Great movies express the love, pain, suffering, joy, triumph and tragedy of the human experience.That's why we love them.

This book will help you write them.

Depth Based on Real Experience
I am a long-term writer (three completed manuscripts, two published), but somewhat new to screenwriting (no paid work yet). I began with Dave Trottier (Screenwriter's Bible) to learn basic formatting, Blake Snyder (Save the Cat!) to learn the critical structural concepts and points of reference, and Michael Lent (Breakfast with Sharks) to get some idea of how Hollywood works. All great books. Then I wrote one complete screenplay and large parts of four others. Then I read Richard Walter's book.

Why am I presenting my story this way? To make a point. Richard Walter's book, in my humble opinion, can only really be appreciated if you bring some experience to the table. Indeed, I would say that the more experience you bring, the more you will get out of this book. Over and over again as I read along, I thought, "Exactly! Exactly!" Yet, I know I wouldn't have said that if this is the first screenwriting book I had read. The ideas presented clearly represent a lifetime of rumination and dedication to an art form that many consider facile due to its association with pop culture. But that is not so. Consider, for one thing, that a book is more or less an end in itself, while a screenplay is only the beginning of what will eventually (hopefully) become a movie.

I guess the upshot is that, to some extent, I really can't explain why this book is so good. It would be like trying to explain why Jack Nicklaus's golf lesson is better than your Dad's. In fact, it's not. Only a seasoned golfer with a deep knowledge of the golf swing could really benefit fully from Jack Nicklaus's insight. A beginner just doesn't have the frame of reference and might get as much out of what Dad has to say.

Richard Walter may not like this review, as I suppose it might get beginning screenwriters to go look elsewhere. But, no worries, they'll be back, and when they come back, they'll be ready! ... Read more

Product Description
Stand amid soaring Douglas fir in the great hall of Glacier Park Lodge or sit in the setting sun and gaze into the Grand Canyon at El Tovar. This beautiful gift book will transport you to the majestic lodges of our national parks to relive the glory of past vacations or plan adventures anew. This book and the PBS television series of the same title (to air in spring 2002) take armchair travelers into these architectural wonders and explore the surrounding natural beauty of our national parks. Lodges, wildlife, and stunning vistas are showcased in 175 full-color and black-and-white photographs, along with historical documents from the PBS series. In his introduction, Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, offers a call to preserve this national heritage, and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book go toward the rehabilitation of these magnificent buildings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Nice book
Very nice book; makes me want to plan to visit each location. Received book in excellent shape.

Great Lodges of the National Parks
Travel the country without leaving your own home, or use this book as a guide while making travel plans!

Great book on great lodges
I was thumbing through "O" magazine, March 2009 issue and there was Great Lodges of the National Parks as Sarah Vowell's "Books That Made a Difference". She's such a quirky historian/writer/commentator, that I was thrilled to see she agreed with ME that this is a wonderful book. Here's an excerpt from "O":

"O" Magazine, March 2009: BOOKS THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE to SARAH VOWELL

The author, public radio contributor, and self-described indoorsy person falls for outdoorsy epics, ace historians, and one very unhinged memoirist.

As someone who makes a living writing books, my favorite thing to talk about is other people's books...Truth is, I love paging through architecture books, and I have included one of my favorites here, because I find being in and thinking about buildings to be gloriously nonverbal. All five of the titles speak of my fascination with history and geography, mostly the history and geography of the United States.

Great Lodges of the National Parks
By Christine Barnes

I'm an indoorsy person who grew up in Montana alienated from nature. In my hometown, the outdoors was the domain of those who could climb higher, bike farther, ski faster, and camp out forever. But after I moved to New York City and got homesick for the West, I found myself drawn to our come-as-you-are national parks. I fell in love the comforting, all-American beauty of the historic lodges pictured and described in this book. Having dinner at El Tovar after a sweaty day ogling the Grand Canyon, or reading a book in a rocking chair at the Old Faithful Inn after sulfurous hikes around Yellowstone---it's hard not to get swept up with an old-fashioned excitement about seeing the country. Also, turns out I have a thing for stuff made out of giant logs.

(The author has another new edition, Great Lodges of the National Parks, Volume Two that I also love.)

Great Book that captures the wonderful lodges
If you have had the opportunity to stay or visit more than one of the great lodges of the National Parks, I highly recommend this book.Our National Parks are the best treasure that the United States has, and these elegant lodges embrace the spirit of nature and take the experience to another level.The PBS videos are terrific and are a good companion to the book, but the book stands alone as well.The book provides additional information about the construction and history of each of the lodges.If you are an architecture buff, a national park fan, or love rustic lodges this book is definitely for you.Every time I pick it up I want to head out west and explore.

