History of Broadcasting After 1927 [Broadcasting: An Introduction to Radio and Television (1978)]

RADIO ENTERS ITS "GOLDEN AGE"

The Radio Act of 1927 brought order to the radio waves so that listeners could pick intelligible programs out of the ether. But the Radio Act had its shortcomings: the FRC had jurisdiction only over radios and not wire communication, the FRC had been created as a temporary agency, and the first commissioners on the FRC served without pay. In time Congress made the FRC a permanent body subject to annual review and gave the commissioners some pay, but the FRC was still considered a second class agency.

Whatever the frailties of the FRC, it gave radio broadcasting a secure foundation upon which to work and, with the passage of the Radio Act, a twenty year period spanning the Great Depression and World War II began called the "golden age of radio." This period saw the building of vast business empires by commercial broadcasters. Radio's popularity was to grow immensely during a depression that forced people to conserve their income and a war that limited the production of consumer products.

The very growth of radio pointed out some of the weaknesses of the FRC as an agency responsible for regulating radio. For one thing the FRC had no authority to regulate telephone companies, or for that matter any of the other companies engaged in using wires to communicate. Yet the newly developing radio networks had to use telephone company wires to interconnect all of the stations in the network. Telephone companies in different states charged different rates and the quality of service was apt to vary. Networks needed consistent telephone service.

Indeed, Felix Frankfurter, a Harvard professor of law who became a United States Supreme Court justice, noted that state commissions were simply un able to adequately regulate these telephone companies. Frankfurter's comment in 1930 was followed by a study done by W. W. Splawn, a special council for the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, which led to the suggestion that a new federal commission be set up to study all aspects of telephone companies.'

TABLE 3-1 Radio Set Sales and Saturation, 1922-1972 RADIO RECEIVER SET SALES --- Source: Lawrence W. Lichty and Malachi C. Topping, A Source Book on the History of Radio and Television (New York: Hastings House, 1975), p. 521.

Public concern led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to direct the Secretary of Commerce to study the problem of regulating wire and wireless communication. This study resulted in the recommendation that all electrical communication be regulated by one federal agency. The FRC regulated radio while the President, the Postmaster General, and the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had been variously responsible for some aspects of wire communication. Even David Sarnoff, the president of RCA, testified before the House of Representatives Committee in 1934 urging the formation of the central agency. That same year, Congress formed a new commission--the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-by passing the Communications Act of 1934. The new FCC had control over both radio and wire communication. This meant that the FCC could regulate telephone companies when their wires crossed state lines as well as regulate radio as the FRC had done. Thus Congress, at Roosevelt's suggestion, brought together under one agency the powers that had once been held by the Postmaster, the President, and the ICC. With its new power the FCC could grant, deny, or revoke broadcast licenses. It could, and did, regulate technical and nontechnical matters related to broadcasting-but the FCC could not censor any broadcast and it could not intervene in the business of a station.

Yet some problems still existed. The FCC did not have specific control over networks. The networks-CBS and NBC--were still young when Congress created the FCC and it did not anticipate how important networks were to be come in the development of radio. This failure would eventually cause the FCC some difficulties. And, of course, the Communications Act could not possibly have anticipated some of the revolutionary developments that were to occur twenty to thirty years after its formation-such as cable television.

Perhaps one of the most difficult problems of the FCC concerned the poorly defined -public interest, convenience, or necessity- phrase that Congress included in the Communications Act. This phrase was tested in courts-if for no other reason than that it was imprecise. Despite its vague nature, the FCC could and has used the phrase as the basis of much of its regulatory decisions.

RADIO DURING THE DEPRESSION 1928-1937

Some feared that the depression, which occurred just as radio was developing, would destroy it. But this concern turned out to be unfounded since, if any thing, the depression helped the growth of radio. As jobs vanished and as people's economic situation became more strained, the popularity of radio seemed to grow. People who had a radio did not have to spend money on movies, plays, or any other entertainment-radio brought entertainment to them. Those who could not afford dinner out could sit before their radios and enjoy music, drama, and comedy. Radio was so popular that almost four million sets where sold in 1930 and by 1935 over six million were being sold each year.

This meant that fully 67 percent of all homes were equipped with radios by 1935. 4 Network Programming During the Depression Years In the 1927-1928 season networks and syndication companies provided only a few programs to radio stations such as variety shows, like one sponsored by the Eveready Battery Company, and a few news, religious, and music shows. Most of the programs has been on the air for only a year or less. In only one season 1928-1929-networks doubled the number of musical shows, and they offered five variety shows, two dramas, and at least one public affairs program each week. Within the two years following the formation of the FRC, business had shown a considerable interest in the developing medium. 6 By the 1929-1930 season-the first full year of the depression-industry began cutting back and unemployment was widespread, yet broadcast ...

----------

DR. J. R. BRINKLEY '... J. R. Brinkley operated a radio station and a hospital in Milford, Kansas where he dispensed cures for all kinds of ills to patients he never saw. Brinkley used his radio station to encourage people to write for medical advice and suggestions for medicines which might help solve their problems. Then, over the radio, he would prescribe the cure. His broadcasts went something like this: Here's one from Tillie. She says she had an operation, had some trouble 10 years ago. I think the operation was unnecessary, and it isn't very good sense to have an ovary removed with the expectation of motherhood resulting there from. My advice to you is to use Women's Tonic Numbers 50, 67, and 61. This combination will do for you what you desire if any combination will, after three months' use.* Not only did Brinkley use the air to prescribe cures, he performed operations in his hospital, and he dispensed drugs through the Brinkley Pharmaceutical Association. When Brinkley applied for a license renewal in 1930 for station KFKB, the FRC denied the renewal on the grounds that he broadcast to individuals rather than to the public by answering individual medical questions over the air. The FRC, in addition, argued that Brinkley used the station solely for his own personal use.

Brinkley appealed to a court, but it agreed with the FRC and Brinkley was forced to take his station off the air. It should be pointed out that Brinkley's claim to his medical degree came be cause he paid $100-not because he completed medical school.** The American Medical Association declared that his operations were a fraud. Although the FRC took no action on the AMA claim, it did find that Brinkley had misused his license.

*KFKB Broadcasting Association, Inc. v. Federal Radio Commission 47 F.2d 670 (D.C. Cir.) (1931).

**Erik Barnouw, A Tower in Babel (New York: Oxford University Press, 1966), pp. 168-173.

-----------------

... programming continued to increase. "Adventures of Helen and Mary" was introduced as a daytime light drama or "soap opera," so called because soap products were advertised during breaks. A radio minister, Billy Sunday, had the "Back Home Hour" and concert music, light music, and thrillers were being aired. Broadcasters had an extensive choice of programming as the years of the depression passed, and radio seemed to be offering the American public more and more of what it wanted. By 1931 "Death Valley Days" and "Sherlock Holmes" were on the air. As others were trying to entertain, churches were finding broadcasting to be an effective way to communicate their message. The Catholics had an hour, CBS offered time to churches on a rotational basis, and the Jews had the "Message of Israel." While advertising and entertainment were trying to solve the economic problems, ministers tried to serve spiritual needs.

Many of the famous broadcast entertainers were on the air for most of the depression. Bob Hope sang through the last five years; Burns and Allen were broadcasting through all but the first season and were still going strong; and Kate Smith had been on the air for nine seasons by 1940. There were other long timers, still remembered by many, such as Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, and Fibber McGee and Molly. Indeed the depression was the proving ground and the growth period for radio programming. Most program types began in radio during these lean years and grew into successful series. People turned to radio in great numbers and listened with intense interest to their favorite series. One of the popular programs -"The Lone Ranger"- featured a masked man and an Indian companion who traveled the West trying to restore order.

The program was so popular that when a free pop gun was offered some 24,905 requests for it were received in only three days.

And then there was Jack Benny, a comic who was the target of most of his own jokes. His comedy centered around such situations as the selling of an old, 1918 Maxwell car that was so broken-down that no one would buy it. One of his most famous standing jokes was that he was a brilliant violinist. However, every time he would attempt to play, the instrument would squeak horribly.

Figure 3-1. Graph of broadcast licenses 1927-1940. Source: FCC Sixth Annual Report (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1940), p. 121.

-----------

FATHER COUGHLIN

Charles Edward Couglin was a Roman Catholic priest who originated controversial broadcasts from his Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan during the depression years. He began broadcasting in 1926 over WJR in Detroit, but later he used CBS for his religious and political speeches.

For sometime he led listeners to believe that he had close ties with President Roosevelt and had advised the President. During these years Coughlin urged listeners to support the President. Then Roosevelt fell from the list of Coughlin's friends and Coughlin called the President a "great liar and betrayer." Thereafter Coughlin aligned with Huey Long of Louisiana.

Coughlin's political fervor extended to choosing a presidential candidate, William Lemke of North Dakota. Coughlin guaranteed that he would cease broadcasting if Lemke was not elected in 1936.

Lemke received fewer than one million votes and Coughlin continued broadcasting. Coughlin undoubtedly saw himself as a great reformer and leader in the nation. But CBS saw him as one misusing the air waves and removed him from the air. Coughlin was a racist who had great admiration for Hitler and as the nation turned against Hitler and all he stood for, they rejected the narrow views of Coughlin. by 1940, Coughlin had largely lost his audiences.

Source: Frank Buxton and Bill Owen, The Big Broadcaster (New York: The Viking Press, 1972), p. 82.

-----------

Franklin D. Roosevelt--A Consoling Voice

Entertainment was not the only fare that kept listeners coming back to their radio sets. Often, during the worst years of the depression, the consoling voice of the President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, could be heard on the air, assuring the nation that the government was doing all it could to solve the problems that confronted everyone. Then Roosevelt would tell listeners about the programs that had been initiated to cope with the depression. Many of his programs ended with a reminder that the depression would soon be over and that people should sustain their courage. But Roosevelt's skill went beyond just saying the right words--he showed the American people that he was a man they could identify with.

One hot Washington day as Roosevelt was talking to the nation, he commented on the heat. Then he asked his radio audience to wait a moment while he took a drink of water. He paused, then resumed his chat. After going off the air, Roosevelt was told by his staff that the pause was the perfect action.

Whatever his effect on the audience, Roosevelt undoubtedly had great persuasive powers. The "Fireside Chats" were the first extensive political use made of radio. The success of these chats encouraged other politicians to use radio and, later, television as persuasive tools. The fireside chats established personality as an essential ingredient for the effective use of radio as a political tool.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE DISC JOCKEY

Drama, comedy, and talks were complemented by a liberal amount of music.

Without a doubt, the largest segment of a radio station's day was filled with music. During the early days of radio those music programs were live, but as the depression came along and as advertising revenues available to local stations became more scarce, radio stations began to look for more inexpensive programming. One solution was recorded music. To play a record the station needed only an announcer, a record player, and a supply of records. This form of programming became popular with both networks and stations as we shall later see and it has since become the mainstay of the radio industry.

