Group L: Chapter 33 & 34

Chapter 33 – Television Begins by William Boddy

This chapter discusses the overall climate of the broadcasting industry during the development of television as a new communication medium in the 1940s.

Some important points that everyone should remember are that:

-Early regulatory decisions and other ideological and economic constraints influenced the commercial structures and programme forms of television in America and consequently, around the world.

-Economic concentration was early and pronounced. There existed two dominant networks, NBC and CBS, with ABC trailing behind.

The Manufacturing Industry

-The direction of American television in its first decade was controlled by leaders of the radio broadcasting and set manufacture businesses – specifically TV’s dominant firm, NBC-RCA.

-Radio broadcasting at this time was experiencing a position of both strength and defensiveness.

-The rising profits from network radio led to ambitious plans for post-World War II spending.

-The two broadcast networks faced a period of scrutiny as a result of efforts to outlaw established distribution practices.

-The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) challenged network radio practices, causing a review of public service responsibilities.

The Defense of Commercial Television

-Broadcast industries emerged from the war in high public esteem and unquestionable wealth.

-Public criticism of commercial broadcasting required defensive public explanations by the networks, as can be seen in this statement by the head of CBS.

-Commercial television did not take off immediately after the war.

-The dispute between NBC and CBS interests in regards to launching a colour television service caused a delay in the growth of television. NBC favoured immediate development in Very High Frequency (VHF), whereas CBS wanted to delay and establish Ultra-high Frequency (UHF).

-CBS was temporarily successful in a public campaign against NBC and the FCC, with Americans showing little interest in set ownership under the unsettled industry conditions.

-However, after the FCC denied the CBS petition in 1947, there was real growth in U.S. commercial television.

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The second part of the article discusses some of the doubts that came along with television during its earlier years.

The part of the article called “training the television audience” explores the television versus the radio and how the television was thought to become only a “secondary service to the established radio”. This belief came from the idea of how watching television requires a specific type of audience where full audience concentration was required. Therefore, activities such as bridge playing, conversations and reading could not go on at the same time like it could when listening to the radio. With this in mind television also brought along with it fears and anxieties as it was believed that it would alter and disrupt the American home and family. Since television required full attention, press observers believed that the housewife would not be able to complete her chores like washing or ironing as she could do by listening to the radio because the television required its audiences visual attention as well as listening. Fears however also went beyond the housewife and focused on children and husbands. Junior as the article mentions would rather trade in natural sunlight for the living room darkness. And fathers’ briefcases would lie unopened in the foyer. All of these anxieties show how early television would ultimately provoke change in the American domestic life. Changes in how family time would be spent such as dinners being eaten in front of the television or leisure time that used to be spent outdoors to watch a baseball game for instance would move in doors. Even how the chairs in the living room would change as they became directed towards the television

The next section “the search for a national signal” investigates the doubts of being able to bring a television signal into all the homes of Americans and ultimately reach a large demographic. In 1947 only 60, 000 television sets were sold in the entire country. Two thirds of these sets were placed in New York City as it was the nations media and advertising capital. However having two thirds of all television sets in the country in one area wasn’t the only problem. 3,000 of these television sets were placed in bars and the rest were located in the homes of high-income families creating an audience demographic problem. Trying to fill a programming schedule that met the needs of both audiences would prove to be a challenge. Those at the bars wanted extensive sports coverage and those at home wanted extensive news coverage, but there was insufficient sports and news material to fill a whole programming schedule. Television appeal quickly focused on the male demographic and in 1947 an observer claimed “so far it’s a man world in the programming department”. Television programs became focused on sport games and covering news distastes such a fire and crime. This problem of programming based on gender and class would soon diminish by the 1950s with the explosion of television sets sales and their distribution and incorporation within the American family.
Some questions to think about:

1. There was a fear of not being able to multi task when watching television. How is this different now?
2. Is the Internet a threat to the television like the television was to the radio? What were some the anxieties first present with the release of the Internet?
3. What sorts of changes do you make to your routine in order to fit the television into your domestic life?