FAMST 101D Final

Frank Stanton

An American broadcasting executive that served as President of CBS in 1946 - 71, and then as vice chairman until 1973. He credited the significant growth of CBS into a communications powerhouse.

Pat Weaver

An American radio advertising executive, who was the producer of "Town Hall Tonight" and President of NBC between 1953 and 1955. Big with anthology drama, television spectaculars, development of early morning and late night TV. He believed TV should educate as well as entertain. He popularized late night television, with The Today Show and The Tonight Show.

vertical integration

An arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is owned by that company. The practice of having a single entity control the entire process of a product, from the raw materials to distribution.

How did Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta come to dominate Mexican media? What strategies did he pursue? For example, what were his relations with American radio interests and how did they benefit him? What were his relations with Mexican government interests? How did the leadership of Lázaro Cárdenas influence the early development of radio programming? How did Azcárraga respond to government influence? How did Azcárraga deal with commercial competitors in Mexico? Why did international opportunities become increasingly important to Azcárraga? What strategies did he use to pursue them?

Hayes article: Radio Nation. According to Hayes, Emilio benefited greatly as a young member of the city elite, as he was educated in the US and became very informed on North American pop culture. He developed an understanding of commercial ventures, and became licensed to distribute radios. While working at RCA he became interested in broadcasting, and eventually founded XEW-AM in Monterrey and allied it with NBC, and later created a second network, XEQ. He created a sense of Mexican national identity and dominated Latino airwaves. Azcarraga was able to obtain vertical integration with his transnational Televisa conglomerate because of his contract with his theaters, recording companies, and his television network. Because of this he was able to cut costs and generate a profit within Mexico before he even sold to other outlets such as the United States. He allied with his commercial competitors. He created a unique form of broadcasting, popularizing ranchera music. He was partnered with RCA, NBC and CBS and they allowed him to purchase RCA technology so that he could have the most powerful station in the Americas. He "bicycled" programs to affiliates in exchange for network ad time through occasional phone links and some repeater stations. Lazaro Cardenas founded the department of publicity, which all Mexican stations were required to submit to every Sunday night with state-sponsored nationalistic broadcasting, and reformed a communication law that increased government programming from 10 min to 30 min, which increased the government's influence over broadcasting. Together, Cardenas and Azcarraga created the National Hour, which all Mexican stations are required to transmit every Sunday night, further unifying Mexico. Because of him, state-sponsored nationalism became an institutionalized part of commercial broadcasting. The government wanted stations to promote typical Mexican music and avoid politics, and Azcarraga responded positively, as he was trying to corner the broadcast market. SEE short answer Emilio Azcarraga. It gave Spanish Networking a greater market to broadcast. Helping to give spanish speakers around the world a better understanding of world new, politics, and entertainment. The strategies he used was the fact that he was RICH AS **** so he could buy anything he wanted. "I'm Rich Bitch." He also organized many family marriages ... very well thought out ones that would give him connections. And he got a lot of money from his marriage as well.

Alan Freed

He was a DJ that coined the term "rock n' roll" and played music that was viewed as corrupting the youth such as R&B, rock and roll, the blues and other alternative genres. He was a great DJ but his career fell apart after the Payola Scandal during the investigations that he refused to participate in.

Anthology Drama

Popular between 1947-54, they were a part of prestige programming that made audiences want to be attracted to televisions as a medium. Most ADs were single sponsored programs (sponsored by one company like US Steel, Ford, Phico, or Alcoa). Its format ranged from 30 minutes to 2 hours, had a weekly change of scripts and actors. It started of as adaptations then originals. It also had an intensive production schedule. Compared to the radio, ADs on television were allowed to bring the theater to the suburbs. AD stories started off as adapting classic novels and plays before they made the switch to originals. Features of ADs included: immediacy of theater and intimacy of motion pictures, theatrical scenes, acts, performance style (time of NY theater), they had filmic close-ups, camera work, and continuity editing, they were shot without an audience, and they had constrained and shallow focus. Usually the themes found in ADs included realism (everyday stories, character psychology, ethical dilemmas, and existentialism). It had a NY theater influence.It also influenced Monster shows through its original "play", authorial voice, and critical perspective.

Mass society

Refers to a big fear that population movement would destroy traditional lifestyles. Government becoming more powerful and family wasn't guiding you as much resulted in thinking people would have trouble resisting powerful institutions such as television. NEED MORE INFO

Primetime

Refers to the hours between 8pm and 11pm during which time networks traditionally drew in their largest audiences and charged their highest rates. The block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television programming.

Existentialism

Related to the Anthology Drama; this moment in post world war period where they get into this modern world with all this new technology and the promise of the modern world is tremendous. We saw how these very things that modernity promised could also be turned to evil. Many people lost faith and a sense of connection to faith in the midst of all of this. Maybe there is no big narrative? Maybe living a good life is just taking responsibility. (Example: Bang the Drum Slowly). Found in many anthology dramas.

Minstrelsy

Relates to Amos 'n' Andy because some of the characters relate back to the minstrelsy representation of African Americans in media. "Minstrelsy Tradition" - extreme stereotypes in the theatrical sphere that was massively popular with white people, but very dangerous to the African Americans.

Least offensive Programming

Result of networks wanting to appeal to largest audience possible. It can't be elitist but rather had to dumb down their programming. Networks want consistently high ratings at "reasonable" cost- "mass appeal programming", aka "least offensive programming".

Explain the emergence of the magazine model of advertising on television. Where did it begin? Why did sponsors give way to this new model? What were the perceived benefits for networks and advertisers? What role did the ratings agencies play in this shift? Why did it make television ratings even more important?

This model began on daytime programs, not prime time, and was targeted at women while they worked at home. Sponsors gave way to this new model because TV was too expensive for a single sponsor to invest in unless you were a really large sponsor. Networks were given more content and scheduling control, ownership potential, and reduced influence of agencies and sponsors. For advertisers it limited cost, spread risk, and allowed for more visibility across the schedule. Networks based their commercial prices based on how popular the show was, so rating agencies gained a massive amount of power.

Burns and Allen

They were a comedy duo that transitioned from vaudeville to radio to TV. Their show ran from 1950 - 1958 and began to be shot in Telefilm in 1952. The show played with the boundary between live theatrical direct address to moving into a narrative space. Moved from New York to Hollywood (change from urban to suburban) FROM QUIZLET- ADD MORE INFO

HUAC

They were responsible for hunting "reds" especially in entertainment. They are associated with blacklisting and "Red Channels" in 1950. They were an investigation committee that investigated what it considered un-American propaganda. FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

ITV

This UK network was competitive with the BBC. Its mandate was to provide commercial programming. More issues were raised, tough questions were asked, reporters aligned with viewers, enhanced autonomy of broadcasters. Competition >> popular style. Robin Day- asked off color/tough questions- led ITV to be identified with sharper style. ITV = responsible to its audiences and its advertisers.

FCC Freeze

VHF; UHF. Period of time from 1948-52 when they were rolling out TV, but then they started having interference problems. They started seeing that these interferences were really complicated. They had to be very careful, so in 1948 after licensing about 100 stations they put a freeze on granting new licenses - that freeze lasted 4 years because of Korean War taking focus. No new licenses were given out but the stations that had already been broadcasting could remain. During that freeze, they tried to iron out the interference problems. What came out of it was the stations who got out first became insanely popular, as they had little to no competition. These original stations gained an advantage because they had 4 years to develop. Contributed very significantly to the problems that independent stations would have. The Freeze led to the consolidation of television and the establishment of the network system.

UHF

'Ultra high frequency' - needs more power, suffers interference, FCC tried to intermix the two but a lot of tv's didn't have a tuner for UHF so a lot of stations didn't use this → small audience with lower advertising rates

VHF

'Very high frequency' - also known as 'freeze' stations = 108 stations that were granted licensed access to broadcast before Korean war caused the FCC to not give any more, strong signals (up to 30-60 miles, interference up to 150 miles) with low power

See It Now

(1951 - 1958) A CBS news magazine and documentary series not unlike 60 minutes, usually 2 or 3 segments, created by Edward Murrow and Fred Friendly. Featured Murrow as the host and the people who worked with him in Europe and then followed him into television - "The Murrow Boys." It originated on the radio as Hear It Now. Very much in a public service model. A lot of location reports from abroad and interviews with foreign leaders. It challenged the red scare and McCarthyism. It used a magazine format, many location reports were done abroad, a GI view of war.

