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Television -- the most pervasive and persuasive ofmodern technologies, marked by rapid change and growth --is moving into a new era, an era of extraordinarysophistication and versatility, which promises to reshape ourlives and our world. It is an electronic revolution of sorts, madepossible by the marriage of television and computer technologies. The word television, derived from its Greek and Latin roots, can literally be interpreted assight from a distance. Very simply put, it works in this way: through asophisticated system of electronics, televisionprovides the capability of converting an image into electronicimpulses, which can be sent through a wire or cable. These impulses, when fedinto a receiver , can then be electronicallyreconstituted into that same image. Television is more than just an electronic system, however. It is ameans of expression, as well as a vehicle for communication, and as suchbecomes a powerful tool for reaching other human beings. The field of television can be divided into two categories determined by its means of transmission. First, there is broadcast television,which reaches the masses through broad-based airwave transmission of television signals. Second, there is nonbroadcast television, which provides for the needs ofindividuals or specific interest groups through controlled transmissiontechniques. Traditionally, television has been a medium of the masses. We are most familiar with broadcast television because it has been with us forabout thirty-seven years in a form similar to what exists today. During thoseyears, it has been controlled, for the most part, by the broadcast networks,ABC, NBC, and CBS, who have been the major purveyors of news, information, andentertainment. These giants of broadcasting have actually shaped not only television but our perception of it as well. Wehave come to look upon the picture tube as a source of entertainment, placingour role in this dynamic medium as the passive viewer. | 
