History of Television and media midterm
Edward R. Murrow(1908-1965)
"He set standards of excellence that remain unsurpassed," from a plaque in the CBS building lobby Murrow broadcast live from London during Nazi bombing raids and was highly popular and respected For TV, he surrounds himself with men he can trust that are referred to as "Murrow's Boys" Together, they put CBS News at the top Fred Friendly, one of Murrow's Boys was Murrow's producer
The Howdy Doody Show
(1947-1960) Perhaps the biggest show aimed squarely at children Began in 1947 as Puppet Playhouse Tied into the popularity of westerns amongst children, the show's host, and the voice of Howdy Doody, was Buffalo Bob Smith Monday through Friday from 5:30-6:00 Its network, NBC, labeled it a "Money Machine" Merchandise such as comic books, lunch boxes, records, and clothing were big sellers Sponsors included Welch's Grape Juice, Wonder Bread, and Hostess Twinkies
Mechanical Television Boris Rosing-
applied for a patent for an early mechanical television
RCA's 630-TS
10" screen TV sold over 250,000 units in its second year after rollout This RCA 630-TS was the most popular model of television This model and others were still in black-and-white Now FCC chairman Charles Denny once again denies CBS' push for color television in 1946 Denny sides with RCA on several key decisions This seems questionable since Denny was hired as NBC Vice-President in 1947
Effects of the Program
15% of the estimated 6 million listeners believed that the Martians were really attacking A panic ensued People fled Grover's Mill, NJ and New York City Reports of poison gas and flashes of fighting Police stations and CBS were inundated with calls from panicked listeners
The Contributions of Charles Francis Jenkins
1922-Wireless transmission of photographs 1925-Transmitted wireless image of moving silhouettes Clearer than Baird's images 1925-Broadcast a 10-minute film of a windmill spinning from a Navy radio station to his lab Called it "Radiovisor" Formed the Jenkins Television Corporation Granted a license by the FRC (Federal Radio Commission, later the FCC) for an experimental TV station in Washington DC with the call letters W3XK in February 1928
AT&T (The American Telegraph and Telephone Company)
1927-Dr. Herbert Ives telecasts Presidential nominee Herbert Hoover Hoover was in Washington D.C., but he was telecast in New York 2" X 3" screen via telephone cables
RCA v. Farnsworth
1934-Farnsworth gives first public demonstration of Electronic Television RCA continues to file one patent lawsuit after another RCA spends millions promoting RCA as the inventor of Electronic Television Really, RCA's only major contribution came in 1928 when RCA engineers executed the first Electronic Television broadcast in their labs 13" Felix the Cat Papier-mâché doll on a turntable RCA opens the first "modern" television station in NYC Farnsworth struggles under the weight of legal fees trying to defend himself against all of these lawsuits Farnsworth suffers a nervous breakdown Finally, the courts side with Farnsworth in 1935 Farnsworth wins some royalties from RCA for his work His star witness was his science teacher, Justin Tolman Farnsworth never earns much from the royalties and dies in debt in 1971 Farnsworth's widow, Pem, who died in 2006, fought to make sure the world knew her husband invented TV Farnsworth is credited by most historians today as the primary inventor of Electronic Television
Albert Robida
19th century French illustrator depicts people watching images on a telephonoscope, before movies and TV, in 1882
Your Show of Shows (1950-1954)
90-minute sketch comedy show starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris NBC Vice-President Pat Weaver tried to institute Participation Advertising where multiple sponsors could advertise throughout the show, but the FCC disallowed this
A Day That Will Live in Infamy
A little more than 5 months after commercial TV debuts, America is thrust into World War II On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor is bombed by the Japanese WCBW covers the attack for 9 hours, making it the first ever special coverage of breaking news on television The advent of television is put on hold once again
Kinescope
A recording of a live television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor in the studio This is how shows were re-broadcast to network affiliates in other later time zones during their primetime hours Kinescopes were also sent to show sponsors to prove that their ads played properly during broadcast This process of "preservation" also explains the inferior quality of these early shows. They looked much better live than they do on Kinescope
The Baby Boom
A rise in babies being born following the end of World War II from 1946-1960 or so, often attributed to soldiers returning from the war, getting married, and starting a family, usually in the suburbs. TV hits just at the right time TV keeps families at home People had moved away from the downtown entertainment center that cities provided They moved to the suburbs, where things weren't as developed TV offered easy-access entertainment
G.E. is one of the companies that formed RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, in 1919
G.E. owned the largest share of RCA Other partners included Westinghouse, American Telegraph and Telephone Company (AT&T), and Western Electric
Nipkow disk
A spiral, perforated disk that served as a geometrically operating image scanning device by dividing a picture into a linear sequence of points. Patented in 1885, it led to his speculated invention, the Electric Telescope, which he never built Served as the theoretical model for Mechanical Television into the 1930s.
