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I Media Main I Media by Decade I Media by Genre I Media Timeline I |
Television
Coverage
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Television was poised to dominate the media industry in 1950. There were 3.1 million television sets in American homes, and over 100 television stations operating in 38 states across the USA. Apart from being known as "The Golden Age of Television", the Fifties were also remembered as the Cold War, when fear of nuclear destruction and takeover by the Communist was strong. Cinema, radio and print media was to compete with television that seemed to give the best of both worlds: pictures and sound. With the advent of television in the 1950s, print media, radio and film were forced to rethink their approaches towards news and entertainment.
Television fitted well into the home, as a simpler, cheaper, and more convenient
family leisure activity. Popular sitcoms became a part of television fare.
Programs like I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, Our Miss Brooks and Burns and
Allen, enjoyed long runs. Live performances continued to dominate television
programming through the mid-1950s, but broadcasters soon realized the efficiency
of filming programs for later broadcast. Film was the primary recording method
until the early 1960s, when the video tape became more widespread.
NBC first developed television news in the 1940s, combining the dramatic visual images of newsreels and announcer techniques of radio news. However in 1952-1953, while NBC encountered financial difficulty and reduced its news programming, CBS expanded its news operations. Television networks sought new anchors with star quality that would attract a loyal audience. The host of CBS's first thirty minute public affair documentary series named "See It Now", Edward R Murrow, famous for his radio news broadcasts during World War II, and with his deep voice and handsome features, was a good choice. From its debut in November 18, 1951 to its last show in July 7, 1958, "See It Now" reported news that was relevant, in a truthful and accurate manner. Veteran newsmen remember the Edward R Murrow days as the Golden Age of Television News. By the mid-1950s, television was firmly entrenched in the world of news and information as well as election coverage.
Cinema was forced to try to win its audience back from television. The widescreen and CinemaScope films were developed, while more and more films had colour and a stereo soundtrack. Big budget musicals such as The King and I (1958) and South Pacific (1958) were among them. 3-D films were experimented with, such as Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder, but they did not catch on. The youth market was captured through teen movies with stars like Elvis Presley and James Dean who stirred his young audience with Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Marilyn Monroe was another important film star of the 1950s famed for her beauty. Another type of film to emerge in the 1950s, was the horror movie, such as Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), which had a remake in 1998, and The Birds (1963). The stress was on how spectacular cinema was compared to television.
Television
quickly became a hot advertising medium in the 1950s. Television advertisements
projected fantasies about their products and how people would become happy
and successful with these products. Commercials were carefully packaged and
prepared. Advertisers also sponsored specific television programs to get mention
and some publicity. However, some unethical advertisers used dishonest means
to raise viewership rates for the shows they sponsored. It was discovered
that the some of the most popular quiz shows, including the famous "$64,000
Question" and "Twenty-One", had been rigged to make them more exciting. In
1952, television advertising was first used for presidential campaigning,
by Dwight Eisenhower. Soon, all future presidential candidates relied on television
advertising as part of their strategy.
The TV Guide was started in 1953, and has since become an American institution.
It was designed to condense all television program information into a small
digest-size periodical. Highlights of television shows, gossip, profiles and
general information was included. TV Guide has been one of the most popular
magazines in U.S. history ever since.
In the 1950s, television became the most dominant form of media, overtaking radio and newspapers, and garnering their advertising revenues.
