East Meets West

Abstract

This study provides a glimpse into the cultural history of this popular medium for the period 1944-2016. From the “golden age” of communist era television during which TV was hailed as a main cultural force for education and entertainment and simultaneously taunted as a tool of propaganda, censorship and political control, we will trace the unprecedented “boom” in commercial TV channels at the offset of the transition, with its often questionable quality, leading to the emergence of several serious contenders on the broadcasting scene, both in terms of their financial value and in terms of power over public opinion.