ABC starts to compete
ABC bought by United Paramount Theater and is run by Leonard Goldenson in 1953 Tries for a merger with DuMont, but DuMont refuses and goes off the air in 1956 Goldenson tries building relationships with film studios Hopes they will produce content for ABC One film studio, The Walt Disney Company, enters into an agreement with ABC CBS and NBC had turned Disney down Disney wants the airtime to help promote a new project, an amusement park he plans to build in California...Disneyland
Davy Crockett Mania
ABC could rerun episodes 1 to 2 more times Disney could promote the coming theme park and upcoming theatrical releases Disneyland was ABC's biggest hit ever #6 show in its first year and #4 in its second, the highest ever for ABC Several Frontierland episodes became some of the biggest hits in TV history Davy Crockett caused a massive phenomenon in both ratings and merchandising The first Davy Crockett episode aired in December of 1954 with 90 million viewers The second and third installments aired in early 1955 Coonskin caps, blue jeans, lunch boxes, Davy Crockett cap pistols, etc. The official theme song went to #1 selling 10 million records while two other versions of the song hit the top 10 on the Billboard charts The TV episodes were repackaged and released to movie theaters As the Davy Crockett craze died down, Disney had a new show for ABC; The Mickey Mouse Club
Disneyland
ABC gave Disney: $2 million per year 7-year renewable contract for 20 episodes per season $500K extra for 35% ownership of the theme park $4.5 million in loans to Disney The show's episodes fell into one of four categories Frontierland, Tomorrowland, Adventureland and Fantasyland Of course, these categories perfectly aligned with the four sections of the theme park
The ABC Strategy
ABC implements a 5-year plan Build relationships with the Hollywood film industry, who might in turn provide programming for ABC Counterprogramming-Offer non-similar alternative shows against hit shows from NBC and CBS Provide shows to the segment of the population that feels underserved by NBC and CBS Target young families and Baby Boomers ABC begins to compete more successfully over the five years of this plan
The Red Skelton Show (1951-1971)
Aired first on NBC, moved to CBS for 16 seasons, and came back to NBC
War of the Worlds Broadcast:Background of the Show
Aired live on Halloween Eve, October 30, 1938 on the CBS network An episode of The Mercury Theatre on the Air The show had no sponsor at this point The show was directed by and starring a 22-year-old Orson Welles Based on H.G. Wells' novel, the radio play was written by Howard Koch
Charles Francis Jenkins
American inventor who contributed to the development of TV, though it was Mechanical Television.
Leisure Time
Americans had more leisure time than ever before, thus entertainment was sought out, first in cinema, later in radio and, of course, it was perfect for the advent of television in the 1940s
Voltaic Pile
An electric battery that could produce a steady electric current Without electricity, we'd have no telegraph, no radio, no television, no video games, no lighting, etc. Later, Heinrich Hertz's discovery of the Electromagnetic Spectrum not only made radio possible, but television as well
Aftermath
Angry mob outside CBS studio Orson Welles improvises a goodnight in the final minute or so of the broadcast Orson Welles received a six-film directing deal with RKO Pictures Even though he never has set foot on a Hollywood sound stage The deal only lasted 3 movies and before RKO was through putting up with Welles Of course, the first of those films was Citizen Kane (1941) The FCC put rules into place preventing the mass media from perpetrating such a hoax ever again
Suspense (1942-1962) CBS
Anthology mystery series During its peak popularity it would have big Hollywood actors/actresses starring in the episodes Various sponsors throughout its run TV version ran from 1949-1954 The last of the Golden Age of Radio programs to leave the air on September 30th, 1962 Its most famous episode is Sorry, Wrong Number starring Agnes Moorehead On a Country Road (1949) starring Cary Grant
Who was watching and where...
Because TVs were expensive... Households could only afford to have one TV set Dads were often overruled on what to watch, thus they would go to the bar or barbershop to watch TV Some businesses even advertised "We Have TV" In their windows to draw in patrons With men in mind, pro and college sports, boxing, bowling, and professional wrestling were all aired regularly Professional wrestling is an early staple of TV If you were the first TV home on the block, you might find neighbors "conveniently" stopping by when a popular show or big sporting event was about to air
The Importance of Electricity
Before moving on to TV, we must thank scientists who were working with Electricity
Network Profits Skyrocket
Between 1949-1952, NBC and CBS billing rose from $9.9 million to $153 million ABC and DuMont were well behind the top two networks, rising from $2.4 million in billing to $28.5 million ABC and DuMont were often shut out of gaining affiliates throughout the country until the FCC lifted the station freeze and allowed more stations onto the airwaves
Gunsmoke (1955-1975)
CBS Adapted from radio, it was the first adult western to break into the top 10 shows in its second season The next season, it became the #1 show on television, and remained at the top for 4 seasons By 1960, 28 of the primetime shows on TV were westerns As many as 14 westerns were ranked in the top 30 shows in terms of ratings in 1958-1959 Most of these Westerns were shot by the film studios for the networks
The Aftermath
CBS received 75,000 letters, plus 10,000 phone calls and telegrams They favored Murrow and CBS 10 to 1 over McCarthy Murrow offered McCarthy the chance at a rebuttal on See It Now McCarthy accepted and aired a 22-minute rant against Murrow on April 6, 1954 McCarthy stated that Murrow was "the leader and the cleverest of the jackal pack which is always found at the throat of anyone who dares to expose individual Communists and traitors." Most Americans sided with Murrow and McCarthy's witch hunt was over McCarthy's attack on the military establishment at the same time also hurt his caseCBS received 75,000 letters, plus 10,000 phone calls and telegrams They favored Murrow and CBS 10 to 1 over McCarthy Murrow offered McCarthy the chance at a rebuttal on See It Now McCarthy accepted and aired a 22-minute rant against Murrow on April 6, 1954 McCarthy stated that Murrow was "the leader and the cleverest of the jackal pack which is always found at the throat of anyone who dares to expose individual Communists and traitors." Most Americans sided with Murrow and McCarthy's witch hunt was over McCarthy's attack on the military establishment at the same time also hurt his case
CBS and Color TV
CBS relied on RCA equipment Hired Dr. Peter Goldmark in 1935 to develop their own system Goldmark did his best to catch up to RCA and NBC After watching Gone With the Wind in 1940, Goldmark decided to develop a color system and did Sarnoff and RCA had lobbied the FCC to vote down Goldmark's color system and the FCC did just that RCA wanted to launch commercial TV as soon as possible and color would have pushed things back Also, color would have meant their system was no longer the standard, costing them money
Children's Programming & Merchandising
Children's shows had been around since the beginning of TV to help sell TV sets TV networks now figured out a new way to make even more money off the Baby Boom generation
J. Fred Muggs-
Chimpanzee paired with Dave Garroway from 1953 to 1957 Muggs addition triggered a ratings jump
Why didn't Westinghouse reap the profits Davis predicted?