Studio live; theatrical live

(drama, comedy) = theatrical live w/o audience participation; visual style which follows theatrical live tv; multicam, single take, edit on the fly, BUT no audience = multiq-scene, sets in circle; theatrical live = variety music, amateur shows, on stage and live audience, ex: Texaco Star Theater

telestar

1962 - Satellite that received signals and bounced them back to Earth. The 1st satellite launched in 1962 that could carry television images. Started the conversation of "global village". FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

Telefilm

A television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network. It was contrasted to live television performances and films made strictly for theatrical exhibition. The technique offered production efficiencies as well as syndication potential. FROM QUIZLET- ADD MORE INFO

Ranchera Music

A Mexican song genre with rural and working-class associations. It idealized 19C countryside - paternalist, anti-modern nostalgia. It was also part of Mexico's programming strategies of providing conservative, mass-appeal content. It emphasized the voice more than the instruments. Jose Alfredo Jimenez wrote a lot of songs for Ranchera → urbanized it some, ideas of living in the city. FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

Dumont

A TV network from 1946-56 that was hurt by the FCC freeze (had UHF affiliates) and conflict with AT&T and Paramount. It was the world's pioneer of commercial TV networks. It was also the first to establish daytime programming. FROM QUIZLET- ADD MORE INFO

Yanki No!

A documentary produced by ABC Close Up! They did this documentary and were experimenting with mobile equipment. There is a voiceover that is very critical of Castro, but the footage shows attractions of the revolution. Features the Cuban family who is moving into new housing. Is a film about the struggle against communism.They narrativized these problems, and made a story out of it. Focuses on anti-American sentiments in Latin America and Cuba. The Documentary was trying to promote US ideals: a. But the Cubans in the Documentary were super Anti-American b. They used voiceover critical of Castro c. Footage showed attraction of revolution d. Film was about struggle against communism e. Focuses on Anti-American sentiments in CUba & Latin America f. Dissonant message: voiceover critical of Communism, but people in footage are anti-American and Anti-Communism g. Episode of ABC Close Up

Magazine advertising

A form of advertising that was started by Pat Weaver at NBC. This is also known as participation advertising. This gave more power to the networks who controlled production and sold spots to sponsors based on ratings. Network controlled the production of the programs, while clients (advertisers) pay for commercial minutes according to prices set by ratings.

Televisa

A quasi monopolistic, cross media conglomerate. It was started by the Azcarraga Family and is one of the first networks to use satellite. FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

Kinescope

A recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor. It was live TV recorded on film. RCA was granted a trademark for the term. It was a 1950s technique for preserving television broadcasts by using small TV with a high definition image on the screen, which is then shot by a camera lens, which records it onto film. FROM QUIZLET- ADD MORE INFO

Videotape

A recording of visual images and sound made on a magnetic tape. It took off in the 1960s as it was cheaper than telefilm. Syndicated technology, replaced kinetoscope and telefilm. FROM QUIZLET- ADD MORE INFO

Desi Arnaz

Actor and husband of Lucille Ball, and the band leader, but more importantly the head of Desilu Studios. He provided the leadership during their huge growth. He was even more significant as the head executive of Desilu Studios for shows like I Love Lucy but also The Untouchables. He was most famous for his role as Ricky Ricardo in "I Love Lucy".

Lucille Ball

Actress and wife of Desi Arnaz- they were both stars on their hit tv how I Love Lucy that was on the Desilu, their TV production company established in 1950. She was the star of the show and her character was the type that was deemed an unruly woman who tried to transcend the traditional gender role boundaries, but always ended up reverting back to being the stay at home wife which reflected the dominant ideology at the time.

A.C. Nielsen

Arthur C. Nielsen was a market analyst who founded the AC Nielsen Company- a global marketing research firm best known for Nielsen ratings - an audience measurement system that measures TV, radio, and newspaper audience in their respective media markets. Started measuring television audiences in 1948 and created the National Television Index in 1950. Famous for mechanized data measurement with regards to ratings, recording data constantly. Mechanized measurement recorded program flow, turnover and frequency. It invented the "Audiometer" in 1942 which recorded listening by channel. The problems with the audiometer were that they were expensive and relied on listeners to return data. Audiometers with telephone links: 1200 HH sample. Allows "overnights" [ ... Diaries ... ]

According to A.C. Nielsen, what were the benefits of mechanized measurement? Why was this advantageous to advertisers? To the networks? How did this information affect the ways that networks developed and scheduled their programs? What were the criticisms of mechanized ratings? What did they fail to capture?

Benefits included the ways that mechanization created big data - it didn't rely on the arduous process of Nielsen making physical phone calls, but rather it was the measurements of every minute of every day, measurement of average audiences, program flows (how people would navigate thru channels), turnover (when people would flip channels after a program), and frequency which showed how frequently viewers tuned into a channel. The Arbitron sent tuning & channel information via phone line every ninety seconds to the ARB. As this data is being fed to rating services, it now becomes a new way to study popularity and sell advertisements. It also encourage local advertising revenues. It becomes increasingly important to those executives to be able to control what the impact of their programming is. But there were criticisms for mechanized ratings because they weren't always reliable. (Bring up Family Guy episode) For example sometimes there were infoglut issues like the audimeter breaking and power outages. TV went from golden age to a vast wasteland due to ratings influence on content. INCOMPLETE

Self-reflexive

Burns and Allen - when he comes out and does his routine, he is very conscious of what he's doing. He is commenting on the nature of representation itself. He's very aware that he is playing the straight man. It's being self aware. They're learning and dealing with these new conventions as television is starting to emerge. This also introduces a sort of participation with audiences.

newton minow

Chairman of the FCC and spoke negatively at a National Association of Broadcaster convention about the rise of commercial television creating a negative impact on its viewers. He considered television as a "Vast Wasteland." He encouraged more news and documentary programming. He saw TV as a pathway to local and cultural leadership, but described TV in its current state as a "vast wasteland".

BBC English

Class and differences in England seen through way people spoke/accents. This was an attempt to standardize the way English was spoken. This variety of English comes from educated fragment, began w/Oxford/Cambridge accent.

Marshall McLuhan

Coined the expressions "the medium is the message" and the global village (globalism), and for predicting the World Wide Web almost thirty years before it was invented. Said the globe has been contracted into a village by electric technology and the instantaneous movement of information.

All India Radio

Comprised of 14 stations and shortwave service. It adopted colonial biases after being taken over by Colonial British and was run by upper caste elites. It offered mostly information, instruction, and classical Indian culture. It also banned popular women singers (concerns with prostitutes??) and was skeptical of advertisements (didn't think this would help develop the country positively). There was a lot of concern on subjects about political unrest, therefore there was tight government control on this station and they censored a lot (sex, crime, and politics) FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

Amos 'n Andy was an exceptionally popular radio program, but it proved to be controversial when it was brought to television. Who expressed concerned about the program and what were those concerns? Why was it an especially sensitive time for CBS to put the program on the air? Why did the program eventually fail? Who was disappointed by the removal of the program from the CBS schedule? Why did they support the program?

Cripps- Amos N' Andy and the Debate Over Racial Integration. Many African Americans and the NAACP expressed concern with the Amos N' Andy television show because they felt many of the characters were still wrongly portrayed with many disrespectful stereotypes seen in 19th century minstrel shows, which lampooned black people as lazy and stupid. It was an especially sensitive time for CBS because it was an era of post-WWII racial activism in America and the popular press, ruling democratic party, and even conservative groups felt the need to bring racial integration to the forefront of American politics and social change. The program failed partially because of the NAACP campaign to remove it from the air, Blatz Beer's decision to withdraw from sponsorship, and opposition from the black middle class. Many black actors were upset by the removal because they finally felt the ability to have a consistent career but it was removed due to the backlash against the owned show. Many of them were grateful to "have a foot in the door" and also be given three meals a day in a time where many black actors didn't obtain major jobs in television or film. Some viewers were also disappointed, as they felt that the show was taking baby steps towards progress and presented a more complicated view of the black middle class than critics said, such as in the Christmas episode, when Andy embodies generosity through his efforts to buy his goddaughter a doll, and Andy exemplifies principles of good Christianity through the explanation of the Lord's prayer. The process of removing Amos n Andy from TV represented a divergence between race and class interests where working-class blacks held different opinions than middle-class blacks who were being criticized by the show.

