Media Society

development of live TV

1953 -- 80% live
1960 -- 36% live
1970's -- news and sport programmes only

what did the government do to media after WW2

gave media businesses tax breaks to develop and sell television sets
Federal Communications Commission regulated television and radio 

when was 'war of the worlds'

halloween 1938, 6,000,000 tuned in --> 1.2 million had been frightened

when and what was the Hays code

Produced 1929-30, in effect from 1930-66
- crimes should not be shown in enough detail to be copied
- drug trafficking should never be shown
- white slave trade should never be shown 
- family life portrayed as a good thing
- lustful kissing kept to a minimum; perversion, seduction and rape should be avoided; childbirth should not be shown, interracial sex should never be suggested
- no swearing; 'damn' included
- no nudity, undressing, dancing that suggested sex

types of jazz dances

charsleton and black bottom

controversy around jazz

• considered morally lax
  - dances were very sexually suggestive
  - musicians were mainly black

how many radio stations were there by 1924

600

when and what was the radio act?

1927
set up federal licensing of radio stations and to share out airwaves

father coughlin

"priest who broadcast sermons criticising KKK, 40 million listeners
-- great depression; supported roosevelt; New Deal --> ""Christ's deal"""

influence of clara bow

first 'it' girl
many young women cut their hair like her 
(for men; Clarke Gable)

what % of films wre made in Hollywood in 1930's/40's

90%

how many movies did clara bow make in 1925

15

cost of b-movies and a-movies

b movies; $50,000 - $100,000
a movies; $200,000 - $500,000

1930's magazines and circulation

20 fan magazines
each with 200,000 - 1,000,000 followers

when and what was the first 'talkie'?

1927, the Jazz singer

first radio advertisment?

august 1922

first national radio?

1926; NBC, American Football game

MGM's deal with Coca Cola

$500,000 deal with coca cola that stars would drink coke during breaks from filming and during interviews for magazine
-- if anyonne was blacklisted, it would be impossible for them to find work anywhere else

how many people, weekly, attended movie theatres 1925 and 1950

49,000,000
55,000,000

by 1929, how many people had gramaphones and what were the record sales

50%
$75 million worth records sold in 1929

first commercial radio station and date it first aired

KDKA 
2 November 1920
offered a weekly schedule of talk and music

1967 Public Broadcasting Act

set up government funded Corporation For Public Broadcasting (CPB) which set up the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

sesame street 

(1969 - present) taught children about racial tolerance and sharing, as well as counting and reading, one of the first shows to have a racially balanced cast; children in well-off, white suburbs had a positive outlook on other races. 1981, government funding was withdrawn

1960 Kennedy Nixon debates

60,000,000 watched. TV helped telegenic candidates like Kennedy

M*A*S*H

drama series about the Korean war which considered issues related to the Vietnam war. Contributed to anti-war feeling

series reflecting black family life 

comedies showing black people living their normal family lives as oppose to being presented as servants or criminals. White people who had little contact with black people could start to see black people as normal, not exotic, foreign or dangerous 

Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in 

(1968-73) comedy sketch show to openly make fun of and criticise politicians, drew in on counter-culture and reached many more members of the public than serious newspapers or television debates. 

News programmes got more prime time broadcasting and lasted for longer

allowed them to do more in depth analysis, meaning those watching programmes became more politically aware and more interested in issues. 

how ed murrow used radio

made use of the radio as a radio news reporter during the Second World War, he and his team were based in London, also reporting from the front line, he accompanied 20 bombing missions

See It Now

9 March 1954, See It Now did a whole show on McCarthy, using film and audio clips, exposing him as a liar and a bully. Show helped to produce a huge shift of public opinion away from McCarthy

Walter Cronkite

1968, documentary on Vietnam aired after the 1968 Tet Offensive, shocking to many as it was coming from someone they trusted criticising the government they were unsure about. Showed people that the government was not only pursuing a war the people didnt want, but doing it wastefully and incompetently 

jimmy carter and the media

began presidency with high public opinion (he had a 60 to 70% support level in his first months) but the media withdrew support when they saw his administration was handling policy making and Congress badly. 

how many films did hollywood produce per year 1920’s

600

big stars of jazz

louis armstrong and duke ellington

how many homes had tvs in 1952

15.3 million. by 1960, 90% of housesholds had black and white tvs. by 1970’s 38% of homes had colour tvs

polls in the 1960’s about tvs

tv was the favourite leisure activity of over half of americans. most americans watched tv for over 3 hours a day

“negative” impacts of TV

• strengthened violent tendencies in people

• sabotaged the reading habit

• stifled conversation

• induced a general passivity of mind

• harmed radio, newspapers, magazines and cinema

• gave enormous boosts to the advertising industry

positive impacts of tv

• people were not passive, arguments about the media remained

• people bought cigarettes and cars before the rise of TV commercials

• helped develop and define a national culture

how many people had a radio in the 1930’s

80%, they listened for 4 hours per day

how did people feel about tv in the 1960’s

by 1963, most surveys suggested that Americans ranked TV as their main source of news/information

how many people watched president Eisenhower’s inauguration in 1953

29,000,000