US History

Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)

This collection uses primary sources to explore the impact of television on news media.

A photograph of Albert Einstein and Charles Steinmetz with other scientists, April 23, 1921.

This photograph showing Albert Einstein, Charles Steinmetz, David Sarnoff, and seventeen other scientists was taken on April 23, 1921 during a demonstration of RCA's experimental transoceanic communication station at New Brunswick, NJ. 

A photograph of the president of RCA, David Sarnoff, dedicating the RCA building at the 1939 World’s Fair.

This event became the first television broadcast aired as it was televised by the RCA-NBC iconoscope camera.

An excerpt from a 1960 book by television broadcasters and news executives on the impact of television and radio news.

This digitized print book on the impact of television on news media compiles information from Bob Siller (ABC), Ted White (WOR), and Hal Terkel (CBS).

An excerpt from an interview with John Chancellor, White House correspondent, October, 1982.

In this video-recorded interview with John Chancellor, a White House correspondent during the Johnson Administration, Chancellor discusses Johnson’s relationship with news media, the first televised war, and anti-war behavior in the United States. 

A recording of a talk by the journalist David Halberstam explaining the increasing power of television network news, October 10, 1975. 

A public radio program with journalist David Halberstam speaking at the World Press Forum at Macalester College discussing the impact on news media of television, a revolution he feels is comparable in importance to that of the printing press. 

A clip from a broadcast in which John F. Kennedy urges reporters to use discretion when covering news events, April 28, 1961.

A recorded speech of John Kennedy pleading with journalists to restrain themselves when reporting the news regarding war events and to seriously consider their reportings a threat to the security of the nation. 

In a brief, unedited 1962 newsclip, Robert Sarnoff discusses the purpose of television. 

The text of a speech delivered by Barbara C. Jordan about reliance on television for information, November 2, 1975.

The text of a speech given by Barbara C. Jordan before the Beverly Hills-Hollywood Chapter of Media Women about the American people's reliance on television for information about the government and politics and how that affects governmental accountability to citizens. Jordan was the first African-American woman elected to the US House of Representatives and gave an influential televised speech before the House Judiciary Committee supporting the impeachment of Richard Nixon.

A photograph of Ted Turner speaking at the launch of CNN at Turner Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, June 1, 1980.

Central News Network (CNN) was the first 24-hour all-news network. 

A replica of the black-and-white camera that transmitted images of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the first mission to the moon.

The original camera was made by Westinghouse.

A photograph of a display of televisions in the 1960s at Beech Adams Furniture Store.

A photograph of an American family watching television in 1962.

A photograph of a nineteen-inch Hoffman television set, model 897, in a living room with a baseball game on the screen.

Questions

1. Using the items in this set, compare and contrast different types of media and their impact on domestic politics in the twentieth century.

2. Using the items in this set, describe the impact television had on journalism in the twentieth century.

3. Using the items in this set, describe how television has influenced the democratic process.

4. As with the initial introduction of television, twenty-four hour news coverage dramatically influenced American’s consumption of world events. Describe the impact CNN’s launch had on news media. 

5. Using the items in this set, consider whether the Vietnam War would have been so radically opposed if it was only reported via radio.

6. Imagine a world without the innovation of television and the Internet. Would our consumption of news media have remained the same with only radio and print as delivery mechanisms? 


Activity

Using the items in this set as evidence, write a persuasive essay arguing one side of the proposition: television news has been good for American democracy.

Teaching Guide: Exploring the Impact of Television on News Media

Resources

1. [Video content from the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection](http://dp.la/search?partner%5B%5D=Digital+Library+of+Georgia&provider%5B%5D=Walter+J.+Brown+Media+Archives+and+Peabody+Awards+Collection&type%5B%5D=moving+image), Digital Library of Georgia, Digital Public Library of America. 

2. [Golden Age of Radio in the US: The End of the Golden Age and the Rise of Television](http://dp.la/exhibitions/exhibits/show/radio-golden-age/radio-tv), Digital Public Library of America. 

3. [Early TV Anchors](http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/74607/early-tv-anchors/), Poynter. 

4. [The Transformation of Network News](http://niemanreports.org/articles/the-transformation-of-network-news/), Nieman Reports. 

Overview

The twentieth century brought about important advances in mass media with the development and improvements of both the radio and the television. Although both are significant in the history of mass communications in the United States, the television dramatically influenced how Americans viewed the world, especially war and political activities, after mid-century. Innovations in televised programming changed daily family life, encouraging gatherings around television sets. World crises were no long thousands of miles away. For many, the Vietnam War felt like it was being fought in their living room. As televisions increased in popularity and became commonplace, the experience of world events changed greatly. From the simulcast of combat to man landing on the moon, televised events brought life into living rooms around the country and altered public understanding of the world around us.


English

The Impact of Television on News Media

https://d2jf00asb0fe6y.cloudfront.net/television-news-media_04_a70aac3eced3ff6648f346fb0effe1ebl.mp4

https://d2jf00asb0fe6y.cloudfront.net/television-news-media_04_a70aac3eced3ff6648f346fb0effe1ebl.webm

https://d2jf00asb0fe6y.cloudfront.net/television-news-media_04_a70aac3eced3ff6648f346fb0effe1ebl.ogg

Courtesy of WGBH via Digital Commonwealth.

Chancellor, John, excerpt from “Interview with John Chancellor, 1982,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/a70aac3eced3ff6648f346fb0effe1eb.

An excerpt from an interview with John Chancellor, White House correspondent, October, 1982.

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 4 of 13 in the Primary Source Set The Impact of Television on News Media