Lazaro Cardenas

Elected President of Mexico in 1934 as a reformer. He brought radio access to citizens at a low cost through government intervention. He produced Mexico's "National Hour" and regulated content to be 25% "typical Mexican music." In 1938 he goes on radio before meeting cabinet. Cardenas ventures into radio at a time when 90% without radio or telephone in 1937. Radio enables access to citizens at low cost. The government initiates a news bureau!

Red Channels

It was an anti-Communist publication that accused 151 people in the entertainment industry of communist activities. It was published in 1950. FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

Yanki No! was produced by journalists that embraced the principle of objectivity and yet it quite clearly offered a point of view that conformed to the principles of U.S. foreign policy. Why was that the case?

Episode of ABC Close Up. The Documentary was trying to promote US ideals, but the Cubans in the Documentary were super Anti-American. They used dissonant voiceovers and were critical of Castro and communism. Footage showed attraction of revolution. The film was about the struggle against communism and focused on Anti-American sentiments in Cuba & Latin America. The people in the footage are anti-American and Anti-Communism.

Remediation

Every time a new technology comes along, there's no content. Concept of remediation points at the concept that early content is the remake of earlier mediums. (Texaco Star Theatre remediate back to vaudeville). The traditions of past mediums are rethought and then placed on new mediums.

FCC Blue Book

FCC adopts the "Blue Book" in 1946. Came out after WWII - most important thing: it was a very explicit statement about principles of fairness in Broadcasting made by the FCC. Balance and fairness in balance of representation for the community, also broadcasters had a responsibility to go out and find out what their communities wanted and needed. Public service obligations: local live programs, public affairs, balance commercial & sustaining, eliminate "advertising excesses". Outcome: regulated oligopoly, limited competition.

Format Radio

Format radio happened as a result of the Payola Scandal which led to syndicated playlists and only playing the top 40 songs. The concept of radio stations developing and playing specific styles geared to listeners' age, race, or gender. Management, rather than DJs, control programming choices. Essentially DJs weren't allowed to be DJs anymore.

sweeps

Four-week measurement period that fell each fall, winter, and spring (November, February, May, July) when TV ratings are collected, studied, and advertising rates are set for the next season.

According to Curtin, why did government and TV industry leaders embrace the prospects of global television? How did this fit with the foreign policy agenda of the New Frontier? In what ways did these policies coincide with Marshall McLuhan's notion of a "global village?" Why were U.S. leaders so anxious about conditions in non-aligned countries? What role could television play in promoting modernization in these parts of the world?

Government and TV industry leaders were excited about the prospect of a global community. "Among foreign aid policy makers, the reason to enhance communications was both to deliver information and to alter the worldview of people in pre-modern societies...Moreover, it was suggested that television could cultivate the aspirations and expectations of modernity" (249). It fit in with the foreign policy agenda of the New Frontier, because the US had corporate interests abroad to persuade foreign markets to buy America, but gov't officials wanted allies abroad. Also, concern was rising during the Cold War of foreign sympathies with Soviet ideals, so they thought that television could foster American ideals abroad, especially in non-aligned countries."Global television was therefore considered important because of its ability to entertain, enlighten, and inform" (259). The US hoped that global TV might inspire people to become more like the US and join the free world, without the US being too pushy and actually forcing anyone to do anything. They hoped that seeing us being modern, might inspire change in these Third World countries, some of which didn't even have electricity yet. American is so subtle in spreading it's capitalist fascism.

John Reith

He was a Scottish broadcasting executive (son of a Scottish minister) and head of BBC. He felt that it was the BBC's responsibility to bring superior information into as many homes as possible, and provide the best of British culture. He had a paternalistic vision of the audience. Right after the war, without any knowledge of radio he got the job as the CEO of BBC. Under Reith, the BBC resisted audience as a commodity, audience segments (workers, women, locals), advertising, "popular" programming (vulgar, sentimental, feminine). But... BBC was criticized for elitism. He stepped down in 1938. - John Reith views summarized in a statement he made from his 1924 account of the BBC's early year: "As we conceive it, our responsibility is to carry into the greatest possible number of homes everything that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour, and achievement... we are apparently setting out to give the public what we think they need-and not what they want, but few know what they want, and very few know what they need."

Fred Coe

He was a TV producer and director for Philco Goodyear Television Playhouse. He used explicit authorship as a signature part of his productions. MORE INFO

Mahatma Gandhi

He was a great revolutionary who led India to independence from Great Britain through passive resistance and civil disobedience. Gandhi and his followers were very anti-radio & film and didn't utilize its full potential. "Gandhi himself was both a master journalist and an instinctive communicator through pre-modern channels. His dress, his speech and the nature of his travels and campaigns resonated subtly with the expectations of millions of Indians" (Jeffrey) ADD INTO ABOUT HIS INFLUENCE ON INDIAN RADIO

Emilio Azcarraga Vidaurreta

He was a radio and phonograph retailer. Mexico Music Company (affil. RCA Victor). Sold phonographs AND licensed music. In 1930 established stations in Mexico and Monterrey City; XEW, allied to NBC and RCA. It was the most powerful in the Americas with a network of 14 stations at 200 kw. It combatted issues w/mountains blocking radio signals- some stations linked w/phone lines, but that was very expensive; some stations got programming sent to them on discs (transcriptions). Some repeater stations (picks up signal from original signal and retransmits- a dummy station that uses its own license/power to boost the signal but doesn't do its own broadcasting). XEW used to "bicycle" programs to affiliates (distributed pre-recorded shows to other radio stations) in exchange for network ad time through occasional phone links and some repeater stations. His stations played a lot of music, particularly Ranchera, which put him in favor with the government and with the public. He allied with competitors. In 1938, he founded his second network XEQ, which allied with CBS.

Rod Sterling

He was an anthology drama veteran and created the first sci-fi anthology series "The Twilight Zone". He won three Emmys.

Discuss the development of the situation comedy over the course of the 1950s and early 1960s. Explain how the genre's evolution offers insights into changes taking place in American society, home life, gender roles, and ethnic and race relations. Explain too how the genre changed in relationship to broader transformations taking place in the television industry with respect to audiences, program production, and syndication. Finally, be sure to discuss the ways in which the conventions of the genre evolved as it moved from city to suburb to parody. What changes occurred thematically and stylistically? What does this tell us about cycles of development in commercial television genres?

In the 1950s, people moved to the suburbs and women were re-domesticated. TV showed unruly women, but the husband always put them back into their place in the home at the end of the episode. Women, who were contained as wives and mothers, were shown as mediators in the home. Sitcoms promoted consumerism by filling the home with state-of-the-art, modern appliances. They examined tensions in the home using comedy to talk about them. In the 1960s, the sitcom was parodied in featured critiques of consumerism (such as in Beverly Hillbillies) and the "normal" nuclear family. There were new types of families: the rustic family, the fantastic family (as seen in Bewitched), and other, more stylized families instead of the generic nuclear household. Twilight Zone episodes criticized people's fear of the "other" and showed the shallowness of suburban neighborhood life. Twilight Zone featured trans-genre critique of sitcom setting. The sitcom went through many transitions due to advertising experimentation and expansion, as well as shifts from live to taped programs and syndication practices. There were recurring characters, deep focus photography, single cameras, themes, and instrumental sounds.The evolution of the genre shows us that commercial TV goes through genre cycles of innovation (I Love Lucy), imitation (Donna Reed), saturation (Bewitched), transition (The Twilight Zone). Innovation emphasized experimentation and reflexivity, imitation emphasized recombinant variation, saturation emphasized audience fragmentation, and transition emphasized experimentation & reflexivity- often through parody.

What factors contributed to the rise of the television news documentary during the late 1950s and early 1960s? Why did it take so long for the documentary to become a part of primetime television? In what ways were its fortunes connected to a critique of television and of American society more generally? How and why did it become bound up in the politics of the Cold War? In what ways did it serve the needs of the government and in what ways did it prove to a critical observer of problems in the US and in countries overseas?

In the late 1950's the networks had a bit of an image crisis - they had just faced the Quiz Show Scandal and people were starting to see television as just a shop window as opposed to a window on the world. The networks decided to double down on news and documentaries - a public service. Networks saw the opportunity to improve their public image, repair relations with FCC, and expand influence overseas. Thus we enter 1959 - 1963 or "the golden age of documentaries!" In 1962, there were 400+ documentaries broadcast. The reason it took so long for the documentary to become a part of primetime television because networks were SO focused on commercial endeavors. Newton Minow believed TV was a "Vast Wasteland," so his influence pushed away "serious" journalists from writing for TV. It became bound up in the politics of the Cold War, just because that's what was going on during this rise in docs. This helped the government because they could put out plenty of information about Cold War ideology. Networks used news and Doc. to expand influence overseas. The goals of the new frontier policy: contain communism, restore american vigor, win the space race & promote american exceptionalism.

