[It is said that if one would stare into the screen of a closed (off) television, alone, at midnight during a heavy rain, one could see their soul mate.]
Within a day of arriving to Inaba, the news is full of a scandal - a local politician had an affair with a reporter of the main news studio, with both being suspended from their jobs and the politician's wife (a singer), seeking a divorce. Within the first few days of you arriving and getting into school, though, the reporter is found dead, suspended from an antenna. It's around this time you hear about the Midnight Channel from a classmate and soon-to-be friend, Chie Satonaka.
As the Player, we've seen snippets of the Midnight Channel already - the cutscene after being introduced to Igor and Margaret shows the Protagonist traveling to Yasoinaba, and having a vision of a woman (who we later see as the reporter, Mayumi Yamano) being attacked and 'forced' somewhere.
Two minor characters are found dead before the main gameplay and mystery begins - Mayumi Yamano (the reporter) and Saki Konishi (an older classmate and Yosuke's 'sempai'). It's Saki's death and what is seen on the Midnight Channel, as well as the Protagonist learning of his ability as the 'door' to the Channel itself, that begins the investigation and starts the year in which the Protagonist must solve the mystery.
Preliminary Analysis - The Midnight Channel
Entered only through a television, the Midnight Channel is initially presented similar to a television station or studio, with no visible ceiling and with a great deal of flood lights and pillars similar to those for open studios for filming. The main entrance contains a 'target' area, with multiple outlines of bodies that seem to have landed or fallen, and are marked out similar to chalk outlines of bodies or victims at crime scenes. When the group comes in first, it is too foggy for them to see anything clearly.
When the Protagonist watches the Midnight Channel for the first time, he sees Saki appearing to be in pain, and hears something very odd...
[I am thou, thou art I. Thou art the one who opens the door.]
The result of this is that the Protagonist is the first to go through a television, but also what's interesting are the colors of lights behind him when he looks at the television and hears the voice.
{source: GemaTheEntertainer Persona 4 Walkthrough}
Television normally uses one of two Three-Color Primary to create images and colors - either RGB (Red, Green, Blue) or CMY (Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow). In the background as the Protagonist watches the Midnight Channel, a variation of the RGB appears behind him. He is, by the end of this, able to enter into the television world.
Speculations and the Like
The main thrust of the mystery is who has caused the disappearances and deaths. The push to find them is important, as it will mean the stop of the kidnappings and deaths.
The initial impression of the Midnight Channel is one that draws out Shadows. Shadows are considered to be part of the subconscious, items that are not acknowledged by the conscious mind {source: Wikipedia}. More on that in the next part.
Both Saki and Yamano are shown as having been brought to a place that is special to them alone - Yamano's room and Saki's home in the Twisted Shopping District - but those places are also uses to harm them as well, resulting in their deaths and the bodies arriving in the 'real' world in a specific way.
Both Yamano and Saki appear in hard to reach areas, either as if they were thrown there, or if they are in the 'Hanged Man' position. The Hanged Man, another Tarot Card, is often known for a man hanging upside down, though it is often seen as him being outside of the other world and less with him being killed in such a way.
The areas are also connected to the television and electronics in general - Yamano is found on a television antenna, and Saki on a power line pole. Both help connect people to each other, or to the electronic thing that also lends itself as a doorway to the Midnight Channel. The height and near-inaccessible nature of where they are means that whatever is taking them into the Midnight Channel and throwing their bodies out is something very dangerous, and that will spur on the need of the Protagonist and the others to try to figure out what has happened, and to stop the deaths of anyone else.
Next up - Shadows
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