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Framing The'ideal'audience: Daytime Television and Gender Ideology in Postwar America lnger L. Stole, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

[to cite]: lnger L. Stole (2000) ,"Framing The'ideal'audience: Daytime Television and Gender Ideology in Postwar America", in GCB - Gender and Consumer Behavior Volume 5, eds. Cele Otnes, Urbana, IL : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 141-156.

[url]: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/15671/gender/v05/GCB-05

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Framingthe'Ideal'Audience: Daytime Television and GenderIdeology

in PostwmAmerica lnger L. Stole,University of Illinois at Urbana-Champatgn

ABSTRACT of beinghousewives" (Friedan 1983, p. 207). This study traces the emergenceof American daytime television in the 1940sand 1950s. Startingfrom Friedan'sby now famous Approaching the subjectfrom the television arguments,this studytraces the emergence industry's perspecttve, it discusseshow of daytimetelevision in the late 1940sand broadcasters tried, through programming early 1950s.It discusseshow the new and scheduling practices to develop o medium,through programmingand composite notion ofwhat it eonsidered to be schedulingpractices, hoped to appal to the "ideal" viewerfor the new medium. white, middle-classhomemakers and to Envisioning daytime viewers as white, influencetheir consumptionhabits. What middle-class, and shopping-obsessedmight emergesis a picture in which a sexist have elevated broadcasters' hopes of sell ing constructfused (and at times, collided) with this audience to advertisers, but it did little the overwhelmingcommercial logic of the in terms of attractingviewers to the medium. new medium'sattempt to developa This dilemmafor broadcasters is well compositenotion of the American womanat illustrated by Home, a daytime showfor mid-century. What is striking-and women thnt aired between1954 and 1957. somewhatin contrastto Friedan'sargument- is how diffrcultthis provedto be for the When Betty Friedan published her seminal early daytimetelevision industry. workThe Feminine fufiistiquein the early 1960s,she quickly dispelled someofthe Unlike early television soapoperas which, romantic,notions surrounding the immediate much like their radio counterparts,portrayed postwar gra. Specifically, Friedan identified women in a variety of roles and life advertising and the commercial mass media situations(Allen 1985;Cantor and Pingree among the leading social institutions holding 1983),daytime variety showshad their own on to an antiquated, but for them quite agenda.Addressing white, middle-class profitable, construct of gender. "Somehow, women in their roles as mothersand somewhere,"she speculated "someonemust homemakers,daytime variety showsalso have figured out that women will buy more hypedconsumption to new heights. Not things ifthey are kept in the underused, only did television practically bring the store nameless-yearnings easy-to-get-rid-of state to the audience'sliving room, it also 142 transformedtelevision studiosinto stages TELEVISION AND THE resemblingdomestic settings where selling POSTWARCONSUMER could take place. Even showsthat tried to answerviewers'calls for daytime When television was introducedto the entertainmentand relaxationwere eagerto Americanpublic in the late 1940s,few of exploitthemedium's commercial angles. So the concernsregarding advertising and eager,in fact, that the editorial content,in commercializationthat had surroundedradio manycases, served primarily to provide an sometwenty yearsearlier could be heard accommodatingbackdrop for showcasing (Boddy l99l;McChesney 1993). Whereas andpromoting sponsored products. Few in the 1920s,concerns about turning radio placesis this more evidentthan in the case into a purely commercialmedium could be of Home,a daytime showbroadcast by the detectedeven in advertisingcircles National BroadcastingCorporation (NBC) (Marchand1985), television's commercial everyweekday between 1954 and 1957. potential was celebratedenthusiastically, not Becauseit exemplifiesboth broadcasters' only amongadvertisers, but in government conceptualizationof their first daytime circlesas well. A commonlyexpressed viewersand their overwhelmingadherence postwarfear was that the economymight to commercialconsiderations, Home revert to its prewar depressionstandards providesa very interestingbehind-the- without the impetusof wartime spendingto screen-lookat the early daytimetelevision stimulateproduction (Lipsitz 1990). More industryand its motives. than a mere entertainmentmedium, America'smanufacturers therefore looked to In this article, I first look at the female the new medium of televisionas a meansof consumerin the period following the end of jumpstarting the economyand increasing the SecondWorld War. I then tum to an their