Arbitron

Involved in instant ratings. The Arbitron sent tuning & channel information via phone line every ninety seconds to the American Research Bureau (ARB) headquarters. NEED MORE INFO

Desilu

It is Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball's tv production company, established in 1950. They are known for producing I Love Lucy, Star Trek, and The Untouchables. Desilu was the first tv production company to use telfilm for syndication for other tv networks. It was one of the first production companies to pioneer the 3-camera set up, assisted by former Ufa cameraman/cinematographer & DP of Metropolis, Karl Freund. Arnaz got together with Freund and developed a way to use 3 film cameras on dollies, similar to the way live cameras were used for live audiences shows, then recorded the show on film in front of a live audience. Their company was also situated in Hollywood, and their decision to use telefilm was because they didn't want to shoot in New York.

Elastic pricing

It is flexible pricing for international telefilm broadcasting. Refers to products with lots of substitutes and are highly sensitive to changes in price. When they started syndicating overseas, they charged different prices based on how many viewers were present. Elastic in that you are selling the same product, but when you license it you have a lot of latitude in terms of what to charge.You could charge anything you wanted to - it depended on the market.They were also able to undemrine local markets through strategic pricing.

Partido Revolucionario Institucional

It was a Mexican political party. It was also part of the socialist international.

Using Bang the Drum Slowly as an example, explain the ways in which the program was representative of the themes and features of the anthology drama. Why do they call him "author"? What does he care about at the beginning of the teleplay? How does it change? In what ways does the program exhibit such features as method acting, realism, and existentialism? How does the producer exploit the limitations of the medium with respect to sets, lighting, camera? Also be sure to explain why John Kraszewski sees the genre as intertwined with a particular political perspective on television as a cultural form.

It was adapted from a novel, like many other anthology dramas. It used minimalist sets, it was filmed on a soundstage, used lighting to make set changes less visible. There was no deep staging, and characters moved within a constrained space. The show was dialogue heavy, dealt with ethical dilemmas, and the author (the protagonist, called the author because the program was adapted from the novel) addresses the audience. There was a minimalist, WWII aesthetic to the program. This show was tight on issues of ethical dilemmas and character development. Henry breaks fourth wall as directly addresses audience as narrator, but also plays a part in the narrative world. This show uses tight framing as they wanted to emphasize character portrayals. The show employed realism using everyday stories, naturalism, character psychology, method acting in tight spaces, and ethical dilemmas of modernity such as existentialism. Kraszewski saw the genre as intertwined with a particular political perspective on TV as a cultural form because it didn't shy away from addressing controversial issues. The idea of the anthology drama was used as a way of showing the real and everyday realistic experience with problems that people face everyday. Anthology writers had a liberal stance to mass media and believed they should unite the divide between professionals and common folk. Much as they did when discussing mass culture in terms of forms of government, liberal intellectuals took a more even-keeled approach to contagion discourses concerning mass culture and looked to themselves to diagnose harmful and beneficial aspects of mass culture's effects on viewers' health. This view is in response to why Kraszewski sees the AD as intertwined with a particular political perspective (AD writers held a liberal perspective when creating content for AD in order to meet the needs of both Conservative and Radical parties.)

Given John Reith's vision of public service broadcasting, why and how did the BBC alter its policies in the late 1930s? In what ways did the coming of television and the ITV further encourage reforms in British broadcasting?

John Reith's vision was to provide the British audience with content that he believed to be of higher standards like speeches by the prime minister, political rallies, lectures by intellectuals, Shakespearean dramas, readings by poets and novelists. His views were monolithic ignoring the majority of the British population of whom were paying taxes in order for the BBC to be broadcasted (working class). In the late 1930s the BBC altered its policies in order to cater to the tastes of the working class because they realized their lifestyle was not being acknowledged and affirmed. Due to the threat of war by Germany the media needed to mobilize the masses in order to prepare them for any possibility of catastrophe. The BBC needed to move away from elitist propaganda in order to provide crucial information and entertainment for hard times for workers and their colonies abroad. The BBC moved away from their aristocratic ideals because they became influenced by the US radio structure. They changed their style to follow a fixed point scheduling format, supplied informal addresses to the public, and provided entertainment centered genres (comedy, variety, amateur, and game shows) and took part in audience research. ITV provided an alternative to BBC and raised tougher questions aligning with the viewer. Individual companies were put on a 405 line VHS (the first electronic TV system) so that no one could monopolize. SEE short answer John Reith

limited animation

Limited animation was basically just simple animation: one movement at a time, when one character is talking the other one is completely still, no detail. It involved reducing the amount of movement and reusing frames you already have. There was a dependence on neckties and collars: so that it is easier to animate heads separately han their bodies. The idea was that if you limit the movement you limit the amount of workload with limits labor and cost: makes it cheaper to produce animation. Cost was only only $2,500 per 20 minute episode There was a drawback: only minimal visual variety, 2 dimensional, repetitive situations and narratives, emphasis on dialogue, verbal humor The first big hit was Huckleberry Hound (1958). (Parallels the structure of Burns and Allen) Rocky and his Friends was another example.

Cultural Work of TV

Lipsitz article - cultural work of managing this transition from an urban lifestyle to a suburban lifestyle and how did that happen in this period of time? People had to reimagine themselves as part of this suburban audience. TV was doing the cultural work in documentaries - its that people in TV perceived their role as trying to manage these questions, social questions, with respect to what is citizenship? What is good citizenship?

How did suburbanization affect postwar America and American family life? What was the impact on ethnic communities and ethnic identities? In what ways were the values of suburbia different from those in ethnic and working class neighborhoods of major U.S. cities? What role did television play in mediating the social tensions and transitions taking place during the late 1940s and early 1950s? Was it a positive force or a negative force, according to Lipsitz?

Lipsitz- The Meaning of Memory. Television versions of urban, ethnic, working-class situation comedies placed more emphasis on nuclear families and less on extended kinship and ethnic relations than did their radio predecessors. Consumerism was emphasized and women who held important jobs during WWII had to be "re-domesticated" in the postwar era.There was a "white flight" to the suburbs, leading to heavy population growth there. People began marrying earlier and having more children, causing a baby boom. Meanwhile, ethnic communities were established in the cities and focused on work, relationships, single life etc. Suburban values focused on living the "American Dream," while ethnic values focused on providing food for the table. The values of suburbanization were being reflected on TV, and ethnic communities, who didn't have an accurate representation on TV, wanted to be a part of the "American Dream" as well. As Lipsitz states, he felt television played a vital role in mediating social tensions and transitions because he felt the medium had a social responsibility. Television and American society had no more need for urban, ethnic, working-class programs after 1958 because tensions between consumerist pressures and historical memories had been resolved, but the reprise of working class family shows in the 1970s brought back painful memories of the past and revealed ongoing racial tensions.

Univision

Owned by Azcarraga, it was previously known as Spanish International Network and included US stations like KMEX in Los Angeles purchased in 1960s. It is a major Spanish-language television network in the US. It does not offer as much news as other mainstream networks. News that it does offer usually lacks advocacy, relies on the same official government sources as the mainstream news, and is overtly patriotic and system supportive. FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

Milton Berle

Milton Berle was an American Comedian who was the host of the Texaco Star Theater program, which transitioned from radio to TV and was like a variety/vaudeville type of show- the first popular comedy. He would portray different types of characters on the show.

Why movie studios move away from supporting animation during the 1950s? How did animation change as it was adapted to television? Explain the features and advantages of limited animation? Initially, who was the audience for these shows? How did that change as animation became an important feature of Saturday morning programming? Why was Saturday morning animation such an efficient way for advertisers to reach their target audience?