Composers of music expected royalties Live performers wanted pay, not just publicity Competitors, such as RCA, were cutting into the profits with sales of their radio sets A new business model for radio was needed Advertising during programming Sponsoring of programs By 1930, 90% of radio stations were selling advertising in one form or the other
The Untouchables-
Controversially violent drama for its time Began airing in 1959 on ABC Starred Robert Stack as Elliot Ness taking on Al Capone and other criminals Another Top 10 hit for ABC, which actually moved ahead of NBC into the #2 spot in the 1960-1961 television season
Feared Effects of TV on Dad
Critics feared men would do nothing but watch sports on TV all the time Husbands would become disinterested in their wives Due to "scantily-clad" women on TV (in the 1950s!) These concerns about TV's effects on kids and men, though sometimes proven true, were somewhat quelled Critics even recognized some benefits of television
The 1939 World's Fair in New York City
David Sarnoff introduces Electronic Television to the world He pushes it as an RCA invention No mention is ever made of Philo Farnsworth
Television's Response to WWII
David Sarnoff of RCA notified President Roosevelt that their facilities were at the nation's disposal Federal government puts television expansion on hold Only 9 TV stations were on the air Each station had to broadcast at least 4 hours a day to maintain its FCC license By war's end, only 7 stations remained due to limited access to equipment and qualified employees
Today (a.k.a. The Today Show)
Debuted January 14th, 1952 with Dave Garroway as host and originally ran from 7am until 9am. Covering news, entertainment, interviews, features, and low-key chitchat Struggled to draw viewers until a key addition to the on-air talent
Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932)
Designed his own transmitter and receiver Developed the foundation for Amplitude Modulation (AM) It is claimed that Fessenden was the first person to ever broadcast entertainment Christmas Eve, 1906 Ships at sea would have been among the people who may have caught his "broadcast"
G.E. (General Electric) Dr. Ernst Alexanderson began developing mechanical television using the Nipkow Disk in 1923 Demonstrated his TV to David Sarnoff 1928-Alexanderson began airing various types of programming on WX2AD in Schenectady, NY Even developed a 6-foot by 6-foot screen
Dr. Ernst Alexanderson began developing mechanical television using the Nipkow Disk in 1923 Demonstrated his TV to David Sarnoff 1928-Alexanderson began airing various types of programming on WX2AD in Schenectady, NY Even developed a 6-foot by 6-foot screen
The Audion
Electronic amplifying vacuum tube that paved the way for live radio broadcasting, long distance telephone lines, talking motion pictures, television, radar, early computers and more.
Twenty One-
Game show on NBC that was cheating for certain contestants Contestant Charles Van Doren lasted over 3 months as champion and was highly popular Ratings increases for the show while he was champion A former champion, Herbert Stempel, who had been asked to throw his match against Van Doren claimed the show forced him to miss a question he clearly knew and that contestants were fed answers prior to taping As a result, game shows fell out of popularity for a while
Police Dramas
Gangbusters Dragnet
Elvis Presley-
First appears on national TV on Stage Show in January of 1956 Elvis was only 21-years old at the time He was so popular that he made 5 more appearances in the next two months He then appeared on The Milton Berle Show in its final season The ratings were so strong for those shows that Ed Sullivan finally gave in had him on The Ed Sullivan Show Due to the controversy of Elvis "the Pelvis," he was shown only from the waist up in his first Sullivan appearance Brought in 60 million viewers and an 82.6 share
Perry Mason-
Formulaic but highly effective and popular mystery drama aired by CBS on Friday nights Raymond Burr stars as the titular high-profile attorney who defends seemingly innocent clients against murder raps, ultimately identifying the real killer Remained a staple on CBS for years
Concerns with TV grow
From 1945-1955, as millions upon millions of people buy television sets, social critics grow concerned TV might alter the way families eat dinner Conversation and other communication would suffer Others were more optimistic Television could bring entertainment and education into the living rooms This, of course, falls directly in line with what TV manufacturers were saying in their ads We now know that people have been entertained and educated by TV, and that many people do eat in front of the TV, but we also know that TV has created certain beliefs and attitudes
Pat Weaver of NBC
From 1949-1956, Weaver served as Vice-President, then President, and lastly Chairman of the Board for NBC David Sarnoff's Goals for Weaver Take NBC national and secure more affiliates Spearhead in-house production Expand NBC's programming beyond just evening Offer morning and afternoon programming as they had done in radio Pat Weaver met all these goals with flying colors and met some goals of his own as well
Sitcom-
Genre of comedy television programming borrowed from radio in which a simple comic premise is created for each program that is played out by an ensemble cast of characters, usually a family or group of neighbors or co-workers that is set in a recurring locale, such as a home or workplace The first TV sitcom premiered on DuMont in 1947 and was entitled Mary Kay and Johnny A staple of many sitcoms was the depiction of urban, ethnic, working-class families struggling to make ends meet The Goldbergs, The Life of Riley, Amos 'n' Andy, all three appropriated from radio, plus Mama and The Honeymooners are examples of domestic comedies featuring the working class
KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA
H.P. Davis knew that airing entertainment over the radio would sell more of Westinghouse's radio receivers KDKA, the first ever commercial radio station, was built in Pittsburgh PA It began broadcasting late in 1920, just in time to cover the 1920 Presidential election This became the first ever commercial broadcast of any kind in any medium 1921 saw entertainment and sports broadcasts begin airing on KDKA However, the profits envisioned by Davis were not realized
Alessandro Volta
Harnessed electricity In 1800
Early Radio Innovation
Heinrich Hertz demonstrated electromagnetic radiation could be produced and detected in 1888 This radiation became known as "Hertzian Waves"
H in THT
Home-Hosted by Arlene Francis, this program was aimed squarely at women Debuted in 1954 on NBC at 11am Eventually switched to 10am on weekdays Decent ratings, but couldn't top the CBS soap operas against it Canceled by NBC in 1957 NBC stated this was due to low ratings Others believe Sarnoff was getting rid of many programs instituted by Weaver following his 1956 departure
Adult Westerns dominate
Hopalong Cassidy and The Lone Ranger paved the way for more serious western fare Gunsmoke, The Rifleman, Have Gun Will Travel, Maverick, Wagon Train, Cheyenne, Daniel Boone, and later Bonanza hit the air
Tonight becomes The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson
In 1962, Jack Paar leaves Tonight permanently Johnny Carson takes over as host on October 1st, 1962 The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson sticks closely to the format developed by Allen and Paar With Carson, the show becomes a TV institution The show moves from NYC to Burbank, CA in 1972 Carson remains as the shows host until 1992
Guglielmo Marconi(1874-1937)
Known as "The Inventor of Radio" This may not be entirely accurate, so if this isn't the case, what did Marconi accomplish? Envisioned wireless telegraphy Proved signals could be sent by radio waves 1894-Increased the distance to send messages wirelessly by 2 miles 1901-Marconi sends signals across the Atlantic Ocean The Titanic disaster of 1912 greatly enhanced public opinion of radio
Alexander Graham Bell
Inventor and U.S. patent-holder of the telephone claimed he had developed a method of seeing by telegraph
CBS
Learns from NBC's experimentation April 28, 1948, CBS airs its first evening news, Douglas Edwards and the News Establishes a news film organization
Feared Effects of TV on Children
Kids wouldn't leave the house Kids would become "immovable forces" Children's eyesight would be ruined Children would act aggressively after watching violent content Children might grow disobedient to their father In reality... Children preferred TV over radio, comic books and going to the movies Educators reported kids having "TV hangovers" from watching TV all weekend Educators reported kids having a greater inability to concentrate in the classroom
See It Now: The Case of Lt. Milo Radulovich A0589839
Lt. Radulovich was dismissed from the Air Force after his father and sister were labeled as Communists Murrow presented a defense of Lt. Radulovich Results of the broadcast: CBS received thousands of letters that sided with Radulovich over the Air Force 100 to 1 Lt. Radulovich maintained his status in the Air Force Murrow and Friendly now knew they had to go after McCarthy
CBS becomes the #1 network, thanks in part to I Love Lucy (1951-1957)
Lucille Ball had already appeared in 70-plus movies and starred in the radio show Her Favorite Husband It was on this show that she developed her Lucy Ricardo persona Her character is one of a Hollywood beauty, screwball comedienne, silent comedian, and representation of the typical American housewife of the day, all rolled into one She and her husband, Cuban bandleader, Desi Arnaz, founded Desilu Productions in 1950 a year prior to the debut of I Love Lucy
Music Programs
Lucky Strike Presents Your Hit Parade The Tommy Dorsey Show Camel Caravan
Vaudeville on the Air
More Vaudeville-type variety/comedy shows hit the air
Fall 1948: The First Fall TV Season
Most TV stations air local programming in Fall of 1948 The Networks do offer the first fully-scheduled Fall TV season CBS fare is more cultured DuMont does not have a radio network from which to pull stars and shows NBC brings much of its radio talent pool to TV NBC offers Boxing and Baseball as well, which are both popular Boxing helped sell TVs and was aired as many as six nights a week Still, only a handful of stations carried this Network programming
Person to Person (1953-1961)
Murrow interviewed notable figures from politics, film, music, the literary world, and sports Highly popular, with 18-21 million viewers each week
American Bandstand (1957-1989)
Music program that was produced and aired locally in Philadelphia beginning 1952 Hosted by Dick Clark, the show was aimed squarely at teenagers Featured rock and pop music performers of the day In its early days, the show was live and featured the same teen dancers week-in and week-out Picked up by ABC in 1957 for national broadcast and ran for 30 years in 90-minute long, hour-long, and 30-minute long episodes, varying throughout the years The show aired on ABC each weekday afternoon in two 30-minute timeslots, and did have a primetime version that ran for a brief time as well The weekday episodes were eventually aired via videotape, filming all five episodes on Saturdays In 1988, the show went into first-run syndication
Allen departs Tonight in January of 1957
NBC wanted him to concentrate fully on his Sunday night variety show instead Plus, NBC wanted to cancel The Tonight Show, since it had been a Pat Weaver show, and they did A new feature show called America After Dark proved to be a disaster, so they brought Tonight back with a new host
Commercial Television Begins July 1st, 1941
