Part 1: Origins and institutions. The inventor of television / Albert Abramson.
The beginnings of American television / William Boddy.
Television as a public service medium / Anthony Smith.
Part 2: Forms and genres. Drama and entertainment / Richard Paterson.
Non-fiction television / Michael Tracey.
Political ceremony and instant history / Daniel Dayan and Elihu Katz.
Part 3: Television and society. Television in the home and family / Susan Briggs.
Taste, decency, and standards / Colin Shaw.
Terrorism / Philip Schlesinger.
Part 4: Television across the world. The American networks / Les Brown.
The Third World / Dietrich Berwanger.
Australia / Elizabeth Jacka and Lesley Johnson.
Epilogue: The future / Richard Paterson and Anthony Smith.
