ABSTRACT
The formation of a localized public sphere in Bangladesh is pivotal in this chapter. Public engagement with television news enables resistance, negotiations and contradictions. By exploring the localized public viewing of television news, this chapter underlines the power of viewing. In implication, it challenges the autonomy of representation and the self-righteousness of TV news. It also addresses the power of audiences to decipher and defy the partial, intentional, sanitized and politically motivated news and talk shows on private channels. In order to conceptualize the power of viewers and their local practices in relation to television, there has been an emphasis on the culture and practice framework to move beyond the ‘media effect’ and ‘culture industry’ schools.
