Chapter 10: Television: Progress and Problems

1. What contributions did the following make to television’s development: Paul Nipkow, John L. Baird, Campbell Swinton, Vladimir Zworykin, and Philo Farnsworth?

2. Why did a battle take place between Farnsworth and RCA over television patents? Who would eventually be declared the “father of television”?

3. How many TV stations did the FCC give approval for at the onset of commercial broadcasting? How many stations were still broadcasting at the war’s end in 1945?

4. Who fought over the development of color television? Why was Sarnoff so adamant in television’s early development that sets be black and white? What was Peter Goldmark’s contribution to television development?

5. Which television executive was “star-driven”? Which was “technology-driven”? How was Paley able to “rob” stars from NBC?

6. What type of programming was offered in the early days of television?

7. Why did the quiz show scandals develop? What results were put in place following the investigations?

8. Why did the NAACP go after programs such as Amos ’n’ Andy? Why were some blacks opposed to the NAACP’s actions against the show?

9. Why is Edward R. Murrow considered one of the great broadcasters of all time?

10. Why is “The Case Against Milo Radulovich” important in television history?

11. Why is Joseph McCarthy considered an example of the weaknesses of traditional journalistic objectivity?

12. What was Edward R. Murrow’s plan to attack Joseph McCarthy?

13. What charges did Edward R. Murrow level against television in his October 1958 speech to radio and television news directors? What do you think Murrow would say about today’s television programs?

14. How much autonomy did Edward R. Murrow have at CBS? Do you think journalists have that much autonomy today?

15. What impact did television have on the nation’s social and political structure?