Research Paper on:
Quality Television on the Decline

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
proliferation of different types of television, as well as the number of new channels to arise, has led to a decline in quality of the medium. There is actually  less choice, rather than more, for the consumer. Some might argue that such a statement is ludicrous. After all, there are new shows coming out all the time and there  are even critically acclaimed series like The Sopranos and Sex in the City on HBO. A student might argue that while it is the case that there is more programming,  that does not mean it is of good quality. While technically, the consumer has the choice of cable, network, satellite dish, HDTV, TiVo and a number of innovative television  alternatives, does the quantity really add more choice? The question of choice is vital when evaluating the consumer and what he or she desires. Many remember back to the  1970s or 1980s when viewers would await a new episode of a network show and it would be the talk around the water cooler the next day. A student writing  on this subject might want to point out that while networks have come up with new programming--and some good programming--there are fewer quality programs to choose from. While there is  the hit series Friends, for example, there are few other comedies that can compete. In past years, there were classics like Seinfeld or Cheers. Today, there are few situation comedies  that truly appeal to the masses. Another problem is that not only is quality not there, but there is programming that takes television down a peg. Birmingham (2000) talks about  the criticism of talk television and how many believe that it is trash TV and is equated with the lowest denominator of the human being. The author goes on to