M A (suitable for viewers seventeen years of age and
older). The WB was the first to apply the labeling sys-
tem, followed by the rest of the broadcast networks,
while cable television networks—not as restricted,
typically—either followed suit or kept with their own
devised content descriptions and labels. Important
to note, too, is that the TV Parental Guidelines rat-
ing system does not take into account news, sports,
or advertising.
Impact Television in the 1990’s was a source with
increased power for entertaining, informing, and
educating viewers. By way of standard television, In-
ternet television, and other telecommunications
systems, people were made aware of large-scale nat-
ural disasters, technological disasters, and human-
initiated disasters, as well as public-service an-
nouncements, charitable relief efforts, and positive
social and political campaigns. Television reflected
the culture as much as it influenced culture, how-
ever, and in the fine line between reflecting and
influencing were the dangers that many media the-
orists insisted were inherent: the nature of pro-
gramming and advertising to be propagandistic,
the debatable effect of television violence as a cause
of social violence, and the psychological tendency
toward television addiction. The reverse opinions
held that television and other technology in the
1990’s made content accessible to those otherwise
deprived, contributed to (some even say statistically
proven) higher intelligence, fostered diversity, and
enhanced global unity.
Further Reading
Abramson, Albert, and Christopher H. Sterling.The
Histor y of Television, 1942 to 2000. Jefferson, N.C.:
McFarland, 2000. Offers a comprehensive study
of the technical history of television.
Bourdieu, Pierre. On Television. New York: New
Press, 1999. Two lectures closely scrutinize the
power of television to shape worldviews and the
political threats the medium poses.
Brooks, Tim, and Earle March.The Complete Guide to
Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows. New York:
Ballantine, 2007. A comprehensive, encyclopedic
guide to more than five hundred prime-time
shows.
Postman, Neil.Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Dis-
course in the Age of Show Business. New York: Pen-
guin, 2005. A critical study of the impact of tech-
nology in general and television in particular on
human discourse—as it deteriorates political de-
bate, news speech, religious discussion, and liter-
ature and art.
Signorielli, Nancy, and Susan Kahlenberg. “Televi-
sion’s World of Work in the Nineties.”Journal of
Broadcasting & Electronic Media45 (Winter, 2001):
4-22. Offers a focused survey of the depiction of
occupations on television, including an emphasis
on race and gender roles at work.
Smith-Shomade, Beretta E.Shaded Lives: African-
American Women and Television. Chapel Hill, N.C.:
Rutgers University Press, 2002. Closely investi-
gates television’s manipulative and contradictory
approaches to “binaristic” or split depicting of Af-
rican American women in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
Vessey, Judith A., Paula K. Yim-Chiplis, and Nancy R.
MacKenzie. “Effects of Television Viewing on
Children’s Development.”Pediatric Nursing23,
no. 5 (September/October, 1998): 483-486. Pro-
vides a thorough analysis and statistics for the ef-
fects of television on viewers—including physical,
cognitive, and psychosocial impact on children.
Roxanne McDonaldSee also Advertising;Ally McBeal;Baywatch;Beavis
and Butt-Head;Beverly Hills, 90210; Cable television;
Carrey, Jim; Children’s television; Children’s Televi-
sion Act of 1990; Clooney, George; CNN coverage of
the Gulf War; Comedians; DeGeneres, Ellen;ER;
Frasier;Friends;In Living Color; Internet;Jenny Jones
Showmurder; Journalism;Larr y Sanders Show, The;
Late night television; Los Angeles riots;MTV Un-
plugged;Murphy Brown; Myers, Mike;Northern Expo-
sure;NYPD Blue; Plasma screens;Real World, The;
Rock, Chris;Seinfeld;Sex and the City; Simpson mur-
der case;Simpsons, The; Smith, Will;South Park; Tele-
communications Act of 1996; TV Martí; TV Parental
Guidelines system;Twin Peaks; UPN television net-
work; WB television network;Will and Grace;Win-
frey, Oprah;X-Files, The;Xena: Warrior Princess. Tennis
Definition International professional sportDuring the 1990’s, tennis struggled to maintain its appeal
to an audience grown wear y of the sport’s excesses and its
diva stars. In addition, it had to adjust to innovations in
racket design that had remade the sport into a power gameThe Nineties in America Tennis 841