Only Connect A Cultural History of Broadcasting in the United States

by Hilmes, Michele

• ISBN13: 9780495050360
• ISBN10: 0495050369
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-01
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

ONLY CONNECT is a comprehensive history of American broadcasting from its earliest days in radio, through the rise of television, to the current era of digital media and the Internet. It presents broadcasting as a vital component of American cultural identity, placing the development of U.S. radio, television, and new media in the context of social and cultural change. Each chapter opens with a discussion of the historical period, thoroughly traces the development of media policy, the growth of media industries, and the history of U.S. broadcast programming, and closes with a look at the major ways that radio and television have been understood and discussed throughout American history.

Table of Contents

Preface	xii
Making History	1	(15)
The Power of History	4	(1)
It Flows Two Ways	4	(1)
Connection: Seeing Through the Fifties	5	(2)
History = The Past + Historiography	7	(2)
Historical Erasures	8	(1)
History and Nation	9	(2)
Our Way	9	(1)
Borders and Identities	10	(1)
Connection: The Strange Case of Dr. Brinkley	11	(4)
Conclusion	15	(1)
Before Broadcasting	16	(18)
Social Context: The Progressive Era	17	(3)
Immigration and Nativism	18	(1)
Progressive Intervention, Popular Resistance	18	(2)
The War to End All Wars	20	(1)
The Rise of Popular Media	20	(4)
The Press and Magazines	21	(1)
Advertising Agencies	22	(1)
Music, Vaudeville, and Film	22	(2)
Sports and Spectacle	24	(1)
Progression and Repression	24	(1)
The Invention of Mass Culture	24	(1)
High and Low in the Culture Wars	25	(1)
Connection: The Scandal of Jazz	25	(2)
From Radiotelegraphy to the Wireless	27	(2)
Connection: Radio Hackers: Hugo Gemsback and Hiram Percy Maxim	29	(4)
Conclusion	33	(1)
Broadcasting Begins, 1919 to 1926	34	(25)
Social Context: The Jazz Age	35	(4)
Restrictions and Backlash	35	(1)
Black Resistance	36	(1)
What Did Women Want?	36	(1)
Popular Entertainments	37	(1)
Who Are These Americans?	38	(1)
Radio Activity	39	(6)
RCA: The Radio Corporation of America	39	(2)
Early Regulation	41	(1)
Defining ``Quality''	41	(1)
Radio Conferences	42	(1)
Principles and Precedents	43	(1)
Early Broadcasters	44	(1)
Connection: Bertha Brainard and NBC	45	(4)
The Network Idea	47	(2)
Connection: ``Eveready Red'' Wendell Hall	49	(4)
Other Important Early Stations and Programs	52	(1)
Social Discourse	53	(4)
Utopian Hopes, Dystopian Fears	53	(3)
Public Service versus Commercialism	56	(1)
Public Interest	57	(1)
Conclusion	57	(2)
The Network Age, 1926 to 1940	59	(25)
Social Context: Depression and a New Deal	59	(3)
Depression	60	(1)
A New Deal	61	(1)
Radio Ground Rules	62	(7)
General Order 40	63	(2)
The Communications Act of 1934	65	(1)
The Romance Hits a Few Bumps	66	(3)
Networks Triumphant	69	(1)
Connection: CBS: ``We Try Harder''	70	(6)
The Sponsor's Medium	76	(2)
Connection: J. Walter Thompson, Radio Showmen to the World	78	(5)
The American Medium	80	(1)
Network Woes	81	(2)
Conclusion	83	(1)
Radio for Everyone, 1926 to 1940	84	(30)
The Media Milieu	84	(8)
Radio Still Goes Hollywood	86	(1)
The Afterlife of Vaudeville	87	(1)
The Swing Decades	88	(1)
The Press-Radio Wars and the Birth of Broadcast News	89	(3)
Magazine Chat and Women's Programs	92	(1)
Popular Commercial Radio	92	(3)
Connection: Jack Benny and His Radio Family	95	(9)
Dramatic Adaptations	100	(1)
Comedy Series	101	(1)
Thriller Dramas	102	(1)
Quiz Shows	102	(1)