sales(Schofield 1950, p. 13). explorationofthe emergenceof daytime television,including broadcasters'view on Judgingfrom consumers'interest in postwar their predominantlyfemale audienceand consumerdurables, however, manufactures their desireto sell this audienceto seemedto havelittle reasonto worry. advertisers.I concludewith a discussionof Wartime savingshad enabledmany how theseconcsms were playedout on Americansto participatein a postwar NBC's Home. I arguethat by graspingthe consumerboom and to enjoy a new, and underlyingnetwork principles behindthe higher, standardof living. Between1946 show,one can gain an understandingof the and 1950,for example,Americans mannerin which femaleaudiences were purchased21.4 million automobiles,more addressedin the 1950s(Stole 1997). than 20 million refrigerators,5.5 million Analysisof Home may also shedlight on electic stoves,and 11.6million television why someof the sameprinciples are still at sets(Harfinann 1982, p. 8). Althoughit was work whenmedia addressesconternporary consideredunfortunate for a wife to haveto women. work outsidethe , arguesElaine Tyler May, it was consideredwen more unfornrnatefor a family not to be ableto afford items considerednecessary for the postwarhome (May 1988). Many couples found it difficult to fuIfil1 their dreamsof a higher standardof living on one income t43 alone,and by 1955more women held jobs 1950s,television broadcasters based much outsidethe homethan at any time in the of their strategieson suchtheories. nation'shistory (Douglas 1995,p. 55). DAYTIME TELEVISION Interestingly,however, advertisers tended to ignorethis fact, focusinginstead on The developmentof commercialtelevision, women'sroles as homemakers,mothers, and modeledto a large degreeon experiences consumers.America's consumer culture, with radio broadcastingtwo decadesearlier, "was saysSusan Douglas, predicatedon the was largely basedon widespreadsale of notion that womenwere the major television setsto private homes@aughman consumersof most goods-thatwas theirjob 1987),wherethe successof programming after all-and that, to sell to them,you had to supportedby direct advertisingwas seento "household emphasizetheir roles as wives and mothers, dependon the housewifeas the becauseit was in thesecapacities, not in purchasingagent" and the attentivetarget of their capacitiesas secretariesor nurses,that advertisingmessages. Those most involved womenbought" (Douglas 1995, p. 56). The in planningtelevision's commercial middle-classhomemaker, argues another development*theelectronic manufacturers scholar,became "an importiantbasis of the andthe commercialbroadcasters-defi ned social economy-somuch that it was television as both a consumerproduct for necessaryto define her in contradictions the homeand an "audio-visualshowroom which held her in her limited socialplace" for the advertise/sconsumer goods" (Boddy (Haralovich1989, p. 66). Her role as 1990,p. 20). It wastelevision executives' homemakerwas marginalizedin the sense hopethat daytimetelevision would follow that her labor within the homewas kept the pattem of previouslyintroduced outsidethe marketplacefor commodity entertainmentmedium. Both the production. Yet, at the sametime, her role phonographand radio had rapidly overcome and function in the homemade her the focus initial suspicionsregarding their disruptive of a larger consumerindustry (Haralovich presencein the work routine within the 1989).While the entireadvertising industry home. While radio had developed seemedgnpped by the notion that all programmingformats that served womenidentified themselvesprimarily as successfullyas "backgloundactivity* for the wivesand mothers @ouglas 1995), it was working homemaker,broadcasters feared also consciousof the fact that women did that television'svisual componentwould be not alwaysview themselvesin this role. quite a challenge. Early on, they warned "The manufacturerwants to intrigue her that daytimetelevision" in orderto avoid back into ttre kitchen-and we show him how interferencewith the efficient functioningof to do it thb right w&y," explainedan the household,had to avoid programming advertisingstrategist to Betty Friedanin the formulasthat demandedthe audience's "If early 1960s. he tells her that all shecan constantand undividedattention @oddy be is a wife and mother,she will spit in his 1990;Spigel 1992). face. But we show him how to tell her that it is creativeto be in the kitchen" (Friedan According to Lynn Spigel,it is throughan 1983,p. 227). lndesigningprogramming understandingof the ratherfluid and commercialstructures fortheir daytime interconnectionbetween leisure and labor operationsduring the late 1940sand early within the homethat representationsof the early daytime audiencebest can be 144 understood.Women's leisure time, she The earlytelevision "soapso" a carryover argues,was shownto be coterminouswith from radio, were perfect