Portal:Television

The Television Portal

Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, entertainment, news, and sports. The medium is capable of more than "radio broadcasting", which refers to an audio signal sent to radio receivers.

Television became available in crude experimental forms in the 1920s, but only after several years of further development was the new technology marketed to consumers. After World War II, an improved form of black-and-white television broadcasting became popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, and television sets became commonplace in homes, businesses, and institutions. During the 1950s, television was the primary medium for influencing public opinion. In the mid-1960s, color broadcasting was introduced in the U.S. and most other developed countries.

In 2013, 79% of the world's households owned a television set. The replacement of earlier cathode-ray tube (CRT) screen displays with compact, energy-efficient, flat-panel alternative technologies such as LCDs (both fluorescent-backlit and LED), OLED displays, and plasma displays was a hardware revolution that began with computer monitors in the late 1990s. Most television sets sold in the 2000s were still CRT, and it was only in early 2010s that flat-screen TVs decisively overtook CRT. Major manufacturers announced the discontinuation of CRT, Digital Light Processing (DLP), plasma, and even fluorescent-backlit LCDs by the mid-2010s. LEDs are being gradually replaced by OLEDs. Also, major manufacturers have started increasingly producing smart TVs in the mid-2010s. Smart TVs with integrated Internet and Web 2.0 functions became the dominant form of television by the late 2010s.^{[better source needed]} (Full article...)

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"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the pilot episode of the animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997. The episode introduces child protagonists Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh and Kenny McCormick, who attempt to rescue Kyle's younger brother Ike from being abducted by aliens. At the time of the writing of the episode, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone did not yet have a series contract with Comedy Central. Short on money, the creators animated the episode using paper cutout stop motion technique, similar to the short films that were the precursors to the series. As such, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" remains the only South Park episode animated largely without the use of computer technology. Part of a reaction to the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s in the United States, South Park is deliberately offensive. Much of the show's humor, and of "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe", arises from the juxtaposition of the seeming innocence of childhood and the violent, crude behavior exhibited by the main characters. The episode also exemplifies the carnivalesque, which includes humor, bodily excess, linguistic games that challenge official discourse, and the inversion of social structures. Initial reviews of the episode were generally negative; critics singled out the gratuitous obscenity of the show for particular scorn. Regarding the amount of obscenity in the episode, Parker later commented that they felt "pressure" to live up to the earlier shorts which first made the duo popular.

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Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eiriknewth/6998383/

Early television model, from 1936, produced by Telefunken, Germany

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... that a cable TV channel in the UK was still broadcasting primarily in black and white as late as 1979?
... that Luis Estrada declined to produce The Dead Girls as an English-language film before directing it as a Spanish-language television series?
... that Angelle's debut single was promoted with an entire television channel – and still only reached number 43 on the UK Singles Chart?
... that William, Prince of Wales, inspired the character of Prince Wheeliam in Cars 2?
... that Michael Gove, now a member of the House of Lords, appeared on the television quiz show Top Club?
... that Mike Gorman spent 43 consecutive years as the television play-by-play commentator for the Boston Celtics?

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I haven't had a TV in 10 years, and I really don't miss it. 'Cause it's always so much more fun to be with people than it ever was to be with a television. And for the most part my friends can always be more entertaining than the tube ever can be. But somehow people have been sold on the idea that only professionals can entertain them, that only professionals can sing or tell jokes. And people are cut out of this creativity loop, and creativity is being limited to these large, centralized voices.

— Chuck Palahniuk

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...that the title of Dan Castellaneta's album of comedy sketches I Am Not Homer is a parody of Leonard Nimoy's first autobiography I Am Not Spock?

...that despite British Conservative MP Denis Keegan winning a marginal constituency by over 7,000 votes, he ended his political career after one term, preferring to work for the trade association for television shops?

...that actress, writer and producer Michelle Paradise created the television series Exes and Ohs without an agent?

...that Gordon Murray, the creator of classic British children's television shows Trumpton, Camberwick Green and Chigley, burnt all but one of his puppets on a bonfire in the 1980s?

...that a Spokane, Washington, television station devoted the first 11 minutes of its Saturday evening newscast to the February 2007 arrests of Gonzaga University basketball player Josh Heytvelt and his teammate?

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Sorkin in 2016

Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9, 1961) is an American screenwriter, playwright, and filmmaker. As a writer for stage, television, and film, he is recognized for his trademark fast-paced dialogue and extended monologues, complemented by frequent use of the storytelling technique called the "walk and talk". Sorkin has earned numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, five Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes, and two WGA Awards, in addition to a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.