Recorded music took its place along with live music shows, variety pro grams, newscasts, live drama, and comedy programs. The notion of using recorded music was later to create some complex economic problems that would have to be confronted in a somewhat protracted flight between the producers of music and the broadcasters of music.

By 1938 fully 52 percent of all radio programming was music-most of it recorded." Using recorded music led to the rise of the disc jockey format.

Probably the first disc jockey show was evolved by Al Jarvis in the early 1930s and was called "Make Believe Ballroom." Jarvis did not have a monopoly on record playing for long. Martin Block took the idea-along with the title-and began his own disc jockey show in Southern California. Later he moved to New York to begin "Make Believe Ballroom" on WNEW. 12 Both Block and the station were to reap large financial rewards from this type of programming. 13 The disc jockey program format was later to develop into more elaborate formats--the form was to replace radio network programming when the net works turned their attention to programming for television. In fact the next step in the development of record playing stations was specialized music. That step was taken in 1953 when a station owned by George McLendon in Texas began programming specialized music and news plus, as it was called, "razzle dazzle promotions." This led to the Top-40, middle of the road (MOR), and other specialized stations. Top-40 stations specialize in rock and current music and try to reach the young. MOR stations are more interested in middle-aged people and, therefore, program more old favorites.

As network executives turned their attention away from radio to television and listeners became viewers, radio networks began to stop sending dramas and other live programs to their affiliates. Little by little music and reruns began to creep in. In fact Martin Block and others began spinning records on networks in the late 1940s. By the early 1950s Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) was feeding fifty minutes of music and ten minutes of news an hour to its affiliates.

Copyright

Playing records, or for that matter bringing live performers into the studio to perform musical selections, required broadcasters to pay fees on copyrighted material to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). This practice had begun in 1922 when the creators of music believed that broadcasters should pay a fee for using records. The authority to collect copyright fees was a result of a copyright law passed by Congress in 1909. Al though it predates commercial radio by several years, it gave the creators of music the right to collect fees from all users. Many young stations were in such weak financial shape when ASCAP began charging copyright fees that they simply had to close. Others decided to use music without permission, but a few large stations began paying the fees.

In order to fight ASCAP a group of broadcasters organized the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), but ASCAP continued charging fees to broadcasters-fees that increased as broadcast revenue climbed.'6 By 1935 ASCAP demands had become so high that the NAB decided to take some action. It found its opportunity in 1937 when ASCAP announced a new rise in royalties. That same year ASCAP was under investigation by the Department of Justice for possible violations of the antitrust laws and so was in a particularly vulnerable position.

In 1937 the broadcast industry formed its own Broadcast Music, Incorporated (BMI) to compete with ASCAP in licensing and collecting fees for the use of copyrighted music. Broadcasters hoped that BMI, by competing with ASCAP, would keep music fees low. Furthermore, broadcasters planned for BMI to license new artists who would be willing to sell rights to their music for lower prices. Stations would then play only the music licensed by BMI and propel the new composers to fame, benefiting both the station and the composer. As it happened ASCAP came in line with the demands of broadcasters so the need for BMI was reduced, although not eliminated.

Radio Threatens Newspapers

As the depression advanced, radio broadcasters were collecting larger and larger revenues while newspaper advertising was decreasing. Needless to say this angered newspapers, especially when they saw broadcasters airing the very news they would be carrying only a few hours later. Indeed newspapers found that they were being scooped by radio stations at every turn. The 'extra' issue of a newspaper to cover an important event could not compete with the speed of radio. While editors and printers in a newspaper office were writing, editing, and setting type, a newscaster in a radio station might be reading the news that would be on the street five or six hours later. Most newspapers felt threatened by the turn of events.

An inactive radio committee of the American Newspaper Publishers Association in 1933 persuaded Associated Press (AP), United Press (UP), and International News Service (INS) to stop sending news to radio stations and networks. CBS decided to retaliate and started organizing its own news gathering bureau, but newspapers in the areas where CBS had affiliates immediately stopped printing station listings. CBS lost its nerve and gave up on the news bureau. This incident convinced CBS and most other stations and net works that they would have to make peace with the newspapers.

In 1933 representatives of both networks, the ANPA, AP, UP, and INS met at the Hotel Baltimore in New York and signed an agreement in which the net works agreed never again to engage in news gathering. In return, the news organizations agreed to provide two five minute news summaries each day. Also the news organizations would provide occasional bulletins of great importance.

The newspaper boycott was never very successful because some stations refused to abide by the agreement and because the controls set up by the press were not very effective. One of these controls was the Press Radio Bureau, which went into operation on March 1, 1934. It was intended to be the police arm of the ANPA.

Another serious problem that arose was the formation of Trans-Radio Press--an independent news gathering organization that provided broad casters with news. It was so successful that by 1935 the ANPA amended its agreement with broadcasters to permit UP and INS to sell news to broadcasters as well. Although the newspaper boycott remained officially in operation until 1940, its intent had been largely compromised by 1935.

RADIO DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR 1938-1945

TABLE 3-2 Advertising Dollars Spent on Radio --- Source: Lawrence W. Lichty and Malachi C. Topping A Source Book on the History of Radio and Television (New York: Hastings House, 1975), p. 256.

Radio had survived the depression in good form. Networks had grown and stations-at least most of them-had been able to pay their bills. But with the coming of a war, radio was confronted with a new problem. The Government stopped the production of consumer goods so that military needs could receive industry's maximum attention. Gasoline was rationed, metal was in short sup ply, and the best foods were being shipped to the soldiers. There was no apparent need to advertise since there was little to sell, but many advertisers were willing to use some funds in promoting business or products via radio.

A major reason for this advertiser spending arose from a federal ruling that permitted advertisers to treat money spent on advertising as a cost of operation.

Thus they could take advertising dollars as a tax deduction. Consequently, during the war, money spent on advertising continued to grow. In 1935 advertisers spent 113 million dollars on radio. By 1940 that amount had risen to $216 million and during the war years advertiser support of radio continued to increase until it reached $424 million in 1945 when the war ended. Radio was riding high with sponsors like Jergens Lotion, Johnson and Johnson, and Lever Brothers. Consumer products were advertised to assure a market when the war ended and to encourage fair distribution of the limited supply of products then available.

Just as important was the right advertisers had to take advertising dollars as a tax deduction. Since many companies were making large profits supplying products to the military, they needed business expenses which would reduce profit and thereby taxes.

Networks, Advertising, and Programming

NBC, which was formed by RCA and the other partners in the RCA consortium, was the first radio network and is still in existence. The first broadcast on the new NBC was carried during 1926. The announcement publicizing the creation of NBC stated that the network had been formed to bring the highest quality programs to the people of the United States. It also indicated that the new network would provide, when possible, a national hookup for covering important national events that people could not otherwise hear. Providing high quality programs to its affiliates was not the only purpose in forming radio networks. A network organization was in a unique position to sell advertising time over affiliate stations to national sponsors. Thus, affiliates could derive both programs and money for their station by affiliating with a national network. On the other hand, the network could derive income from selling time in the programs. The network would take a portion of the money derived from selling advertising to pay for producing programs, for renting the telephone lines used to connect stations, and to generate profit. The remainder went to the affiliates for their time and was usually a fraction of the amount the station charged to local sponsors.

THE INFLUENCE OF NETWORKS ON RADIO PROGRAMMING

One of the principle functions of a radio network is to provide programs to its affiliates and, in this respect, the four networks --ABC, CBS, MBS, NBC--were highly successful during the war.

The networks offered a wide variety of public affairs and entertainment programming designed for many listener tastes and intended to convince all advertisers to buy radio time. The spectrum was sprinkled with names that be came household words, such as H. V. Kaltenborn, Lowell Thomas, and Drew Pearson. Some of these had been commentators through the Press-Radio War.

As World War II approached, America turned to broadcasting for news of what was happening in Europe and Asia, and radio networks responded with eighteen news series each week. Some of the series offered one program a week, others three programs, and still others five programs.

------ Sarnoff and Marconi on a visit to "Radio Central," 1933. (Culver Pictures. )

The nation was also hearing about the war first hand with reporters like Edward R. Murrow in Europe. The listener tuning into one of the Murrow broadcasts might well hear sounds of war in the background-guns firing, mortars exploding, engines roaring. A sense of immediacy was there that listeners had never experienced before.

In addition to the traditional programming there was a group of programs intended to instill patriotism in the minds of listeners-these programs, like others on the networks, had sponsors. Wrigley Gum for example, sponsored " America in the Air," "First Line of Defense," and "Service to the Front." While the nation was being informed and entertained, famous actors and actresses were urging the public to buy war bonds to support the military.

-----------------

WAR OF THE WORLDS

There were serious programs on the networks like the Mercury "Theatre of the Air" that carried a different play each week. Perhaps the most important, or at least the most remembered, play this program presented was Orson Welles' "The War of the Worlds" in which Martians were attacking the world. The program, done like a newscast with interruptions in a music program, related news of the fire and destruction the Martians were bringing to the world. Wells told of destruction in New Jersey, armies being destroyed, and people hiding underground. The fear caused by the program caused many people across the nation to actually flee their homes.

It all happened on October 30, 1938, when writer Orson Welles gave his Halloween gift to the nation over CBS radio. The program featured many fictitious interviews and on-the-scene reports of happenings as the invaders were supposedly crossing the world. Announcers described moments of chaos and destruction. The consequences of the program were vastly different from what was expected. Although the producers of the program intended that it be merely dramatic entertainment, the program was filled with such realistic events that it caused actual fear and panic.

Before the program ended, people were praying, crying, and fleeing to escape the "death" the Martians brought. People even began to stock their basements with provisions for the inevitable.

People tried to warn their friends of danger. People said things like, "I knew it was dangerous as soon as I heard all those military men were there and the Secretary of State." The intense public reaction to "War of the Worlds" demonstrated dramatically the power and credibility of radio.

Source: Hadley Cantril, The Invasion From Mars (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1940), pp. 1-7.

-----------------

------------

OFFICE OF WAR INFORMATION

The United States government set up the Office of War Information (OWI) to broadcasters during World War II to be used for their use in preparing programs for airing. This office produced and distributed a series of pamphlets entitled "Radio Background Material," which were distributed to writers three times a month. Al though stations were not required to use the material, most writers felt that it provided valuable backgrounds for their stories.

Besides providing background material, OWI engaged in pre paring programs for international broadcast over high power stations operated by the United States, and it served as a consultant to the producers of many different shows. An example was "Front Page Farrell" in which the writer derived much of the material for the program directly from OWI. In fact, OWI checked all of the scripts for accuracy before they were aired.

