COMM 289 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: House Un-American Activities Committee, Mccarthyism, Media Bias In The United States
27 Sep 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Comm 289 Lecture 3
Television 1
• Technology of TV
o RCA had been developing TV for a while
▪ So were CBS and NBC, the two major networks
o CBS was trying to develop a color system
▪ They went into color straight away, ultra-high frequencies (UHF)
o RCA and NBC had already developed a black and white system that would
broadcast on VHF (very high frequency)
o Left to FCC to make a decision
▪ Stakes were high
It was clear that TV would be popular
▪ RCA released sets on market before FCC made decision
▪ 1946 = only 6000 TV sets in use
1949 = 3 million TV sets
Very particular set
System that was black and white, and would receive signals
via VHF, not UHF
▪ FCC decided to stay with the B&W VHF set already in the market
• Radio
o 1920s and 1930s
▪ Radio programs divided into two kinds
Sponsored shows
Made money
Unsponsored shows
Made no money
▪ 50/50 split between programs
▪ During the sponsored shows, advertisers were kings
Sponsor had to be okay with the program
• TV Inherits Structure of Radio
o 1945-1955
▪ Advertising takes over all of TV
No such thing as an unsponsored show
The economy that was used to create weapons moves to creating
goods
TV was the greatest selling medium ever
▪ Political atmosphere of suspicion and fear
During the Cold War with Soviet Union
“McCarthyism”
Senator Joe McCarthy
Any kind of thinking that did not correspond with right-
wing groups was attacked (deemed as communists)
HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)
▪ If you deviate from this, it was considered traitorous
Document Summary
It was clear that tv would be popular: rca released sets on market before fcc made decision, 1946 = only 6000 tv sets in use. System that was black and white, and would receive signals: fcc decided to stay with the b&w vhf set already in the market via vhf, not uhf, radio, 1920s and 1930s, radio programs divided into two kinds. Made no money: 50/50 split between programs, during the sponsored shows, advertisers were kings. Sponsor had to be okay with the program: tv inherits structure of radio, 1945-1955, advertising takes over all of tv. No such thing as an unsponsored show. The economy that was used to create weapons moves to creating goods. Tv was the greatest selling medium ever: political atmosphere of suspicion and fear. During the cold war with soviet union. Any kind of thinking that did not correspond with right- wing groups was attacked (deemed as communists)