inthis regard. With "Representation her work time. of television their minimum amountof action and limited continually addressedthe woman as a visual interest,they enabledthe housewife housewifeand presentedher with a notion to follow the storyline while working away of spectatorshipthat was inextricably from the televisionset. Also, the soap intertwined with her useful labor at home" operas'segmentedstorylines (usually two a (Spigel1992,p.75). By offeringdaytime day), combinedwith their constant programmingthat emphasizedcooking, synopsizingof previousepisodes, allowed sewing,shopping, as well as trps on beauty womento combinetelevision watchingwith and fashion,broadcasters hoped that women householdwork. The television "magazine" would regarddaytime television as was anotherflexible format. Consistingof instrumentalin making housekeepingmore various,and often unrelated,programming efficient and as an aid in bring about a more segmentsstrung together by a televisionhost "gracious" standardof living for her family orhostesg magazineshows allowed the (Stasheffand Bretz I 956). busy housewifeto tune in and out of progam while losingliule in termsof In November1948, WABD, Du Mont's narrativeplots (Spigel 1992). flagship stationin New York, becamethe first television station to offer daytime Not all broadcasterswere convinced, programmingon a regularbasis. WABD's however. "Many observers,"noted Business move was the first and foremostbased on a Week,"feel that the housewifeis not going desireto attracta growing group of to be ableto watch a television screenwhile advertiserswho consideredprime-time shewashes, peels potatoes and cooksthe television to be too expensive. The task of eveningmeal. Will shebe able,they ask,to locating an audiencefor the new medium transferher radio-listeninghabits to video?" rvasmore of a challenge,however (WABD (TelevisionReaches Stage 1948, p. 26). Set DelaysLaunching 1948). After overcoming on overcomingthe attentiongetting someinitial concernsabout women's ability problem,WABD broadcastan audiblesignal to operatetelevision setsbecause they were whenevera programmingsegment "a it piece of engineeringequipment, not an believedto be of specialinterestto item of householdfurniture" (Horton 1946, homemakerswas aired. As Newsweek p. 16),broadcasters decided that their most explained,"When a shot of the latestfashion pressingtask was to designtelevision (from Manhattanshow windows) or a programmingthat complementedrather than particularly di{Iicult stitch (on the daily disruptedthe daily routine within the home. sewingclass) turns up somethingthat must Thrdughabstractions and speculationsas to be seento be appreciated,then Du "typical Mont will what a housewife"would find soundan audio come-onto bring mother interesting,the industry hopedto capture running to the set" (All Day Television women'sattention. Not only did 1948,p.52). broadcastersfiy to developschedules that mimicked the patternsof the homemaker's In the springof 1949,a marketingoutfit daily activities; they also aspiredto make called AdvertestResearch published its first, television viewing part of her daily routine and amongbroadcasters and advertisers, (Spigel 1992;All-Day TelevisionI 948). eagerlyawaited, report on daytime television. Oneof the more significant 145 findings in the report was that womenwere programmingto their affiliates on a regular ratherselective in their choice of television basis. With eveningschedules close to fully programs. If the daytimeaudience found a booke4 however,a daytimeexpansion progam to be of particular interest,time for madefinancial sense.It did not take long watchingwould be found. If, on the other beforeNBC and ColumbiaBroadcasting hand,women did not like the programming, Systems(CBS), the leadingnetworks at the they would not watch evenif they had ample time, beganto realizethe importanceof time to do so (e.g.,during a breakfrom developingreliable daytimeschedules and houseworkand children'sdemands). programmingthat would appealto "Thus,"concluded the report,"it is possible audiencesand sponsorsalike (All Day Long for the homemakerto overcomethe 1951;Daytime TV 1951;Spigel 1992). In inconveniencsfactor by causingthe the fall of 1950,NBC launcheda daytime housewifeto rearrangeher work scheduleso packagewhich includedThe Kate Smith that shefinds time to watch a programshe Hour,hostedby the popularsinger Kate likes." Much to the televisionindustry's Smittr,to thirty-one of its affiliates. At concern?however, a majority of respondents approximatelythe sametime, fifty-one admittedthey did not watch television in the CBS-afliliated stationscould offer The daytime,stating lack of time and a general Garry Moore Showto their viewers. The disappointmentwith the programmingas commercialstructure of TheKate Smith mainreasons (Advertest Research 1949,p. Hour rcpresenteda dramaticdeparture from 2). establishedpractices