Director's Message

When the Center for the Study of Popular Television opened in 1997, it got a lot of attention from journalists across the country. In many cases, our new enterprise was greeted with a sense of novelty and amusement. Can you believe that a major university is dedicating resources and class time to “Gilligan’s Island” and “Mr. Ed?” many of the stories asked. Given that nearly everyone seems to agree that television is a significant part of our lives, however, it seems that the big story is not that we started such a center, but that so many people found it so unusual that we would do so. If television is half as important as everyone thinks it is, we have a responsibility to examine and explain it.

Through teaching, archiving, publishing, and interviewing key figures, the Center for the Study of Popular Television researches, documents, and disseminates information about American television. We concentrate on the medium’s history, aesthetics, business practices, and most of all, its content.

Robert J. Thompson
Director