This book is a keeper!
This book makes a wonderful gift or a reference to pour over time and time again as it is packed with information about the history of the Lodges of the National Parks, information about their architectural aspects, interviews with individuals involved in their building etc, along with wonderful photos that make you want to see them all, today!And, we understand that there is a NEW Great Lodges of the National Parks coming out in July, 08, along with an accompanying PBS series.If it is anything like this book, I won't be the least bit disappointed ... Read more

Product Description
A towering figure of television news recounts his adventures in broadcast journalism, from TV's earliest days through the controversies and challenges that face the news business today.

In more than a half century with CBS News, Don Hewitt has been responsible for many of the greatest moments in television history, including the first broadcasts of political conventions in 1948; the first Kennedy-Nixon debate in 1960; and, most spectacularly, for the past 34 years, 60 Minutes, for which he has been the creator, executive producer, and driving force of the news program that has redefined television journalism.

In Tell Me a Story, Hewitt presents his own remarkable life story in his own words, from his time as a reporter for Stars & Stripes during the Second World War, to the heady exhilaration of the early days of television, to the triumphs and controversies of 60 Minutes. Hewitt has been at the center of events, covering some of the leading cultural and political figures of our century, and working with an all-star roster of journalists.

Hewitt also speaks bluntly, with affection and humor, about the promise and the shortcomings of television news, and offers surprising perspectives on its continued power and potential as we move into a new media environment. The key to his success, as Hewitt is fond of saying, is "I may not know a lot, but I think I know how to tell a story." Never has his storytelling talent been on better display than in the pages of this extraordinary book.Amazon.com Review
"As a child of the movies, I was torn between wanting to be Julian Marsh, the Broadway producer in 42nd Street ... and Hildy Johnson, the hellbent-for-leather reporter in The Front Page," writes Don Hewitt in his engaging autobiography. Luckily for him, he found a way to be both at CBS News, most notably as producer of 60 Minutes. Hewitt barely knew what television was when a fellow print journalist told him of an opening at CBS in 1948 ("You mean, where you sit at home and watch little pictures in a box?" he asked), but his decisive personality suited the new medium's spontaneous techniques. Born in 1922 and raised in New Rochelle, New York, he sees himself as an average guy whose middle-of-the-road political and social attitudes are shared by the American television audience. He modeled 60 Minutes on Life magazine: "a family friend in the home of millions of Americans each week, serious and light-hearted in the same issue" with one prime directive--to tell a story.

In chatty, colloquial prose, Hewitt hits the show's high and low points, including a frank discussion of the compromises made to air an interview with Big Tobacco whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand and a blistering critique of the way those compromises were depicted in the movie The Insider. He pays warm tribute to his reporters, particularly Mike Wallace, writes appreciatively of CBS founder William Paley, and candidly discusses his differences with Paley's successor, Laurence Tisch. Hewitt doesn't pretend to be a saint; he accepts the mingled imperatives of journalism and commerce that drive TV news without (usually) sounding too defensive. His memoir pungently chronicles the evolution of broadcast journalism and expresses faith in the idealism that still fires the men and women who practice it. --Wendy Smith ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Tell Me A Story
Excellent book, so well written you can not put it down.What an incredible life this man had.

Tell Me A Story
Great book by a great guy. From Murrow to pre-Couric, he was CBS News. 60 Minutes ia an ok show, too.

Interesting !
I am in Hewitt's business myself (in another part of the world). His book and his experiences give me a lot to think about.

Television Pioneer
I've always enjoyed reading the stories of industry pioneers, no matter what industry and Hewitt is a living pioneer of early television news.From his career as a merchant Marine in World War II up unto his creation and production of 60 minutes, Hewitt shares anecdotes and accolades of the people he's worked with and against.

He began in television news back when the Murrows and the Cronkites wouldn't have considered leaving radio.He produced the only Kennedy-Nixon debate and is convinced that not wearing makeup on TV cost Nixon the election.He didn't really care for Nixon much post Watergate, but unlike most of the newsmen of his generation, he didn't really fall for the aura of John Kennedy either.

Hewitt tells of how he convinced Frank Sinatra to sit down with Walter Cronkite in the mid 1960s, and how Sinatra blew up when questioned about his mob ties.Luckily for Hewitt he was around long enough to outlive Sinatra and get the real story from his daughter Tina 30 years later.The story gives more plausibility to the Kennedy assassination being a mob hit.

The latter half of the book focuses on Bill Clinton's infamous interview during the 1992 election and how Hewitt's treatment of James Carville got the show barred from the White House.

Near the end he goes in to a deep explanation of Lowell Bergman and the inaccuracies of the film THE INSIDER.After explaining for pages and pages of how Bergman is disingenuous, he catches us off guard by saying that he would have forgiven the filmmakers everything had they cast Robert Redford in his role.Philip Baker Hall isn't an actor, that's a dormitory, Hewitt jokes.

