Abstract
A preliminary study described the first 6 months after the introduction of broadcast television to the Cook Islands, a self-governing group of 15 Polynesian islands in the South Pacific ocean, on Christmas Day, 1989. Data were gathered from field observations and in-depth face-to-face interviews conducted in the Cook Islands during a 2-month period in the summer of 1990. Interviews were conducted with management and employees of Cook Island Television (CITV), former employees of CITV, the chairman of the Cook Islands Broadcasting Corporation's Board of Directors, government officials, local scholars and statisticians, teachers, video rental outlet owners, and local television and video viewers. Interviews were conducted on the two Cook Islands that comprise about 60% of the Cook Island's total population. Descriptive data discussed technical features, national integration, development goals, the structure of CITV, cultural concerns, programming, news, economic considerations, advertising, impact on other media industries, capital flight, and television in the outer islands. Findings suggest that broadcast television came to the Cook Islands at considerable expense. The case of broadcast television in the Cook Islands provides a rich site for academic media scholars from a wide range of theoretical perspectives.