 The Sixties RTV 3007 Intro to Television

The Shape of TV in 1964 The Shape of TV in 1964  CBS pays $28 million for the rights to NFL Football. Turns a profit immediately.  The instant replay transforms football from an incomprehensible jumble on screen to a ballet of end-runs, passes, strategy and coordination.  SuperBowl 1, 1967: I4

The Shape of TV in 1964  Afternoon soap operas catch on and become very profitable. Days of our Lives 1965:  Johnny Carson takes over The Tonight Show, launching late- night talk shows as a TV staple. Popular TV dramas were centered around the theme of clandestine international operations by the CIA: Mission: Impossible, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy and Get Smart. Amazon

The Birth of Cable TV  Cable TV grew out of Community Antenna TV (CATV).  CATV was popular in areas where broadcast reception was difficult. A large antenna was constructed and cables run from the antenna to individual homes.  By 1962, 800 cable systems served 850,000 homes.  FCC forbid cable systems from carrying anything but local broadcast signals until  Home Box Office launches in HBO was the first cable network to use satellite transmission.  By 1979, more than 16 million US homes subscribed to cable TV.

The Daisy Ad – 1964 Presidential Race  US involvement in Vietnam was highlighted in 1964 presidential campaign  GOP candidate Barry Goldwater suggested using “low-level atomic device”  Johnson campaign responded with the Daisy and Ice Cream ads:  Ads were developed by Doyle, Dane Bernbach  Ads were shown on TV only once. They were replayed endlessly on news and talk shows.

1964 The Vietnam War Begins  Johnson escalated US involvement in Vietnam in 1964, violating international agreements and limitations placed on the presidency by Congress.  In 1964, US warships were attacked by North Vietnamese forces. The Senate passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which let the US use “all necessary measures” to “prevent further aggression.” KqGcaOM

Press Coverage of Vietnam War  Although the press was supportive of the Vietnam efforts, US public opinion started to turn against US involvement.  Johnson exerted great pressure on US news organizations to cover Vietnam War in a supportive manner  Press travelled with military in Vietnam. They were not censored and could go where they wanted to.  However, military reviewed all news reports after broadcast. Journalists who criticized the war were pressured.

Press coverage of vietnam war  Some reporters defied the military. In 1965 Morley Safer of CBS reported on US soldiers torching the village of Cam Ne:  Fred Friendly resigned from CBS in 1966 when the network refused to air Senate hearings critical of the Vietnam War

The Growth of the Counter-Culture  Americans started turning against TV and “The Establishment” and embraced alternative media: underground film, off-Broadway theater, cafes, folk rock, demonstrations, marches, sit-ins, teach-ins, love-ins.  TV did not know how to handle hippies, yippies, teeny-boppers and peaceniks.  CBS removed a performance by Pete Seeger from The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour:

The Growth of the Counter-Culture  “Make Love Not War” was a popular slogan. Members of the Civil Rights movements linked their cause with the peace movement.  Blowing in the Wind –  Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

1968  Johnson loses TV support for war.  Cronkite sees a “stalemate,” Frank McGee (NBC) says US is “losing the war.”  March 31 - Johnson withdraws from 1968 presidential race

1968  April 4 – Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis.  June 5 – Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles.  July – Riots erupt outside of Democratic National Convention in Chicago

1968  November – Richard M. Nixon is elected president  Imagine (1971)

 The Moon Landing RTV3007* INTRODUCTION TO TELEVISION

First Moon Landing – JULY 20, 1969  Realization of a goal set by Pres. John F. Kennedy  Apollo 11 crew – Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong  NASA’s fifth manned space mission  Broadcast to a world-wide audience  Actions of the astronauts were scripted for a TV audience  CBS Coverage (some animation used):   First Moon Walk: 

 The End of Nixon RTV 3007 * INTRODUCTION TO TELEVISION

The End of Nixon  May 4, Kent State Shootings June 17, Break-in at the Watergate Hotel  May 17-August 7, Watergate hearings televised  March 1, 1974 – Indictment of “Watergate 7”  August 9, Nixon Resigns

The End of Vietnam  April 30, The Fall of Saigon ABC - ITN -