The Columbia Broadcasting Company or “CBS” in layman’s terms was founded in 1927 as a radio network under the “United Independent Broadcasters” name, which was a radio-broadcasting network. The name was changed to CBS in 1928, which was the same year that William S. Paley, the son of a cigar making tycoon, took over control of CBS with his fathers financial support. Paley took over CBS for $400,000 and inherited a network that consisted of 22 affiliates and 16 employees. Although he had little technical knowledge of radio, Paley believed he could only attract advertisers if he delivered large audiences. To fulfill this goal, he decided to give CBS programming to local radio stations for free, as long as they agreed to surrender any part of their schedule to advertiser sponsored CBS network shows. In less than a decade, CBS had blossomed to 114 stations from 22 when Paley took over. Another one of Paley’s gifts was his ability to recognize talent, he quickly signed mega stars such as Bing Crosby, Kate Smith and Morton Downey. But such was the case in those days, those stars were quickly lured away by highly popular rival NBC for more money.
However, all was not lost for the young Paley. What he lost in stars he got back in news coverage. Don’t forget I’m still talking radio here. Paley hired Edward Klauber, a former New York Times editor and Paul White who was a former United Press reporter, they began to build a solid news division at CBS. “CBS News” really didn’t come together until Klauber hired some guy you probably never heard of by the name of Edward Murrow. Klauber assigned Murrow to London as director of the European talks. In March of 1937, before the start of the Great War, Murrow teamed with William Shirer to report on “Anschluss”. These reports formed the foundation for what would become “The CBS World News Roundup” which, during World War II Murrow assembled a great team of reporters commonly referred to as “Murrow’s Boys” who consisted of Eric Sevareid, Charles Collingwood, Howard Smith, Winston Burdett, Richard Hottelet and Larry LeSueur. Murrow would end up reporting on and airing one of the greatest accounts of his experiences and descriptions of touring the Nazi concentration camps, which we heard in class.
Meanwhile back in the states, by the time that the war had ended, television was starting to get important as the networks looked toward the future and they were eager to get all the stars and ratings they could get their hands on.
Murrow held on October 25, 1958 followed with a speech from him on the stage. The movie flashbacks to Murrow’s life as a journalist and the efforts made in his television program, See It Now. It provided insight into the issues that occurred inside the CBS News building such as the decisions that Murrow bypassed by his Chief, William S. Paley. In addition, the screen paused to provide information that read: “Throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism. Senator Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred ‘card-carrying’ communists had infiltrated the United States government. Few in the press were willing to stand up against McCarthy for fear they would be targets (SITE MOVIE).” This showed background information how the fear of communism was a big issue in the 1940’s and 1950’s. In addition, the movie included many visual references to the issue of communism from previous recordings that show how McCarthy acts and what he says about
The early 1960s saw the expansion of television. The television had become a common household
The film, “Murrow vs. McCarthy” had introduced the development of news media and at the same time, in-depth telling the social political, economic and cultural changes in United States during the cold war. After World War II, the shadow of the war have not disappeared, the cold war atmosphere shrouded in the American’s minds. The United States was not only afraid of Soviet attack, but that dissidents will penetrate into the government to overthrow the current rule. The film had showed the conflict between television journalist Edward Murrow and the United States senator in the states of Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy.
In “Wires and Lights in a Box,” the author, Edward R. Murrow, is delivering a speech on October 15, 1958, to attendees of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. In his speech, Murrow addresses how it is his desire and duty to tell his audience what is happening to radio and television. Murrow talks about how television insulates people from the realities in the world, how the television industry is focused on profits rather than delivering the news to the public, and how television and radio can teach, illuminate, and inspire.
With improvements to broadcasting technologies and greater access by more families, television was now in more homes in the 1960’s, bringing news, advertising, and family comedy shows to the nation. Moreover, the influence on social aspects of people’s live was apparent when it came to depicting women and their gender roles through acting. Consequently, television played another role regarding social dynamics thus, showing the realities of civil rights and the horrors of war. Additionally, television brought the political candidates to the forefront and had a strong influence on the American people’s political ideologies, as the first ever presidential debate aired on television. Finally, television aided the economy by waging advertising campaigns that convinced consumers to purchase their products. Coupled with consumer’s extra income contributing to a strong economy, despite the slightly high unemployment rates. As can be seen, television played a key role in the social, political, and economic culture in the 1950’s and
Shapiro, Robert Moses. Why Didn’t the Press Shout?: American & International Journalism during the Holocaust. Hoboken, NJ: Yeshiva Univ. in Association with KTAV Pub. House, 2003. Print.
Propaganda in the Pre-World War II time period was very unpopular with the American people. Before WWII, the American people were getting tired of propaganda efforts put on by the government. Government propaganda reminded Americans of the war propaganda tactics used in earlier in World War I and now FDR was putting tons of effort into radio propaganda to support the new deal. FDR and his administration worked hard to convince people, politicians, and the media that the government was NOT trying to censor up information about what was going on. However the government still increased the radio informational network under the cover of the emergency defense network.
ABC Family was launched in 1977 by a televangelist named Pat Robertson’s as a Christian Broadcasting Network(CBN) focused mostly on religious programming, until 1981 when it was changed to CBN Cable Network and instead began to include a mix of recent and classic family oriented films and series while also keeping few religious programs. At this time ABC Family already reached one million homes. It was not until 7 years later in 1988 that the word “family” was actually included in the channel’s name and became known as The CBN Family Channel. Soon the network gained significant popularity and profit thus it was spun off to a new company, International Family Entertainment Inc., to keep CBN’s non profit status safe. By 1990 it was called the Family Channel. Then in 1998 it was renamed to Fox Family Channel, until 2001 when Disney bought and rebranded ABC Family. In 2006, a new slogan was developed under ABC Family: A New Kind of Family It became the American basic cable and satellite television channel owned by a division of Disney-ABC Television part of Walt Disney Company, that we know today as simply “ABC Family”.
Paul S. Boyer. "Television." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Retrieved November 24, 2011 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-Television.html
Before the Second World War began Hollywood’s purpose lied within entertainment for the American people. After the war started, the main focus shifted to wartime propaganda. Film was used to display the war in a way that did not show its true colors—including the censorship of soldier causalities and other negative connotations that are a simple fact of war. There was even a time in which some actors became better known to America than politians. Through films, Hollywood began to make a statement of their anti-Nazi beliefs. They began to make motion pictures for American recruitment into the Army as well as many that supported the war effort, and intended to make other Americans more aware of the war’s effect on the United States, and how people can get involved. Many European countries banned these Hollywood films, as they began to affect not only America but many other countries that were involved in the war as well.
During the Vietnam War, a rift between government officials and journalists emerged. The American government felt the need, for various reasons, to censor many war developments. In an attempt to act ethically, the press fought the censors, trying their hardest to report the truth to the general public. Despite claims of bias and distortion by several prominent government officials, these journalists acted completely ethically, allowing the general public to obtain a fair, informed opinion.
The radio grew in popularity and was as successful as it was because it was able to reach all across the nation, helped the American people interpret the Great Depression, and was a universal place of communication and entertainment. Although the first radio-wave theorem was developed in 1864 by James Clerk Maxwell, it was not until the 1920s and 1930s that the device really gained popularity in the U.S. During the Great Depression, families, advertisers, and even politicians used the radio for purposes such as entertainment, news, and a forum to the American people.1
Media played a vital role in changing the views of pro-war Americans to anti-war views by giving death counts, setting the stage for the anti-war movement to perform on, and publicizing leaked government information. The Vietnam War was known as the first televised war (“Vietnam Television”). Americans could watch as United States Troops fought, and the nightly news updated Americans on the death count and progress of US Troops in Vietnam (“Vietnam Television”).
Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. Television – TV news and the early Cold War. 2013. The. Web. The Web.
It was in Britain that fears over the "chaos of the ether" led to the