History of Television
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
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?
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.
• 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.
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.
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.
The 80s
• Remote controls and
VCRs changed the way
people watched
television.
• Primetime soap operas
riveted large audiences
and Bill Cosby singlehandedly revived the
sitcom genre.
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.
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.
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?
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
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 acts
Common 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
• Jamie Bulger, a
two- year old
toddler who was
abducted and
murdered by two
10 year old boys
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.
Jon Venables and Robert
Thompson, aged 10. Found
guilty of the murder, and
were sentenced to
imprisonment in a young
offenders institution.
Cultural Effects model
The thinking behind this
theory centres on the longterm 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.