Sports	103	(1)
Religious Programming	103	(1)
Daytime Radio	104	(2)
Soaps: Serial Drama for Women	104	(2)
Connection: All Irna's Children	106	(6)
Daytime Talk	109	(3)
Critiques of Mass Culture	112	(1)
Conclusion	113	(1)
War at Home and Abroad, 1940 to 1945	114	(30)
Social Context: The Winds of War Blow Change	114	(4)
Embattled Isolationism	114	(1)
Who We Are, Why We Fight	115	(2)
The Military-Industrial Complex	117	(1)
Social Discourse: Thinking about Radio	118	(3)
Industry Conceptions of the Audience	118	(2)
The Rise of U.S. Media Research	120	(1)
Connection: Father Coughlin and the Masses	121	(4)
Radio Goes to War	125	(1)
Connection: Americans All, Immigrants All	126	(5)
Government-Industry Cooperation	130	(1)
Connection: The Public Woman: The Story of Mary Marlin	131	(9)
Pitching America Overseas	135	(2)
The Rise of Network News	137	(3)
Up and Down with the FCC	140	(2)
ABC Enters the Scene	140	(1)
Spectrum Struggles	141	(1)
Conclusion	142	(2)
At Last Television, 1934 to 1955	144	(32)
Social Context: Returning to Normalcy	144	(3)
Labor Unrest and the Rise of Corporate Liberalism	145	(1)
The Cold War at Home	146	(1)
The Race Issue Redux	146	(1)
The Media Environment	147	(4)
A New Deal at the Movies	147	(1)
The Print Media	148	(1)
Books	149	(1)
Advertising and Public Relations	149	(1)
Radio	150	(1)
Connection: DJs, Black Radio, and the Rise of Rock `n' Roll	151	(2)
Television's Golden Age	153	(2)
The Blue Book	155	(1)
The Big Chill	156	(2)
The Meaning of Live	158	(10)
High Art: The Live Anthology Drama	160	(2)
Variety Shows	162	(1)
The Birth of the Sitcom	163	(2)
News	165	(1)
Sports	166	(1)
Daytime	167	(1)
Syndication	167	(1)
Connection: Cold War TV: I Led 3 Lives	168	(4)
Social Discourse	172	(2)
``TV Is Bad for Kids,'' Phase I	172	(1)
``TV Needs to Control Itself''	173	(1)
``Commercial TV Is Free TV''	173	(1)
Conclusion	174	(2)
The Domesticated Medium, 1955 to 1965	176	(32)
Social Context: The Way We Weren't	177	(4)
The Civil Rights Movement	178	(2)
``Women: Neglected Assets''	180	(1)
The Trouble with Teens	180	(1)
Living with TV	181	(2)
Hollywood Finds a Foothold	182	(1)
Connection: Payola and the Rise of Format Radio	183	(2)
The Classic Network System Emerges	185	(4)
Network Finesse	185	(1)
The Classic Network System	186	(1)
TV Reforms	187	(1)
National Educational Television and the Lure of Cable	188	(1)
Regulation: Corruption, Crackdown, and Complacency	189	(2)
The ``Whorehouse Era''	189	(1)
Minow the Intimidator	190	(1)
TV and Violence, Phase II	190	(1)
Slouching Toward Public TV	191	(1)
Programming for Prosperity: American TV	191	(3)
Sitcoms	192	(1)
Drama	192	(2)
Connection: ``Just the Facts, Please, Ma'am''	194	(7)
Music and Variety Shows	196	(1)
Quiz and Game Shows	197	(1)
Sports	198	(1)
Talk	198	(1)
Soaps and Serials	199	(1)
Saturday Morning World	200	(1)
News and Documentary	200	(1)
Connection: The Whole World Is Watching	201	(3)
Social Discourse	204	(3)
The Measured Audience	204	(1)
Critical Mass	205	(1)
Is TV Art?	206	(1)
Conclusion	207	(1)
The Classic Network System, 1965 to 1975	208	(35)
Social Context: Something's Happening Here	208	(5)
Race: Again, with a Vengeance	208	(1)
``One, Two, Three, Four, We Don't Want Your ****ing War!''	209	(1)
Peace, Love, and All That	210	(1)
Deep Social Change	211	(2)
The Revolution in Media	213	(4)
The Underground Press	214	(1)
Radio	215	(1)
Movies	216	(1)
Advertising	217	(1)
The Classic Network System and Its Discontents	217	(5)
Agents of Change	219	(1)
Cable	220	(1)
The Rise of the Independent Stations	221	(1)
Connection: At Last, Public Television	222	(2)
