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1 print page close window television Television was one of the most important inventions of the 20th century. The apex of communicative and broadcast technology until the advent of the Internet in the 1990s, television revolutionized the way Americans see themselves and the world around them. Television has affected all aspects of American culture what we eat, what we wear, the music we listen to, the news we receive, and everything in between. Television has colored our expectations, lent us a cultural identity, and provided an education on the ways of the world. The technology of television is the synthesis of the work of many people in many countries. Perhaps the key technological innovation came in 1884 when a German inventor named Paul Nipkow patented his "Nipkow Disk." It consisted of a spinning plate with a spiral pattern of perforations cut into it. As light shone through the holes, the eye began to follow the pattern. For decades, the Nipkow Disk remained central to the development of television technology. However, it was not until 1927, when American Philo Farnsworth applied for his first patent, that television was truly invented. Farnsworth's original invention consisted of an "image dissector" tube (or camera tube) that contained the element Cesium (which he had borrowed from broken radio tubes), a beam of light, and an "image oscillite" (or picture tube) made from an old chemistry flask. A pane of glass with a horizontal line painted across it was held between the image dissector and an arc of carbon light. In a separate room, Farnsworth watched the receiver as his assistant rotated the glass. The line on the screen began to move, and television was born. On September 3, 1928, the San Francisco Chronicle described Farnsworth's television as a "queer looking line image in a bluish light which smudges and blurs frequently, but the basic principle is achieved and perfection is now a matter of engineering." That "matter of engineering" was not only technological but contractual as well. The years that followed the invention of television found the development of the technology bound up in wrangling over patents, control, and distribution rights. At the heart of the mêlée was RCA, whose great fortune had been built in part on the control of patents for radio technology. Until the 1930s, all radio manufacturers had to pay RCA for allowing them to build their products. Those patents were set to expire, however, and under visionary general manager David Sarnoff, RCA looked to television as the next wave of broadcast communication. Sarnoff enlisted the help of Russian immigrant Vladimir Zworykin, another inventor working to perfect television. The combined efforts of Zworykin and Farnsworth established the framework for the development of television as a viable medium. Frequent experimental telecasts took place in the early 1930s, as such radio networks as CBS and NBC became competitors in the emerging medium. The first public demonstration of television was held at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in the summer of A camera was set up at the door so as patrons 1 of 6 3/1/11 8:30 PM

2 entered, they would see their televised reflection in the bottom of a 10-gallon jug that acted as the receiver. Once inside the institute, people could see various scenes transmitted on other receivers, from sporting events to vaudeville acts. The demonstration, scheduled to last 10 days, was held over for three weeks. Still crude, television already had the capacity to amaze. Scarcely one year later, German television was using the Farnsworth technology to broadcast the 1936 Summer Olympic Games to (a very small percentage of) the German public. The Allen B. DuMont Laboratories began its production of early electronic TV sets for the American public in Following the World's Fair in New York and the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco, where examples of live and filmed television were demonstrated on a large scale for the first time in the United States, public interest in television ownership was on the rise. Early versions of television sets were available for sale at the New York World's Fair's RCA pavilion. Prices ranged from $200 to $600. Screen sizes ranged from five inches to 12 inches (the "big screen" model). On April 30, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's World's Fair speech marked the first use of television by a U.S. president. Television's potential as a political tool was recognized almost immediately. During World War II, television development and production were curtailed in favor of more prevalent concerns overseas. However, in the years immediately following the war, television made a rapid comeback. In an extremely short period of time, it grew to become the most significant source of both information and entertainment in the United States. In 1948, 1 million American homes had a television set, although they were only available to people on the East Coast. By 1960, 90% of American homes across the country had at least one TV. In the early days, people without televisions would gather at a neighbor's house to watch the most popular programs. Department stores would set up TVs in their store windows so passersby could stop and watch; often, great crowds would gather on the sidewalk. Newscasts that incorporated images and sound were not new, for they had been a staple of movie theaters for decades in such newsreels as The March of Time. However, nightly newscasts consisting not only of film footage but also commentary and interpretation, that was revolutionary. Edward R. Murrow stands as a giant in those early years of TV news. Already a national figure as a radio newscaster, Murrow made the transition to television with impressive ease. His program "See It Now" on CBS broke ground as an early example of investigative journalism on television and stands as the model for succeeding generations of information programs. Followed by such luminaries as Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, and later, Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, and Tom Brokaw, television newscasters of all networks have carried on in the tradition of Murrow's early work. Out of relative obscurity, many television hosts and actors were propelled to stardom on such hugely successful early programs as "The Toast of the Town" (hosted by Ed Sullivan) and "The Texaco Star Theatre" (hosted by Milton Berle). Those variety shows, often combining elements of drama, comedy, music, and dance in any one installment, provided an outlet for a whole new wave of stars and some serious competition for Hollywood. Between 1948 and 1956, movie theater attendance fell by almost 50%, tumbling from 90 million tickets sold per week to barely 47 million. In an effort to do battle with the emerging juggernaut, Hollywood studios refused to allow their contract actors to appear on television, declined to allow their scripts to be bought by TV networks, and even balked at the idea of selling their old film catalogues to be run on television. As a result, TV networks were forced to create a format all their own, using original sets built in old theaters 2 of 6 3/1/11 8:30 PM

