Nowadays the sole aim of television broadcasters is to achieve the highest possible ratings. For the private networks, the supreme aim is to sell the maximum amount of advertising time. These networks work by aiming their wares at selected target groups - in design as well as in programming. What video­ makers have been demanding for years has finally become a reality: television has been inva­ded by video - "video" as a mode of cultural expression, not just as a technology. Networks such as VOX and ARTE, and magazines such as ZAK or CANALE GRANDE, have been making broad use of stylistic means created by video art. But are these techniques being used simply to create crude visual bait in order to make shows or channels more easily identifiable (corporate identity) or to accelerate the tempo as a barrier against channel surfing? Do the stylistic means simply serve as interruptors and advertising gimmicks? Artistic media are reduced to the role of empty eye-catchers, negating the original principles behind them. As a result, the majority of viewers view such stylistic innovations as meaning­ less flourishes. The seriousness of the intention underlying form is lost. Artistic form has been reduced to the level of ornament. We'll argue about this with representatives of arte, Vox, and Zak. Really argue. ZAK, produced by WDR since 1988, is based on the concept to report on politics and current to­ pics in a new way: with a satirical and forward attitude towards content and an extraordinary and innovative packaging. Marion Försching is one of the permanent editors with regular contributions. CANALE GRANDE, a critical-ironic magazine on media broadcast by VOX, makes use of the whole range of electronic means provided by the medium itself. It is not interested in education and morals but wants to open up a window on the media world not without (self)-irony.