handed down to the televisionindustry via radio. Whereas But concernsand speculationsdid not deter prime-time showsand television soapoperas DuMont andWABD's enthusiasm.Not adheredto the establishedsystem of only had the move into daytimeatfracted a allowing one single advertiserto sponsor wide rangeof advertisers;many viewers (andproduce) an entire program,The Kate also seemedto prefer WABD's daytime SmithHour soughtone sponsorfor every showsover popular radio programs(All Day fifteen minute interval of programming. Looker 1948,p. 46). Du Mont was so While publicly claiming that increased encouraged,in fact, that it beganto offer networkcontrol would lead to better regulardaytime television programming to programmingfor its audiences,NBC's real its other affiliates. The first progftm motivescould not havebeen more obvious: broadcaston a network-widebasis was an it was mainly aboutputting the network in a audience-participationshow called Okay positionto maximizethe commercial Mother. The fact that SterlingDrugs, one of potentialof television(Boddy 1,987;Jaffee the pioneersponsors of daytimeradio back 1954;Wilson 1995). While greatlyreducing in the 1930s,agreed to a lengthy sponsors'financial risk, the new format also sponsorshipof show and startedto move its inkoducedthe elementof competitionfor advertisingallocations from radio to viewers'attentionduring a single show. daytimetelevision, did not escapethe other High ratingsan TheKate Smith Hour helped networks'attention. Slightly worried, they put sponsorsat ease. After three months, beganto explore their ov*ndaytime TV the showcommanded an ARB rating of options. 2Z.3,whichtranslatedinto an audienceof closeto 2 million homeswith over4.5 It wasnot until late 1950or early 1951that million viewers. No wonderthat NBC "one the other networksbegan to offer daytime declaredthe show of &e best bargains t46 in TV (McFadyen1950). Onemonth later, to attract large audiences. "Our expertiseto in January1951, an overly optimisticfrade date,"noted one NBC executivein 1952, "virhral "indicate journal predicteda sellout for [that] as soonas you start to daytimenetwork television within a year" televiseto women about home service @aytimeTV 1951,p. 36). exclusively you are no longer televisingto them. They switch the dial over to the Unlike local daytimeprogramming, which charmsof FrancisX. Bushmanina l9l2 to a large extentwere devoted to service thriller ratherthan look at a 1952kitchen programswith cooking,beauty, and rangein action"(The Network'sView 1952, householdtips, networkshows departed p. l5). Because"the realitiesof domestic from this emphasis.In the caseof TheKate routine," accordingto the samespokesman, SmithHour,for example,producers devoted discouragedthe housewifefrom viewing only 30 percentofthe contentto suchtopics. home serviceprograms on the screen,the Likewise,most segments of TheGarry best use of home economicsprogramming Moore Showconsisted of interviewsand was to fold it into small segmentson shows entertainment@aytime TV 1951). This like Kate Smith(The Network'sView 1952, programmingtrend was completelyin fune p.46). with surveysconducted by Advertest Researchin the summerof 1951. When On the local level, however,industry leaders asked,close to six in ten respondents consideredthe blurring of programming mentionedentertainment as the main reason with commercialmessages to be one of for watchingtelevision during the daytime. daytime TVs strongestattributes. Cooking Only one in ten admittedto watching shows,for example,were equally popular daytimetelevision in order to obtain with broadcastersand advertisers.Besides information. The surveyconcluded that from being relatively inexpensiveto much like prime time audiences,those who produce,the editorial format of the geffe watchedTV during the day preferredvariety allowed for perfect integrationof sponsors' shows,audience participation programs, and products. "It is as natural as baking a biscuit dramas(Advertest Research 1950). for the shods star to switch from talking "Women'sservice progftrms on network about cooking to a commercialfor a flour television,"predicted Sponsor in late 1951, product, or a food brand,' enthusedone "escapist would soonbe replacedby supporter@aytime TV 1951,p. 43). Other televisionprogramming for the housewife" showsstessed shopping as home (Don'tLoseOut 1951). entertainment.The basic ingredientfor the standard"shopping program" was a Televisionproducers were somewhat charming "femcee"backed up by an frustratedby thesefindings. On the one organizationof shoppersbringing new han4 they wantedto developprograms that productsand ugoodvalues" back to the commandedhigh ratingsand massive television studio for "on-air" presentations. sponsordemand. On the other hand,they "In one sense,the whole showis wantedto accommodateadvefiisers' desire commercial,"produced the tradejournal for