Source: George A. Willey, -The Soap Operas and the War, - Journal of Broadcasting, Vol VII, No. 4 (Fall 1963), pp. 339-352.

------------------

Not only did the listening public want to be informed about what was happening in the war zone, but they needed to relax. Entertainment programming remained on the air through the war and undoubtedly helped some to forget for brief periods the horrors of war. There were thrillers such as "Death Valley Days," which had been on the air twelve seasons, and there were new pro grams like the "Green Hornet" and "Mr. District Attorney( there was comedy, with the long running "Amos 'n' Andy" and newer shows like "Blondie. " The war, like the depression, brought new shows such as quiz programs like "Doctor IQ" and "Double or Nothing." The 1944-1945 season, the last full season during the war, was a very successful year for radio by most standards- there were over 340 network programs of which all but a few were sponsored." Networks were thoroughly involved in the business of entertaining and informing America by radio.

Radio did a great deal to aid the nation in successfully coping with the war.

Sponsors and radio stations alike readily supported patriotic programs.

Entertainers and broadcasters led in the drive to support the war through the purchase of war bonds while newspeople created programs glorifying the fighting soldier. It is safe to assume that this support aided in creating the national spirit of cooperation that existed.

The public seemed to be approving of the work of radio, whatever its role.

Researchers who examined the impact of radio on the American household during 1946 discovered some interesting facts. When people were asked to rate several institutions on how good a job they were doing, they rated radio over churches, newspapers, schools, and local government.25 Indeed there were few things for listeners to criticize about radio. Furthermore, the study found that more people got their news from radio than from any other medium. It appeared that radio was the dominant medium in the nation and that people had an allegiance to it.

------- The evolution of microphones from bulky to very compact. (RCA.)

THE BUSINESS OF NETWORKS

Both CBS and NBC were set up as profit-making corporations intended to serve the affiliates with programming-the two companies had their own corporate structure and were not owned by member stations. On the other hand a new network--Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) formed in 1934 by four stations--came into being as a group of stations banded together for the purpose of selling time on all of the stations. 26 In addition, the new network would negotiate with AT&T for the use of telephone lines to connect the stations.

One of the stations involved in starting the new network-WXYZ in Detroit-had left CBS because it was dissatisfied with CBS affiliate policies. To start a new network that would have policies more compatible with its view, WXYZ entered into agreements, with WOR in Newark, New Jersey; WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, and WGN in Chicago, Illinois. After each of the stations was assigned duties to help the new network operate, other stations were persuaded to join MBS. Each of the three networks that existed in 1934 had organizational elements that made it strong in some way. NBC owned two networks and could offer pro grams to at least two stations in each market. CBS had a network-affiliate contract that was particularly attractive to the network and its stations. The CBS contract gave the network the right to sell time on an affiliate's station without securing permission from the affiliate to do so. This meant that CBS could sell time the day before a broadcast and know that the commercials would be carried on all stations chosen by the advertiser. In return for giving this control to CBS the stations were given 24 hours of programs. During unsponsored periods, stations could find their own sponsors. MBS, on the other hand, was attractive to stations that wanted to have strong input in how the network was run. It should be noted, however, that MBS had great difficulty in acquiring affiliates for several years because NBC and CBS had the most desirable stations affiliated with them.

The strength of national networks becomes apparent when one realizes that only 6 percent of all radio stations were affiliated with a national network in 1927, but by 1940 fully 50 percent of all radio stations had an affiliation with a national network. Interestingly by 1945, 94 percent of all radio stations had network affiliations, but the figure had dropped to 55 percent in 1950 and has remained at a low figure. During those years CBS and NBC dominated the net work picture.

The economic health of networks seemed to be very good. In 1935 national networks were charging sponsors almost 40 million dollars, and that amount rose to 74 million in 1940 and over 133 million in 1945. During those years about half of all of radio's revenues came through the networks.

MBS Complains

The young MBS, which had been formed in 1934, at tempted to make inroads into the number of affiliates connected with the other two networks. The success of this project was apparent by 1940 when MBS had some 160 stations in its network line up. This amounted to more stations than were affiliated with CBS and almost as many as were involved in the various NBC arrangements. 28 Yet these gains were more on paper than actual since

-----------------------

JAMES L. FLY

James L. Fly, who chaired the FCC during the early years of the 1940s, directed the investigation that led to the court case dissolving NBC's second network. His antitrust actions caused bitter resentment in the broadcast industry, which demanded that Congress impeach Fly. One of the Congressmen concerned with removing Fly was Representative Eugene Cox of Georgia. One of Fly's colleagues, Commissioner Durr, angered by Cox's investigation, at tempted to prevent Cox from completing his study.

FCC investigators had found a cancelled check in the possession of an Albany, Georgia radio station that had been given to Cox in return for influencing federal agencies-a clear violation of the law.* The FCC had once shown the check to several members of Congress, hoping to get Cox removed from the Fly investigation.

Neither House Speaker Sam Rayburn nor the Department of Justice had shown any interest in the check. Durr, seeing no aid coming from government, went to the Washington Post with copies of the cancelled check and other information about Representative Cox-the next day the Washington Post printed "A Public Letter to Speaker Rayburn.** Durr also gave one hundred copies of the check to the public in formation office at the FCC. t As a result, Cox resigned the next day as chairman of his probe of the FCC. In commenting on the event Rayburn insisted, "Confidence in his [Cox] honor is unshaken.

*Erik Barnouw, The Golden Web (New York: Oxford University Press, 1968), p. 175.

** Washington Post, September 27, 1943.

Barnouw, op. cit., p. 178.

Washington Post, October 1, 1943.

-------------------

----- James L. Fly tried to reform relations between networks and stations by getting the FCC to promulgate regulations which specified how station-network contracts should be handled. The industry was so angered that he finally resigned. (Culver Pictures.)

NBC and CBS had all but two of the thirty-fifty kilowatt stations and over half of the regional stations during the 19305. 29 As a result MBS complained to the FCC that the other two network organizations had a virtual monopoly over radio and urged the agency to do something about the problems that they felt existed.

The FCC began investigating the problems of network control in 1938. This action was urged not only by MBS, but by President Roosevelt. The investigation led to a report from the FCC in 1941 urging that NBC be forced to sell one of its two networks and CBS be required to rewrite its network-affiliate contract in such a way that the network would have to consult the stations before selling their time to advertisers. In this way the FCC wanted stations to regain control over their broadcast time. The FCC's report led to a series of new FCC regulations, called the chain broadcast regulations, which were designed to limit CBS and NBC. CBS and NBC objected to the FCC's new regulations and went to court to fight them, but the Supreme Court agreed with the FCC in a 1943 decision.

The result of this opinion was that NBC sold its Blue network to Edward J. Noble, a candy manufacturer and owner of WMCA in New York, who named the new network American Broadcasting Company (ABC). There was a secondary result in that MBS became more successful in acquiring affiliates-many of the affiliates were connected to one of the other networks. It was easier for MBS to acquire affiliates after the 1943 decision because the Supreme Court required networks to permit stations to affiliates with more than one network. By 1946 MBS had 384 radio affiliates. The Supreme Court decision forcing NBC to divide its two networks

-------------------

DUMONT TELEVISION NETWORK

An energetic engineer who once worked for Westinghouse tried his luck at building a television network in the 1940s. Allan B. DuMont secured an experimental television license in 1940 that was relicensed as commercial in 1944. Using this station, WABD, Du Mont began network experiments with W3XWT (later WTTG) in Washington. While his experiments paralleled those of the three larger networks, DuMont failed to develop a profitable organization.

Although Paramount owned half of his company, the movie firm showed little interest in developing network programming and was not willing to carry DuMont programs on the one Paramount owned television station. Without the backing of the larger company, DuMont had to produce inexpensive programming to compete with the higher cost shows offered by ABC, NBC, and CBS. As a result, many of the television stations which had become affiliated with DuMont refused to carry its shows.

By 1954 DuMont was losing so much money that the network and laboratories were separated and the Du Mont network served out its contractual requirements. The remnants of the network were sold to Metropolitan Broadcasting Company (Metromedia), ending a valiant attempt to create a new national network.

Source: Lawrence W. Lichty and Malachi C. Topping, American Broadcasting: A Source Book on the History of Radio and Television (New York: Hastings House, 1975), pp. 190-192.

---------------------

resulted in the formation of the last national network to be instituted in this country on a commercial basis, ABC joining MBS, NBC, and CBS.

THE EMERGENCE OF FM BROADCASTING

Radio broadcasting during the 1920s and 1930s was characterized by static, and during electrical storms the interference was almost intolerable. Some, like Sarnoff at RCA, dreamed of a static free system of broadcasting-he even speculated with his friend Edwin H. Armstrong on the possibility of a receiver that would eliminate static. Since this was the same Armstrong who had worked on the super-hetrodyne receiver and who had developed an antenna that would fit into the case of a radio, he was a good choice to develop a new system of radio.

For several years Armstrong worked on his invention and, after acquiring several patents, demonstrated frequency modulation (FM) radio to Sarnoff and some RCA engineers.

RCA was so impressed with FM that Armstrong was invited to test his instrument in the Empire State Building in 1934. Engineers conducted tests, wrote reports, and examined the invention, then there was silence while Armstrong waited for a verdict.

In 1935 he was asked to remove his equipment from the Empire State Building so that RCA could use the space to expand its television experiments.

Sarnoff apparently saw greater commercial possibilities for the visual medium than for FM. RCA then publicly announced that it was allocating $1 million for television tests. Armstrong had not publicized his FM system during the years he had worked on it, but with RCA's change of mind he decided that it was time to publicly demonstrate FM.34 In fact the turn of events at RCA had so thoroughly angered Armstrong that he decided he owed nothing to the company.

--------- Figure 3-2. Stereo FM.

In November 1935 Armstrong read a paper before a meeting of the Institute of Radio Engineers explaining FM.35 There had been no hint of a public demonstration, but at the appropriate time Armstrong suggested that they have a little demonstration. The sound quality was so astounding that Armstrong followed the demonstration with an application to the FCC for FM channel space. Armstrong's petition placed him in opposition to RCA, which also petitioning the FCC for channel space for television.

The legal battles aside, Armstrong acquired permission to operate an FM station in Alpine, New jersey as Station W2XMN. The channels used by Armstrong were experimental channels authorized by the FCC for studying FM and were not intended for full broadcasting to the public. Not until May of 1940 did the FCC authorize commercial FM broadcasting. Later, by 1942, when the FCC stopped authorizing station licenses because of war shortages, there were thirty stations licensed. During the same years manufacturers, led by Philco, had built some 40,000 FM sets and it appeared that once the wartime freeze on licenses was lifted FM would have a good future. The band of frequencies allocated to FM in 1940 was between 42 and 50 mHz, but when the war was over the FCC conduced a series of hearings regarding FM and ultimately decided to change the FM broadcast band to 88-108 mHz. This, of course, made all of the existing transmitters and receivers obsolete and set FM back in its development. A second event also slowed the development of FM-the rise of television.

