Time, National Identity and Television Schedules in the `Postbroadcast Age'

Abstract

This research note proposes that the analysis of changing time structures relating to new media technologies and institutions could contribute to an understanding of the transformation, rather than the demise, of national identities at a time of increased globalization. It examines the role of extraordinary media events as well as everyday media use in the construction of national identities, and assesses the effects of changing broadcast schedules in the UK with special attention given to the issue of temporal `flow'. In so doing, the author seeks to identify the conceptual issues around which the time-space implications of the new media context can be explored.