Television

The invention of television arose out of an interest in

Transmitting moving images and sound across distances

Transmission of moving images and sound across distances was first accomplished by

John Logie Baird

John Logie Baird built a television apparatus that transmitted imagery of a

Live human face

Like radio, television was a _ entailing one-to-many communication to a dispersed audience

Broadcast medium

Early television broadcasts were offered by organizations that were already involved in (what did this mean?)

Radio

• This meant that the funding structures of television in a given nation tended to mirror those that already characterized radio

US television networks were

Private businesses regulated by the Federal Communications Commission

When did television explode in popularity

Postwar years

American television networks tended to emphasize

Entertainment, framing this as their way of catering to customers’ desires

UK television was initially offered only by the

BBC

• State-sponsored and funded by license fees

British television tended to operate with a less

Commercial ethos, emphasizing the importance of information and educating the public

Canada’s approach to television broadcasting in the early years brought together elements of the

• British approach (government oversight)

• American approach (commercialism)

Large-scale TV broadcasting in Canada began in 1952 with

CBC service in Toronto and Montreal

Early Canadian TV was administered by the government to

Protect from direct government control (as in the UK), and it allowed advertising (as in the US)

Canadian broadcasting sought to offer a compromise between

Entertainment and information by producing public affairs programming that Canadians would choose to watch even if other options were available

Canadian TV’s introductionwas shaped by the far-reached

“Massey Report”, which identified dangers in the commercial approach taken by the US

Instead, the Massey Report proposed different aims for Canadian content including:

• Reducing Canada’s dependency on American TV

• Promotion of “national unity and education in the broad sense”

• Emphasis on Canadian content

The Massey Commission excluded the perspectives of

First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people, despite its purported interest in preserving “national identity” and cultural heritage

Media events was coined by what two people

Elihu Katz and Daniel Dayan

• In their book Media Events: The Live Broadcasting of History)

A media event is a special event, akin to a holiday, in which

Large numbers of people tune in to a single live event on TV, which is supposed to embody values that the populace shares

Criteria for media events

• Not routine, more like a holiday from regular viewing

• Broadcast live in real time

• Organized by parties outside the media

• Planned and advertised in advance

• Presented with reverence and ceremony

• Watched by large audiences

Types of media events

• Coronations: celebrations of powerful leaders

• Contests: competitions of sports and politics

• Conquests: dramatizations of political or diplomatic efforts, aiming to shift public opinion

Television was compatible with

Cultural ideas that were becoming important in the years after WW2

The postwar years were a period of strong and sustained

Consumption

Why were postwar years characterized by a strong period of sustained consumption

• High employment

• Pent-up consumer demand after Great Depression and war

• Strong social safety net for returning military workers in Canada and the US (Canada: Veterans Charter, US: GI Bill)

The post-WW2 years presented a

Fantasy of blissful domestic existence with emphasis on safety, physical comfort, and family unity

What are the important structural factors behind the blissful domestic family unity

• Women’s return to the domestic sphere

• Baby Boom

• Suburbanization

Wide use of_ made living possible

Cars

Logic behind the production of cars was applied to suburban developments, which were mass produced to be

• Affordable

• Plentiful

• Uniform

Spigel: “television was supposed to bring the family together but still allow for…”

“social and sexual divisions in the home.”