Greetings to all in my “Mass Media and Society” course. Hope you are all reading (or by now have read) chapter 8 “Television: Changing Channels” in our textbook.
Here are some notes and observations about chapter 8—to help shape your study of this important part of our course.
In chapter 8 are such key points/topics as the history and early development of television; TV media mogul Ted Turner (who once declared that newspapers would within a few years become extinct mainly because of the power of TV (But that prophecy, obviously did not materialize); the debut of TV at the World’s Fair in NYC in 1939; the different kinds or genres of entertainment offered by early TV; the quiz show scandals of the 1950s; the Nielsen Company; public televison; the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; the eight departments found at a typical TV station; cable and satellite delivery of TV; DVRs; and HDTV.
Not touched up in this chapter (but a person you should nevertheless become familiar with in terms of the history of TV, is Christine Craft; certain folks in the TV industry said she was too old to work professionally in TV and not sufficiently subservient to men). To learn more about who Christine Craft was/is (and how she relates to the development and history of TV, do some quick research on the Net and find out.)
You should also become familiar with the the television station at Emory & Henry Colllege. Learn how that station’s TV content is produced, by whom it is produced and where you can find/view it. By the way, where exactly on our campus is EHC-TV headquartered? Hint: it’s quite close to our classroom.
If you plan to pursue TV as a career—either in front of the camera or behind the scenes—you might want to get involved quickly with EHC-TV (or as an intern or volunteer at a TV station in your home community). You, too, may one day find yourself featured in a news segment, feature story or other offering on television.
There have been several landmark or defining points/programs in the history and development of TV. Be able to name and discuss at least a few of these programs. (We may note a sampling of such programs in our class.)
Related to that, think about what it takes to be successful and/or to break into a career in TV. Not sure about what it takes? Connect with Dr. Teresa Keller in the Mass Communications Department. She’s general manager of EHC-TV. I’m sure the Internet also has a ton of information about how to get started in television. Or just make contact with a professional currently working in TV. Pick his/her brain on what it takes to break into TV and to be successful.
Here are key points about chapter 8 “Television…”:
1. Television influences people and society in both the short-term and long-term. Television has reshaped other media.
2. Television content was once labeled a “vast wasteland” by a chairman of the FCC.
3. U.S. television is organized on two tiers, national and local.
4. Television has expanded beyond over-air delivery.
5. Networks dominate programming to local over-air television stations.
6. Federal money channeled through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting helps fund non-commercial television.
7. Cable today rivals over-air networks and affiliates.
8. Radio was the model for early television entertainment programs.
9. JFK was the country’s first television president.
Key terms/names from chapter 8 include:
1. Major TV networks
2. CATV
3. Edward R. Murrow
4. David Brinkley
5. Philo T. Farnsworth
6. satellite delivery
7. prime time
8. “I Love Lucy”
9. FCC
10. “The Honeymooners”
11. CNN
12. demographics
13. Public Broadcasting System
14. Corporation for Public Broadcasting
15. Sesame Street
16. Super Bowl commercials
17. Telestar I
18. DVRs
19. Ted Turner
20. affiliates
21. concentrated ownership of stations
22. Univision
23. ratings
24. Sweeps
25. HDTV
I hope these notes about chapter 8 will help guide you in your study of this important chapter. Maybe, in a sense, some critics have been a bit unkind or unfair in describing the content/messages of TV as a “vast wasteland.”
Certainly, some TV programs have at least some redeeming/educational value. We should never discount the power of pictures choreographed with sound.
•But for TV, we wouldn’t have had an armchair seat on the news coverage of the assassination of JFK.
•But for TV, the American Civil Rights movement--the marches and suffering of African-Americans campaigning for social justice and equality under the law--probably would not have borne fruit.
•But for TV, which exposed the thousands of U.S. flag-draped coffins coming back from Southeast Asia, America’s military involvement in Vietnam would have dragged on much longer than it did.
•But for TV, we as a nation would have never been able to witness the thrills and chills of the first humans walking on the moon.
•But for TV, we would not have seen the historic (and emotionally wrenching) explosions of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles.
•But for the power of moving pictures, we would not have witnessed first hand the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. •But for TV, we would not have been as emotionally or psychologically touched by the dramatic events of Sept. 11, 2001.
•But for TV, we wouldn’t have been able to watch first-hand the huge, joyous celebration (in Chicago) of Barack Obama’s election night victory—as the nation’s first African-American president—in November 2008.
•But for TV, many of us (among them yours truly) wouldn’t have been riveted to news of a STILL-MISSING Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 with more than 235 people aboard.
Concluding observation: we owe a lot to TV, and it’s shaping our lives—what we think about, what we value, what we do and how we do it, what we talk about and write about, how we relate to others.
We definitely have to acknowledge that TV is an integral part of our psyche AND our culture. (Still don’t believe it’s an integral part of our psyche? How could it NOT be, given how much time we spend watching television. (What does chap. 8 say about how much time we spend watching TV?)
That’s it. If you’re reading this in the evening, you’re probably aching to watch your favorite TV program. And what program would that be? Are you an ESPN junkie? A Golf channel fanatic? Glued to an evening TV drama? A regular watcher of the The Voice?
One of the most famous early TV programs in the history and development of TV was "I Love Lucy"--starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. This show is mentioned in chapter 8.
Here's an “I Love Lucy” YouTube clip:
What will our world be like in 2028? Here’s a thought-provoking clip:
How is it possible for all of us to keep us in this rapidly changing, media-driven world? Watch this YouTub clip:
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