Regulation: Breaking the Bottleneck	224	(3)
Fin/Syn and PTAR	225	(1)
Untying Cable	226	(1)
Fairness Doctrine	226	(1)
Citizen Action	227	(1)
Connection: Sorry, We Are Experiencing Racial Difficulties	227	(3)
Programming: The Age of Relevance	230	(6)
Generational Politics and the American TV Family	231	(5)
Connection: A ``Real'' American Family on PBS	236	(4)
Drama, Talk, Movies: The Sixties Mix	238	(1)
The Living Room War	238	(1)
Sports	239	(1)
Social Discourse	240	(2)
Violence Redux	240	(1)
Citizen Activism	241	(1)
Conclusion	242	(1)
Rising Discontent, 1975 to 1985	243	(36)
Social Context: Crisis of Confidence	243	(1)
Media Changes	244	(3)
McPaper	245	(1)
Movies	245	(1)
Radio	246	(1)
Deregulation, Breakup, and Merger	247	(1)
Connection: Mark Fowler's Toaster	247	(4)
Industry Explosion	251	(9)
57 Channels	252	(1)
Pay Cable	252	(1)
Basic Cable	253	(1)
Superstations	253	(1)
Niche Channels	254	(2)
Public Service, Public Access	256	(1)
Public Television	257	(2)
The End of an Era	259	(1)
Expanding Programs	260	(1)
The New Dramas	261	(1)
Connection: The Many Qualities of Fred Silverman	261	(9)
Dallas Days	268	(2)
Connection: Female Trouble: Cagney & Lacey	270	(6)
Daytime	272	(1)
Nighttime News	273	(1)
Sports	274	(1)
Late Night	274	(2)
Social Discourse	276	(2)
Conclusion	278	(1)
The Big Change, 1985 to 1995	279	(46)
Social Context: Extremes and Contradictions	279	(4)
The Deregulated Decade	283	(2)
Media Matters: The Age of Synergy	285	(9)
Video	287	(1)
Print	288	(1)
Audio	289	(2)
Advertising	291	(1)
Global Markets	292	(2)
TV U.S.: Nothing Succeeds Like Excess	294	(7)
Upstarts: Fox, UPN, WB	295	(3)
Jurassic Park? The Big Three Survive	298	(1)
Cable	299	(2)
Connection: ESPN = Entertainment and Sports Empire	301	(4)
Programs: Pushing the Envelope	305	(3)
Dramedy	306	(2)
Family Shows in the New Era	308	(1)
Connection: The Postmodern Family: Cosbys, Conners, and Simpsons	308	(6)
Trash TV	313	(1)
Connection: The Return of Unruly Women	314	(4)
TV and Changing Culture around the World	318	(1)
Connection: Taiwan Television and Hsiang-tu Hsi	318	(4)
Social Discourse: The Net Effect	322	(2)
Conclusion	324	(1)
Everything That Rises Must Converge: Regulation and Industry in a New Millennium	325	(37)
Social Context: Falling Down	325	(3)
The Framework for Digital Convergence	328	(2)
Regulation: A New Act for the New Millennium	330	(3)
Connection: Media Ownership Debates	333	(9)
Intellectual Property in the Digital Age	338	(2)
Regulating Global Convergence	340	(2)
Connection: Television without Frontiers	342	(2)
Industry Convergence	344	(12)
Converging Pressures on Network TV	346	(3)
Public Broadcasting	349	(2)
Cable	351	(1)
Hollywood in the Digital Era	352	(1)
Radio	353	(1)
Satellite TV and Radio	354	(1)
Music	355	(1)
A Global Public Sphere? International Broadcasting Post-9/11	356	(2)
Connection: The Rise of Al-Jazeera	358	(3)
Conclusion	361	(1)
Convergence Culture in the New Millennium	362	(26)
Convergence Television	363	(1)
Blurring Boundaries	363	(1)
Connection: Reality TV	364	(5)
Transmedia and Hyperdiegesis	367	(2)
New Audiences, Fresh Faces, Different Stories	369	(6)
The New Youth Generation	369	(2)
Mas Television Latina	371	(2)
Agitating for Inclusion	373	(1)
Out onto Prime Time	374	(1)
Cable: It's Not TV . . .	375	(1)
Connection: Single Women and ``Family'' Men	376	(3)
Global Culture in a Digital Era	379	(1)
Connection: India Goes Global and Local	380	(4)
Social Discourse: The Decline of Mass Culture	384	(4)
Conclusion: TV after TV	388	(6)
Connection: Geeks Supreme	389	(2)
Peer to Peer	391	(3)
The Outlook	393	(1)
Bibliography	394	(5)
Index	399