The number of FM stations authorized by the FCC has followed a bizarre course because of the problem it had. In 1945 there were some forty-six stations authorized. By 1950 the number had risen to 691, but FM stations were having such a difficult time surviving that the number of FM stations having FCC licenses and permits dwindled to 540 in 1955. Most of these FM stations were owned by AM stations that hoped someday to make a profit from their FM holdings. The number of FM stations on the air began to increase again and by 1960 there were 1,343 FM stations. In 1970 the number had risen to over two thousand and in 1976 there were over 3600 FM stations on the air. The course of FM began changing during the late 1950s largely because of three factors: more people were purchasing FM sets that were better than ever before; broadcasters were beginning to take FM seriously by programming their stations carefully; and interest in high fidelity music was developing rapidly. Then in the early 1960s stations began experimenting with FM stereo phonic or two channel broadcasting. Stereophonic sound differs from usual radio signals in that sounds coming from the left side of an orchestra or band are carried on a left channel while sounds from the right side are carried on a right channel. In more traditional broadcasting all sounds are transmitted on a single channel. To reproduce stereo programming two speakers placed a small distance apart are needed. By using this two channel reproduction the performing group sounds as if it is spread out in front of the listener rather than coming from a single point, as is the case with ordinary broadcasting. This form of broadcasting required a special "multiplex" converter to modulate both the left and right sound channels to the FM carrier. In the same way the receiver needed a special converter to separate the two channels of music-of course, a conventional FM radio could pick up the FM station broadcast as a single channel program. WTMJ-FM in Milwaukee, for example, began experimenting with stereophonic broadcasts over its FM station in 1961 and by 1965 its music was fully stereo. Most FM stations currently program their music in stereo phonic sound and it has benefited FM in acquiring new listeners.

THE END OF RADIO'S GOLDEN AGE 1948-1956

In October of 1945 the FCC lifted its wartime ban on licensing broadcast stations and the number of AM applications that deluged the FCC foreshadowed a tremendous growth in stations broadcasting in the United States. In 1945 there were 931 stations on the air, but that number jumped to 961 in 1946, to 1,693 in 1948, and to 2,118 in 1950. By the end of the television freeze there were 2,333 AM stations operating in the United States. In many areas local service was available for the first time.

As the number of radio stations was increasing the quantity of sponsored network programs supplied to affiliates was decreasing because networks were turning to television. With the decline in sponsored programming available to affiliates, network revenue began to vanish. Network radio revenue decreased from over 131 million dollars in 1950 to less than 65 million dollars in 1955. 43 During these years a great change in radio programming occurred.

The national networks--CBS and NBC particularly--were uncertain about the future of radio and took steps to acquire television outlets. This was followed by a change in programming as the networks began putting their best programming on television.

Change in Radio Programming

By 1952, the number of network programs offered to affiliates was still high, but the number of sponsored programs had already begun declining and only slightly over half the programs were regularly sponsored as compared to a high of 80 to 90% sponsorship in the best years of radio." Three related reasons ac counted for the movement of sponsors to television. (1) Television was very expensive and networks, which were interested in developing the new medium, placed their best programs on television to attract sponsors; (2) networks took some of the radio profits to promote television. To increase these profits the networks were using reruns on radio. This lowered the cost of programming, but it made radio programs less attractive to sponsors; (3) for many advertisers using both television and radio was too expensive, so they began shifting to television, where they could show products. Notwithstanding the change, most of the traditionally successful programs were still on radio.

Bob Hope had been on radio sixteen seasons, Jack Benny had been on the air through 20 seasons, and "Amos n' Andy" had completed 23 years. Over the next three year period, networks continued to offer many programs, but sponsors were turning to television in greater numbers. Popular, long running shows lost their sponsors. By 1956 "Charlie McCarthy-Edgar Bergen" had lost sponsorship; Arthur Godfrey was only offering taped repeats; the longest-running show, "The New York Philharmonic Orchestra," had lost its sponsor after running twenty-eight seasons on radio.

But a new type of programming was coming to the air. NBC, beginning with the 1955-1956 season, was offering a short variety program called "Monitor"-some called it a magazine type program since it was a combination of many elements-interviews, music, and news. "Monitor" symbolized the change in radio's status perhaps more than any other program in that it was inexpensive, using neither costly actors nor elaborate production techniques.'" Serial radio had gone to television and the advertisers had gone too. Radio appeared to be dead. Local stations could depend upon networks for only occasional newscasts, magazine-type programs, and recorded music as provided by MBS. But the new form of network programming began to supplement the disc jockey format that was growing up in stations all across the nation. Stations could run 50 or 55 minutes of disc jockey programming and then switch to the network for five or ten minutes of news each hour. Using the alternating music and news formula radio has been able to develop into a highly profitable medium.

Of course, not all stations had the benefit of network news and those that lacked a network developed a new form of news reporting sometimes called the "rip-and read" newscast. Local stations acquired an AP or other news service wire to provide printed news to the station. Then a disc jockey who needed news would simply tear off the latest news from the teletype machine and read it over the air.

Radio, then, after 1955 became a music and news service-largely un changed into the 1970s. When all stations were appealing to the same audience with the same music, advertisers had little or no reason to pick one station over the other. Consequently, as mentioned earlier in this section, the specialized music format arose. In the early 1960s stations were experimenting with the Top-40, classical, Middle of the Road (MOR), progressive, and "good music" formats. Each was intended to satisfy a particular taste. The advertiser could pick the desired audience by selecting a station with a particular format. To further specialize, a few stations gave up music altogether and became all-talk or all-news stations.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION

Early Experiments The theory of television goes back to the late 1800s when experimenters were thinking of the possibility of sending pictures through telephone wires.'" But it was impossible to transmit a whole picture at once because of the limited capacity of wire and radio channels; therefore it was necessary to break pictures up into small segments or dots (see Section one). The problem of sorting out light from a picture so that it could make images that could be carried by wire was evolved by Paul Nipkow, a German experimenter, in 1883 and patented by him in 1884.

Nipkow's theory required a three part system in which a lens focused the light from a scene, a rotating disk with holes punched in it divided up the light from the lens into rows of light, and a light sensitive photo cell converted the light into electrical impulses. The round disk was punched with small holes in a spiraling pattern with each hole slightly closer to the center of the disk than the last opening.

As the disk rotated each hole in its turn allowed light from part of the scene to fall upon the photo cell. Thus, as the first hole rotated behind the lens, it permitted light from the top of the scene to fall upon the photo cell. As the disk revolved further the second hole passed behind the lens and permitted a second slightly lower row of light to fall on the photo cell. This process continued until the entire scene was "scanned" by the rotating disk. But Nipkow lacked some of the necessary electrical components to fully develop his television system; therefore, it was several years before the system was demonstrated.

---------- Early mechanical television was very crude and produced low-quality pictures. This picture of Felix the Cat in the late 1920s was a poor indication of what was to come. (RCA Corporation.)

By 1887 the French physician M. Senlecq transmitted pictures projected on a screen by tracing them with a special light-sensitive instrument." His invention required that the picture image be both projected and still while it was being traced. Senlecq's problem of relying on a still image was overcome as Nipkow's disk was made technically possible. But both of these systems relied heavily upon mechanical devices-a spinning disk or a tracing tool. A fully electronic system of television was needed before television could be sold to the public.

In 1908 A. A. Campbell-Swinton wrote, in the British publication Nature, about a theory of electronic television that was very similar to that developed later by Alexander Zworylcin.

A similar theory was advanced by Rosing in Russia during the same year, but both men lacked the machinery to develop their ideas.

Zworykin, who had come to the United States from Russia, used his doctoral research to develop the theory of an iconoscope, as he called it, or television camera pickup tube that helped to make television fully electronic." His first patent had been filed in 1923, but faced several years of litigation over who first invented the iconoscope before he was able to develop the tube further.

Zworykin received other patents related to television in 1928 and 1938 as he expanded the scope of the pickup tube and attempted to produce color television. Zworykin worked for Westinghouse until 1930 when RCA opened an experimental television station and borrowed Zworykin to direct the project." Working independently, Philo Farnsworth a young scientist, developed a system of electronic television that grew out of his childhood interest in electronics. Farnsworth went to work for Leslie Gorrell and George Everson of San Francisco who had agreed to finance his experiments." The first practical results of Farnsworth's experiments were evident in 1927 when a picture of a dollar sign was transmitted over a short distance by a crude form of television.

Both Zworykin and Farnsworth had developed their television systems to the point at which they were transmitting television pictures with 240 scanning lines in 1933, but both required mechanical scanning using the Nipkow disk at the receiving end.

Experimental telecasting was taking place during the years that Zworykin and others were experimenting with the equipment. In 1927 Bell Laboratories sent a television picture by wire between New York and Washington, and RCA demonstrated a television set at a New York theater in 1930. 55 By 1937 seventeen experimental television stations were in operation and the networks were trying to show the public that television was on its way. In 1938 CBS built its first television studio at Grand Central Station in New York. Many companies were beginning to experiment with the new medium of television, including Zenith, General Electric, Westinghouse, and Paramount. NBC demonstrated television publicly during the 1939 World's Fair in New York, showing an episode of "Amos 'n' Andy." Subsequent broadcasts included a speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the first President to appear on television.

As the year wore on, others came to New York to perform on television shows which included opera, comedy, music, puppet shows, and kitchen demonstrations.

---------- The iconoscope made television without mechanical scanning possible. Although this early device was very crude, it was the basis for modern television. (Culver Pictures.)

During the same year NBC began its first regularly scheduled broadcasts for the public during a two hour period each week. These programs were carried under an experimental authorization from the FCC using the Zworykin television system that by this time had 441 scanning lines. The First Television Licenses So far television was only an experimental gadget. Then in 1940 the FCC, hoping to resolve any technical disputes, began hearings to determine how to license television. The FCC found that there were a variety of television standards, such as the one adopted by the Zworykin system, which used 441 scanning lines in the picture. The FCC had to resolve these many standards before it could grant any permanent television broadcast licenses. In order to solve the standards problem, the National Television System Committee (NTSC) was formed to negotiate areas of conflict in television trans missions and to advise the FCC. This committee settled upon the standards still in use today; that is, 525 scanning lines and thirty complete scannings of the picture each second (thirty frames per second). (These standards are discussed more fully in Section 1). In the same hearings the FCC decided that the television picture would be modulated by AM and the sound would be modulated by FM. These standards were adopted on April 30, 1941. The first station application under the new standards was filed by the Journal Company of Milwaukee, whose station became known as WTMJ-TV.

