exam 3 am media

Pat Weaver

created the tonight show, had the idea that it would be the last thing people watched at night so theyd turn on the tv in the morning to the today show, and created Operation Frontal Lobes

Operation Frontal Lobes

created by pat weaver, this was a plan to bring more enlightening and educational content to television by exposing audiences to history, global perspectives, and deep intellectual content.

“Spectaculars”

tv specials

“Telementaries”

tv documentaries

The Network Age

60s-80s, era following the first golden age of television, ABC, CBS, and NBC monopolized national viewership

Newton Minow

chair of FCC who gave the “vast wasteland” speech

“Television and the Public Interest”/“Vast Wasteland”

speech by Newton Minow where criticized commercial television for being filled with excessive violence, mindless game shows, formulaic comedies, Westerns, and loud, annoying commercials, and reminded networks that they should be serving in the public interest

LOP—Least objectionable programming

Shows that were designed to be politically neutral, middle-class, safe, and broadly appealing, avoiding heavy controversy or alienating niche audiences

See It Now

Edward R. Murrow’s investigative and documentary news program that tackled controversial, hard-hitting public affairs stories of the week

Joseph McCarthy

Republican U.S. Senator who despized communism

McCarthyism

political practice of making public accusations of treason, subversion, or communist sympathy without proper evidence, named after U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy

November 22, 1963

JFK shot

Beverley Hillbillies

sitcom that pioneered rural themed comedies, An impoverished Ozark mountain family named the Clampetts strikes oil on their land, becomes fabulously wealthy, and moves to a mansion in wealthy Beverly Hills, California

The Twilight Zone

television series featuring standalone stories blending science fiction, fantasy, horror, and suspense

Lowbrow programs

programs that would ignore contraversy and apeal to wide audiences to provide comfort in cold war times, aka be escapist and gimicy. many rural based. big example is beverly hillbillies

Sophisticated programming

more highly respected tv than lowbrow programing, Witty, self-aware humor that was Less about gimmicks—more about “real-life”. big example is twilight zone

The Dick Van Dyke Show

tv sitcom that bridged 1950s slapstick/vaudeville humor with 1970s character realism, pioneered a dual-focus format on both suburban family and workplace life, and established modern sitcom tropes

Paul Henning

produced lots of rural shows such as bevelry hillbillies

Robert Wood and Fred Silverman

made the rural purge happen

“The Rural Purge”

a massive wave of television cancellations in the early 1970s—led primarily by CBS executives Robert Wood and Fred Silverman—that wiped out nearly all rural-themed sitcoms, Westerns, and traditional variety shows, since their audiences were primarily older

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour

variety show that broke the mold of traditional 1960s variety shows by openly mocking the Vietnam War, religion, police brutality, and President Lyndon B. Johnson.

WBAI

radio station which aired George Carlin’s “Seven Words You Cannot Say on Television”

George Carlin

gave the “Seven Words You Cannot Say on Television” comedy monologue while on radio

“Seven Words You Cannot Say on Television”

monologue by george carlin centered on prohibited broadcast language

FCC v Pacifica

court case following WBAI’s airing of “seven words you cant say on tv” where the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has the authority to restrict the broadcast of indecent, non-obscene material over the public airwave

Obscenity

p0rnography

Indecency

foul language

Safe Harbor 10:00 PM

time slot where indecency could be aired

Too Funny to Fail

documentary that chronicles the creation, spectacular failure, and lasting legacy of ABC's short-lived 1996 prime-time sketch series, The Dana Carvey Show

Terrestrial networks (traditional broadcast networks)

CBS NBC ABC FOX and PBS

All in the Family

sitcom about a family with very split political values

Norman Lear

producer of all in the family

MASH

American war comedy-drama television series set in a korean war hospital

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

groundbreaking sitcom that revolutionized American television by changing how single women, workplaces, and social issues were portrayed