NBC's experimental station W2XBS in NYC becomes WNBT 1st commercial station Broadcasts a USO fundraiser, a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game, and several game shows $120 rate to sponsor an hour-long program during what we know as primetime $60 for a daytime show of that length 1st ever ad was for Bulova Watches CBS begins broadcasting on that same day over their former NYC experimental station W2XAB, which then became WCBW Aired a dance lesson, a newscast, and an art exhibit with all programming unsponsored DuMont, one of the original four TV networks, and a producer of television sets, remained broadcasting at the experimental level instead of going commercial 23 TV stations started going on air or under construction across the country
Milton Berle (1908-2002)
Nicknamed Mr. Television because, as host of the Texaco Star Theater, Milton Berle helped sell millions of televisions a.k.a. Uncle Miltie
T.H.T. Plan-
Offer network programming throughout all times of the day, not just during primetime, and to gear that programming to what people were doing at each of those times of the day
I Love Lucy
Often, episodes of the show will revolve around a "battle of the sexes" scenario Lucy does not lament her role as housewife and, later, mother, but does wish for something else in life as well The show was groundbreaking Shot on film before a live studio audience with a multi-camera setup Film allowed the show to remain of an excellent quality for rebroadcast in later time zones and to later air in syndication A flat lighting design was created by cinematographer Karl Freund so that all characters would be lit evenly on set with no shadows First bi-racial c
Philo T. Farnsworth (1906-1971)
One of the most important figures in the development of television, specifically electronic television Interested in science at a young age Farnsworth recognizes that the Nipkow disk could not be made to spin rapidly enough to produce a quality image At age 14, while plowing the fields of his family farm, Farnsworth realizes that an electron-beam can do the scanning of an image much more quickly and efficiently than any mechanical device 15-year-old Philo shows his science teacher, Justin Tolman, his idea that he would later call his "Image Dissector" Philo draws up blueprints for his idea on Tolman's blackboard, and Tolman believes it just might work Philo goes to college to further his education, but must get a job to help the family when his father dies Philo finds investors who are willing to fund his experiments He files for a patent of his electronic television in 1927, and the patent is granted in 1930 He and his lab demonstrate his version of TV for reporters on 9/1/1928 Soon he draws the attention of David Sarnoff and Vladimir Zworykin of RCA
Karl Braun
shot electron beams through a vacuum tube onto a screen
Radio is Born
Options for Entertainment in the home prior to Radio Books, magazines, newspapers, live music in your parlor or recorded music on your phonograph Radio brings electronically transmitted entertainment into the home The first form of mass media to do this Families would gather in front of the radio and stare at it
Children's Programming & Merchandising continued
Other kid-friendly westerns followed suit The Lone Ranger, The Roy Rogers Show and The Gene Autry Show, along with Hopalong Cassidy, sold $150 million dollars worth of western products
Hopalong Cassidy-
Popular movie character in B western movies starring William Boyd Boyd smartly secured the TV rights to the character and brought him to the little screen in 1952 The show was hugely popular and launched a line of merchandise, including the first ever lunch box based on a TV series as well as clothing Boyd would only approve of products that he deemed suitable for kids
Radio Dramas
Police Dramas Mystery Shows Anthology shows
The Show's Presentation
Presented as a music program Breaking news segments began interrupting the music broadcasts The first news segment announced explosions on the surface of Mars Later, reports of major seismic activity occurring at various locations across the world were given Then "reporter Carl Phillips" brings a live broadcast from Grovers Mill, NJ where some type of metallic object is embedded in the ground No commercial interruptions
The War Comes to an End
Prior to the war's end, NBC, CBS and DuMont began planning the selling of commercial TV again CBS pushed again for color TV and updated standards This would give CBS an advantage ABC backed CBS in the argument RCA and other TV manufacturers fought this arguing that TVs sold before the war would be incompatible with these new standards RCA also wanted to hold off on color so they could develop their own color system The FCC sides with RCA and maintains the 1941 standards
Paul Nipkow
Prussian-born inventor who studied electro-physics and invented the Nipkow Disk
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Range of frequencies or electromagnetic radiation and their respective wavelengths. This spectrum was predicted to exist by James Clerk Maxwell in 1887 The most limited Natural Resource on Earth
Why such a panic?
Realism of the show Real life town, Grovers Mill Formatted like a music program Many tuned in late Era of the Program Trust in radio and mass media People were accustomed to bad news thanks to the Depression The fear that war with Germany was imminent Rural stations weren't as powerful Misinterpretation of real-life evidence
David Sarnoff of RCA is often labeled as the "Father of Television"
Remember though, Sarnoff was not an inventor, but was instead an industry visionary Sarnoff helped to make radio a fixture in homes and now he wanted to do the same with TV Sarnoff is the mastermind behind the "debut" of television at the 1939 World's Fair in NYC But how did we get from the idea of television to an actual demonstration in 1939?
