Intro to Media and Society 4 15 Social Impact Nixon Kennedy Debates TV Industry First televised debate Audience could actually see physically how composed the candidates were Those listening said Nixon won but because of how disheveled he looked and how composed Kennedy looked people watching on TV said Kennedy won Kennedy Assassination America experienced the tragedy together Viewers could see war as more than black and white Vietnam Golden Age of TV By 1955 65 of households owned TVs By 1961 89 of households owned TVs Shows were broadcast live from NY Variety shows soaps dramas Advertisers Worried about Live TV Advertisers spent a lot of money on ads With live TV ads could come up at inappropriate times TV Moves to Hollywood Shift to Hollywood for production Better weather allowed for year round shooting Rise of Scripted TV I Love Lucy and Honeymooners Syndication began reruns Spot advertising Spot slot for ad 15 30 seconds Public Government Concerns in 1960s American chairman Newton Minow refers to TV with poor content as vast wasteland Power of big 3 conglomerates Quiz show scandals some believed they were set up fixed Expansion of Choices Cable CNN Nickelodeon MTV Broadcast Fox The Fourth Network WB now the CW UPN Premium Channels HBO Cinemax Showtime United States TV Statistics 98 have TVs 64 have basic cable 34 have HDTV 26 have Video On Demand Consolidation in the Industry Role of Conglomerates Time Warner News Corp Disney CBS GE The Big 4 Networks Telecom Act of 1996 restored power to conglomerates