THE IMPACT OF TELEVISION COMMUNICATION IN

CHRISTIANITY
BROADCASTING TELEVISION: Television as regular broadcasting medium was introduced
much later than sound broadcasting. Radio today et is still a more urban oriented medium against
radio which is more and more a means of more complicated, more expensive and has for more
sophisticated needs for production and distribution than radio broadcasting 1.
The first scheduled broadcasts by BBC UN 1936. The pioneering work had been done by
Baird, London, in 1926. By 1945 there were one million receivers in the USA, ten years later 34
million; how there is at least one receiver in every home. TV spread with incredible speed. Our
other technical development, except the motorcar can compete in terms of the effects, which TV
has in the western societies? TV has taken over more and more of people are waking time. In
many western countries TV set is on six hours a day; three hours for the average person watching.
Children spend more time in front of TV screen than in the classroom.
TV replaced no other media; if only took over some of their function and forced them to
concentrate on new ones. TV, in comparison to film, has an “everybody” every day audience. If
you go to a film, it’s a special occasion. The cinema is dark. A huge screen dominates attention.
Cinema is “ formal” TV is private and informal.
WHAT DOES TV DO TO OPEOPLE?
Various surveys conducted in the United States [1974] have shown that TV has from the
viewpoint of viewers, the following functions, and meeting specific human needs.

RELAXATION: TV as the great entertainer who can provide distraction. Only adolescent
females prefer the movies to entertainment on TV, most people who feel lonely turn to TV.
[Exceptions are older males who prefer magazine reading when they feel lonely].

KILLING TIME: this is related to relaxation but meets slightly different human needs. Only
middle-aged males prefer to kill time by reading a book.

INFORMATION: many turn to TV to keep tabs developments, keep in touch with what is going
on, or want to widen their horizons. Here the newspaper is in direct competition with TV young
males and females and females, as well as middle aged males prefer the newspaper].

TV IS MAIN CARRIER OF NEWS: more people get their news from TV than from any other
media. In their sense, TV sets the agenda for what people consider important in the public
domain. It is primarily through TV that they get to know their political leaders and public figures.
But TV can only present some sort of a front page, with little depth or analysis.
Feature of TV, video discs, cassettes, cable TV, computerized home terminals will permit
each individual to control his or her time and rate of receipt of communication. Fragmentation of
TV as mass audience media is likely to come into newspapers 2.

BEGINNING OF TELEVISION BROADCASTING IN INDIA: The educational experiment

and the site experiment with the support of United States in 1970s mark the beginning of
television broadcasting in India. Indian television began with the programmers meant for middle
and high school students in government school classrooms. At the same time, the programmers
concerned with farmers, family planning, hygiene and a short entertainment were telecast.

1
Franz Josef Eilers, SVD, Communicating in community (German: LOGOS PBL, 1994), P. 132.
2
C.R.W. David. Ed., Communication in theological Education (Bangalore: BTESSC, 1986), pp. 93-94.
 Television became an important component for the Indian family when Asian games were
held in New Delhi in 1982. Gradually it spread to the entire urban and rural areas. The official
channel run by the government is called Doordarshan. That is telecast over the Doordarshan are
divided unto two. The first begins with news, interviews, discussions and news features. The
second includes entertainment, consisting of films, plays, film- based items, songs, dances,
dramas and music.
Cable television in North America originated for receiving television signal in hilly and
remote terrain. Earlier, before its introduction in India, people depended on pirated video copies
of popular Indian and American films beamed from a central control room. But now,
programmers are linked to viewers both urban and rural India from a common antenna.
Programmers are received from rear and distance palaces beyond the reach of domestic antenna.
At present multiple channels, star-TV, geographical channel, movie channel, sports channel, star
channel and so on.
Advertisements became important aspects for the commercials during the early eighties.
It followed the growth of video industry in India. This is also due to the opening of Doordarshan
for advertising and sponsorship of shoppers and other entertainment oriented programmers as a
commercial channel.