TABLE 3-3 Growth of Broadcast Stations The figures in this table represent stations on the air and authorized on the last day of the fiscal year indicated and were derived from appropriate FCC and FRC records. -- *Data for this year as for mid-year.

This opened the way for the first commercial television stations to be authorized, which began commercial operation on July 1, 1941. 6° Although ten stations received licenses to begin operation in 1941, only six of them remained on the air throughout World War II. The FCC freeze on broadcast licenses during the war (1942 to 1945) included television as well as AM and FM, and no new stations were authorized until 1945 when the FCC began licensing stations again on a regular basis. The six stations that remained on the air necessarily had to limit their broadcasts since there were very few people to either sponsor or view programs. Indeed by the time the war came there were about 10,000 television sets in existence. But when the war was over more and more people began applying for station licenses and the television boom began. Those six prewar television stations were to jump to 108 by 1948.

POSTWAR EXPANSION OF TELEVISION

When peacetime returned in 1945, 158 requests for television station licenses awaited the FCC's attention. Although many of the pending applications were eventually withdrawn, there were many others who wanted licenses. Almost immediately after the war the FCC began authorizing new television stations in the VHF channels of one through thirteen (in 1948 the FCC deleted channel one). In 1946 there were forty-six FCC approved stations and that number rose to sixty-six in 1947 and 109 in 1948. The increase in television coverage in the years immediately after the second world war is particularly impressive when one realized that by 1950, 106 of the 109 authorized stations which were on the air were bringing television coverage to some sixty-four cities and metropolitan areas. According to the FCC's estimate this meant that some 87 million people could view at least one television station and these people were distributed among forty-three states. Of course the freeze on television station licenses between 1948 and 1952, to be discussed shortly, slowed the development of television somewhat, but the nation was strongly interested in the new medium.

Since television stations needed people who had receivers to pick up the signal, manufacturers were building more and more sets. For example, in 1950 over seven million sets were sold and nine percent of all homes had at least one television set, however, fully sixty-five percent of all homes were equipped with at least one television set in 1955. The tremendous rise in television set ownership, of course, stimulated broadcasters interest in acquiring more television stations.

Equipment Development

The early iconoscope that had been developed by Zworykin had two major problems. First, it required so much light the actors were subjected to intensely hot working conditions; second, the picture quality of the iconoscope was so poor that viewers had difficulty recognizing the picture. An invention in 1945 at CBS solved both of these problems--the image orthicon pickup tube. Like the iconoscope, the image orthicon tube picks up the image of a scene and converts it into electrical impulses that can be transmitted. But the added quality of the image orthicon vastly improved television signals. As a result, the image orthicon has become the heart of the modern television camera and is still used by networks and major television stations.

Another technical development that advanced television--specifically net work television-was the expansion of a cable and microwave system connecting the East and the Midwest. This new cable and microwave system made it possible for television networks to connect stations in cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and New York. In fact the new hookup connected fourteen metropolitan areas in 1948 and made it possible for about one-third of the nation's population to view the same television program at the same time. This development was especially important when one remembers that all television during the late 1940s and early 1950s was live and a cable hookup was the only way to supply the same program to many television stations. By 1951 coast-to coast network television had been achieved.

--------

----------- These three photographs show how television sets changed during the 1940s and early 1950s. (Culver Pictures.)

Of course film existed during these early days of television, but neither stations nor film producers considered using film in television applications. The other medium for recording and preserving programs, video tape, was not yet available. Television was mostly a live medium, and network interconnection of stations was quite important. One form of recorded television, Kinescope re cording, was available to networks and stations. Film cameras were used to record television programs from a special television screen. Although picture quality was not great, kinescoping delivered network programs to the West Coast before the completion of a coast-to-coast network hookup. Of course, kinescoping had many other uses in news, educational, and network programming.

THE LICENSING FREEZE OF 1948-1952

When the war ended and the military no longer needed all of the materials that the nation could produce, industry turned to manufacturing consumer goods again. The abrupt change put several strains not only on the manufacturers but also on broadcasters and government. There were unresolved questions involving just what to do with television; how to handle educational uses of television; and the use of the ultra high frequency television channels (UHF). Broadcasters were unsure whether to keep programs on radio or transfer them to television and advertisers did not know which medium would be the most effective in selling products.

If broadcasters and networks were unsure of television's future, the FCC was even less certain about its role in regulating the new medium. The FCC believed that the medium needed to be regulated, but the form that regulation should take was an open question. This uncertainty led the FCC, on September 30, 1948, to impose a freeze on all new licensing of television transmitters while it considered the problems of television. During the freeze the FCC conducted a number of hearings inviting those from the broadcast industry and education, as well as other interested people, to testify. The hearings covered a considerable period of time and a large number of topics. There was, of course, a good deal of lobbying by all interested parties. The hearings led to the FCC's Sixth Report and Order.

The television freeze was lifted in 1952, after a period of three and one-half years, when the FCC issued the Sixth Report. The new order explained the FCC's view on how television should be regulated with a series of new standards. First, the FCC decided there should be twelve VHF television channels and seventy UHF television channels. (The VHF channels had already been in existence and the FCC added the UHF channels because it believed there would be a need for more television channels). To designate the localities in which television channels might be used the FCC came up with a table of allocations which was a list of communities in the United States and the television channel or channels allotted to each com munity. In its new allocation scheme the FCC decided that both VHF and UHF stations should exist in a number of communities.

In addition to commercial television stations the Report established an educational class of television stations. The FCC created 242 channels for educational use. Eighty of the channels were VHF and 162 were in the UHF band. The move for these allocations was led by Frieda B. Hennock, the first ...

----------- Frieda Hennock, the first women commissioner of the FCC, was a friend to educators and helped them get television channels. (Culver Pictures.)

... female commissioner on the FCC. Commissioner Hennock, who was appointed in 1948, soon learned that educators had not received a fair deal when AM channels were given out in the late 1920s, and she was determined that the same would not occur with television.

One of Hennock's discoveries was that commercial broadcasters had promised the FRC that they would carry educational programs, eliminating the need for allotting radio channels to education. In this way commercial broadcasters received almost all AM radio channels; but in the years that followed, the commercial owners had failed to fulfill their promise. During the television freeze broadcasters were again promising to carry educational pro grams, but now Hennock and others were naturally suspicious of the promises.

The broadcast industry vigorously opposed Hennock's position but a number of educators, especially in the midwest, supported her. Similarly, a large portion of the FCC staff believed that there was a need for educational television channels.

Finally, the Sixth Report specified the distance between television stations that shared the same channel. It concluded that two VHF stations on a common channel should be 190 miles apart and two UHF stations should be 175 miles apart. Thus station A, which is on channel two, must be at least 190 miles from station B, which is on the same channel two. 69 After the report had been issued the FCC began processing applications again and the number of television stations authorized by the FCC increased rapidly. In fact the original 109 stations that had FCC licenses and permits during the freeze rose to 458 by 1955; and along with the rise in the number of stations, viewer interest in television rose." By 1955 fully 65 percent of all homes had television sets.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF COLOR TELEVISION

One of the problems the FCC considered during the television freeze was color. The difficulties of color required more than just the freeze years to re solve because of the complexity of the issue. But first, let us examine the development of color television.

Color television is a primitive form was first demonstrated by John L. Baird, a British television engineer, in 1928. He used color filters to break light up into red, blue, and green components and used a spinning disk in the receiver to bring the colors back together. The next year Herbert Ives, at the Bell Laboratories, demonstrated a mechanical television system using photo cells as had been used in some of the early black and white sets. But the work of these two people received a boost when RCA entered the pit ture. In February 1940 RCA demonstrated an electronic color system to the FCC, but it was so bad that the company did not engage in a public demonstration and returned to its Princeton laboratories to refine its system. While RCA was developing its system, Peter Goldmark was working on a color system at CBS. Both Goldmark's and RCA's system lacked good quality-although the CBS system may have been a bit better.

The FCC in 1941 declared that color was an innovation for the future and refused to take any action on the matter. During the Second World War little happened to color development because of the material shortages. However, both CBS and RCA continued their experimentation hoping to someday demonstrate a viable system.

When the war was over, color television continued its development. RCA demonstrated a color system that divided the color into three primary colors and transmitted quite good stable color, but when someone moved on the screen colors tended to run together. Although RCA announced that its color system was superior to all other's CBS created some competition when it asked the FCC permission to use its color system commercially. CBS supported its request with a demonstration that showed that its color television could produce very pure and faithful colors that were stable and did not smear.

In 1947 the FCC denied CBS's request on the grounds that it had not done enough testing and on the vague possibility that there might be other better color systems. Then, after the freeze began, the FCC chose to approve the CBS color television equipment in 1950 while refusing to approve other systems. RCA and several other companies contested the FCC's decision in court, but were overruled in favor of the FCC. Ultimately, circumstances were to go against CBS and the company was not able to enjoy the FCC's approval since all color production was stopped on October 19, 1951 because of the Korean War.

----------- Microwave communications towers like this one are used (with cable) to connect television net works with their stations. In addition, these microwave transmitters and receivers can carry hundreds of telephone conversations. (AT&T Co.)

TABLE 3-4 TV Set Sales and Saturation Figures show the number of monochrome and color sets manufactured, the % manufactured outside the U.S. and the % with UHF, the average cost (manufacturer's value) of monochrome and color sets, and the % of U.S. homes with television, color, two or more sets and UHF.

NUMBER OF SETS SOLD PERCENT HOMES WITH Monochrome Color Imported UHF TV Color Multi UHF --- *Imported does not include sets with a -domestic label- (U.S. name) but manufactured outside the U.S. local imports were actually about 35% of the market in 1970

1976 ---- Source: Broadcasting Yearbook, Television Fact book.

In that same year the National Television System Committee (NTSC) be came interested in the potential of color and, by 1953, chose to endorse the NBC color system, which had been developed considerably since 1950. In December 1953 the FCC, bowing to industry views and the new evidence, reversed its decision and approved the NBC system. To be sure NBC color had some advantages, for example, black and white sets could pick up the color picture in black and white and the system was fully electronic. But the NBC color also had some disadvantages: the cost of an NBC equipped color station was much higher than the cost of CBS equipment; the price of a color television set was very high, about $1,000 per set; and very bright lights were required to produce a program in color. On the other hand, the CBS system had the ad vantage of being less expensive and black and white sets could be adapted to their color system inexpensively.

