Atotaldeparturefrompreviouswritingabouttelevision,thisbookisthefirstevertoadvocatethatthemediumisnotreformable.Itsproblemsareinherentinthetechnologyitselfandaresodangerous--topersonalhealthandsanity,totheenvironment,andtodemocraticprocesses--thatTVoughttobeeliminatedforever.Weavingpersonalexperiencesthroughmeticulousresearch,theauthorrangeswidelyoveraspectsoftelevisionthathaverarelybeenexaminedandneverbeforejoinedtogether,allowinganentirelynew,frighteningimagetoemerge.Theideathatalltechnologiesare“neutral,“benigninstrumentsthatcanbeusedwellorbadly,isthrownopentoprofounddoubt.SpeakingofTVreformis,inthewordsoftheauthor,“asabsurdasspeakingofthereformofatechnologysuchasguns.“