PROGRAMMES ON THE TELEVISION: programmers on the television are categorized into

various types as follows:
1) NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS: under this category it can be subdivided into news.
Bulletins, general newsmagazines, and news magazines for particular ethnic groups and
public affair discussions.
2) FEATURES AND DOCUMENTARIES: this help’s to study or to examine of a particular
topic of programmed in detail.
3) EDUCATION: course- programmers provided for the school, college and university
students. It also includes instructional programmers, mainly on crafts, hobbies etc. operas and
classical. Songs are part of music. The art includes paintings, sculpture architecture and
literature.
4) CHILDRENS PROGRAMMES: this includes entertainment programmers children
usually love to watch. Car loons and puppet-shows of live stories and plays are popular.
5) DRAMA: contains plays enacted by actors and actresses with certain moral principles or
goal for the benefit of the people. They are classified as follows, single play, serial, series,
situational comedy, and domestic comedies.
6) MOVIES- FEATURE FILMS: programmers that are basically shown in cinemas and
movie theatres. It appears in the form of plays, series serials.
7) ENTERTAINMENTS: it is subdivided into musical shows where singers and groups are
presented, variety shows- where comedies with musical items are presented. Games and quiz-
show, talk show, sport, religion commercials etc, are all part of entertainment 3.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RADIO AND TV: the basic difference between radio and
television is the fact that radio is a one-sense medium. Radio only needs the sound for
transmission and reception. In television the visual element becomes central. Infect, television is
the not only audiovisual it has a visual preference. Because television reaches two senses it needs
more attention in production and reception.
Television is called a composite medium in as much as it can not only combine in a
certain way theater, film and similar performances but also multiply them. Television has the

3
John Joshua Raja and Samson Prabhakar, Introduction to Communication and Media Studies
(Bangalore: BTESSC, 2006), pp 119-121.
following criteria in common with radio. Both are mass media aiming at a bigger audience and
are also related to mass production and mass distribution.
Both media are monologist in their communication process like other mass media.
Dialogue between producer {presenter} and recipient is difficult or almost impossible.
Transmission in radio as well as in television is basically a monologist process. Both media are
time bound. They are in their presentation dependent on the time frame of a respective program.
Both media are electronic means in their production and transmission

SPECIAL FOR TELEVISION HOWEVER ARE THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

Television is a composite medium in being able to combine elements of theater; cinema, drama
and is able to reproduce and transmit them electronically. Television is a medium for visual
information’s news is shown and not only verbally reported. Television is mainly an
entertainment medium show dramas, movies and other entertainment programs are a major part
of television and the expectation of the viewers is generally entertainment oriented. Television
can be an instant and immediate information medium in transmitting directly important events
like the visit of the pope to a country. The first arrival of, man on the moon was directly
television and seen by about 528 million people at the same time 4.

HOW THE TELEVISION EFFCT CHILDREN IN INDIA: children are the Maine viewers of
television any where in the world and especially in India. In urban as well as rural, wherever there
is a television set, children spend a large part of their evenings and holidays, sitting before
television. Today, people are aware of the beneficial and harmful effects of television on children.
On the other hand parents appreciate this medium because it broadens their children’s horizon
and keeps them indoors, out of mischievous they also have misgivings about what they see as its
numerous harmful effect.
There has been a great deal of public collation on how the television affects children:
1) Television cuts into the schoolwork and serious study and thus affecting their academic
performance.
2) Children became addicted to television and this lea them to passivity and poor
contribution to other spheres.
3) Some of the programmers can read children to aggressive behavior.
4) Children’s schedule of daily activities can be displaced.
5) The dominating influence of TV can cause conflict in the family.
6) Constant viewing of TV can especially viewing in co lour damage the eyes.
7) Watching TV may lead to a reduction of interest in sports, extra- curricular activities and
social contacts5.

WHAT ARE OUR YOUNG PEOPLE WATCHING IN TV?

In the USA, most of the programmers are produced in that very country. But quite a large
proportion of the programmers seen by the youth in other parts of the world are produced in the
USA. India has jumped on the bandwagon, since Doordarshan has now started screening. Most
of these important programmed are played during prime time evening hours when 85%. Of young
people’s viewing takes place. In this way the young of the world absorb American cultures and
values. It is rather tragic that due to this importing of TV programmer, there is a globalization of
culture taking place, which is deleterious to local cultures. Our youth have picked up values and
habits that are not only different, but also even contradictory to our indigenous national values
and habits. The indigenous clothes and footwear are rapidly being replaced by jeans, slogan sing
t-shirts and by Nike and Adidas shoes. Due to the strong and universal impact pf TV, local

4
Franz Josef Eilers, SVD, Communicating in community, Op.Cit., pp.132-133.
5
Philipos Vaidyar. Introduction to Communication (Tiruvalla: GFABS, 2000), p. 1.
cultures and community traditions are fast disappearing. How often we hear and real that our
young people spend more time in front of a television set than spend more the classroom we are
constantly being told that television is a new form of education for our youth 6.