With the approval of the NBC color system, which used three separate pickup tubes to produce a color signal, both CBS and NBC went into limited color television production, however, new color sets had yet to be constructed and the market for color television grew slowly. Part of the problem was that people were unwilling or unable to spend large sums for new sets. Although CBS began color-casting "The Red Skelton Show, " "Shower of Starts, " and "Climax," the cost was so high that CBS was forced to abandon all regular color by 1958. Consequently, between 1958 and 1964, only NBC had an extensive regular schedule of color shows. By the 1966-1967, however, season all three television networks were broadcasting all of their prime time shows in color. Color television broadcasting has been the regular practice ever since.

With the growth of color broadcasting, the number of homes with color sets has steadily increased. In 1960 less than one percent of all homes had color sets, but that figure had risen to five percent in 1965 and 39 percent in 1970. By 1974 about 65 percent of all homes had color sets.

THE UNSTEADY GROWTH OF UHF

Although the FCC's 1952 table of assignments created a large number of UHF stations intended to compete with VHF, the FCC's action hardly assured the success of the new channels. (See Section 1 for a discussion of UHF channels.) In fact the FCC's action created as many problems as it was sup posed to solve. By authorizing more television channels the FCC apparently provided enough space for all the television stations the nation would need.

That seemed quite a worthy goal.

However, the problems of the new assignment seemed to eclipse any benefits to be realized from the seventy UHF channels. The primary problem was that television sets manufactured during the early 1950s could not tune in UHF stations and the FCC took no action to correct this problem. The result was that most televisions could not receive UHF stations and most viewers had no idea that there were more than the channels between two and thirteen. In fact if one wished to pick up the UHF stations, it was necessary to order either a special television set at a higher cost or a separate adaptor.

UHF stations had at least two other problems. The high frequencies at which UHF stations operated meant that their signals simply would not go as far as those of VHF stations. Thus VHF stations not only reached more sets be cause of the limitations of the set, they also reached out farther into the fringes and acquired additional viewers that were out of the reach of UHF. Finally, VHF stations tended to be older than UHF stations and they had first pick at network affiliation. Of course networks preferred to have VHF stations as affiliates since they had greater coverage. Consequently, many UHF stations were obliged to survive on old films and reruns without network affiliation.

Even the FCC in 1955 admitted that the plan for UHF stations had been a failure. The FCC noted that out of the 325 UHF licenses it had granted, only about one-third were on the air. Later in 1960 the UHF situation was no better, with only seventy-seven UHF television stations in operation. Because of these problems, the FCC began considering a number of proposals to resolve the UHF situation.

TABLE 3-5 Number of Television Stations Reporting Profit or Loss by Amount of Profit or Loss, 1971* ---- *Excludes part-year stations and satellite stations. Profits are before Federal income tax.

Source: FCC 1972 Annual Report Washington, D.C.: (Washington Government Printing Office))

One of the proposals the FCC considered for resolving the UHF dilemma was the elimination of all VHF channels and the transfer of all television to the UHF band of frequencies. The proposal was rejected primarily because there were a number of stations established in the VHF band by the late 1950s. A solution that seemed more appropriate was the FCC's request that Congress amend the Communications Act of 1934 permitting the FCC to require television set manufacturers to incorporate UHF tuners in all new television sets.

Congress complied with the FCC's request in 1962 and the FCC directed that all new sets manufactured after April 30, 1964 be equipped with UHF tuners. But the UHF tuners did not click from channel to channel like the VHF tuner, and the difference made it difficult for many people to tune in UHF stations. So while progress was made in resolving the UHF problem, it still existed and in 1970 the FCC adopted additional regulations requiring that UHF dials be compatible with VHF dials. Whether this change will improve the status of UHF television is as yet unknown. In addition to regulatory activities, the FCC in 1961-1962 conducted a study in New York City to determine the distance a UHF television signal could reach. Using a transmitter in the Empire State Building, the FCC found that by broadcasting on channel thirty-one it could produce UHF pictures up to forty miles from the transmitter that were as good as VHF television signals coming from the same building-all seven of New York's VHF stations have their antennas on the Empire State Building. So enthusiastic was the city of New York that it purchased the station from the FCC and began broadcasting on Channel thirty-one. The least successful of the FCC's attempts to promote UHF television was the move to "de-intermix" UHF and VHF stations in the same market. By de-intermixing the FCC intended to convert those markets that had both VHF and UHF television stations into markets that had only VHF or UHF stations, but not both. In its 1952 table of allocations the FCC had placed both UHF and VHF channels in some communities. The move to de-intermix these markets would have created a table of television assignments that had only VHF or UHF stations in any given market. The move failed largely because VHF stations were unwilling to give up their prime channels to move to a UHF assignment and there were not enough VHF channels to de-intermix UHF stations into VHF channels.

By 1971 the FCC found that UHF television was still not on a firm footing because, out of 149 UHF television stations, 102 reported that they were loosing money. Thus only forty-seven reported a profit and twenty-four indicated that they made less than $100,000 gross profit. This compares very poorly with VHF television, which reported that 366 out of 453 stations were making a profit.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL TELEVISION NETWORKS

The early television experimenters included national radio networks who had a vigorous interest in anything that might affect their networks. In fact both CBS and NBC possessed experimental stations prior to 1941 when the FCC authorized commercial television operation. NBC operated W2XBS, which be came WNBT (later WNBC), and CBS operated WCBW (later WCBS), which retained its call letters as a commercial station. After World War II both network organizations became interested in developing television networks and by 1948 NBC had nine affiliates while CBS had three. Although ABC did not come into being until after the 1943 Supreme Court decision to break up NBC's two networks, it was able to acquire six tele vision affiliates by 1948. While each network had affiliates, NBC was especially successful in adding stations during the early years of network television. By 1950 NBC had more than twice as many affiliates as CBS and more than four times the number of affiliates connected with ABC. The gap between CBS and NBC closed somewhat in the years after 1950, with NBC having 218 stations in its line up compared to CBS's 212 in 1974.

ABC, on the other hand, had a long, difficult time in acquiring affiliates be cause it lacked the necessary funds to produce strong competitive programming. Unlike the other two networks, ABC did not have large radio revenues to help support the new medium. Then in 1953 ABC merged with the Paramount theater chain after a court decision forced Paramount Pictures to separate the theaters from the studios. The merger strengthened ABC's position since it made additional funds available, but ABC was never able to acquire as many affiliates as the two competing networks. However, by 1974 ABC had 181 affiliates which made it more competitive with the other networks.

CBS gained an advantage when ABC and Paramount merged because both Paramount and ABC owned television stations in Chicago. Since FCC rules prohibit one organization from operating two stations in the same market, Paramount sold its station to CBS. CBS gained an important new element for its network and was able for the first time to secure more viewers than its competitor, NBC. ABC used the new economic leverage gained from its merger to embark upon a new philosophy in programming its network. While the other networks were using programs produced live by the networks, ABC began programming Hollywood productions. Its first step in the new direction was made when ABC and Walt Disney signed an agreement to carry a series called Disneyland.

The Disney deal was followed by an agreement between ABC and Warner Brothers in which Warner would produce a series of one hour programs for television entitled Warner Brothers Presents. ABC added other filmed programs rapidly after these two 1954 agreements. The Warner series reached television during the 1955-1956 season.

TELEVISION PROGRAMMING

When speaking of television programming, reference is made mostly to net work programs because networks provide the largest portion of a station's programming. Of course not all stations are affiliated with a national network, but these stations often use programs that were once run on a national network.

As a result, our discussion of television programming will be largely limited to network programs.

Television in the early 1950s was live and when entertainers goofed--they were seen by millions of viewers across the nation-there was no opportunity to edit the mistake. Television became a national participation sport; viewers wondered who would err next and performers feared that they would. A wide variety of shows existed even in the early days of television. There were comedies like "I Love Lucy" with Lucille Ball; variety shows like Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town", Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts," and Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca's Your Show of Shows. Variety and comedy were not the only fare. There were also dramas like "Lights Out, " "Suspense," and "Cisco Kid. - Many shows moved from radio to television, such as "Amos 'n' Andy," "The Goldbergs," and "The Aldrich Family. " And NBC developed at least one unique program, "Today" which was started in 1951 and consisted of talk, news, and interviews.

TABLE 3-6 Network Affiliates --- Figures show the number of stations for the national radio and television networks and the Keystone syndicate. --------- • Keystone not interconnected; but syndicated.

**1948. Source: Compiled by Lichty with C. H. Sterling from Broadcasting Yearbook, FCC and the net- works. Figures are usually for January 1.

Television carried events of national importance such as President Truman's message to Congress in 1950--the first time such an event had been televised.

National political conventions were carried on networks in 1952 and, of course, eight years later two presidential candidates, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy, debated each other on national television.

So successful was television in attracting viewers that at least one group, the major motion picture producers, feared that television would consume theater.

As audiences turned away from the theaters to their television sets, film producers decided to fight back by refusing to let television use motion pictures. In addition, filmmakers adopted all kinds of technical refinements such as Cinemascope, Cinerama, three-dimensional, and Todd A-0 in an attempt to lure people back to the theater.

Without motion pictures, the early to mid 1950s produced a new kind of television--unique in that it had not appeared in radio years--anthology drama. These series did not have fixed actors or situations from week to week since each play was original, complete and written specifically for one television showing. The anthology was a kind of "Broadway for television, - and shows appeared under such numerous titles as "Goodyear Television Playhouse," "Kraft Television Theater, “ "Studio One, and "Motorola Playhouse”." This new art form resulted in a new breed of writers, such as Rod Serling and Paddy Chayefsky, and gave them the opportunity to do serious dramatic work on television.

FEAR OF COMMUNISM THREATENS BROADCASTING

Broadcasting and its programming was seriously affected in the late 1940s and early 1950s by the fear of communism, a fear that plagued the entire nation.

Many felt that the United States, through its timid international policies, had allowed the Soviet Union to gain control of such large portions of Eastern Europe that the Soviet Union might try to use its power to expand into other parts of the world. Government leaders in Washington became just as concerned as the rest of the nation. President Truman instituted a loyalty oath that government employees were required to take. In Congress, Senator Joe McCarthy ran vigorous investigations into the lives of alleged communists. The nation seemed bent on purging any influence of communism. Outside government there were people like Eleanor Johnson Buchanan, daughter of a Syracuse, New York supermarket owner, who was among those determined to stamp out communism. Publications like "Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television" and "Counterattack" were published to expose communism in broadcast circles, among others. Like other organizations, radio and television networks were affected by the fear of communism and CBS began blacklisting performers with alleged ties to communism. The advertising agency BBD & O followed suit. In addition, broadcasters found that many of their entertainers were blacklisted by outside groups for the most trivial reasons. Eleanor Buchanan began telephone campaigns to networks demanding that many performers be taken off the air, others called advertising agencies, and still others called advertisers directly.

Broadcasters had to confront some serious questions concerning how they were going to deal with the issue of intimidation.