Vladimir Zworykin (1889-1982)
Russian-born American inventor who helped to pioneer television for RCA. Submitted a patent for his electronic television Worked for Westinghouse originally developing his idea Demonstrated his working model to H.P. Davis, who was not impressed Davis reassigned Zworykin to other duties Davis designated Frank Conrad, radio engineer and driving force in the inception of KDKA in Pittsburgh, to work on his vision of TV Met with David Sarnoff, now President of RCA, to discuss his idea of Electronic Television Sarnoff, who identified with Zworykin, since both were Russian-born immigrants, funded Zworykin's subsequent research
Telegraphy
Samuel Morse's telegraph has others wondering whether images might also be sent through wire and later the air
RCA Fights Dirty
Sarnoff has RCA file lawsuits against Farnsworth to slow down his progress on Electronic Television Sarnoff pushes more money into RCA's development of TV
John Logie Baird
Scottish inventor whose "Televisor" in 1925 publicly displayed a blurry image on a screen that nonetheless caused excitement Later demonstrated the first mechanical color TV system and first electronic TV system
Murrow vs. McCarthy
See It Now begins gathering footage of McCarthy March 9, 1954, Murrow and See It Now bravely broadcast an unfiltered look at McCarthy Many viewers had never seen McCarthy in action and were taken aback by what they saw Murrow concluded the program with a statement against McCarthy and the practice of fearmongering
RCA Jumps the Gun
September 1, 1940 is set by the FCC as the date that Commercial Television will debut FCC expected broadcasters to ease into this new endeavor Instead, RCA begins massive advertising campaigns in March FCC pushes back the date as a result James Lawrence Fly believed RCA and other companies would not try to advance TV further if made commercial too soon Fly believed broadcasters should serve the public interest and that RCA would have an advantage if the standards were In line with RCA's current standards
Mystery Shows
Series with Recurring Characters Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar The Shadow The Adventures of Philip Marlowe The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Merchandising-
Shows geared towards kids could move a lot of merchandise in the ancillary market
Women and Television
Social critics were concerned that housewives would no longer fulfill their household duties with television serving as such a distraction This led to advertisers of television sets often not including women in their ads, or only including women in the background, performing some household duty or entertaining guests Similar concerns over women paired with low advertising rates for daytime programming led networks to limit how much daytime programming they would air Evening programs aimed to be family-friendly, so women would be entertained Eventually, cooking shows, shopping programs, soap operas, and NBC's The Today Show aired during the day and were aimed toward a female audience
Anthology shows
Suspense Escape The Whistler The Mysterious Traveler
The Jack Benny Show
Switched between airing on the NBC Blue and CBS networks from 1932-1955 A TV version aired from 1950-1965 Running gags on the show Jack is vain (he's always 39-years-old) Jack is a cheapskate The show regularly makes fun of Jack's movie career, specifically the movie The Horn Blows at Midnight Jack plays the violin badly Don Wilson likes to eat Phil Harris likes to drink too much This episode will incorporate many of these running gags, so listen for them
VHF vs. UHF
TV had extra space allotted to it on the Electromagnetic Spectrum that was not being used called UHF or Ultra-High Frequency stations Ranged from channels 14-83 Not quite as a good in quality as VHF stations, but still worthy of carrying stations CBS proposes that these stations be used Channels 2-13 were VHF or Very High Frequency Only using these VHF stations severely limited how many stations a city could have on the air The FCC does not approve the use of these UHF stations until 1953
TV by the Numbers
TV is the fastest adopted communication device ever 1953; 28.5 million sets had been shipped, and 60% of the country now owned at least one TV set By 1955, more than 450 TV stations existed, following the FCC's lifting of a station freeze, which is impressive considering there were only 7 stations left following WWII a mere 10 years earlier Urban areas were the highest consumers of TV sets Within the next few years, TV ownership rose to 90% People reported viewing television 3 to 3.5 hours per day At first this heavy early usage was attributed to the novelty of the medium, yet as the novelty wore off, TV viewership did not decline While TV now offered entertainment for everyone, it remained fairly non-inclusive in terms of minorities, aside from characters like Rochester or Amos 'n Andy.
TV Following the World's Fair
TV makes it debut in the 1939 World's Fair in New York City After making a big splash, everyone assumed TV would be a fixture in homes very soon The future looked bright for TV, but for various reasons, it was put on hold for more than half a decade Journalist Don Wharton predicted in 1937 that the larger your city, the sooner you'll have TV He was correct, though it took another 10 years to come true Let's watch the 1942 theatrical short Magic in the Air, which promotes television in its infancy
Television and the War Effort
TV sets were used to train civil defense volunteers TV technology joins the fight The Cathode Ray Tube makes radar possible Night vision technology is developed by RCA by adapting infrared imaging tubes from television Vladimir Zworykin heads up WWII research for RCA Missiles that could be controlled by television The Image Orthicon Camera Tube allowed for this David Sarnoff serves as a communications expert for the D-Day invasion Promoted to Brigadier General in 1944 >>>>>>>>>>>> William Paley of CBS became an Honorary Colonel after serving as a consultant to the Office of War Information and producing the broadcasts that informed the world of the D-Day invasion RCA, G.E., Westinghouse, Zenith, Philco, and DuMont all made big profits as government wartime contractors
See It Now (1951-1958)
Tackled various issues of the day and brought in 3 million viewers per week
Lee De Forest (1873-1961)
The Audion De Forest was very litigious and helped to destroy Edwin H. Armstrong, the inventor of FM radio Claims to have been the first to broadcast entertainment through the magic of radio 1908 from the Eiffel Tower in Paris while on his honeymoon Offered entertainment broadcasts through 1910 Received an experimental license for station 2XG in New York First station to broadcast spoken word reports of a Presidental election in 1916.
