1. Television History MIT 2000 16/12/2015MIT20001

2. TV as “Problem Child” of Communication 1.Unidirectional 2.Aesthetics 3.Mass Audience 1.“Lowest Common Denominator” 4.Cognitive Impairment 1.Postman –”Amusing Ourselves to Death” 16/12/2015MIT20002

3. Television 1.Leisure; Family Interaction 2.Advertising/Consumerism 3.Politics/Government 4.Effect on Existing Media 1.Print 2.Radio 16/12/2015MIT20003

4. Still Image Transmission 1.Photofax Transmission (1880s-1900s) 1.Wire news photos, 1920s 2.Radio Transmission of Photos (1920s) 3.Facsimile machine (1930s) 1.“broadcast newspapers” 2.Telefon Hirmondo 16/12/2015MIT20004

5. Moving Image Transmission 1.John Baird (1926) 1.spinning disk as electrical information 2.first demonstration of television 3.BBC 1929-1935 early experiments 16/12/2015MIT20005

6. Patent Fight/TV Sets 1.Vladimir Zworykin (1932) 1.Cathode rays/images on fluorescent screen 2.experimental broadcasts 3.RCA 2.Philo T. Farnsworth 1.“boy genius” 2.earlier patents 16/12/2015MIT20006

7. Early Television 1.BBC: 1936-39 2.RCA at 1939 NY World’s Fair 3.NBC broadcasts in New York, 1939- 4.Slow Growth/Limited Use (1930s-40s) 16/12/2015MIT20007

8. Why Delayed Development? 1.Patent/legal fights 2.Depression 3.World War II 4.Line-of-Sight Transmission 1.Stratovision 2.300-mile Transmitter 16/12/2015MIT20008

9. Rapid Growth, 1948-1959 TV Sets 1940: 3,000 (NYC) 1949: 1million 1951: 10 mil. 1959: 50 mil. TV Stations 1941: 23 (experimental/ limited range) 1948: 52 (freeze by FCC) 1952: 108 16/12/2015MIT20009

10. Post-1948 Growth Factors (US) 1.End of WWII Rationing 2.Pent up Advertising Demand 3.Prior Model of Commercial Radio 16/12/2015MIT200010

11. Post-1948 TV (US) 1.Limited State Role 1.Assign/license frequencies 2.“Limited Spectrum” Doctrine 2.Economic Concentration/Duopoly 1.VHF scarcity 2.High Profits of Networks 3.NBC, CBS, (ABC) 16/12/2015MIT200011

12. Growing Popularity, 1948- 1.Suburbanization 2.Baby Boom 3.More Leisure Time 4.Rising Disposable Incomes 5.From Upper to Middle to Lower classes 1.60% TVs sold (1950) on credit 2.“poor man’s theatre” 16/12/2015MIT200012

13. TV: Utopian Promise 1.Unify and Separate: 1.New suburban family unit 1.private social relations 2.nuclear family 3.Postwar ‘family values’ 2.Separate gender roles/social functions 1.Day parts/schedules 2.Market segmentation 16/12/2015MIT200013

14. TV and 1950s Family Life 1.TV as 'new family hearth' 1.replace fireplace 2.(Xmas Eve logs) 2.Displace piano 3.“Cultural symbol par excellence of family life” 16/12/2015MIT200014

15. TV & “Family Room” 1.Term first used in 1946 2.Organize household space 1.ideal of family togetherness 3.“Family-Television Room” 1.semi-circle family/TV 16/12/2015MIT200015

16. TV and Childrearing (1950s) Remedy for “problem children” – juvenile delinquency moral panic – keeping kids at home 16/12/2015MIT200016

17. TV: Dystopian Outcome? Demands Total attention (unlike radio) – not backdrop to bridge, conversation, etc. Disrupt family/home – less time for housework – kids avoid outdoor play – complex adjustments to domestic life – viewing choice conflict 16/12/2015MIT200017

18. “The Honeymooners” Episode: “TV or Not TV” (1955) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= EMgIH9t62OI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= EMgIH9t62OI – domestic isolation/social integration – spatial confinement – productive work and leisure (TV viewing) – gender conflicts – assigned domestic roles – passive viewing/ TV “addiction” 16/12/2015MIT200018