Born in New York City, Sorkin developed a passion for writing at an early age. He rose to prominence as a writer-creator and showrunner of the television series Sports Night (1998–2000), The West Wing (1999–2006), Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007), and The Newsroom (2012–2014). He is also known for his work on Broadway including the plays A Few Good Men (1989), The Farnsworth Invention (2007), To Kill a Mockingbird (2018), and the revival of Lerner and Loewe's musical Camelot (2023). (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various television-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1LG Electronics smart TV from 2011 (from Smart TV)
Image 2John Logie Baird in 1925 with his televisor equipment and dummies "James" and "Stooky Bill" (right) (from History of television)
Image 3An early Smart TV from 2012 running the discontinued Orsay platform (from History of television)
Image 4This live image of actress Paddy Naismith was used to demonstrate Telechrome, John Logie Baird's first all-electronic color television system, which used two projection CRTs. The two-color image would be similar to the basic Telechrome system. (from Color television)
Image 5Color bars used in a test pattern, sometimes used when no program material is available (from History of television)
Image 6The Nipkow disk. This schematic shows the circular paths traced by the holes, which may also be square for greater precision. The area of the disk outlined in black shows the region scanned. (from History of television)
Image 7Samsung's discontinued Orsay platform (from Smart TV)
Image 8Hovannes Adamian c. 1900s (from Color television)
Image 9The earliest photograph of a television picture, showing the face of Oliver Hutchinson in June 1926. The television picture was projected using Baird's television camera. (from History of television)
Image 10Samsung Smart TVs on display (from Smart TV)
Image 11The Philco Predicta, 1958. In the collection of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis (from History of television)
Image 12A map depicting digital terrestrial television standards (from Digital television)
Image 13Manfred von Ardenne in 1933 (from History of television)
Image 14Philo Farnsworth in 1924 (from History of television)
Image 15LG smart TV using the Web browser (from Smart TV)
Image 16An RCA Victor Color TV ad featuring milliner Lilly Daché in 1959. (from Color television)
Image 17The first mass-produced Czechoslovak TV-set Tesla 4001A (1953–57) (from History of television)
Image 18Tihanyi' Radioskop patent (1926) was recognized as Document of Universal Significance by the UNESCO (from History of television)
Image 19RCA 630-TS, the first mass-produced television set, which sold in 1946–1947 (from History of television)
Image 20Family watching TV, 1958 (from History of television)
Image 21First television test broadcast transmitted by the NHK Broadcasting Technology Research Institute in May 1939 (from History of television)
Image 22Comparison of image quality between ISDB-T (1080i broadcast, top) and NTSC (480i transmission, bottom) (from Digital television)
Image 23DBS satellite dishes (from History of television)
Image 24Ferdinand Braun (from History of television)
Image 25RCA CT-100 at the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention playing Superman. The RCA CT-100 was the first mass-produced color TV set. (from Color television)
Image 26Ad for the beginning of experimental television broadcasting in New York City by RCA in 1939 (from History of television)

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Featured lists have been determined by the Wikipedia community to be the best lists on English Wikipedia.

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The Flash is an American superhero television series developed for The CW by Greg Berlanti, Andrew Kreisberg, and Geoff Johns, based on the DC Comics character Barry Allen / Flash. It is set in the Arrowverse, sharing continuity with the other television series of the franchise, and is a spin-off of Arrow. The series premiered on October 7, 2014, and ran for 9 seasons, ending on May 24, 2023. Grant Gustin stars as Barry, a crime scene investigator who gains superhuman speed, which he uses to fight criminals, including others who have also gained superhuman abilities.

The series has been a candidate for television awards in a variety of categories recognizing its writing, acting, directing, production, score, and visual effects. The Flash has been nominated for many awards, including six BMI Film, TV & Visual Media Awards (won all), two Hollywood Post Alliance Awards, one Hugo Award, seventeen IGN Awards (winning four), eleven Kids' Choice Awards, eighteen Leo Awards (winning seven), two MTV Movie & TV Awards, five People's Choice Awards (winning one), one Primetime Emmy Award, twenty-three Saturn Awards (winning seven), one TCA Award, twenty-seven Teen Choice Awards (winning six), one TV Guide Award (won), and one Visual Effects Society Award. Gustin is the most decorated of the show's cast, with thirty nominations and seven wins. The show also holds the world records for "Most in-demand superhero TV show" and "Most in-demand action and adventure TV show" from the Guinness World Records. (Full article...)
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The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The award ceremony was held live on September 19, 2021, at the Event Deck at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles, California, and was preceded by the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 11 and 12. During the ceremony, Emmy Awards were handed out in 27 different categories. The ceremony was produced by Reginald Hudlin and Ian Stewart, directed by Hamish Hamilton, and broadcast in the United States by CBS and Paramount+. Cedric the Entertainer served as host for the event.

