Dennis Major

Hometown:

Syosset, New York

COM Teaching Assistantships:

• CI 101: History of Cinema 1 – Origins through 1950s
• CI 102: History of Global Cinema 2 – 1960s to the present
• FT 303: Understanding Television

Research Interests Summary:

I am interested in the broadcast television industry.  Much of my work has centered on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), with emphasis on how the forces of legislation and activism continue to impact its development.  The shifting conception of what constitutes “public service” and “the public interest” is an important area of inquiry for me.  I will be exploring these ideas in my thesis project, whose focus will be on the broadcast network news operations of both commercial and public television, and the ways in which their respective institutional structures and values inform the presentation and style of coverage.

Thesis Title:

Creating Interested Publics: The Style of National News on Network and Public Television