ABSTRACT
With hundreds of channels now available through cable and satellite dishes people no longer watch the same programs. Moreover, many more people now use their television screens to watch videos, or play video games, while increasing numbers surf the Internet on their home computers. One rather remarkable consequence of the centrality that television news now had in the lives of Americans was the heightened focus on the news reporters and news analysts: they became, not just celebrities, but the message, the subject, the content. In the interviews and press conferences held in Saudia Arabia and in Washington reporters treated US generals as if they were duplicitous politicians, or suspected embezzlers, with some flaw to hide, or as military leaders who had lost face. Television's handling of the Rodney King affair throughout 1991-1992 darkened this suspicion in the minds of many.