TELEVISION IN OUR LIVES: television is not the center of most people’s lives. But it is
nevertheless important. We now spend million of dollars for satellite receivers, large screen
projectors, and videocassette recorders {VCRS} not to mention the set itself. Televisions stations
and satellite networks broadcast to 85 million American households on dozens of channels.
Roughly speaking, the American lifestyle can be divided into three major activities sleeping,
working, and watching television. Television reaches into our personal lives. Parents name their
children after television starts. College students gather in loungers to watch their favorite late-
night show. Food producers peddle gourmet TV dinners. Truck dealers install sets in vans and
motor homes.
CHIRISTIAN RESPONSE: Do Christians take television more seriously than others?
Apparently no. Christians on diverge view the same amount of television as non- Christian;
moreover, they tend to watch the same programs, except that believers tend to watch more
religious broadcasts. Evangelicals may have distinctive views of scripture and of the need for
personal conversion, nut they are as likely to watch a given soap opera or situation comedy as are
people for whom Christ is merely myth. Apparently evangelical’s relationship to Christ has little
or no impact on their television viewing7.
Most protestant churches rejected simple categories to condemn the visual media, but
evangelicals and other conservative Christians held a lingering suspicion of movies and
television. As viewing became more commonplace in the home, they increasingly accepted it as
harmless, even worthwhile. Evangelicals feared television content, especially the morality of
particular scenes and programs, rather than television itself, which, they reasoned, was neither
good nor bad. Christians eventually accepted some of the violent series and variety programs.
Although they watched a lot of television, evangelicals remained suspicious of the
medium. Sexually oriented scenes on television increased dramatically, and many Christians
complained to the networks and sponsors. Younger Christians, who grew up with television in the
home, were largely unconcerned; older Christians, however, felt betrayed, and their complaints
were reminiscent of the worldly amusement fears voiced decades earlier.
Today Christians rarely call television a worldly amusement. Instead, they speak of its “
immorality” which usually means its sexual explicitness, graphic violence,
And profanity. There is no doubt that television writers and producers have been pushing
television writers and producers have been pushing televised sex to new limits in a quest for
larger audiences. Nor is there any doubt that their strategy works. But Christian’s critics of the
media frequently resemble prudish sin-hunters looking at every show for violations of their
personal moral standards. As we will see, television is more than portrayal of good or bad
lifestyles, and it deserves more serious criticism by Christians 8.

CONCLUSION:
Of course, television is not the Bible, television is merely a medium; humans, not God,
supply the stories. But in our age, television functions as the Bible for millions of people. Now a
days, the immorality of the people increasing and creeping into the church at a higher rate. But

6
Desmond A. D’Abreo. The Mass Media and You (Bangalore: ISBN, 1994), pp.48-49.
7
Quentin J. Schultze, Television Manna From Hollywood? (Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1986), pp.8-14.
8
Ibid., pp. 13-14 Quentin schutlze…op cit 13-14.
.
obviously, instead of contemplating, meditating on God’s word people are sitting in front of
television and spending their more time to know more about any other things rather than God,
and God’s things.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Eilers, franz- Joseph, communicating in community. German: logos publication, Inc, 1994.
2. David, c. r. w, communication in theological education. Bangalore: BTESSC, 1986.
3. Prabhakar Samson and John Joshua Raja, introduction to communication and media studies.
Bangalore: BTESSC, 2006.
4. Vaidyar, Philipose, introduction to communication. Tiruvalla: GFABS, 2000.
5. D’ abreo, Desmond A the mass media and you. Bangalore: ISBN, 1994.
6. Schulteze, Quentin J, television manna from holly-wood.michigaon: ZPH, 1986.

PRESENTED TO: REV-MATHEW VARGHESE

PRESENTED BY: NEELIMA SONDHIYA(M.Div.1)