History of Television

1. History of Television

2. Why should we be interested in T.V when studying culture? • T.V is a reflection of culture or social reality like music, it is a ‘social ritual’ in which we all share • It is produced for a mass audience which makes it part of ‘popular culture’ • It transmits cultural values or dominant ideology • It is capable of satisfying the cultural needs of a diverse group of viewers • T.V is an ‘agent’ of socialisation - we construct our identities based on different representations and role models

3. The role of TV in your life “Recent research has shown that the average child born in the mid‑1990s, when 18 years of age, will have spent more time watching television than any other activity except sleep.” According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube. • In what ways does TV affect your life? How often do you watch? How long for? • Write down your ten favourite programmes from childhood. Compare your list with a partner. • Now compare your lists with the rest of class. How many programmes do you have in common?

4. History • TV sets went on sale in 1946. A small black and white set cost $200, a console $2500. The median income in the United States was $3000. TV grew so fast and the demand for station licenses was so great that the FCC declared a freeze on new stations.

5. The fifties became the golden age of television. In the fifties, more TV sets (70 million) were sold than children born (40 million). • In 1952 there were 108 TV stations. Ten years later there were 541. Today there are about 1,600 stations in the U.S. • Early programming included news, sports, game shows, sitcoms, children’s programming, variety shows and dramas. Most programming was live. Videotape was also introduced late in the decade. • The big three networks – ABC, CBS and NBC – dominated programming. On any given night more than 90 percent of viewers were watching one of the big three.

6. The 60s • The “space race” heated up and networks routinely covered each launch. • In 1963 President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Networks suspended their regular programming and commercials for four days. An estimated 93 percent of American homes watched the president’s funeral and burial. • Americans were presented nightly images of the escalating war in Vietnam, student demonstrations against the war and the increasingly violent civil rights movement.

7. The 70s • Broadcasting using satellite technology gave news organizations the ability to go “live” from almost anywhere in the world. President Richard Nixon’s trip to China was televised live by all three networks in 1972. • Syndicated programming continued to expand and the number of locally produced television programs fell significantly. • Network programming continued to dominate primetime. Many programs focused on socially relevant issues.

8. The 80s • Remote controls and VCRs changed the way people watched television. • Primetime soap operas riveted large audiences and Bill Cosby single-handedly revived the sitcom genre.

9. The 90s • In 1989, Time, Inc. and Warner Communications merged to create the world’s largest media and entertainment company. That set the stage for more media mergers in the nineties. Disney bought ABC/Cap Cities, Time-Warner purchased Turner Broadcasting (and then later merged with AOL) and Westinghouse bought CBS and then sold it to Viacom.

10. The 2000s-present • Corporate mergers continue to reduce the number of “voices” heard in the television marketplace. • Digital television (“high def”) becomes more prevalent. • Reality programming becomes TV's favorite programming genre. • TV programming becomes available through the internet, Ipods, cell phones, etc.

11. Social ritual • Does television serve the same function in people’s lives as it did in the past? • Do we watch TV in the same way as we used to 20 years ago? • Does it satisfy our social needs?

12. Audience Consumption We also need to understand how, why and with what effects people consume T.V. Not all theorists believe the same thing about how TV affects us – there are several effects models • 1. Hypodermic model • 2. Cultural effects

13. Hypodermic Model So-called because, like being given an injection, this theory assumes that if you watch something you are directly affected by it, like being injected with drugs. e.g if you watch violence, you go out and commit violent actsCommon belief, for example, killers of Jamie Bulger supposed to have watched Childsplay. Simplistic model – media not the biggest influence on people – family, peers etc much stronger influence

14. Jamie Bulger, a two- year old toddler who was abducted and murdered by two 10 year old boys Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, aged 10. Found guilty of the murder, and were sentenced to imprisonment in a young offenders institution. The boys had apparently watched ‘Child’s Play 3’ before they murdered the toddler. As Bulger’s death was very similar to a death in the film, newspapers such as ‘The Sun’ began to fuel the debate as to whether such violence in the media should be accepted.

15. Cultural Effects model The thinking behind this theory centres on the long-term effects of particular ideological representations on our beliefs and values. Media representations of beautiful women have been influential in giving both men and women a view of the ‘ideal women’. This now extends to men.