Early TV Sets
The Look of Early TV sets TVs designed to look like expensive furniture Wood paneling, sometimes with doors to hide the screen Small screens early on Some companies even marketed giant magnifying lenses to put in front of the TV screen People were hooked TV owners who had a malfunctioning TV set would have it fixed or replaced within just 3 days TV repair shops sprung up around the country as TVs invaded homes, and were too expensive to replace for many consumers
Constantin Perskyi
The first person on record to use the term "Television" using it in a scientific paper in 1900 Paris with the translated title of Television By Means of Electricity
Philco
The largest radio manufacturer at the time, enters into a non-exclusive agreement with Farnsworth to produce his TVs Philco and Farnsworth plan on entering into some form of commercial television RCA sends out spies to take out Farnsworth's secretaries to buy them alcohol trying to get information about his progress RCA has people heckle Farnsworth at his public lectures on Electronic Television RCA threatens to pull Philco's license to produce their radios unless they end their deal with Farnsworth Philco complies with RCA's request and Farnsworth is on his own
"Operation Wisdom" Initiative
Weaver developed this plan to offer TV documentaries and interview shows featuring famous people such as Robert Frost or Frank Lloyd Wright
Radio
The transmission and reception of electromagnetic waves of radio frequency, especially those that carry sound messages. The Telegraph and Telephone helped pave the way
Weaver named Chairman of the Board at NBC in 1956
Weaver soon learned it was a powerless position and resigned Sarnoff replaced Weaver as President of NBC with his son Robert Sarnoff
Berle was given a 30-year contract by NBC at $200K per year
This was a bad move by NBC as Berle became burned out and comedy tastes changed
The Last "T" in T.H.T. Plan
Tonight (now known as "The Tonight Show") Steve Allen was tapped as the first host Debuted on September 27th, 1954 Allen brought much of what had worked on his local TV show in NY Allen invented the late night talk show as we know it Monologue Chitchat with his announcer/sidekick Play around with his bandleader Allen would go up and down the aisles and answer questions from the audience "The Answer Man"-Sidekick Gene Rayburn would give Allen an answer to which Allen would give a humorous question that fit that answer Reading funny items in the newspaper Man on the Street interviews Celebrity Interviews
NBC
Tries new techniques in covering the news, some work, some don't Camel Newsreel Theater debuts on February 16, 1948 as the first ever nightly news program Meet the Press made its debut on November 20, 1947, and is still on the air It is the longest running television program in history
Texaco Star Theater
Vaudeville-style variety show ran from 1948-1956 on NBC It was the #1 show on TV from 1948-1951 His show pulled in an 80% share during its timeslot in its first season and an average 70% share in its first three seasons
Meanwhile...in Cleveland
WEWS was the first TV station to hit the air in Cleveland and in Ohio December 17th, 1947 Channel 5 on the dial Relied on local programming, and began its broadcast history by airing a Christmas Show being held at the Public Auditorium Cleveland could not receive the network signal from New York due to the Appalachian Mountains Coaxial cable was run over the Appalachian Mountains that could finally bring East Coast network programming west of the mountains January 1949: Cleveland airs network programming for the first time as a CBS affiliate In 1955, CBS changes its affiliate to WJW, Channel 8
Hollywood Film Studios & ABC improves
Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and MGM began producing content for TV Lesser quality was an issue at first Within 5 years, WB was producing 1/3 of ABC's shows Soon CBS and NBC began airing content from the film studios ABC's 5-year plan pays off 1953: NBC=28.1 ratings, CBS 25.5, ABC 11.8 1957-1958: CBS=23.5, NBC=21.6, ABC=16.8
The Honeymooners(1955-1956)
Was adapted from a series of sketches included in several variety shows hosted by Jackie Gleason Jackie Gleason played Ralph Kramden Audrey Meadows played Alice Kramden Art Carney played Ed Norton Joyce Randolph as Trixie Norton This highly influential show only aired for one season of 39 episodes Gleason pulled out of his contract with CBS because he felt the quality would be hurt if they continued More episodes were cobbled together for syndication from the lengthy sketches performed on Jackie Gleason's variety shows The show was later adapted as an animated sitcom, The Flintstones
"Operation Frontal Lobe" initiative
Weaver championed this programming idea that would hopefully "create an aristocracy of the people...to make the average man the uncommon man." Live event broadcasts of stage productions such as Peter Pan starring Mary Martin in 1955 or Shakespeare's Richard III Expensive to produce, but hopefully viewers would stick around for their other shows One NBC executive said, "We get them coming for caviar, and they stick around...for bread and butter." Sadly, the 1955 version of Peter Pan is lost, but the 1960 version, again with Mary Martin, thankfully exists.
