The Introduction of Broadcast Television in the Cook Islands. a Report on the First Six Months
DOCUMENT RESUME ED 334 606 CS 507 494 AUTHOR Varan, Duane TITLE The Introduction of Broadcast Television in the Cook Islands. A Report on the First Six Months. PUB DATE May 91 NOTE 38p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association (41st, Chicago, IL, May 23-27, 1991). PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150)-- Reports - Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Broadcast Television; Developing Nations; Foreign Countries; Interviews; *Mass Media Effects; *Mass Media Role; *Mass Media Use; Modernization; Nationalism; *Programing (Broadcast); Qualitative Research; Television Research IDENTIFIERS *Cook Islands; Research Suggestions; Television News ABSTRACT A preliminary study described the first 6 months after the introduction of broadcast television to the Cook Islands,a self-governing group of 15 Polynesian islands in the South Pacific ocean, on Christmas Day, 1989. Data were gathered from field observations and in-depth fue-to-face interviews conductedin the Cook Islands during a 2-month period in the summer of 1990. Interviews were conducted with management and employees of Cook Island Television (CITV), former employees of CITV, thechairman of the Cook Islands Broadcasting Corporation's Board ofDirectors, government officials, local scholars and statisticians,teachers, video rental outlet owners, and local television andvideo viewers. Interviews were conducted on the two Cook Islands thatcomprise about 60% of the Cook Island's total population. Descriptivedata discussed technical features, national integration, developmentgoals, the structure of CITV, cultural concerns, programming,news, economic considerations, advertising, impact on other media industries, capital flight, and television in the outer islands.Findings suggest that broadcast television came to the Cook Islands atconsiderable expense.
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