Television has radically reshaped the contours of knowledge and of pleasure in modern society and become a regular subject of scrutiny and argument. This important book, fully accesible to students yet a contribution to international debate, is the first to offer a systematic review of the ideas which have been most influential across a full range of television criticism and research from the first pioneering studies to the most recent theory and analysis. In the course of exploring key ideas, John Corner develops a clear and close engagement with television itself and the way it is changing. After an Introduction which provides a concise overview of how television has been studied and why, ten chapters take key features of the medium in order to raise questions and and assess arguments. With its focused summaries and its scope of reference, Critical Ideas in Television Studies will help the teaching and study of television to enter a new phase of improved clarity and self-awareness.