"Enlightenment Through Entertainment"
Weaver developed the "Enlightenment Through Entertainment" initiative Offer programming that educates rather than just entertains One show that fit this mold was Kukla, Fran and Ollie (1947-1957) Ad-libbed show featuring puppets that was geared towards entertaining and educating children Adults ended up enjoying the show as well
More Radio Dramas
Westerns The Lone Ranger The Six-Shooter Gunsmoke Horror Anthologies Inner Sanctum The Haunting Hour Lights Out The Weird Circle The Sealed Book The Hermit's Cave The Witch's Tale
RCA: The Radio Corporation of America (1919)
Westinghouse's biggest rival, General Electric (G.E.) bought out Marconi's radio company G.E. is one of the companies that formed RCA, the Radio Corporation of America, in 1919 G.E. designated David Sarnoff to RCA, where he realized that selling radio receivers could bring a huge stream of revenue
W3XK
Widely considered the first ever TV station in U.S. history. Began broadcasting on July 2, 1928. 25,000 people tuning in between this and his NJ station Jenkins Television Corporation runs into problems 1929 Stock Market Crash after his company goes public FRC clamps down on Jenkins saying he cannot advertise his Radiovisor on "Experimental" stations
Westinghouse's biggest rival, General Electric (G.E.) bought out Marconi's radio company
With that purchase came a young employee, David Sarnoff, a man who would become one of the most powerful men in the radio and television industries Sarnoff was a radio operator during the sinking of the Titanic in 1912
Toast of the Town
With the success of Milton Berle on NBC, CBS introduced its own variety show
G.E. designated David Sarnoff to RCA, where he realized that selling radio receivers could bring a huge stream of revenue
Within just three years, RCA had sold over $80 million in radios
So, how can radio make money?Enter Frank Conrad...
Worked in radio at age 16 for Westinghouse During WWI, Conrad improved radio transmitters and receivers for the Army Signal Corps. After the war, he worked at a Westinghouse facility in Pittsburgh, PA October 1919-Conrad begins broadcasting entertainment regularly, including records from his collection Who was his audience? Radio enthusiasts who built their own radio receivers from radio sets These broadcasts were used to advertise radio sets in the newspaper H.P. Davis, VP of Westinghouse sees the ads and a way to make money in radio
Game Shows
You Bet Your Life Twenty Questions Pot o Gold Strike It Rich Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!
Zworykin visits Farnsworth
Zworykin asks to visit Farnsworth's lab in April of 1930 Farnsworth is excited to have someone he deems a colleague see his progress Zworykin is impressed with Farnsworth's work and praises his developments Upon returning to RCA, Zworykin again praises the image dissector tube (camera tube) He reports to Sarnoff that Farnsworth's picture tube for his receiver are not up to par Zworykin develops his own camera tube and files for patent later in 1930 Sarnoff offers Farnsworth $100K for the complete rights to his image dissector tube Farnsworth and his investors decline because they do not want to relinquish all rights to royalties for the tube
McCarthyism
a vociferous and vicious campaign against alleged communists in the US government and other institutions such as film and television, carried out under Senator Joseph McCarthy in the period 1950-54 An anti-Communist movement was taking hold in the U.S. in the early 1950s This fear was taken advantage of by some politicians, but none more so than Senator Joseph McCarthy Many of the accused were blacklisted or lost their jobs, although most did not in fact belong to the Communist Party. Blacklisted writers often wrote under pseudonyms Some blacklisted people even committed suicide See It Now and Murrow took on this spreading paranoia for the first time in its October 23, 1953 broadcast
Jack Paar
becomes the new host in July of 1957 Paar was a former game show host and his stint was critically panned at first, but soon settled in and built an audience Contributed the couch/desk layout for celebrity interviews Paar could be difficult though and walked off of a live broadcast of the show on February 11, 1960 after a dispute with the censors over a joke Paar said "There must be a better way of making a living than this" and walked off He didn't return for weeks
Color television
by airing color programming in 1953 with the #1 daytime show The Howdy Doody Show and the primetime special Amahl and the Night Visitors, and later, the 1955 version of Peter Pan Blended Chicago broadcasting's distinctive style with the New York style of broadcasting, ultimately shutting down shows being produced in Chicago
The National Television System Committee
is formed by the FCC Tasked with determining television standards March 1941, the new standards are set at 525 lines per second, 30 frames per second, and FM sound Color TV is tabled
Ed Sullivan
newspaper gossip columnist chosen to temporarily host the show He proved to be anything but temporary Stiff and awkward on camera as host, but he could spot talent Kept costs down The first episode with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis appearing only cost $1.375 Martin and Lewis got $200 Brought in a wide array of talent such as a concert pianist, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and the June Taylor Dancers in that first episode He proved his knack for finding talent and balancing a show for the next 23 years
Participation Advertising-
sponsors would buy 15, 30 or 60-second spots during a television program rather than sponsoring an entire show This would allow greater freedom to the network and shows to do their own thing without meddling by the sponsors NBC owned the shows rather than the sponsors Referred to as the "Magazine Concept" of advertising
FCC
states that no company can own more than one network NBC is forced to sell its Blue Network Purchased by Edward J. Noble of Life Savers and becomes ABC (American Broadcasting Company) as of 1943
Electronic Television
the image to be transmitted to a screen is scanned with electron-beams in a cathode ray tube.
Arthur Korn
transmitted photographic images via wire with his photo-telegraph
Shared Sponsorship
was instead allowed, where each half hour had its own sponsor This freed the show up since it wasn't under the thumb of a single sponsor Writers for Your Show of Shows included Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon
