Television and the Power of Visual Culture

Television and the Power of Visual Culture Chapter 5

“No old media form ever disappears. They just get reinvented into a new purpose. TV is about to go through a profound reinvention.” —Paul Saffo, director, Institute for the Future, 2005

Diverts Entertains Informs 1960s Civil Rights Times of crisis McCarthy hearings Violence Sexuality Impact on kids Impact on disturbed Unimaginative Television: The Good and the Bad

Television Development • Paul Nipkow • 1880s • Nipkow Disk • Broke pictures into light units that could be “sent” and decoded by a receiver • Zworykin and Farnsworth • Develop electronic broadcasting methods • Farnsworth makes distance broadcasting. • Beats RCA in ugly patent suit

Image Quality • 1930s sees U.S. adopt NTSC. • Standardized set production • Other countries have higher-resolution scanning rates. • Results in better picture • These differences become obsolete with the arrival of all-digital broadcast and reception.

VHF Early for black and white UHF 1950s Expanded stations and programming VHF and UHF

Move to Digital • Analog breaks down image into light pulses. • Remains analogous to the image or sound reproduced • Digital transforms image and sound into “information” that a computer can process. • 0s and 1s are new information language.

Sponsors • In Golden Age (1950s) single-sponsor programs typical • Colgate Comedy Hour • Kraft • GE • Networks feared sponsor control. • Dispute over content, in particular • Enter Pat Weaver • Forced advertisers out by raising costs

Weaver’s Strategies • Increased length of average program • Increased sponsor cost as a result • Used the “spectacular” • Used the magazine format • Used musical specials • Plus…

Examples are $64,000 Question and Twenty-One. Corporate sponsors encouraged rigging to heighten drama and get rid of unappealing guests. Scandal ended sponsor’s role in creating content Undermined democratic possibilities of television Spawned contemporary cynicism The Quiz-Show Scandals

The Big Three Networks • NBC • Meet the Press since 1947 • Huntley-Brinkley in 1956 • CBS • Walter Cronkite • First to use affiliates • 60 Minutes • Katie Couric hired in 2006 • ABC • World News Tonight • Networks dominate until about 1980.

One time Spectacular Writers’ vehicle Actor’s vehicle Required more from an audience? Associated with Golden Age of TV More suited to weekly grind Same characters week after week Less creativity demanded with pre-fab characters Cost-effective Anthologies vs. Episodes

Law & Order: Criminal Intent Desperate Housewives Grey’s Anatomy Lost 24 CSI Guess which format survives?

What breaks down network dominance? • HBO • Satellite delivery • FCC comes to cable’s rescue in 1972. • Independents • Superstations • Ted Turner and WTBS • VCR • Time shifting

Newer Developments • DVRs (digital video recorders) • Users can record multiple programs at any time. • Will DVRs shatter our current notion of prime-time television? • Fin-syn • End of extorting profits from old programs in syndication • Rise of infotainment • Cheap celebrity and quiz shows

The Business End of TV • Deficit financing • Network-produced programming • Reality TV • Low quality, high profit • Newsmagazines • Syndication and reruns • Evergreens

Media Giant

On the Fringe • Fringe time • Just before prime time • Off-network syndication • Old programs • First-run syndication • Programs produced for syndication • Hybrid syndication • Examples: the newer Star Trek programs The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine • Cash and barter • Selling and controlling distribution

A. C. Nielsen • Ratings • Percentage of households tuned to a sampled program • Shares • Percentage of homes tuned to a program, compared with those actually using their sets at the time of sample

Does it still serve a purpose? Who will decide? PBS

Television and the Power of Visual Culture