Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television

616 Pages·1990·32.374 MB·English

by  Erik Barnouw

TUBE OF PLENTY
By Erik Barnouw
MASS COMMUNICATION:
Television, Radio, Filin, Press
THE TELEVISION WRITER
(with S. Krishnaswamy)
INDIAN FILM
A HISTORY OF BROADCASTING
IN THE UNITED STATES
1. A Tower in Babel
2. The Golden Web
3. The Image Empire
DOCUMENTARY:
A History of the Non-Fiction Film
THE SPONSOR:
Notes on a Modern Potentate
THE MAGICIAN AND THE CINEMA
TUBE OF PLENTY
The Evolution of
American Television
SECOND REVISED EDITION
Erik Barnouw
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1990
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York Toronto
Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi
Petaling Jaya Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo
Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town
Melbourne Auckland
and associated companies in
Berlin Ibadan
Copyright © 1975, 1982, 1990 by Erik Barnouw
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.,
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016-4314
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Most of the material in this book has been derived from
the following books: A Tower in Babel: A History of Broadcasting
in the United States to 1933, copyright © 1966 by Erik Barnouw;
The Golden Web: A History of Broadcasting in the United States, 1933-53,
copyright © 1968 by Erik Barnouw; and The Image Empire: A History of
Broadcasting in the United States from 1953,
copyright © 1970 by Erik Barnouw.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barnouw, Erik, 1908-
Tube of plenty: the evolution of American television / Erik
Barnouw.—2nd rev. ed.
p. cm. Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13 978-0-19-506484-1 (pbk.)
i. Television broadcasting—United States—History. I. Tide.
HE87oo.8.B37 1990
384.55'o973-dc20 89-78547
Printing (last digit): 19 18 17 16
Printed in the United States of America
FOREWORD
When the study that has become Tube of Plenty was begun de-
cades ago, the subject—television—was seen as offspring of an "en-
tertainment" heritage devoted to enlivening idle hours. Not for one
moment, in the intervening years, has the subject sat still for its
portrait. Taking over all hours, it has seized jurisdiction over far
more than entertainment. Its exponents have mushroomed into huge
industries powered by arcane technologies addicted to sudden, quan-
tum changes. The upheavals continue.
The patterns made in vacuum tubes by fusillades of electrons
have meanwhile imprinted themselves on the lives and institutions
of people, nations, and the world at large. The swirling dots have
become an arena in which countless contending interests conduct
symbolic shadow warfare in fable and song even as flesh-and-blood
gladiators in parliament, battlefield, courtroom, and stadium con-
tinue their ceaseless struggles. Amid the phantasmagoria of shadow
and substance, some see the planet working out its destiny.
Substantially updated as well as condensed, Tube of Plenty in-
cludes material originally presented in the three-volume History of
Broadcasting in the United States. Readers wishing the more exten-
sive account of the early decades should consult the original vol-
Foreword vi
umes with their ample footnotes, bibliographies, and appendices: A
Tower in Babel, which carried the story to 1933; The Golden
Web, on the years 1933-53; and The Image Empire, dealing with
the years 1953-70. Further aspects of the story are covered in The
Sponsor: Notes on a Modern Potentate.
Tube of Plenty, encompassing the full history in a more rapid
chronicle, stresses the emergence of television as a dominant factor
in American life and in American influence throughout the world.
Fair Haven, Vermont E. B.
October 1989
CONTENTS
1. FOREBEARS
1
Black Box No. i, 6 Voices in the Ether, 12
We Need a Monopoly, 20
2. TODDLER 25
Merchandising Concept, 30 Raggle-taggle Mob, 37
Come into Our Phone Booth, 40 The Birth of NBC, 51
But Not the Ownership Thereof, 57 Flickering Snapshot, 61
A Bill of Divorcement, 68 Fifty-third Floor, 72
Of Attics and Back Rooms, 77 Target Date, 83
3. PLASTIC YEARS 97
Mosaic, 101 Or Affiliated Sympathetically, 105
Freeze, 11 o Panic City, 115
It Will Be a Great Show, 117 Handy Reference, 121
Crusade in the Supermarkets, 127 Crime Automated, 130
Ike and Ikon, 135 Sixth Report and Order, 140
High Level, 143 Maelstrom, 145
4. PRIME 149
Television Theater, 154 Hopscotching, 168
The Murrow Moment, 172 Biggest Money, 184
Contents viii
Executive Suites, 188 Go Western, 193 Boomland, 198
Telefilm, 213 Dynamic Duo, 218 Bonanza Globe, 229
The New Diplomacy, 238 A Terrible Thing To Do, 243
Summitry on the Move, 248 Untouchables, 260
Verite, 265 Barefaced, 270 Top Priorities, 277
The Camelot Moment, 281 Deception, Inc., 290
Vast Wasteland, 299 Into Orbit, 308
Ultimatum via TV, 315 Venture Video, 320
November Drums, 332
5. ELDER 341
The Adversary Culture, 346 Daisy Girl, 357
Paranoid Pictures, 366 Newsroom Uprising, 377
Guard That Image, 387 Fringes, 390 The Fortress, 403
High Noon, 410 Cosmic Nielsen, 422
Conglomerate, 428 Relevance, 430 Game Plans, 440
Fiestas, 464 Demographics, 469 Squeaky Clean, 474
Voice from the West, 483
6. PROGENY 491
People Meters, 503 The Rise of the Laser, 505
Mergermania, 509 Product, 513
Twilight News, 523 Crossroads, 539
Questions for a New Millennium, 545
Chronology, 549
Bibliographical Notes, 561
Index, 581
FOREBEARS 1
"Such is the stock I spring from."
PLAUTUS