3 and movie houses along Broadway in Manhattan. As had been the case with radio, live drama became a staple of early television programming. Original stage plays, along with works by William Shakespeare, Gilbert and Sullivan, and George Bernard Shaw, were performed live on television in front of millions who may have never been to the professional theater. From soap operas to situation comedies, game shows to crime dramas, talk shows to sports coverage, most every format recognizable today had its genesis in the exciting early years of experimentation. The late 1950s were characterized by an expanding middle class, an unprecedented affluence, and the suburbanization of America. The television set, one of the many new appliances suddenly affordable for the average American after years of war and depression, reflected many of the values of the age on its flickering screen. Programs about the quiet, conformist suburban family abounded. Popular shows like "Leave It To Beaver" (CBS), "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (ABC), and "Father Knows Best" (NBC) all operated on similar principles of morality and conformity. Each episode was staged around a certain moral or ethical problem, faced either by the children or one of the parents, which was always resolved by the end of 30 minutes, usually after following sound advice from mother or father. The message that the family was paramount, and that any crisis could be averted if one simply turned to the family for guidance, was repeated again and again. By the late 1960s, programming had expanded beyond the tightly controlled content of the 1950s and began to display more violence and sexuality than ever before. By now, virtually all broadcasts were in color, an innovation that had been around since the 1950s but had been slow to catch on. As restrictions on content were loosened, the medium became overrun with more experimental, stylized programming. Programs like "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" (NBC) and "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" (CBS) used the old variety show format in new and innovative ways, taking a more youth-oriented approach. Blending political satire with psychedelic sets, contrasting rootsy folk music with wild rock and roll, and employing a much faster pace than their predecessors, those programs embodied the spirit of the age. The artistic influence of the counterculture produced some of the most enduring and influential programs of that, or any, era. Shows like "Star Trek" (NBC), "The Mod Squad" (ABC), "Mission: Impossible" (CBS), and the brilliant children's take on the variety show theme, "Sesame Street" (PBS), all reflected (in different ways) the paradigms of the late 1960s. Content restrictions were only so loose in those years, however. "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" was canceled in 1969 after a series of censorship battles with CBS. In the 1950s, television programming was generally designed to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. The notion of a mass, or popular, culture was expanded due to that leveling of entertainment. The sense that both high and low cultures had merged was represented on television through the variety show concept. Something for everyone, and all on one program. However, as the relatively sedate 1950s became the increasingly turbulent 1960s, television began to shift its focus from the mass to the more specialized, target audience. While the variety "Ed Sullivan Show" continued to draw in viewers throughout the 1960s, the types of performances and performers that appeared on his program became much more youth oriented. The children of the baby boom had become teenagers, and television (which was more or less the same age as they were) was in its own period of adolescence. Television was maturing into a significant political tool, as well. During the presidential election of 1960, candidates Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy faced off on a series of televised debates. Kennedy, clean- 3 of 6 3/1/11 8:30 PM

4 shaven, young, and handsome, appeared the stronger and more likable of the candidates on the screen. It is widely believed that the election results may have been different had the debates not been televised. Many of the events of the 1960s were captured by television cameras and became images that could be run again and again, ingraining their significance into the cultural fabric of the nation. The Kennedy assassination, the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the March on Washington, countless devastating images of the Vietnam War, the Democratic National Convention of 1968, and most dramatically, the Moon landing in 1969 were all broadcast over the airwaves. Television had the power to relay the news to the American public in a most dramatic, immediate fashion. When Kennedy was assassinated, it affected Americans as much because they had lost their leader as because they felt as though they knew him, for they had seen and heard him every day for years. Even people who had no interest in politics could not have avoided seeing his face on their TV screens and could not have helped but feel the loss of a familiar voice, a familiar manner, even a familiar smile. In the 1970s, television continued to reflect dominant themes in American culture and society. The economic crisis, the rise of feminism, and the Vietnam War all constituted subject matter for the most popular programs of the era. A new emphasis on the lower middle class was evident in the types of settings chosen for situation comedies. From "Alice" (CBS) to "Sanford and Son" (NBC), and from "All in the Family" (CBS) to "Laverne and Shirley" (ABC), networks struggled to reflect the economic downturn of the era. Gritty crime dramas like "Kojak" (CBS) and "Police Story" (NBC) reflected rising crime rates across the nation. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (CBS), with its theme-song refrain of "You're gonna make it after all," suggested the opportunities newly available to the educated single woman in America. One of the most popular shows in the 1970s was "M*A*S*H" (CBS), a comedy that, although set during the Korean War, dealt with many of the painful contemporary issues brought up by the conflict in Vietnam. America in the 1980s enjoyed a new affluence under President Ronald Reagan, a point not lost on television writers and producers. Aaron Spelling, already the celebrated producer of the 1970s hit "Charlie's Angels" (ABC), championed the much-copied concept for "Dynasty" (ABC), a soap opera based around the lives of a few rich, white, beautiful people. Perhaps the most striking thing about "Dynasty" was its emphasis on morally vacant characters. They lied, stole, cheated, and fought, and all for entertainment. The 1980s also saw the rise of some situation comedies that suggested the rampant economic inequality of the period. "The Cosby Show" (NBC), a program about an upper-middle-class African-American family, set new standards for family comedies while offending some Americans with its unrealistic interpretation of the African-American experience. "Diff'rent Strokes" (NBC), a take on the "Little Orphan Annie" myth, presented the story of two black children from a New York City ghetto who were "saved" by a benevolent white family from Manhattan. They all lived together in a penthouse, and much of the comedic content was based around the absurdity of placing poor black children in the rich white context. While African Americans did have minor roles on television in the early days, most programs primarily featured white actors in white settings. A few exceptions occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, like "Sanford and Son," "The Jeffersons," and "The Cosby Show." Those programs were groundbreaking but did little to end television's color barrier. Other minorities had trouble gaining access as well, with few programs portraying the lives of Hispanics or Asian Americans. "Chico and the Man," starring Latino comedian Freddie Prinze, and 4 of 6 3/1/11 8:30 PM

