What is Television? Challenging Media Landscapes Conference: Mediacity UK (November, 2014) Marc C-Scott (marc.c-scott@vu.edu.au) 1 What is Television? Paper for - Challenging Media Landscapes Confernce: Mediacity UK (November, 2014) Presented by: Marc C-Scott - marc.c-scott@vu.edu.au Victoria University, Victoria, Australia Marc C-Scott, a lecturer in digital media and coordinator of the Bachelor of Interactive Media at Victoria University. His PhD “Invention to Institution: A Comparative Historical Analysis of Television Across Three National Sites”, is currently under examination. The research investigates the historical changes of the television industries within Australia, United Kingdom and United States. Abstract This paper will discuss the difficulties that have and will continue in defining the medium of television. Despite the terms purest definition, to see at a distance, the term has for many years been used to describe an entertainment medium which is part of the mass media landscape. No longer does the medium or associated devices have differing names; rather the single term, television, is used to define all associated activities and devices. The term was first discussed in the context of the medium of television, in a paper presented by Constantin Perskyi, at the International Electricity Congress during 1900. Almost thirty years later, as television broadcast tests commenced in Britain and the United States, there was still confusion and debate as to whether television was the correct term to use for the new medium. It was described as a novel concept in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. The New York Times asked its readers opinion on names for the new medium. The contemporary misconception of defining television is made evident when its definition is reviewed within dictionaries. The Dictionary of Media Studies (2006) has four definitions listed for television and the Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary (2008) has three. This multipurpose approach in defining television has created confusion, which will arguably increase as television broadcasters attempt to expand distribution through the Internet, and the line between mass media institutions continues to blur. The evolution of television as a platform, institution and popular cultural has historically created difficulties in defining television. The increase of media convergence is exacerbating the difficulty in defining, what is television?