Hewitt is an interesting guy with a great life and it's hard not to like this book.

A pioneer in TV Land!
Ok, so he isn't a writing genius, but he KNOWS television and how to keep a quality broadcast show on top. The premise of the 60 minutes show is to "tell us something we don't know!" And that it does! Don Hewitt is a pioneer. When you read his book, you find out the conception of ideas that began with Hewitt.

He is humorous and shares some funny anecdotes, and yet, he keeps the story going with a cool conversational voice. It's an easy read. Hewitt shares facts about the birth of the show, the cast, and the excellent collection of guests. There are several pictures of him with Presidents and other celebrity notables.

Take time to read this book. You will not only be entertained, but you will be informed. He knows his history!!....MzRizz ... Read more

Product Description
Accompanied by black-and-white photographs and statistics, a unique chronicle follows all of Disney's television programs and includes complete schedules of all broadcasts, seasonal highlights, behind-the-scenes stories, plot synopses, and much more." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Poorly Indexed.Lots of Information on Non-Disney Shows
This is one of those books that I bought sight unseen over the internet.I don't think I would have bought it if I had a chance to have looked at it first.

This is one of those encyclopedia books that give you the name of a show, its air date and what seems like the TV Guide description of what was in the show.I figured that it would begin with the Disneyland TV series and branch out to the Wonderful World of Disney that I watched in the 70s.Well, it kind of does that and kind of not.It includes a chapter on Disney Specials (organized alphabetically by the name of the show).Then it has a chapter about repeating series, then the Mickey Mouse Club, then a chapter about Zorro, etc.The Disneyland shows are in there and so are the Wonderful World of Disney shows, but again, they are listed alphabetically by the title of each show.So, you wind up having a show from the 90's listed next to a show from the 50's.I suppose its one way of doing things, but its not what I expected.I thought I'd get to see which episode was shown on day one and then the rest in a chronological approach.It will be very difficult to identify the episodes that I saw growing up because of the way the shows are organized.

Indexing was a disappointment, but what I really don't understand is the inclusion of what appears to be ABC's complete line-up from the time Eisner took over Disney until the book was published.I really didn't expect to see complete information about the "Golden Girls" series in a book called "The Wonderful World of Disney."Further the last 100 to 150 pages is just a listing of production people (like you would see shown in the credits of an episode - in small print) for each of the episodes mentioned in the book.If you knock out the ABC 90s lineup and the production credits, you've knocked out about 1/2 of the book.

Substantively, the Disney-program related stuff is kind of weak -- like I said, sort of a TV Guide synopsis -- but there are little bits of trivia listed for numerous episodes and that's nice.Again, however, indexing makes the book suffer.For example, the movie Johnny Tremain was broken down into segments when shown on TV with each episode having a different title, "e.g., The Shot Heard Round the Word" and "The Boston Tea Party."Well, the Boston episode is found in the B's and the Shot episode is way over in the S's.This organization didn't make a lot of sense to me.Also there is some information that is just wrong.For example, it lists the Shaggy D.A. (from the mid 70s) as being shown in a colorized format in a TV episode.Of course, the movie was filmed in Color.

I haven't spent a whole lot of time with the book, and there appears to be some good information in it (there are a number of pages or regular historical prose dealing with Walt's getting into TV, the Mickey Mouse Club and Zorro) but overall, the book is disappointing.

Sunday Nights are for families!
This book is a comprehensive history of Disney on television, with "The Wonderful World of Disney" anthology show as the centerpiece. As a kid I grew up watching Uncle Walt every Sunday night, on "The Wonderful World of Disney". Back then we were not bombarded with 24 hour cable, satellite, vcr, dvd, video games,...We had 4 channels to choose from, and even those rarely had anything watchable for kids. And as a result no kid missed Sunday nights with Walt Disney. He always had something exciting on, adventure, historical stories, action, cartoons, animal fare, you name it! I sat in front of the tube mesmerized with my dinner on a TV tray, the only night my mom let me eat in front of the TV. Parents could always trust Walt Disney to give us wholesome entertainment. Now we have grown up, and the old television series is gone but not forgotten as long as you have this book.

There are hundreds of books on Disney's animated fare, but scant few have been written on their wonderful treasure trove of live action films, much less their material created specifically for television. There are books on specific shows, but none yet that bring them all together like this. Bill Cotter has done what no one else has attempted, to create a list of every single episode for every television show ever made: it's actors, plotline, trivia, air dates and rerun dates for every single show Disney ever made up to the date of publication. And he has done a fine job when you consider there are hundreds of episodes, aired 52 weeks a year, for 29 years. He takes the time to tell you if the episode was theatrically released first or televised first, overseas or domestic, if it was a feature that was edited not a movie or edited from a movie for TV, and even if it aired or released in a different name. He even lets you know what Disney did with the episode in the European market.