Movie studios moved away from supporting animation during the 1950s because it was expensive to produce since they were shorter segments that were about 5 minutes long. Animated shorts lost exhibition outlet, studios started firing animation departments i.e MGM. Animation changed when it was adopted for television because instead of just showing a short 5 minute clip, they decided to have 4-5 little segments that they would show after one another which made the cartoon programs at least 30 minutes long. Animators, such as Hanna-Barbara, didn't have the money to fully animate their shows so they used limited animation. The pros of limited animation were that it reduces amount of labor and cost. If one character is talking, the other is completely still- only requiring one movement at a time. There is no detail when the woman is yanked offscreen- just a blur of colors. Heads do a complete 180- head is animated differently from the body. Basic characteristics. Reduces movements meant reusable frames. This made episodes extremely cheap- Hanna-Barbara only spent $2,500 for a 20-min episode. The cons were that repetitive, limited visual variety. Initially the audiences for the cartoons were for adults, but then once cartoons started to be shown on Saturday mornings kids started to watch them as well which made them their niche audience. Saturday morning cartoons was an efficient way for advertisers to reach their target audience because the numbers for Saturday morning viewing were high. Cheaper to advertise on Saturday mornings. Better for consumerism. Kids were the prime audience bc they didn't mind repeats and uncritical about the quality (which was lower due to limited animation).

XEW

Network created in 1930 by Emilio Azcarraga Vidaurreta, allied with NBC. It was a 14 station network that brought together various musical and cultural traditions of Mexico. It also became a television station in 1951. (See Vidura's definition for more info)

Quiz Show Scandal

Occurred in 1958-59. Shows were rigged by sponsors in order to receive higher ratings with contestants whom they perceived as "more marketable". Jack Barry-hosted game show called Twenty One: put you in isolation booth to enhance the drama while questions were posed to you, turned up temperature so you'd sweat, dramatic lighting. Sample question: name the six wives of Henry VIII and how they died. Featured a contestant, Herb Stempel, who had been coached by producer Dan Enright to allow his opponent, Charles Van Doren, to win the game. Contestants were fed answers. Stempel took the fall, FCC and Congress investigate. Criticisms of the show: shallow, deceptive TV, manipulation of mass society and consumerism. . Resulted in quiz shows being banished from prime time (game shows could remain), the Networks taking control of content by commissioning pilots, approving scripts and casting, prescreening episodes, and allowing advertisers to merely buy ad spots. Game shows could no longer have single sponsors- saw this as opportunity to increase control of programming on TV. This marked the end of single sponsorship.

According to Lynn Spigel, the introduction of television into the home generated a host of anxieties among the American public. By analyzing advertisements, news stories, and early 4 television shows, she demonstrates popular ambivalence about the new technology. Explain the reasons for this ambivalence. How did the entry of television affect the dynamics of the home? How did it affect relations between men, women, and children? How did it affect their understanding of spatial, gender, and familial relations? In what ways did television have the potential to disrupt prevailing notions about the organization and power dynamics of domestic space?

Popular representations begin to disclose the social construction of television as it was rooted in a mode of thought based on categories of sexual difference. Sexual difference and the corresponding dynamics of domestic labor and leisure framed television's introduction to the public in significant ways. The TV stove was the ultimate form of distracted viewing. The television industry struggled to produce programming forms that might appeal to what they assumed to be the typical housewife, and in so doing they drew an abstract portrait of "Mrs. Daytime Consumer." By tailoring programs to suit the content and organization of her day, the industry hoped to capture her divided attention. With the introduction of the television into the domestic home it brought up issues of work and leisure for stay at home mothers who were not seen as doing "hard work" and rather doing simple everyday tasks while watching television. This influenced nuclear families to be patriarchal and embody the concept of women being assigned to doing housework while men enjoy leisure activities in the home. Whereas Western society associates activity with maleness, representations of television often attributed this trait to the woman. Conversely, the notion of feminine passivity was typically transferred over to the man of the house.75 It could well be concluded that the cultural ideals that demanded women be shown as productive workers in the home also had the peculiar side effect of "feminizing" the father. (Spigel) INCOMPLETE

How did radio change the nature of public life for citizens of the United Kingdom? Identify some of the ways in which, prior to the arrival of the BBC, cultural experiences differed depending on one's gender, class, or social status. How did radio affect one's access to cultural resources? How did it alter the flow of information and ideas in British society?

Radio changed the nature of public life for citizens of the United Kingdom because it molded a national identity in which citizens from different social spheres could engage in what was happening in the world. It cultivated nationalism where everyone felt included and informed no matter the social class, and became the "great equalizer," transgressing class boundaries. Prior to the arrival of the BBC, cultural access was defined by class, gender, ethnicity, generation, and geography. Cultural spaces were marked by a sense of belonging; the elites would go to the theater, cultural venues, churches, clubs, libraries, schools, and parks while workers inhabited pubs, union halls, and music halls. The existence of radio in Britain altered the public life by creating a common culture in which people from various walks of life could interact and talk about cultural and political affairs. The BBC offered access to cultural spaces usually only accessible to the elite- it allowed all people to listen to speeches by the prime minister, political rallies, plays, and other cultural events. BBC worked to alter the flow of information and ideas by educating the elite and working class about each other and their lifestyles by providing universal access to entertainment and information, which softened cultural class divisions.

Explain why, according to Robin Jeffrey, radio proved to be such a failure in India. How did historical precedents (colonial, public service, and political) undermine the development of radio? Why, on the other hand, did movies and newspapers flourish? Why was Radio Ceylon so popular in India? What eventually caused changes in Indian broadcasting and led to the liberalization of electronic media?

Radio was failure in India because the colonial British government did not invest in radio technology (no connection to electricity)(apart from colonial stations of control) because they were interested in the construction of railways and the maintenance of their naval ships. Gandhi was one of the main reasons that Radio wasn't so successful in India. Radio was run by upper caste elites, and followers of Gandhi's puritan-style national movement didn't listen since Gandhi himself thought radio didn't contribute to the goals of humankind, but was instead a distraction from the movement for reformation and freedom. There was also a failure to embrace the radio as a mass medium- the Indian government overlooked radio's potential to unify the public. Before the Indian Independence Movement, radio was used to enhance the stability of colonial rule, not to integrate population.There were also language divisions due to the many different Indian dialects, class elitism, colonial authoritarianism, and partition anxieties. In many areas, radio broadcasting frequencies were not strong enough to have an extensive reach, preventing many people from having access. There were also limited funds for radio and a lack of effective control from politicians and business leaders. In terms of public service, radio's development was undermined by the banning of women singers b/c of Muslim anxieties. Broadcasters were skeptical of advertisements, making it difficult to monetize content. Finally, there was intense fear, made vivid by the 1947 partition, of inflaming social conflict. Movies and newspapers flourished because there was no government control; they were more open to American cinematic practices. People consumed more movies and newspapers because it gave them an escape and provided an alternative to the government/ colonial broadcasting system. Radio Ceylon was popular because it provided music from films that people of India would have watched, creating transmedia content. In the 1990s, satellite TV brought commercial TV to India, starting a liberation of electronic media and leading to India becoming a major exporter of film, music and TV.

Explain the critique of suburbia that Rod Serling offers in "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street." How does its view of suburbia differ from that of the suburban sitcom? What does it have to say about family, neighborhood, and social difference? Why might it be considered a critique of the Red Scare? In what ways does this program use the tools of televisual style differently from the suburban sitcom? Why might we consider it a more expressive mode of production? And why was it an exception to the trends then taking place in the TV industry? In what ways does it exhibit the persistence of creativity in the face of commercial pressures in the TV industry?

Rod Serling's "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street" reveals that the American suburbia is not entirely safe from issues of gender, class, race, etc (unlike the typical suburban sitcom's depiction of the well-to-do upper middle class family). It gives a critique of the typical suburban families at the time and their conformity as well as their xenophobia (fear of outsiders). The aliens that land on the Earth comment on how easy it was to create paranoia and panic by turning off the electricity, and conclude that the easiest way to conquer the planet is to let the people become their own worst enemies. They also discuss the fact that the Earth is "full of Maple Streets" and that they plan on moving from "one to the other." The insomniac neighbor on the show displays unorthodox behavior similar to what led to the red scare/anti- communist movement. The show also employed scapegoating and heavy undertones of the "red scare", blaming neighbor after neighbor of being behind the blackout without proof, just like McCarthy did. It was a more expressive mode of production in its use of ECU, pov shots, and authorial voice, and expressive music.It was heavily influenced by AD & existentialism. It was an exception because it did not use television to paint post-WWII in a positive light with the nuclear family that is obsessed with consumer culture and products. It shows that no matter where you are, human nature can turn ugly very quickly when there is a rise in paranoia, and a lack of communication. Commenting on suburbia's high dependence on technology, not being able to access and use technology causes commotion.

