In terms of whether the professors showing up on television is good or not, the reading and listening are contradictory to each other.
First, the writer makes the point that professors showing up on the television is good for the professors themselves, when the professors appears on TV, thousands of people that was not at school can learn about the professors’ idea, and the professor will be famous. However the professor demonstrates a different idea that professors show on TV is really bad for themselves, he said the professor who appears on TV is not a serious scholar, those professors may even have difficulty getting to the research.
Second, contrary to the belief in the reading passage that professors appear on television is good for the universities, when people see an really knowledgeable professor on TV, they will think that college is good, the school will be famous, that then leads to an improved reputation for the university, then the improved reputation will be more donation for the universities and more applications from the potential students. But the lecturer says that being on television will take a lot of professor’s time, not only spend time on TV but also the professors will spend the time on figuring out what to present, rehearsing, travel and even make up for how to look good on cameras. If all those time spend on doing research, meeting with students, and attending to university business, the students and the universities will a lot better.
Finally, the author states that the public gains from professors’ appearing on TV, most television viewers have no contact with the university professors, but when the professors show on the TV, the viewers can learn something from professors. By contrast, the speaker refutes that the professors appear on TV even can not help the public, because TV networks do not want really serious in-depth academic lectures for after-dinner viewing, it will not help any.