At the main ceremony, The Crown became the first drama series to sweep all the major categories, winning all seven awards including Outstanding Drama Series. Ted Lasso led all comedies with four wins, including Outstanding Comedy Series, while Hacks won three awards. Mare of Easttown also won three awards, leading all limited series, but Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series went to The Queen's Gambit. Other winning programs include Halston, Hamilton, I May Destroy You, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, RuPaul's Drag Race, Saturday Night Live, and Stephen Colbert's Election Night 2020. Including Creative Arts Emmys, The Crown and The Queen's Gambit led all programs with 11 wins each; Netflix led all networks and platforms with 44 total wins. (Full article...)
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Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Doctor Who ceased production in 1989 after 695 episodes. A one-off TV movie was produced in the United States in 1996, before the series resumed in 2005. The original series (1963–1989), generally consists of multi-episode serials; in the early seasons, and occasionally through its run, serials tend to link together, one story leading directly into the next. The 2005 revival trades the earlier serial format for a run of self-contained episodes, interspersed with occasional multi-part stories and structured into loose story arcs.

As of 31 May 2025
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892 episodes of Doctor Who have aired. This includes one television movie and multiple specials, and encompasses 319 stories over 41 seasons, starting in 1963. Additionally, several charity specials and animated serials have been aired. The programme's high episode count has resulted in Doctor Who holding the world record for the highest number of episodes of a science-fiction programme.</onlyinclude> (Full article...)
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The fifth season of the One Piece anime television series aired from November 3, 2002 to February 2, 2003 on Fuji Television. Directed by Kōnosuke Uda and produced by Toei Animation. Like the rest of the series, it follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirates, but instead of adapting part of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga, it features three completely original, self-contained filler story arcs, denoted in whole as "TV Original". The first five episodes, each following their own plots, form the "Dreams!" (ドリームス!) arc. The next three episodes make up the "Shutsugeki! Zenii Kaizoku Dan" (出撃! ゼニィ海賊団, lit. "Sortie! Zenny Pirates") storyline and focus on the Straw Hats meeting an old moneylender. The last five episodes form the "Niji no Kanata e" (虹の彼方へ, lit. "To the Other Side of the Rainbow") arc and deal with the protagonists getting trapped inside a mysterious, rainbow-colored mist.

The season was released on DVD in five compilations, each containing one disc with two or three episodes, by Avex Mode between March 3 and July 7, 2004. The season was then licensed for a heavily edited dubbed broadcast in English by 4Kids Entertainment. Their adaptation ran from August 4, 2007, through September 22, 2007, on Cartoon Network and omitted seven of the season's thirteen episodes. It was the last season to be dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment. Starting with the sixth season, Funimation took over dubbing new episodes for broadcast on Cartoon Network. Eventually, they began redubbing the series from the start for uncut release on DVD and released the fifth season, relabeled as "One Piece: Season Two – Seventh Voyage", on May 11, 2010. (Full article...)
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Tsukihime, Lunar Legend (真月譚月姫, Shingetsutan Tsukihime) is an anime television series. The episodes are directed by Katsushi Sakurabi, animated by J.C.Staff, and produced by the Tsukihime Production Committee, which included Geneon Entertainment, Movic, Tokyo Broadcasting System, and J.C.Staff. The English adaptation of the episodes has been licensed by Geneon Entertainment. The episodes are based on the visual novel Tsukihime by Type-Moon and adapt the source material with twelve episodes. The series follows a high school boy and a female vampire on a quest to kill a male vampire.

The episodes aired in Japan from October 10 to December 26, 2003, on BS-i. The episodes received their international premiere on the anime television network Animax, who have also later aired the series across its respective networks worldwide in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and its other networks in East Asia, South America and other regions under the title Lunar Legend Tsukihime. (Full article...)
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Jackson performing with his brothers in 1984.