Analyze the ways that I Love Lucy humorously engaged with popular anxieties about gender roles, the baby boom, mass culture, and nuclear family life.

Schatz- Desilu, I Love Lucy, and the Rise of Network TV. Most forms of media during this time depicted women in traditional gender roles such as homemakers or attractive models, and created a narrow image of the female gender. Lucy cooks, cleans, and does everything in her power to keep her husband and children happy, all without smudging her lipstick. Lucy is an unruly woman. In one of the most popular episodes, for example, Lucy and her best friend, Ethel, take jobs at a local factory where they eventually get into trouble; they do not quietly cook and clean while their husbands are off at work ("Job Switching", 1952). Women of the 1950s were expected to stay home, not enter the workforce where men dominated. Additionally, though Lucy and Ricky are in an interracial marriage, Ricky's character often falls into the macho Latin American male stereotype, such as his thick accent and role in a Cuban band. Even Lucille Ball's position as the first female head of a television production company displayed a somewhat radical alternative to the woman's traditional role as domestic hero.

Suburban sitcom

Sitcoms were urban before they became suburban sitcoms; the character of the "mother" was contained as the wife/ perfect mother. Examples of this genre are "Father Knows Best", "Leave It to Beaver", and "Donna l,./Reed". Early sitcoms featured unruly woman: Burns and Allen, I Love Lucy, Our Miss Brooks. Suburban sitcoms: Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, The Donna Reed Show. They were very conventional in the sense that it kept the patriarchal nuclear family with the mother as the mediator, shows had small problems with weekly resolutions and the comedic effect of the show was tied into the plot unlike I Love Lucy where their comedy relied on the dialogue and jokes. It was about taking tensions in the home and using comedy to talk about them. (E.g. The Donna Reed Show). It tended to have an aspirational setting with material display and deep focus photography. Was the majority of programming by mid to late 1950s with domestic comedies solidifying into this genre. The late 1950's suburban sitcoms were very fitting with the network priorities. They had reliable ratings, it was a cost-efficient production, had consumer friendly fare and stylistic conventions (episodic series, recurring characters, single-camera, deep focus, flat lighting, continuity editing, instrumental sound). This was good because it helped to deliver what the networks wanted since it kept up with viewerships. [ ... Parody: early 60s? ]

Syndication

Syndication is the licensing of the right to broadcast television programs by multiple television stations without having to go through a broadcast network. This is the process of making a specified number of program episodes available for "lease" to other networks or individual broadcast stations, after the current network's contract for the program expires. There was no need to go through individual networks in order to get the show or program attached to it. Syndication was used to get programs to independent stations and local affiliates, and even some overseas markets. Sometimes syndicators sold programs at reduced rates depending on the demand (elastic pricing).

Why did TV shift from live programming to telefilm? What were the technical and economic advantages of telefilm? Why was Desilu Studios an especially important leader in the early history of telefilm programming? What innovations did it introduce to the production and distribution processes? In what ways did telefilm help networks to consolidate their control over program production?

TV shifted from live programming to telefilm because it was cheaper and effective for syndication. The advantages of telefilm were that it was cheaper and easier to edit, loop, and shoot. Scheduling was also made efficient along with the managerial aspects of it. Shooting in Hollywood also became cheaper than shooting in NY because set building was more affordable, and they could also shoot lots of footage for multiple shows at once. Desilu Studios was an especially important leader in the early history of telefilm programming because they produced their own shows such as I Love Lucy and The Untouchables, and they were able to profit heavily from syndicating those programs. Desilu in a way produced this model for production efficiencies, distribution wise they were allowed to syndicate their programs and make profits off of it by letting other networks show it and also being able to show it overseas. Telefilm introduced the innovations of syndication and filming multiple scenes, scheduling efficiencies, and the precedent of networks paying the licensing fee. Telefilm helped networks consolidate their control over program production because they essentially got to name their price for the program (elastic pricing).

Explain the public service broadcasting paradigm developed by the BBC during the 1920s and early 1930s? How did that differ from the aims and practices of commercial radio in the United States? Why, according to Hilmes, was the relationship between American and British broadcasting so important? How did US radio affect British radio and vice versa? Moreover, why did these two institutions have such a powerful influence on the development of broadcasting around the world?

The BBC was a public service, educational, and government oriented medium. The radio was a highly regulated medium that was controlled by British government. The government was heavily involved because they were protecting elite interest in order to maintain: class, gender, and ethnic divisions- they kept everyone in their place while having them educated about issues involving British imperialism. They provided content for each of these differing social classes. For example, races at the ascot and symphonies at Queen's Hall (which promoted elite culture), royal events, speeches by the prime minister, political rallies, lectures by intellectuals, Shakespearean dramas, readings by poets and novelists, church services, and sports (football, rugby, and tennis). The BBC's national objective was to support UK cultural heritage, manage class tensions, and educate and uplift the public (aka democratization and modernization). The ultimate goal was to provide universal access to info and entertainment (creating a national audience where everyone could access the same service). The mission was to have an elite perspective and provide a national service to the public. In comparison to the United States, the BBC gave its listeners what they thought was best for them intellectually and tried to avoid "American chaos." The US was more focused on commercialism (advertising) and promoting popular culture, and developed a private and commercial model of programming, encouraging competition among participants. According to Hilmes, the relationship between American and British broadcasting was important because they presented the duality of modern industrial society. While the GB broadcasting system was public service oriented, the US was commercially-oriented. not only do they present examples of contradictory business models, but the proponents of each model used the other as examples to avoid, each calling the other a model of containment media, when they would instead become influenced by one another. The British saw the development of the American radio system as barbaric and chaotic, however the two systems did influence one another. Following Britain's lead in radio public service, American program promoted public affairs. Britain capitalized on American broadcasters audience research studies to better cater their programs to target demographics such as women and the lower middle class, employed crooning, and follow a fixed-point schedule. The British and US broadcasting created the framework for other nations to follow, like Mexico, which followed the US commercial model, and India, which followed the BBC model. The model that these countries follow is dependent on the country that colonized them. India followed the British model (based on colonization) and Mexico followed the US model (based on imperialism).

During class we viewed the second episode of The Burns and Allen Show from 1950. Explain the experimental features of this episode. How does it trouble our sense of boundaries between the worlds of live theatre, narrative cinema, and promotional sponsorship? Focusing on the scene when the announcer (Bill Goodwin) comes to visit George Burns, explain how these performance traditions collide with comic effects. In what ways might we see this as a form of self-reflexive experimentation that is representative of early television?

The Burns and Allen Show employed the breaking of the 4th wall, incorporating dancing, and multiple cameras. It was very self-reflexive and moved between the sponsorpitch, narrative world, and theatrical space constantly. It reflected on all three styles, reflected on boundaries, acknowledgment of engagement between performers and audience. The show troubled our sense of boundaries because the show itself has none - audiences are used to being shown only one world, but it fluctuates between all three constantly, which highlights the fact that there are boundaries to begin with. It makes boundaries dynamic and fluid and not stiff and unmovable. In the scene with Bill Goodwin, the announcer and Burns both are participating in the narrative world during this scene, yet the announcer can't help but pitch the sponsor's product and Burns can't help but break the fourth wall and use his straight man routine where he looks at the audience and makes an exasperated expression, mocking the extensive mention of the sponsored product. It was self-reflexive in how it knocks down the 4th wall- Burns addresses the audience then steps back into the show. It was representative of early television because it crosses boundaries and experiments and acknowledges the audience's existence - understands that it is a performance (reflecting on the medium itself) it invokes a knowing audience by engaging with them - something that happened in early live TV but not in pre-recorded shows.

By the end of the 1950s, the television industry had developed into what some historians refer to as the "classic network system." What were the features of this system? What were its effects on popular culture? In what ways did the classic network system exhibit an even greater centralization of network power than that which existed during the radio era?

The Classic Network System, which existed from the 60's to the 80's, featured vertical integration, where the big 3 networks produce, commision, finance, schedule, distribute, exhibit, syndicate. There was concentrated oligopoly power in exhibition & TV program production. Networks wanted consistently high rating @ reasonable cost that has mass appeal, so they employed "least offensive programming". Effect on popular culture included the industrialization of culture, the development of standard products, heightened cost-efficiency of production, mass distribution, and stable markets. This in turn led to higher rates for advertisers, bland content, commercialism, and increased violence in programming. The CNS also essentially crushed independents. The centralization of network power became greater, as only a few networks dominated the entire market- ABC, CBS, and NBC, resulting in a transformation from the "Golden Age of TV" to a "Vast Wasteland."