5 "All-American Girl," starring Asian comedian Margaret Cho, were exceptions. In 1999, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People blasted the four major television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox) for their lack of diversity. "We intend to send a strong, clear signal that the frontier of television must reflect the multiethnic landscape of today's modern American society," the organization's Kweisi Mfume said. Much of the ground gained in this area since was done not by the networks, but by cable. The 1980s saw the development of that new phenomenon in American television cable, or specialty channels. Among the most groundbreaking of the new channels were CNN, a 24-hour news network; HBO, a 24-hour movie channel; and MTV, an all-music channel. The significance of CNN is incalculable, as it has utterly reconfigured the way in which the world views current events. Inevitably, the choices made by CNN with regard to what stories it will follow on an around-the-clock basis have since largely determined what Americans understand as significant events. In the mid-1990s, the United States was captivated by the murder trial of football star O.J. Simpson, in no small part because his arrest and subsequent trial were broadcast by the network every day. The inception of music television brought about a revolution in the music industry by entrenching the need for a visual component in popular music. The music video became more than just an aspect of pop music; it became paramount to the success of the artist. Many musicians (most notably Madonna and Michael Jackson) used this new format to their distinct advantage in the 1980s and beyond, forging their image out of the fire of the emerging MTV video culture. The early 1990s saw a turn to some successful experimental programming the minimalism of "Seinfeld" (NBC), the cartoon satire of "The Simpsons" (Fox), and the conspiracy-laden thriller "The X-Files" (Fox) struck chords with an increasingly cynical American audience. The advent of the Internet in the 1990s provided the first real competition for television since Many programs are now run simultaneously on screen and online, and Internet-based entertainment has begun to affect ratings draws for the major networks. One way the various television networks have endeavored to compete with the often compellingly amateurish and low-budget online entertainment alternative is the concept of "reality TV." Recent shows like "Survivor" (CBS) and "Temptation Island" (Fox) have shifted the emphasis away from formula scripts and professional actors toward a heavily contrived but generally less predictable format. In the short term, the concept has paid off. If the history of television has taught us anything, it is that what is popular in one instance will be discarded in the next. Television, in order to be successful, has to reflect what Americans want to see. Ultimately, television will keep changing, because inevitably, so will America. Further Reading Barnouw, Erik. Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990; Baughman, James L, The Republic of Mass Culture: Journalism, Filmmaking, and Broadcasting in America Since 1941, 1997; Bogle, Donald, Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television, 2001; Friendly, Fred, Due to Circumstances Beyond Our Control...., 1967; Halberstam, David, The Fifties, 1993; Marling, Karal Ann, As Seen on TV: The Visual Culture of Everyday Life in The 1950s, 1996; Seiter, Ellen, 5 of 6 3/1/11 8:30 PM

6 Television and New Media Audiences, 1999; Staiger, Janet, Blockbuster TV: Must-See Sitcoms in the Network Era, back to top Entry ID: Server: WEB2 Client IP: Session ID: mc3wyvz5lhre1lnpiqjjnbfa Token: 3364E78293A8FBA9437AB CC Referer: 6 of 6 3/1/11 8:30 PM

Media Technology. Unit Subtitle: Brief History of American Broadcasting Texas Trade and Industrial Education

Media Technology. Unit Subtitle: Brief History of American Broadcasting Texas Trade and Industrial Education Media Technology Unit Subtitle: Brief History of American Broadcasting 2006 Texas Trade and Industrial Education Broadcasting - a young media 1700 s newspapers in US 1837 telegraph 1876 telephone 1920