On the one hand it is claimed to be responsible for all our ills and on the other to be the answer to all of them. It is said to keep the family together, to widen horizons, to bring people into contact with experiences and situations they would not otherwise face. It is also claimed to contribute to juvenile delinquency, to stupefying the mind, and to dangerously stimulating appetites and passions people are unable to control. There are those who see the one-eyed monster in the corner of the living room as being a further step in the process of manipulation and exploitation of personality which will one day mean we are able to control and direct the actions of people and determine their every thought. For my part I am reduced to propounding a seemingly trivial truism.
Television is a-moral.
Its effects can be good or bad, and the multiplicity of factors involved in causing these effects leaves one hesitant to say this or that particular is the culprit. Its life depends on drawing to itself the greatest number of people for the greatest amount of time. Advertisers are unwilling to pay the high rates demanded if they know there is only a small audience watching at the time. Commercial Television therefore, by its very nature must be a mirror which reflects the demands of society at large. It is foolish to refute this by saying that tastes are created by Programme Managers.