Payola

The Payola Scandal happened in 1958-1960 and had to do with DJs being paid for playing certain songs. It was essentially the record companies paying these DJs to play certain songs that they wanted to give exposure to. "corruption of youth" and racial overtones. It was essentially a commercial bribe, and in order for the paying and playing of the music it had to be disclosed on air, and the song was not to be a regularly played song. The scandal resulted in the loss of control by DJs on the radio and playlist syndication.

Explain the scandals that radio and television confronted at the end of the 1950s? Why did these scandals emerge? What did they seem to say about the broadcasting industry? That is, what were the criticisms leveled at the TV industry? How did the networks respond to the scandals?

The Payola Scandal happened in 1958-1960 and had to do with DJs being paid for playing certain songs. It was essentially the record companies paying these DJs to play certain songs that they wanted to give exposure to. It was a commercial bribe, and in order for the paying and playing of the music it had to be disclosed on air, and the song was not to be a regularly played song. There were racial overtones and a "corruption of youth", and a fear that Rock and R&B were merging too much. The scandal resulted in the loss of control by DJs on the radio and it led playlist syndication. Allan Freed, a DJ that coined the term "rock n' roll" and played music that was viewed as corrupting the youth (R&B, rock and roll, the blues and alternative genres) saw his career fell apart after the Payola Scandal during the investigations that he refused to participate in- he was eventually prosecuted. The ASCAP then took over, leading to DJs losing control and being replaced by format radio (top 40) syndications. The concept of radio stations developing and playing specific styles geared to listeners' age, race, or gender. Management, rather than DJs, control programming choices. Essentially, DJs weren't allowed to be DJs anymore.TV scandals included the Quiz Show Scandal in the late 50's. Shows were rigged by sponsors in order to receive higher ratings with contestants whom they perceived as "more marketable". The Jack Barry-hosted game show called Twenty One put you in isolation booth to enhance the drama while questions were posed to you, turned up the temperature so you'd sweat, and used dramatic lighting. They asked contestants questions such as "Name the six wives of Henry VIII and how they died". The show featured a contestant, Herb Stempel, who had been coached by producer Dan Enright to allow his opponent, Charles Van Doren, to win the game. Contestants were fed answers. Stempel took the fall, FCC and Congress investigate. Criticisms of the show were that it was shallow, deceptive TV, manipulation of mass society and consumerism. The scandal resulted in quiz shows being banished from prime time (game shows could remain), the Networks taking control of content by commissioning pilots, approving scripts and casting, prescreening episodes, and allowing advertisers to merely buy ad spots. This marked the end of single sponsorship. These scandals arose due to lengthy features by Variety and Billboard, and stark opposition of payola by the ASCAP. This said the broadcast industry was a good way to make music popular and also that it was corrupt. / said tv was shallow and deceptive, focus on mass society and consumerism. These scandals basically demonstrate how money hungry the broadcasting industry was because of the ratings that 21 got and how the radio stations would be bribed to pay certain songs for these record companies to make a larger profit. It truly demonstrated the "vast wasteland-ness" of the industry. Networks moved radio towards formatted radio, banned quiz shows from primetime, and took control back from advertisers and altered their image from consumer driven, to news/info public image

Dayparts

The time segments that divide the TV day for ad scheduling purposes. These segments generally reflect a television station's programming patterns. Comparison of audience estimates between segments may indicate differences in size and composition of available audience. They may vary by market, station and affiliation. Late fringe: 11:30PM-1:00AM. Post Late Fringe: 1:00-6:00AM. Early Morning: 6:00-10:00AM. Daytime: 10:00AM-4:30PM. Early Fringe: 4:30-7:30PM. Primetime Access: 7:30-8:00PM. Prime Time: 8:00PM-11:00PM. Late News: 11:00-11:30PM

In what ways was the Texaco Star Theater like a radio variety show? In what ways was it different? How did it revive some of the performance traditions of vaudeville that had been lost during the radio era? How did camera work on the show offer new possibilities for engagement between the audience and the show's host, Milton Berle? During the segment on the "United Nations of show business," how does the show mediate issues and tensions regarding cultural difference? Why was cultural difference an especially important concern during this period of time, both domestically and internationally?

The Texaco Star Theater presented itself as theater and featured entertaining acts (such as musicians) as well as skits to engage with the audience. It employed audience participation (game-show type things) and dismissed the barrier between performers and audience. There was direct address with the audience, a family-like cast, live music, quick banter, and sketch comedy. It was different in that it could have visual acts like acrobats and jugglers - vaudeville acts that didn't translate to radio well because they weren't an auditory performance. It was able to create a visual connection between performers and audience members through eye contact. It made physical comedy possible with magic, animal acts, and acts of sexuality. The show's host, Milton Berle, interacted directly with the audience by breaking the fourth wall and serving as the Master of Ceremonies. The camera framed the proscenium arch, giving the impression of theater. Milton would look off camera at the audience and give personable eye gaze, the tempo of the show would correlate with the audience laughter and response. The show was able to employ traditions of vaudeville in its featuring of visually-oriented acts; it was not limited to auditory acts alone. The "UN of show business" segment took a white, hegemonic, patriarchal approach and put a white twist to their interpretation of cultures by displaying the UN of entertainment as entirely white. Cultural difference was especially important domestically because of rising discontent concerning segregation and racism and white fears concerning African American militancy. The show wanted to make African American seem non-threatening by putting them in white-power oriented context. This cultural difference was important internationally due to the rise of the Cold War and general anxieties about foreign others.

In what ways did U.S. television policy seem to contradict the principles of a truly Free World and a free flow of communication? In what sense might we think of U.S. policy as a form of "official internationalism?"

The US offered up all of these means of communication by means of television, but the communication was largely one way. It's not as if they were donating film crews to these countries to respond with their own media. US TV policy contradicted the idea of a Free World because it imposed itself onto other nations' cultures and not giving them freedom to create their own. America is very dominant and through this dominance, it has taken away other nations' free choice. Additionally, America's desire to eradicate communism from other nations was also a sign of it taking away a nation's choice to structure their government however they wanted.

Between 1947 and 1950, Jon Kraszewski notes that most anthology dramas were adaptations of famous plays or novels. What were the factors that caused producers to change their practices and start to commission original scripts? Describe the factors that helped to foster the prominence of writers during the era of the anthology drama? As they achieved notoriety, why did writers turn their attention to publishing collections of their scripts? In what ways was this tied to their professional needs and in what ways was it connected to their political perspective on television as a mass art form?

The factors that caused producers to change their practices and start to commission original scripts was the fact that these classic novel + play scripts started to fall flat. TV critics began to question the cultural value of many anthology series saying that they were mediocre, poor entertainment. {I'd have to disagree...pressure to change was from the high cost of production and competition for the rights with Hollywood studios that pushed TV budgets to the limit.} Having observed the changing conditions of the industry, network execs made tv writers responsible for writing of stories. Execs thought this new role would help the networks solve their problems with story properties and would promote the networks as the cultural guardians of the tv industry. Weaver was one of the main proponents of creating original content; he thought the adaptations of novels resulted in stiff, unengaging scripts. Many successful TV writers had little to no experience prior. Writers published collections of their scripts because they wanted to make a name for themselves, it increased their individual popularity which in turn gave them better chances for future writing positions and actually established them as authors. Having a prominent name meant job security. INCOMPLETE

Distracted viewing

The viewing of TV while performing other tasks.This was the preferred model of viewing meant for the average housewife. The mother of the house was basically in a position where she was only half-watching. (Relates to Spigel's article) In the home, is she working or is the home a place of leisure? Compared the the rest of the family in the home who enjoyed watching tv, the mother of the house was always doing housework, catering to her family, while catching glimpses of whatever program they were watching.

overnights

These are ratings, recorded tape, that are available to clients the day after broadcast. FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

During the early 1950s, television networks acquired telefilm productions from a wide range of producers, many of them small operators. Over the course of the decade, production shifted to 5 large producers. Why did this occur? Why did syndication become such an important component of the production business? Why did talent agencies, such as MCA and William Morris, become involved in TV production? What is a profit-participation deal? Who was likely to get such a deal? Who was not?