American singer Michael Jackson (1958–2009) debuted on the professional music scene at age five as a member of the American family music group The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still part of the group. Jackson promoted seven of his solo albums with music videos or, as he would refer to them, "short films". Some of them drew criticism for their violent and sexual elements while others were lauded by critics and awarded Guinness World Records for their length, success, and cost. (Full article...)
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The West Wing is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin and produced by John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television. It originally aired on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006, broadcasting 156 episodes over seven seasons. A special episode was also released on October 15, 2020, on HBO Max.

The show follows the lives of White House staffers during the fictional Democratic presidential administration of Josiah Bartlet. The show originally starred Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, Moira Kelly as Mandy Hampton, Allison Janney as C. J. Cregg, Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler, John Spencer as Leo McGarry, Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman, and Martin Sheen as Bartlet. Over the course of the show's run, the main cast added Dulé Hill as Charlie Young, Janel Moloney as Donna Moss, Stockard Channing as Abbey Bartlet, Joshua Malina as Will Bailey, Mary McCormack as Kate Harper, Jimmy Smits as Matt Santos, Alan Alda as Arnold Vinick, and Kristin Chenoweth as Annabeth Schott. (Full article...)
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The third season of The O.C. commenced airing in the United States on September 8, 2005, concluded on May 18, 2006, and consisted of 25 episodes. The first ten episodes of season three aired Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET in the United States on Fox; however, from January 12, 2006, onwards, The O.C. was shifted to a later time of Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The season was released on DVD as a seven disc boxed set under the title The O.C.: The Complete Third Season on October 24, 2006, by Warner Home Video. (Full article...)
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Twin Peaks is an American surrealist mystery horror drama television series created by David Lynch and Mark Frost whose pilot was first released in September 1989; the series spans 48 episodes over three seasons. The show's original run, which comprises two seasons and 30 episodes, premiered on April 8, 1990, on ABC in the United States and ended on June 10, 1991. ABC canceled the original run due to declining ratings in the second season. The show's third season, consisting of 18 episodes, was announced in October 2014 and premiered on Showtime on May 21, 2017. The pilot and season 2 premiere are each 94 minutes long, while every other episode is approximately 45 minutes. Most episodes of the third season are approximately 60 minutes.

Twin Peaks follows FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan), who is sent to the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington, to investigate the murder of popular and respected high school student Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). A feature-length prequel film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, was released on August 28, 1992, and depicts the events leading up to Laura's death. (Full article...)
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Celebrity Big Brother is the American adaptation of Celebrity Big Brother and second spin-off of the American version of Big Brother. It premiered on CBS on February 7, 2018, as counterprogramming to the 2018 Winter Olympics. The series is hosted by Julie Chen Moonves, and is produced by Fly on the Wall Entertainment in association with Endemol Shine North America; Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan serve as executive producers.

The Celebrity HouseGuests for the first season were revealed during a live pre-show of the 2018 Grammy Awards on January 28, 2018. The first season began filming on January 31, 2018, and concluded twenty-six days later on February 25, 2018, when Marissa Jaret Winokur and Ross Mathews were announced as the winner and runner-up of the season, respectively. On May 5, 2018, CBS renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on January 21, 2019. Twelve HouseGuests were announced on January 13, 2019, during a commercial break of CBS's NFL football coverage. The second season lasted for twenty-nine days and ended on February 13, 2019, when Tamar Braxton won in a unanimous vote over Ricky Williams. (Full article...)
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The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at the 24th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, held in 1972, when the award was originally called Outstanding Achievement in a Daytime Drama for two years.

The first daytime-themed Emmy Awards were presented in 1974, when this award was renamed Outstanding Drama Series and given in honor of a daytime drama. The awards ceremony was not televised in 1983 and 1984, having been criticized for lack of integrity. (Full article...)
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Quantico logo from the opening sequence of the first season.

