• How to Keep Talking about Climate Change with Television?

    Elke Weissmann Many of us probably feel that this is a time of crisis: the cost-of-living, the invasion of Ukraine, and so much more. These crises are real and evident, and also clearly taking place now. Disasters, catastrophes and crises need to be constructed as events to grab the headlines (see for example Bednarek and…

  • Is there Value in Television?

    Dr Elke Weissmann On the 27 September, we celebrated the Critical Awards in Television for the first time. The awards are part of larger attempts by researchers and scholars in television to question what we accept as ‘good’ when we talk about television. The awards – which are a collaboration between the EHU Television Studies…

  • The Show Still Went on – Despite the Risk Assessments!

    Perelandra Beedles The spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus) had a profound impact on many industries, and the broadcast sector was no exception. As governments around the world imposed various restrictions to try to limit the further spread of the virus, the impact on film and TV production was immediate. I followed the progress of the UK…

  • It’s Official: It’s Not Television That Makes You Stupid

    Dr Elke Weissmann On Monday, 13 September, The Guardian ran a story with the subtitle ‘TV really does rot your brain’. It was based on research by different American health scientists who looked into the relationship between (self-reported) television consumption and decline in grey matter in later life. The great aspect was that these were…