When I was in my last year of University I had one class called The Sociology of Media ... or something like that. Our major assignment for that class was to write a paper about "the media" and its "sociological influences". Sigh. Broad enough topic for you? The Teacher (whom I had little respect for) seemed to think that the only form of "media" worth discussing were television shows. No discussions about print publications or the 'newest fad' called "the internet". Instead she prattled on about fictional characters, in fictional towns, in fictional times. So the assignment sounds easy enough right? Wrong. The problem?
I had one television channel.
One.
The local channel.
As a struggling student, working nearly 40 hours a week and attending Uni full-time my girlfriends that I lived with and I decided that we didn't need cable television.
Need a break from studying? Why not head into the living room, turn on 'the channel' and see if 'the show' that was on interested you. It rarely did. Just get home from a rough day of folding jeans at the store? Why not turn on 'the channel' and watch the local politicians debate local issues? *yawn* Can't decide whether to listen to music or watch TV while preparing dinner? Why not turn on 'the channel' and see if the local news broadcast person happens to be visiting a local restaurant ... they never did.
