The Beginnings of American Television

The Beginnings of American Television

William Boddy

] Terminology [

Airwaves

RCA

NBC

CBS

ABS

Broadcast

FCC

Television

Signal

Manufacturing Industry

VHF

UHF

Line-of-sight

Audience

Ford Foundation Initiative

] Summary [

The second chapter of the book "Television: An International History" written by William Boddy (book edited by A. Smith and R. Paterson) is a through introduction to significant forces operating during the beginning stages of the American Television Industry. Boddy presents a very specific timeline, event-oriented chapter for those interested in the beginning of television. The chapter has subsections that cover topics from the historical background of the manufacturing industry, to the pressure politics had (and some may say still has) on television, to the advent of Pay TV, to the most recent Network and Independent Production. Broadcast television was founded upon two opposing principles: that the federal license confers a privilege, not a right, to the broadcaster to operate in 'the public interest' using public airwaves, and that the license establishes and protects the broad de facto property rights of private operators of television stations under restricted oversight of network operations and programmed content. This contradiction was at the core of the beginnings of a long complicated history of negotiations, political and economical influences, bad decisions and rough development of the industry. The article begins at the core of the beginning of television broadcasting, and the initial problems with the decision of using the VHF frequency over the UHF frequency. The initial impulses of TV came after WWII and the article explores how the major networks pursued establishing their good image in the mind of their audience, in order to provide a base stone for the growth of commercial television. Boddy covers the historical debates over radio waves and the location of TV. Early oppositions are displaced, exposed and discussed. Oppositions came from educators, especially as federal authorities did not reserve broadcast channels for exclusive educational use. 'A writer in the American Scholar in 1950 warned that 'television as merely another engine of power in the competitive struggles of our glorious "free enterprise system" will lead to cultural disaster.' What people thought were the disruptive effects of television are seen? TV's Mount Everest triumph happened when it became part of the American family. This was the needed catalyst to get the medium going. Relevant social and political spheres are discussed in relation to the development of TV. Pay TV and film on TV are also presented. In the end, its a specific and academic article on the beginnings of the medium, and how its formative stage has greatly affected television to this day.

] Alberto’s Reaction [

Having studied undergrad in a communications' school, we had a lot of studies on the development of television as a social artifact in American Culture. This article, more expository than reflective, brings about an explicit timeline of social and political influences in the growth of the medium. There are some points that I had not read before. On a section on the search for a national signal, there are examples of proposed ideas on how to get the line of sight expanded onto the whole country, and the examples are funny (in retrospect point of view) such as a 300-mile high antenna. Another interesting human behavioral observation is a section on what people thought were some the disruptive effects of television and it is funny to see how people, at one point, were warned not to wear glasses while watching TV for it may be harmful to health. As a graphic designer, the article is interesting in viewing how social and political voices have a say on new mediums, and since we design for many new products and mediums, it is good for an introspective reflection.

] Valentina’s Reaction [

I must be honest and respond to how dry of a read this chapter was.

It reminded me of elementary school, when our history teacher would assign us to study the Persian War and the events leading up to it. A long collection of related events, that one would find interesting only if passionate on the subject. In comparison with the other articles read that I have enjoyed reading, I was missing both the voice of the author and a point of entry to a subject that I may not know much about.

Furthermore, Television has changed so much in the last decade, and it has integrated into our daily routines, giving us topics of conversations with friends, family and classmates. It is still a reason for gathering. So, when I read the various sections about the “making of”, I can’t but think of what TV is today, and privilege that reality.

With that said, I was surprised to read that educational content was not welcomed right from the beginning. I guess I expected educational content would chronologically come before entertainment, and I am not sure I fully understand the reasoning behind the opposition to educational use.

It is also interesting to read of 'A writer in the American Scholar in 1950 warned that 'television as merely another engine of power in the competitive struggles of our glorious "free enterprise system" will lead to cultural disaster.' It makes me think of what we consider will lead to “cultural disaster” in our future.

Of the opposition to the Internet, and the forecasts in the 1990’s that gave the World Wide Web few years to live. I think Popular Culture is somewhat seen with that eye today. Channels like MTV or BET are always condemned for their “non-educational” content, for the stereotypes it perpetuates, and for not covering “important” issues. (lately, however, elections and global warming have been discussed)