The broadcasters' problems were two pronged. On the one hand, if broadcasters were to refuse to fire the alleged communists, advertisers were threatening to remove their support from the networks. Broadcasters would thereby loose their only means of income. But if they failed to expose the un reasonable fear of communism for what it was, broadcasters would be violating what they had long held to be one of the basic reasons for their existence--the exposure of wrong in public agencies. Many broadcast journalists and executives believed that because so many people received all or most of their news from radio and television, they had a great responsibility to uphold reason and expose corruption.

Networks found their journalistic function in conflict with their economic health. People like Fred Friendly, a vice president of CBS, found themselves in serious conflict with others at the networks. For a time the need for economic security triumphed as networks failed to expose people like Senator Joe McCarthy while terminating contracts of many innocent people accused of being communists.

In time network journalists persuaded management to expose the unwarranted fear of communism. Networks carried live coverage of the McCarthy hearings which permitted the nation to see that McCarthy was an antagonistic, glory hungry person. Edward R. Murrow, a news anchorman at CBS, went on the air with a documentary exposing McCarthy's damaging techniques, and news programs covered trials of innocent people damaged by those fearful of communism. Although Murrow's program served a desirable purpose-that of reducing McCarthy's influence--some of Murrow's tactics were unethical.

Ed Murrow edited bits and pieces of McCarthy's filmed speeches and comments to achieve the desired effect. Some of these filmed comments were taken out of context and may have been outright misrepresentations. Indeed, Mur row used some of the very tactics that he was engaged in condemning. Tactics aside, television played an important role in both promoting and destroying the harmful influences that arose during this period of the so-called Red Scares.

THE INVENTION OF VIDEO TAPE

The move away from live television began with ABC's use of films and RCA's invention of the first video tape recording system in 1953. RCA's machine required that tapes be run at high speeds, 360 inches per second, which consequently, meant that a great deal of tape was needed to record a thirty-minute program. Despite high tape costs, networks and other large broadcasters found the convenience of recorded programs to be worth the price. Ampex, in 1956, developed a refined video tape recorder that ran the tape at a much slower speed and cost about $75,000. After Ampex's machine was introduced, many different companies entered the video tape machine market and today it is possible to purchase large high cost broadcast recorders or small home video tape machines that cost only $1,000 or less.

Video tape has several advantages that make it attractive to broadcasters and others. Most important is the immediate replay capability of tape. Processing is unnecessary, therefore, one need not wait for laboratory work. Secondly, picture quality of video tape is just about as good as the original images picked up by a television camera. Thirdly, like film, video tape can be readily edited.

Some of the first uses of video tape included recording segments of otherwise live shows that required actors to change costumes or that required such large sets that not all of the sets used in a program could be constructed in one studio. When actors had to change clothes, the portion of the program when they were wearing one costume was video taped. Then the remaining part of the show--with the actors wearing a second costume-was done live and the video taped portions was simply played at the appropriate time.

Some shows used sets so large that one set filled an entire studio which of course, made the construction of other sets in the studio at the same time impossible. In these cases the large sets were erected and the scenes played in them were recorded, then this set was removed and new sets were brought into the studio for the live part of the program while the recorded portions were inserted at the appropriate time. In this way a program could be contained in one studio, and other studios that the network might own could be used for other productions.

THE INVENTION OF VIDEO TAPE

Currently video tape is used in recording news shows produced by the three national television networks. Every network produces three newscasts each evening--one at 6:00, 6:30, and 7:00. Each newscast carries essentially the same stories and, thus, affiliates have a choice of three times when they may carry a news program. The 6:00 newscast is recorded on video tape and replayed at 6:30 and 7:00 if there is no new late-breaking news or no major flaws in the 6:00 program. If everything goes perfectly, the news staff may leave at 6:30 and the first tape will simply be replayed twice for the two later newscasts.

But when important events are breaking after 6:00 or when someone makes a mistake, then the news staff will have to produce a second and perhaps a third newscast. Thus, video tape is used by network news departments to reduce the amount of work that must be done each evening.

More recently--in fact during the early 1970s--Norman Lear began using video tape to record his comedy programs as they were performed before live audiences. Lear uses video tape to gain the advantages of both live and recorded television. Every program is performed without interruption before a live audience so that the spontaneity of live theater may be captured. Each program is performed twice before audiences. Since programs are recorded on video tape, Lear may edit the best of each program into the final version that is shown on television. With this technique, Lear hopes to gain the excitement of live television, without showing the nation the mistakes of his performers.

Of course, videotape finds many other uses in sports, documentaries, and public affairs. Yet with all of its advantages, video tape has yet to entirely re place motion picture film. Most of the evening dramas on television are produced on film because of the advantages film has over video tape. Film cameras are smaller and lighter than television cameras and, consequently, they are much easier to handle on location. Just as important, television cameras require elaborate back up equipment, such as video tape machines and switching equipment, to handle more than one camera. Therefore, the compactness of film recording remains more desirable for location shooting than video tape and since most evening television is shot on location, film remains the choice.

There are three other advantages in using film over tape for shooting location dramas:

(1) Film may be used on all television systems while video tape must be converted to new line systems when the tape is sent to other nations using a television system different from our own. (See Section 1, for a discussion of line systems). (2) Film tends to be more permanent than video tape and much of the profit for evening programs is derived from reruns and syndication, therefore, permanence is important. (3) Finally, television equipment requires more adjustments and is more sensitive to vibration than film equipment and is, therefore, less desirable in location work.

Quiz Program Scandals

One of the favorite forms of television during the 1950s, which had been popular on radio and had made the transition to television, was quiz programs.

These programs pitted the intellectual skills of two contestants against each other. The contestants were playing for large sums of money-some won up to $100,000 and there was no indication of dishonesty or fraud. The popularity of this type of program is evidenced by the fact that some quiz programs such as "The $64,000 Question," "The Big Surprise," and "Twenty-One," reached the top spots on the ratings. In 1958 Edward Hilgemeir, a stand-by contestant, discovered a notebook that one of the contestants had dropped. Upon examining it, he found that it contained the questions and answers that the contestant was answering. 95 Although the producer attempted to buy Hilgemeir's silence, Hilgemeir contacted the FCC. Others like Herbert Stemple also told their stories and, eventually, the networks were forced to remove all big money quiz shows from the air. Herbert Stemple was an interesting key to breaking the quiz show rigging in that he had been a brilliant and honest contestant on "Twenty-One." "Twenty-One" producers thought that Stemple lacked the kind of personality that would help the program's ratings and wanted him off the air, but they were unable to find anyone bright enough to beat him. He finally lost to a contestant who had been primed with answers. When he discovered what had happened, Stemple willingly exposed the quiz show rigging.

As a result of the revelations about quiz show rigging, the FCC urged Congress to enact new laws making rigged quiz programs illegal. Congress followed the FCC's suggestion and, as a result of a series of hearings conducted during 1959-1960, amended the Communications Act of 1934 (§509) to include a section forbidding quiz programs that attempted to deceive the public.

Filmed Television and the Violent Years

Both video tape and motion picture film contributed to converting television from a medium specializing in live programming to one that specialized in carrying recorded programs. Even more importantly, film helped to change the content of television programs. The change began in the mid-1950s when Disney Studios and Warner Brothers agreed to produce some films for ABC. By using motion pictures many of the limitations on television programming vanished. There was no need to produce the program at the exact time it was aired; it was easy to take the camera outside for location filming; and editors of film had great freedom to select shots that best contributed to the development of a program. The new freedom led to many outdoor series filled with physical violence such as cowboy series, detective programs, and spy shows and with them came a violence that was unknown during the live television. Producers quickly learned that the new programs captured larger audiences than had been possible with other types of television and it was not long before most live television programs gave way to filmed episodes.

One of the new programs, " Cheyenne," was so successful that it became a long-running series that lasted for seven years. Its success led to imitators like "Sugarfoot," and "Colt 45." Film producers found that they could produce tele vision films at very low costs by using old footage to cover things like cattle stampedes and Indian battles." Cowboy series during the early years of television film were among the most popular programs and they remained at the top of the rating charts for a long time. The series "Gunsmoke" attests to this as it holds the record for being on television more seasons than any other show.

By 1960 another type of programming was becoming popular beginning with the "The Untouchables. " The program, an ABC entry which reached and held the top position in the Arbitron ratings for sometime, depicted conflicts between the law and gangsters and was the most violent program yet to reach television. "The Untouchables" was so successful that specialized in dramas of physical violence like "Hawaiian Eye" and "77 Sunset Strip." The violent programming that viewers saw on their television sets in the early 1960s expanded during much of the decade and remained on television into the 1970 with shows like "The Man From U.N. C.LE." and "Mission Im possible. " These two spy shows featured master spys who used illegal tricks to solve problems for their governments.

The violence in television programming concerned many Americans and, during the 1969 Congressional season, Senator Pastore and is committee directed the Surgeon General of the United States to conduct a study of the effects of televised violence on the public to determine if any restrictive legislation was needed. The study cost the government about one million dollars and indicated that there was some relationship between viewing television violence and violent behavior. However, the conclusions were somewhat tentative." (The findings of this study are more fully discussed in the section on research in broadcasting. ) Although no new laws resulted from the Surgeon General's report or from the Congressional hearings, which were conducted after the report was released, the NAB, the national television networks, and National Association of Independent Television Broadcasters decided to create the "family viewing hour. - The family hour came into being because broadcasters feared new laws if they failed to take some action. The period from 7:00 to 9:00 (Eastern time) each evening was declared the family hour and networks and stations agreed not to program shows containing excessive sex or violence during this period. (See Section 11, for a discussion of the details of the family hour.) Of course, there were many programs during the 1960s that did not feature acts of physical violence, but this type of program was certainly in the minority.

Prominent among the nonviolent programs was hillbilly comedy which included "The Beverly Hillbillies, " "Green Acres,” and "Petticoat Junction.” Then there were urban comedies like "Dick Van Dyke,” which featured a typical family in which the husband was a television writer.

Violence in the News The dramatic program was not the only source of acts of physical violence on television during the 1960s and early 1970s. In 1963 John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. While network television did not show the actual event as it occurred, the nation was able to see Jack Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy's alleged assassin, in the basement of the Dallas Jail two days later.

Networks suspended all programming for several days to cover the slain President's funeral in Washington.

In 1968 Martin Luther King, the leader of the black movement, was assassinated by a sniper's bullet and, during the same year, Robert Kennedy was assassinated while campaigning for the Democratic nomination to the presidency. When the Democrats went to Chicago to nominate a presidential candidate to run in November, the convention hall was surrounded by protesters demanding that Democrats cease aggressive acts of war in Vietnam.

Television covered the protesters as a news event. Consequently, viewers of nightly news programs saw a Chicago that looked like a war zone.

