J110 1ST Edition Lecture 8Outline of Last LectureI. Empirical II. Journalism of VerificationIII. Journalism of AssertionIV. Journalism of AffirmationV. Interest-Group JournalismOutline of Current LectureI. History of Television Broadcasta. Philo T. Farnsworthb. TV growthc. The Big Threed. What’s on TVe. Public Broadcasting Act of 1967f. Public Broadcasting SystemII. Changes in Technology and Contenta. 1970s-1980sb. Cable TVc. Videocassette Recorderd. TV Does DigitalIII. Business of TVIV. Regulation of TVa. Indecent ProgrammingV. TV TodayVI. TV as a Social ForceHistoryPhilo T. Farnsworth1927: Farnsworth transmits an image of a straight lineTV growth1939: NBC shows New York World’s Fair- But few households had a TV1942: America enters WWII- Production stops1946: RCA starts making TVs again- But from 1948-1952, licensing of new TV stations is frozen by FCC1949-1959: Went from 1,000,000 to 50,000,000 TV sets in useThe Big ThreeColumbia Broadcasting System (CBS)National Broadcasting Company (NBC)American Broadcasting Company (ABC)- Result of FCC forcing NBC to sell off one of its networks What’s on TV?Ed Sullivan ShowI Love Lucy- Broke racial boundaries- Couldn’t say “pregnant” had to say “expecting”- Ended Live TVDick Van Dyke Show- Mary Tyler Moore wears pants! BIG DEALPublic Broadcasting Act of 1967- Funding for noncommercial educational programmingPublic Broadcasting System- Non-profit network- Funded by government, private industries, and viewer donationsChanges in Technology and Content1970s: FCC loosens restriction on Cable and Satellite1975: Home Box Office (HBO) gets permission to send nationwide programming- NBC, CBS, ABC don’t object- HBO 1st network to continuously deliver signal via satellite1976: Ted Turner launches WTBS- Air via RCA satellite 1980: Ted Turner launches CNN1982: Ted Turner launches CNN Headline News1986: Rupert Murdoch starts Fox Network- Simpons married with children- Hit big time with NFL rightsCable TV- Offered new channelso BETo Nickelodeono ESPN- Half of all American households have cable serviceVideocassette Recorder1970s: VCRs available1985: 2 out of 10 homes had one1999: 9 out of 10 homes had oneTV Does Digital2009: Analog TV broadcast stations cease- HDTV- SDTVo Picture isn’t as goodo Allows moreBusiness of TVBroadcast built on adsWho’s watching?- Nielsen PeopleMetero Ratings- % of total audienceo Shares- % of TV sets in useo Sweeps: February, May, July, November Higher ratings during sweeps Ability to charge more for commercialsRegulation of TV1950S: Morality codes and network “standards and practices” department- Obscenity VS. Indecency o Obscenity- sex on TV, ACTSo Indecency- talking about acts, foul languageTV Today“An earthquake in slow motion” - Changes in broadcast networks due to changes in technology- Digital convergence of TV and Internet- “cut the cord”- iTunes and Amazon PrimeWhat’s on TV?- Netflix- non-network, non-cable content- Reality TV- it’s cheap!- Audience interaction is easyWho’s on TV?- Lots of white, urban young people- Lots of male leads too- More diversity cropping up (niche channels)- Univision and TelemundoTV as a Major Social ForceUnique characteristics:- Watching requires no special skill- Can assume role of parents and teachers- Despite audience fragmentation, TV is still dominant shared cultural experience – OlympicsNewton N. Minow- 1961- “When TV is good there is nothing better, when bad there is nothing worse…”- “Vast
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