Word from Our Viewers: Reflections from Early Television Audiences [Praeger Television Collection Series]

Media-jaded Americans, especially younger ones, would be surprised to know how eagerly their forebears anticipated the arrival of television. Tracing public and critical responses to TV from its pioneering days, this book gathers and gives context to the reactions of those who saw television's early broadcasts-from the privileged few who witnessed experimental and limited-schedule programming in the 1920s and 1930s, to those who bought TV sets and hoisted antennae in the post-World War II television boom, to still more who invested in color receivers and cable subscriptions in the 1960s.

Viewers' comments recall the excitement of owning the first TV receiver in the neighborhood, show the vexing challenges of reception, and record the pleasure that all young and many older watchers found in early network and local programs from the beginning to the fast-changing 1960s. While the first two major sections of this study show the views of television's first broad public, the third section shows how social and media critics, literary and visual artists, and others have expressed their charmed or chagrinned responses to television in its earliest decades.

1100266023
Word from Our Viewers: Reflections from Early Television Audiences [Praeger Television Collection Series]

Media-jaded Americans, especially younger ones, would be surprised to know how eagerly their forebears anticipated the arrival of television. Tracing public and critical responses to TV from its pioneering days, this book gathers and gives context to the reactions of those who saw television's early broadcasts-from the privileged few who witnessed experimental and limited-schedule programming in the 1920s and 1930s, to those who bought TV sets and hoisted antennae in the post-World War II television boom, to still more who invested in color receivers and cable subscriptions in the 1960s.

Viewers' comments recall the excitement of owning the first TV receiver in the neighborhood, show the vexing challenges of reception, and record the pleasure that all young and many older watchers found in early network and local programs from the beginning to the fast-changing 1960s. While the first two major sections of this study show the views of television's first broad public, the third section shows how social and media critics, literary and visual artists, and others have expressed their charmed or chagrinned responses to television in its earliest decades.

42.49 In Stock
Word from Our Viewers: Reflections from Early Television Audiences [Praeger Television Collection Series]

Word from Our Viewers: Reflections from Early Television Audiences [Praeger Television Collection Series]

by Ray Barfield
Word from Our Viewers: Reflections from Early Television Audiences [Praeger Television Collection Series]

Word from Our Viewers: Reflections from Early Television Audiences [Praeger Television Collection Series]

by Ray Barfield

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Overview

Media-jaded Americans, especially younger ones, would be surprised to know how eagerly their forebears anticipated the arrival of television. Tracing public and critical responses to TV from its pioneering days, this book gathers and gives context to the reactions of those who saw television's early broadcasts-from the privileged few who witnessed experimental and limited-schedule programming in the 1920s and 1930s, to those who bought TV sets and hoisted antennae in the post-World War II television boom, to still more who invested in color receivers and cable subscriptions in the 1960s.

Viewers' comments recall the excitement of owning the first TV receiver in the neighborhood, show the vexing challenges of reception, and record the pleasure that all young and many older watchers found in early network and local programs from the beginning to the fast-changing 1960s. While the first two major sections of this study show the views of television's first broad public, the third section shows how social and media critics, literary and visual artists, and others have expressed their charmed or chagrinned responses to television in its earliest decades.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780275998714
Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated
Publication date: 11/30/2007
Series: Praeger Television Collection Series
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
File size: 339 KB

About the Author

RAY BARFIELD is Professor of English at Clemson University and is the author of Listening to Radio, 1920-1950 (Praeger, 1996). He is a contributor to The Greenwood Guide to American Popular Culture and The Museum of Broadcasting Encyclopedia of Radio, and he has authored numerous articles and conference papers on radio, cartoons, children's books, and 1920s' fads. He is also co-author of a business communications handbook.

Table of Contents

Preface     ix
First Watchers: An Introduction     xv
How They Watched
Anticipations and First Sightings     3
Test Pattern Days: "We've Got a TV!"     15
Antennas, Rotors, and Hope     35
TV Behaviors and Protocols     41
What They Watched
An Electronic Vaudeville: Variety and Drama Programs     51
News Programs and Events Coverage     77
Informational, Cultural, Quiz, and Sports Programs     87
"Our Town" TV     97
The Distant View     107
The TV Life     111
What Others Saw
Television Is ... / Was ... / Will Be...     125
TV and Its Viewers in Other Media     137
Bibliography     149
Index     155
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