Television newscasts have a special ability to cover visual events with much action. As a result they have long specialized in visual material by going to college campuses when students were rioting for better social conditions; by going to the streets of America's cities when the ethnic poor had protested their living and working conditions; and by giving live coverage of the war in Vietnam.

As radio had once covered World War II, television covered the Vietnam war, but the perspective, the consequences, and the medium were different.

Many newscasters opposed the Vietnam war, particularly in the later years, while most newsmen had urged support for World War II. Thus, through film editing, word choice, and the amount of time devoted to military events, television newsmen showed America the worst of the war. Of course, the medium itself contributed to this distaste for war. When viewers nightly saw the blood, death, and fear war causes, many must have turned away in anger.

One newscast included film of a soldier being shot while a reporter discussed the atrocities of the war. The unpleasant scene probably was selected because a reporter wished to use the medium to influence the audience.

TELEVISION PROGRAMMING IN THE 1970s

Broadcasters feared dealing with controversial materials on television and radio because they thought they would lose viewers and sponsors. To support their fears broadcasters pointed to the low ratings that documentaries and issue oriented drama received. Then, during 1971 Norman Lear in association with CBS presented a new program entitled "All in the Family."

The program, which treated controversial subjects traditionally considered taboo for television such as black-white relations, abortion, and racial bigotry, became, to the astonishment of network executives, the most popular program on television.

Other Lear programs in the same vein followed. Following Lear's example, other producers also began treating controversial topics with success.

Another production company, named after the actress Mary Tyler Moore (MTM), decided to treat urban topics from a less controversial but still modern point of view than Lear's and found that its programs fared very well in the popularity race. One of its programs, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," is the story of a successful businesswoman who lives alone in a large city. Moore is portrayed in the series as a person who is not dependent upon a man for security or happiness. Although the character's lifestyle undoubtedly bothered some, the program reached and remained in the top ratings.

Violence in programming did not vanish from network schedules during the 1970s with the advent of the new controversial comedy of Lear and MTM. One of the most popular styles of programming was police drama, which included "S.W.A.T., " "Kojak” - and "The Streets of San Francisco” -- There was also the on-location police show from Hawaii called "Hawaii Five-O”. - Other action shows included private detective features such as "Canon” - and 'Mannix’.

A remarkable shift in the relationship of networks and in their programming appeared in the 1976-77 season. Since the dawn of network television, CBS had received the highest ratings, followed by NBC, with ABC trailing behind them both. In the mid-1970s, ABC began improving its ratings, and in the 1976-77 season, ABC finished well ahead of the other two networks. Indeed, by season's end ABC was able to say that it had seven of the top ten programs and eleven of the top twenty programs. Not only was ABC the most-watched network during the 1976-77 season, it set the record for the most watched net work for any season-ever.

ABC offered popular comedy ("Laverne and Shirley” and "Happy Days”), detective, and super-people shows ("Bionic Woman" and "Six Million Dollar Man"). Even the mini-series like "Rich Man-Poor Man- gave ABC a strong rating edge.

But perhaps most spectacular of all was the success of "Roots," an eight night series tracing the history of a black family from its home in Africa to slavery and ultimate freedom in the United States. "Roots, " which was based on the book by Alex Haley, has the distinction of being the most-watched tele vision program in history. About 52% of the nation watched one episode.

"Roots" had serious educational elements and attracted millions of viewers.

Indeed, the program laid to rest the myth that television viewers will not watch serious programming.

As the network moved towards the 1977-78 season, ABC decided to make a concession to citizen groups opposed to violence on television and eliminated all but two of its most violent programs. Whether ABC's action signals a trend towards less violent television is yet to be seen, but the potential for change is clearly there.

NOTES

1. Walter B. Emery, Broadcasting and Government (East Lansing, Michigan State University Press, 1971), p. 32.

2. Ibid. p. 33.

3. Ibid.

4. Lawrence W. Lichty and Malachi C. Topping, A Source Book on the History of Radio and Television (New York: Haitings House, 1975), p. 521.

5. Harrison B. Summers, ed., A Thirty-Year History of Programs Carried on National Radio Networks in the United States: 1926-1956, reprint (New York: Arno Press, 1971), pp. 9, 10.

6 Information on programming in this section is compiled from Summers and represents the author's evaluation of Summers' work.

7. Ibid., p. 27.

8. Ibid., pp. 83-93.

9. Lichty, op. cit., p. 300.

10. Erik Barnouw, The Golden Web (New York: Oxford University Press, 1968), p. 9.

11. LIchty, op. cit., p. 307.

12. Ibid., p. 309.

13. David T. MacFarland, -Up From Middle America: The Development of Top 40," in Lichty, op. cit.* 14. Lichty, op. cit.

15. Llewellyn White, The American Radio (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1947), p. 28.

16. Ibid.

17. Ibid., pp. 48, 49.

18. Ibid., pp. 44, 45.

19. Ibid.

20. Lichty, op. cit., p. 256.

21. Barnouw, op. cit., pp. 185-188.

22. Summers, op. cit., pp. 83-94.

23. Some writers have indicated that "Amos 'n' Andy- went off the air briefly during the war because its sponsor, Campbell's Soup, could not acquire metal for soup cans. Almost immediately after Campbell's terminated sponsorship, Lever Brothers started sponsoring the program. Campbell's had sponsored the program as five weekly episodes of fifteen minutes; Lever Brothers changed the format to a weekly thirty minute program. If the program was off the air, it was for less than a season.

24. Summers, op. cit., pp. 123-130.

25. Harry Field and Paul F. la7arsfeld, The People Look at Radio, (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1946), p. 6.

26. FCC, "The Mutual Broadcasting System, - Report on Chain Broadcasting (Commission Order 37, Docket .5060, May 1941). *

27. Lichty, op. cit., p. 193.

28. Ibid.

29. White, op. cit., p. 40. 30. National Broadcasting Company et al. v. United States et a/., 319 US 190 (1940). 31. White, op. cit., pp. 40, 41.

32. Ibid., p. 35.

33. Barnouw, op. cit., p. 40. 34. Ibid.

35. Ibid., p. 41.

36. Ibid., p. 42.

37. White, op. cit., p. 22.

38. Erwin G. Krasnow and Lawrence D. Longley, The Politics of Broadcast Regulation (New York: St. Martins Press, 1973), P. 90.

39. Lichty, op. cit., p. 148; and Broadcasting (May 31, 1976), p. 68.

40. Christopher H. Sterling, "VVTMJ-FM: A Case Study in the Development of FM Broadcasting," Journal of Broadcasting, Vol. XII, No. 4 (Fall 1968), pp. 341 352.* 41. Ibid.

42. Lichty, op. cit., p. 148.

43. Ibid., p. 148.

44. Summers, op. cit., pp. 192-202.

45. Ibid.

46. David T. MacFarland, "Television: The Whirling Beginning," in Lichty, op. cit.* 47. Ibid.

48. Ibid.

49. Ibid.

50. Orrin E. Dunlap, Jr., Radio's 100 Men of Science (Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries Press, 1944), p. 242.

51. Ibid.

52. White, op. cit., p. 23.

53. Dunlap, op. cit., p. 281.

54. White, op. cit., p. 24.

55. FCC, "Broadcast Services- (Washington, D.C.: FCC Information Bulletin #3, 1976), p. 32.

56. White, op. cit., p. 24.

57. Barnouw, op. cit., pp. 125, 126.

58. Ibid.

59. FCC, op. cit., p. 33.

60. Ibid.

61. FCC, Twelfth Annual Report (/946) (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1947), p. 17.

62. FCC, Sixteenth Annual Report (1950) (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1951), p. 102.

63. Ibid., p. 103.

64. Lichty, op. cit., p. 522.

65. Donald G. Fink and David M. Lutyens, The Physics of Television (Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1960), pp. 94-96.

66. FCC, Fifteenth Annual Report (/949) (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1950), p. 42.

67. FCC, "Broadcast Services, - op. cit., p. 34.

68. Barnouw, op. cit., pp. 293, 294.

69. The FCC has divided the United States into three zones for purposes of licensing television stations in the VHF channels. In Zone I, which contains part of the northeast and part of the midwest, the minimum separation between licensees on the same channel is 170 miles for VHF and 155 miles for UHF. The mileage separation given in the text is for Zone II, which includes the remaining portions of the northeast, the midwest and the west. Zone III separations are 220 miles for VHF and 205 miles for UHF and include Florida, parts of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Source: FCC, "Broadcast Services," op. cit.,

p. 36.

70. Lichty, op. cit., p. 148.

71. Lynn A. Yeazel, -Color it Confusing: A History of Color Television, - p. 73, Lichty, op. cit.* 72. Ibid.

73. Ibid.

74. Ibid., p. 76.

75. Ibid., p. 77.

76. Ibid., p. 79.

77. Lichty, op. cit., p. 522.

78. FCC, Twenty-first Annual Report (1955) (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1956), p. 95.

79. Emery, op. cit., p. 151.

80. Broadcasting Yearbook 1975 (Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, 1975), p. A-6.

81. Ibid.

82. Emery, op. cit., p. 153.

83. FCC, Thirty-eighth Annual Report (1972) (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973), p. 183.

84. Poyntz Tyler, ed., Television and Radio (New York: H. W. Wilson, 1961), p. 40. 85. Lichty, op. cit., p. 193.

86. Barnouw, op. cit., pp. 290-292.

87. Erik Barnouw, The Image Empire (New York: Oxford University Press, 1970), p. 62.

88. Ibid., pp. 21-40. 89. Barnouw, The Golden Web, op. cit., p. 297.

90. Merle Miller, The Judge and the Judged. (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1952), pp. 61-95.

91. John Cogley, Report on Blacklisting, reprint (New York: Arno Press, 1971), pp. 1-9.

92. Barnouw, op. cit., pp. 45-56.

93. R. E. B. Hickman, The Development of Magnetic Recording- Magnetic Recording Handbook: Theory, Practice and Servicing of Domestic and Professional Tape and Wire Recorders (London: George Newness Limited, 1956), pp. 1-7.* 94. Ibid.

95. Barnouw, The Image Empire, op. cit., pp. 122-124.

96. Ibid., p. 63.

97. Ibid., p. 148-152.

98. Surgeon General's Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior, Television and Growing Up: The Impact of Televised Violence (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1972), pp. 183-186.

99. Statement of Richard E. Wiley, Chairman before the Subcommittee on Communications of the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, March 11, 1975, pp. 30-32.

100. -The Winning Ways of William S. Paley, - interview, Broadcasting (May 31, 1976), pp. 25-44.

*Citation is reprinted in Lawrence W. Lichty and Malachi C. Topping, American Broadcasting: A Source Book on the History of Radio and Television.