The independent companies couldn't keep up because they didn't have the funds. Desilu capitalized off of I Love Lucy, Four Star profited off of Four Star Playhouse, Screen Gems had parent company Columbia Pictures supporting them, Revue had MCA Talent Agency. Big studios also loaned out their assets for rent (below the line production services for a fee and rented out studio space). The top 5 television production companies became Warner Bros, Revue, Four Star, Desilu, Screen Gem. Meanwhile, Indie studios attached to talent agencies because of commissions. Indie would benefit by having their writers attached to the show and writers would get salary and some profits. Talent agencies would also get profits for representing writers of indie studio and it also meant the promotion of the agency stars. Syndication important as it places a net underneath risky program production business and residual profits generate substantial cash reserves to meet expense of new productions. Why did talent agencies, such as MCA and William Morris, become involved in TV production? Talent agencies had informal agreements. They acted as their production company while the studios would use their talent. Talent agencies involvement included William Morris, who was associated with Four Star. Four Star guaranteed promotion and Roles from talent represented by William Morris. Meanwhile, Revue is a subsidiary of MCA. A clause in SAG that prevented talent agencies from being involved in this kind of agreement because of conflict of interest. Talent agencies couldn't own their own studios, BUT director of SAG (Ronald Reagan) granted MCA a waiver because he was represented by them. Profit Participation is when A list actors will take a small payment during production and then take a percentage of profits from the first run revenue (because TV). They also received residuals. Smaller name actors didn't get profit participation, only the initial payment and residuals. This made syndication important for making a profit because they did not have to pay profit participation for reruns/second runs.

Why did the initial allocation of VHF television licenses cause problems? How did the FCC solve these problems? How did the FCC's intermixture policy affect the early development of the television industry?

The initial allocation of VHF television licenses caused problems because there was too much interference within the frequencies and the FCC could not control as much as they wanted. Eventually, the FCC decided to put a "freeze" on giving out licenses in order to efficiently map out a blueprint of American television through interviews, analysis, etc. The freeze was supposed to last 6 months but eventually lasted 4 years due to interruption from the Korean War. This affected the early development of television because UHF and VHF receivers were not compatible, many cities only had access to 1-2 stations, with some having none at all, and many people could not watch color television on a black and white monitor. Smaller local and rural areas could not afford to switch to UHF, so they had limited options. VHF stations thrived as the freeze allowed those with licenses to broadcast during this time. The FCC eventually allowed UHF and VHF in the same market. This permitted a smaller, less powerful community and allowed big stations to have a wider reach. The FCC also adopted a standard of color TV.(Dumont). SEE FCC FREEZE

Why did television develop initially as a live medium during the early 1950s? How did the commitment to live TV affect early programming? Which genres and styles of presentation were most influential? What were the generic and stylistic features of the TV variety show and the anthology drama?

The institutional reasons for live TV were that it satisfies the FCC and enhances the value of networks by attracting affiliates and sponsors. The stylistic reasons for live TV were that it distinguished early TV from film; there was immediacy, access, participating, and familiar faces. Anthologies couldn't produce dramas which Hollywood execs had the rights over so they found a loophole in the contracts which stated that they could produce and re-air for other broadcasts, such as airing a show hours later on the west coast, so they would only do live performances like an actual play. Theatrical live TV, or the TV variety show featured framing to look like a set, live music, a stage, and a live audience, allowing the actors to have direct eye contact and visual cues. TV variety shows and anthology dramas were a form of prestige programming. They featured a single sponsor, such as US Steel or Ford, were formatted to half-hour to two-hour shows, and had weekly changes of scripts and actors. Variety shows featured gags, skits, and short segments to engage with the audience, including musical acts. At first, anthology dramas were adaptations of book and radio shows, then they began to produce originals. There was an intensive production schedule, with realism, everyday stories, naturalism, method acting, and ethical dilemmas of modernity, such as existentialism. Milton Berle became known for playing with drag roles as the host of the Texaco Star Theater. NBC and CBS would co-finance original plays and use that material to make TV shows before Hollywood could get them. The live audience response was replicable of the theater, and brought back to life the physical comedy that radio couldn't produce. Broadcasters were able to experiment with early styles. ADs on television were allowed to bring the theater to the suburbs. AD stories started off as adapting classic novels and plays before they made the switch to originals. AD's were shot without an audience in shallow focus.

Radio Ceylon

The largest radio station in India (began in 1923). It played film music, interviews with talent, movies news, reviews, recorded songs (Lata Mangeshkar) and promos. By 1957, 9/10 of radios were tuned into this station; the 10th was out of order. It had a commercial transnational broadcast. In its Bombay office they would track record store sales and solicit listener letters, requests, and votes to see what people wanted to hear. It was considered transnational, transcultural, and transmedia. They also had a schedule for languages (English, Hindi, and Temil) FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

What was Warner Bros.' model for television production? How did the studio achieve speed and economies in the production process? How did WB treat talent? How did actors respond to this treatment? In general, what was the creative environment on the WB lot and why does Anderson consider it pathological? Using the episode of Maverick that you saw in class as an example, discuss the problematic features of the studios' mode of production.

Warner Bros had an astonishingly narrow definition of television business. They ran on a single product (hour long dramas), single market (ABC network), single financing (full ownership) and a single mode of production (managerial, exclusive contracts). This mode of production was problematic in the way that it made their shows look. It affected editing, writing and their actors. Since the studio was producing so many shows at once it gave a lot of work for the editors to do which became overwhelming. As a result the value and quality of their editing went down. They were only provided with 2 cuts which resulted in the editors only relying on simple editing styles. As far as writing goes, the stories became generic and repetitive. For example, a crime drama in NYC could easily become a western show with a simple change of setting which is why the episode of Maverick that we saw in class didn't really feel like a western show. Actors were treated as replaceable and were tied to being dayplayers at Warner Bros, which is why James Garner wanted out because he wasn't allowed to play any other character. It is safe to say that actors would tire of this model eventually. Diversification was key for studios but Warner Bros executives were so focused on short term benefits of network television and the need to control both the production process and the ownership of the studio's products that they failed to recognize just how shallowly they had planted the studio's roots in television. With its decision to produce solely for ABC and its reluctance to diversify beyond production, Warner Bros. was ill-prepared for new or unexpected circumstances. Consequently, after reaching a peak in 1959, the studio declined so rapidly that within four years it had only a single series in prime time. The studio's success in television masked a pathological undercurrent, in which the very elements that enabled Warner Bros. Warner Bros. television policies backfired in three specific areas: the studio's high-volume production of television series, its treatment of contract employees, and its exclusive relationship with ABC.

Charles Van Doren

Was a contestant on "21" in 1958 that beat Herbert Stemple. He was fed the answers to many questions to ensure his victory. FCC found out that the producers were feeding him answers and it became a scandal.

National Hour

Was part of Mexico's government initiatives under Lazaro Cardenas. Its production included Mexican pop and classical music; historical docudrama; poetry; government information. It was a public opinion radio show from NBC that discussed and dramatized many new issues after end of WWII. BTW: Government initiatives for what? FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

program analyzer

Was used especially for expensive TV pilots ratings. It was developed in 1938 by Stanton & Lazarsfeld. It measures, tests audience, and has responses measured by minute. Still used today to test pilot programs for television. Not thoroughly computerized-which enables test-group members to express favorable, neutral, or unfavorable reactions by pushing buttons at regular intervals on cue.

hanna-barbera

William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were the heads of MGM Animation from 1955-1957, and in 1957 the MGM Animation department dismantled so they were put out of work for that time. As a result they created their own production company since they knew the ins and outs of the animation business. Their first show was The Rough and Ready Show in 1957 which they sold to NBC. They also had a limited animation style with a heavy dependence on neckties and stuff to make it easier to animate. Their first big hit was the Huckleberry Hound Show in 1958 and 2 years later they created The Flintstones.

Joseph McCarthy

Wisconsin senator in the 1950s. He claimed to have a list of communists in the American government but had no credible evidence. He took advantage of fears of communism post WWII to become incredibly influential. "McCarthyism": coined in 1950 in reference to his practices -- soon applied to similar anti-communist activities FROM QUIZLET NEED MORE INFO

Turret; Zoom

_______ lens: Multiple lenses in one camera- if you wanted to change from close up to medium to long shot,.had to turn the turret. ____ lens: a device that can be rotated to allow the user of a photographic or television camera their choice of two or more lenses of different focal length.