ABSTRACT
Many researchers have commented on television's impact on contemporary society. Television executives have become 'key gatekeepers', regulating public access to information. Television also contributes to consumerism. TV's worldwide spread has raised concerns about cultural imperialism. French Minister of Culture Jack Lang has decried an 'intellectual imperialism' that 'grabs consciousness, ways of thinking, ways of living'. Ethnocentrism in the evaluation of television and its effects can be remedied through cross-cultural research. The ongoing Cultural Indicators Project of George Gerbner and his associates at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communications have revealed many relationships between TV content and impact. The National Institute of Mental Health sponsored one of the most thorough surveys yet done of TV research. For years anthropology has been known for expounding cultural relativism, focusing on diversity, and revealing the 'other'. The incorporation of formerly isolated communities and regions into larger information networks exemplifies cultural evolution.