Quantico is an American drama thriller series that premiered on September 27, 2015, on American Broadcasting Company (ABC). Created by Joshua Safran, who also served as showrunner and an executive producer along with Mark Gordon, Robert Sertner and Nicholas Pepper. In its third season, Safron was replaced by Michael Seitzman, who served as the showrunner as well as an executive producer. The series followed a group of young FBI recruits, or New Agent Trainees (NATs), each with a specific reason for joining the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Priyanka Chopra stars as Alex Parrish who, after graduating from the academy, joins the agency. She later becomes a prime suspect for masterminding a bombing at the Grand Central Terminal, the biggest terror attack on New York City since the September 11 attacks. The series (up to the 35th episode) featured two timelines: the present, where Parrish runs from captivity to prove her innocence, and the past, which showed her and her fellow recruits training at the academy while revealing various detail about their previous lives. Halfway through the second season, it switched to one timeline. Every episode's title for the first season is the last word spoken in that episode, while for the second season, the episode's titles are CIA cryptonyms. (Full article...)
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The episodes of Night Wizard: The Animation, the 2007 Japanese animated television series, are directed by Yusuke Yamamoto and produced by Hal Film Maker and Omnibus Promotion, which produced the animation and sound respectively. They are based on the Night Wizard! role-playing game released by Enterbrain in 2002, and adapt the source material over thirteen episodes. The plot of the episodes follows Renji Hiiragi, a magic user known as a "Night Wizard" that protects the world against demonic beings called Emulators, as he protects newly ordained Night Wizard Elis Shihō on their quest to find the Jewels of Virtue.

The episodes aired from October 2, 2007, to December 25, 2007, on Chiba TV, Tokyo MX TV, and TV Aichi. TV Osaka and TV Saitama broadcast the episodes later in October, and Kids Station started airing the episodes in November. (Full article...)
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The first season of the television comedy series 30 Rock originally aired between October 11, 2006, and April 26, 2007, on NBC in the United States. The season was produced by Broadway Video, Little Stranger and NBC Universal, and the executive producers were series creator Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels, JoAnn Alfano, Marci Klein, and David Miner.

The series focuses on TGS with Tracy Jordan, a fictional sketch comedy series, and its head writer Liz Lemon, portrayed by Fey, as she juggles her job and her personal life. The season consisted of 21 episodes; 19 episodes were approximately 22 minutes long, and the other two episodes were approximately 26 minutes long due to NBC "supersizing" those episodes. The season moved timeslots three times during its run. The first four episodes aired on Wednesdays at 8:00 pm, the next thirteen episodes aired on Thursdays at 9:30 pm, and the final four episodes aired on Thursdays at 9:00 pm. (Full article...)
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Avatar: The Last Airbender is an American animated television series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko for Nickelodeon. It premiered on February 21, 2005, with two episodes, and ended its three-season run on July 19, 2008, with the finale that also serves as a two-hour television film. During the course of the series, 61 episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender aired over three seasons. The Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise refers to each season as a "Book", in which each episode is referred to as a "chapter". Each "Book" takes its name from one of the elements that Aang, the protagonist, must master: Water, Earth, and Fire. In addition to the three seasons, there were two recap episodes and three "shorts". The first recap summarized the first seventeen episodes while the second summarized season two. The first self-parody was released via an online Flash game. The second and third were released with the Complete Second Season Box Set DVD. The entire series has been released on DVD in Region One, Region Two, and Region Four.

In the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe there are people who are able to manipulate or "bend" the four elements: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire. There are also sub-elements, such as metal, ice, and lightning. Along with the four elements, there are four nations that correspond with each element. Not everyone can bend an element, and those that can only bend one. However, the Avatar is a being able to manipulate all four elements, as well as communicate with the spirits. The Avatar is also born into one nation, and, after dying, is reincarnated into another nation following the pattern of Fire, Air, Water, and Earth. (Full article...)

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Television news

31 July 2026 – Morocco–Spain relations: Spanish authorities close the Melilla border crossing with Morocco after around 400 migrants stormed the border barrier. RTVE reports the sound of gunfire and explosions. (AA)
7 July 2026 – Iraq in the 2026 Iran war: Iraqi state television says that former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei's remains has arrived in Iraq's Shi'ite holy city of Najaf for viewing following funeral ceremonies in Tehran and Qom, Iran. (Reuters)
6 July 2026 – Impact of the 2026 Iran war on Iran: Iranian state television reports that Khamenei's body arrives in Qom, where he studied, ahead of a planned procession. (AFP via Al-Ahram)
1 July 2026 – Middle Eastern crisis: Iranian state television reports that a foreign container ship was grounded in shallow waters after using an unapproved route through the strait. (MS Now)
28 June 2026 – Mass media in Uganda: Uganda's military surrounds the offices of Nation Media Group outlets in Kampala after army chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba orders the shutdown of the company's newspapers, television station, and radio networks. (AFP via The Daily Star)

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