Skip to main content

An Industry Called Broadcasting

The first daily schedule in American television history belonged to a CBS station in New York City, W2XCR. Among its claims to fame was broadcasting the first televised wedding in 1931. Yet television remained a largely experimental medium, restricted to a few thousand electronics enthusiasts, until after World War II.

By that time, American television makers and station owners were able to refer to a broadcast standard set by the National Television System Committee in an effort to impose order on the array of different technologies that had evolved. The NTSC standard remains in use in broadcasting to this day.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began handing out television licenses to communities, leading to a boom in sales of television sets and demand for television programming. Half of all households in the U.S. had television sets by 1955.

For several decades, TV was dominated by three commercial networks, NBC, CBS and ABC. More recently, smaller networks, such as Fox, have evolved to challenge the "Big Three," which have also faced major competition from cable television. Cable TV stations, like CNN and MSNBC, have gotten into the mix, each bringing a different perspective to the American audience. With these varying opinions, the history of TV has changed because more views are being expressed and even creating controversy at times.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

English Edification Enrichment (12)

What is the meaning and origin of the expression "once in a blue moon"? When something happens "once in a blue moon" it happens very rarely. Here are a few examples, * My brother George lives in Russia. I see him once in a blue moon. * We have visitors once in a blue moon. * How often does Tendulkar come to office? Once in a blue moon. There are several explanations as to the origin of this expression. According to scientists, whenever a volcano erupts, the sulphur and dust particles that are thrown up into the atmosphere often cause the moon to appear blue for some time. When the volcano on Krakatoa (an island between Java and Sumatra) exploded in 1883, rocks were hurled thirty miles high into the air and dust from the volcano fell nearly three thousands miles away. After this eruption the moon looked blue for several days. Luckily for us, volcanoes don't erupt every day, so a blue moon continues to be a rare phenomenon. Another explanation offered by scholar...

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch"? English Edification Enrichment (20)

What is the meaning and origin of the idiom, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch"? Some people, as soon as they buy a lottery ticket think they are going to win. They begin to make plans as to what they are going to do with the money when they get it. When you tell such a person "not to count your chickens before they hatch" what you are doing is warning him. You are telling the individual not to celebrate prematurely; you are advising him not to count his profits before he has the money in his hand. You are asking him to wait for the lottery results to be announced before he starts making plans. Here are a few examples, * Ask Sam. He may be willing to lend you some money. But don't count your chickens before they hatch. * Stop talking about the places you are going to see. You still haven't got your visa yet. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. This is an expression which comes from a story in Aesop's Fairy Tales. In the s...

Get Sideways

When moving to field a fly ball, remember the words ´Get Sideways.´ By doing a drop step and remaining sideways on your approach, you will have a much better chance to field the ball cleanly. ´Getting Sideways´ helps you avoid backpedalling, which often gets you in the most trouble.