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date: 28 September 2020

Abstract and Keywords

This article takes a look at the early history of television, which is usually overshadowed by the assumptions of the primacy of film as a moving-image medium and the efforts to stabilize the medium. The article begins with a discussion of the origins of television and provides a working definition of the term “television.” It then outlines the history of television and identifies who invented television. The concept of interpretive flexibility and the possible sequence of the arrival of television and film are discussed.

Keywords: early history, television, moving-image, origins, working definition, interpretive flexibility

William Uricchio

William Uricchio is professor and director of comparative media studies at MIT and professor of comparative media history at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

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