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Regulatory Bodies Find Themselves Outflanked By New Technology And Vacillate ...

Regulatory bodies find themselves outflanked by new technology and vacillate between attempts to retain traditional levels of control and the wish to maximise the economic benefit thought to derive from a free-for-all approach to the growth in the information technology sector' (283).
In conclusion, US and UK current affairs programmes, although possibly moving towards a shared image, are different in their control and the respective mistrust and trust in governmental structures.
Television News Magazines which in the US were pioneered by the CBS programme 60 Minutes in 1968 have set out a formula for a number of shows like Primetime, 48 hours, 20/20 and Dateline (NBC). These programmes are supposedly at the forefront of current affairs shows, giving the audience an accessible roundup of topical themes, which cover not only politics, but increasingly areas such as entertainment and comedy. During the 1980s and early 1990s, events like the Gulf War and in 1992 the US election campaign altered mass television viewing, making these programmes more important in terms of audience viewing figures. However, it must be remembered that these shows are owned by the main commercial broadcasters in the US, which have been perceived to have political affiliations or biased viewpoints despite having obvious leanings towards certain political viewpoints, like the (until recently) pro-Bush Fox empire.
The UK, however, still successfully produces a number of satirical current affairs shows that mocks not only politicians but the media and society itself. However, recent forays in television studies have noted that it is a disconnection between young people and current affairs programming within the UK that has led to a disinterested younger generation of audience members. Therefore, the UK is having to rethink the way in which current affairs are broadcast and received and New Media is obviously playing an enormous part in this. Thumin, in her book Inventing Television Culture (2004), suggests that within the UK, it was the class divide that was created by the BBC and ITV which shaped television programming and the subsequent ‘working-class exodus' to ITV at its inception that is the underlying factor which ultimately led the BBC to have to deal with (although explicitly discuss) its assumed superiority, which is not only rejected by the ‘working-class' but also now the disinterested younger generation. On the other hand, the US still enjoy a wide audience demographic (Varis: 245).
In the UK, ‘the regulation of news and current affairs may also be considered questionable when digital TV will allow a wide range of competing representations of reality.


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