This book has been a wonderful resource to assist me in finding old episodes that I can't remember the name for but vividly remember the story, confirming that the child actors are the famous persons I see in the movies now, or checking to see which video I want to track down next. Very comprehensive at 628 pages. Not a ton of pictures, but some good ones. Some books on Disney use too many pictures as a crutch for lacking content, but not this one. The back of the book has a massive appendix with tons of information on every episode, such as the writer, director, producer, actors, original story material source, screenplay writer, composers, visual effects, and so on... basically the entire credits for every episode are listed here.

But it doesn't end there, he lists every episode of Mickey Mouse Club, the New Mickey Mouse Club and their respective serials; Zorro; Specials; and special releases of themovies to TV.Also has obscure limited series forgotten by time like Small & Frye, Zorro and Son, Meet Me at Disneyland, Gun Shy, or Wildside. The only source I can find for the many specials, series, and films of the Disney Channel. Saturday Mornings and Disney Afternoons animation is here like DuckTales, Wuzzles, Gummi Bears, Winnie the Pooh, Chp 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers, Tale Spin, Bonkers, Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Timon & Pumba, Gargoyles, and all the rest. And the "non-Disney" labeled stuff they made likeBlossom, Home Improvement, Golden Girls, Nurses, Empty Nest, Boy Meets World, The Torkelsons, Dinosaurs, and all the other syndicated series from Touchstone Television. It even lists the unaired episodes!

The author of this book chose to include other shows that are so-called "not Disney", the Touchstone shows like the "Golden Girls". You have to remember that Disney Studios bought ABC Television, and prior to that was producing television medium at the Florida studio for the networks that did not have the Disney name plastered all over it, but was still made by the Disney company. They were just trying to be completist, and you get more information as a consumer at no extra cost. I myself am not interested in many of those Touchstone shows so I simply skipped that part of the book, no harm done there.Frankly, there is no other book at this time that lists every single episode of the legacy of Walt in his Wonderful World of Disney show. Trust me, this book is a treat for any Disney TV fan.

A reviewer felt like some of the descriptions of each episode were too short, but there were 29 years of episodes on 3 different networks for the anthology show alone to cover in the book, and I feel that under the circumstances they did very well with a paragraph or two on each episode.The book is already 628 pages long, and is much bigger than a large dictionary. Any more and it would honestly be unmanagable.

Since it is a history book first and foremost, the shows are listed from the oldest shows to the newest. Then within each show, such as Zorro, they list the episodes in the order they were aired. The exception is "The Wonderful World of Disney" which is done alphabetically, since so many of those episodes played multiple times over the years, or were mutli-part episodes, but most of all because the fans remember them by name but not neccesarily by air date. It really does make it easier this way.It lists episodes by the title name, which in a multi-part show like "Johnny Tremain" can get confusing at first. But the book usually tells you in one listing the names of the other parts of the story so you can track them down. For example on page 97 it begins with the main title Davy Crockett, then lists the 5 episode names of the original series so you can look them up by name. Then it list the 5 episodes from the 1988 remake series. It does the same with Elfego Baca, Gallagher, and other shows and even movies that were renamed as episodes after editing. The layout of the book takes a little extra effort to understand at first, but over time I have come to appreicate it very much and frankly would not change it.

This is a great resource for info on theatrical releases and featurettes too since most aired on the show sooner or later. I strongly reccommend this book to any Disney fan or historian. It is one of the most valuable reference books in my Disney collection of over 100 books.

Sadly the original Disney anthology shows have seen almost no attention from the studio by way of DVD release, and most episodes on VHS were printed in the 1980's.There are a number of episodes from the show still available "used" on VHS, simply do a search at Amazon under, "The Wonderful World of Disney". And if you use this book like I did you can find almost half of the Disney episodes ever made were released on VHS back in the '80s under their original episode titles. Buy them while you still can. I highly reccommend this hugely important reference to Disney television.

Great addition to Disney lovers' book shelf
The labour the author has put into this comprehensive work of reference is clearly reflected in its 400 pages. Being both a lover of Disney in general, and a movie critic in particular, I keep this work within reach tocheck names as they appear on the credits or in case I want to find thetitle to a certain episode. On the downside, I really missed the generalnames index, but maybe that's just the librarian inside of me, for Irealize that an index like that would take up a second volume (but a secondvolume I would buy!).

Great for Disney fans
It contains a lot of Disney TV series. Tell Bill to release a new edition featuring Disney's Hercules ... Read more