programmingthat would serveas a great Sponsorin a piece celebratingdaytime backdropfor their products. Homemaking television'scommercial attributes. "It is showsexemplified this dilemma. While virtually impossibleto determinewhere the theseprovided great vehicles for the commercialstarts and leavesoff. The integrationof sponsors'products, they failed commercialpitch is indirect and completely interwovenwith the program"(Department housewife"placed by the shods femalestar StoreTV 1951,p. 31). (HouseholdHint Shows1952, p. 94). The notion that theseshows provided their Not only did theseprogramming formats predominantlyfemale audiencewith needed provide excellentopportunities for serviceswas reflectedon a regularlylevel as commercialdisplay and promotion,they well. In 1952,for example,the National also infioducedaudiences to the concep of Associationof Radio and Television consumptionalhome entertainment.In Broadcasters(NARAB) assertedthat these "announcement additionto practicallybringing the storeto programs"provided a the audiences'livingrooms, some daytime specialservice to tlre public. Statingthat the programstransformed their studio settings commercialcontents of daytimetelevision into stagesresembling domestic settings held particularinformation valueto its whereselling could takeplace. Your viewers,the NARAB allowed more TelevisionShopper, for instance,featured advertisingon theseprogr.rms than it did two different sets,one resemblinga living duringprime-time broadcasts (Head 1956, p. room andthe other a kirchen,where clothes, 20r). toys, and gadgetscould be demonstratedto potentialbuyers who watchedthe show from HOME their own kitchensand living rooms. Producersclaimed enthusiastically that most Careful commercialtuning was high on the newcomersto the showwould havea list in 1954when NBC launchedHome, a diffrcult time telling which items on the "magazineon the air" for women. As show wereadvertised and which were not researchinto television audiences,their (Robertson1949). attitudes,product preferences,lifestyles and spendinghabits expanded, it hadbecame In line with haditional genderstereot5ping, increasinglyclear that advertiserswere not most homemakingshows featured a woman only concernedwith the size of a program's in chargeofthe kitchen. Men's role on these audience. They also wantedto know the showswere most often as "general-taste- viewers'characteristics. Like other testers,"as on WADF-TV's Kitchen Klub advertisers,sponsors of daytimetelevision (Advertisementfor WDAF-TV1954, p. 47) were interestedin reachingpeople who were or as "next door neighbor"qfpes informing consumers,or potential consumers,of their homemakersabout new products,news, and products(Leiss, Kline andJhally 1990). humaninterest happenings, as on Let "Justbecause a show hasa high audienceit SkinnerDo It (Adveraisementfor Let doesn'tnecessarily produce big sales," SkinnerDo It 1952,p. 61). Frequently, warnedchairman ofNBC's parentcompany, however,ilaytime showsused male show- David Sarnoff. "What we needto know is businesspersondlities to "educate"women more aboutthe rating to sales"(Christopher aboutthe superiorityof the sponsors' 1953,p, 3). products. In 1950,for example,WABD creditedshow personality Johnny Olson After severalyears of experiencein the with "showingwomen how to use Sauce daytimetelevision field, however,NBC Arthurosuccessfully" (Rumpus Room 1950, believedit was in a position to create p. 63). AndA Trick in Tirneconsisted of network daytimeprogramming that would having "Uncle Allie" dole out helpful help advertisersget in touch with an householdhints to "the averageyoung audiencethat was particularly eagerto buy 148 the sponsoredproducts. Although it wanted however,reaching the intendedaudience to attract an audienceof affluent women, was still easiersaid that done. NBC did not havea particularly clear sense ofthis group'sviewing habitsand Claiming that the existing daytimeface programmingpreferences. It was not until tendedto draw a lowbrow, and for the late 1950sthat ratings servicesroutinely advertisersnot-so-attractive audience, NBC reporteddemographic infonnation along wantedto locatean audienceable to identiff with programratings (Beville 1985). Before itself with the lifestyle, interests,and, most that time, reachinga specific audience importantly,the consumptionpattern of up- involved a good deal of speculationand scalewomen. More specifically,the sheerguesswork. "One of the fust networkhoped to atftact upscale-minded,if considerations,"warne d Advertising Age, " is only moderatelyaffluent, housewiveswhose to decidewhom you haveto reach" (Who's daily life consistednot only of choresbut Looking1954,p.92). also of shoppingfor the family (Today's Home). For advertisers,NBC promisedto In 1951,aresearch organization called createan atnosphete,amoo4 andan SocialResearch claimed to havefound an editorial backgroundagainst which their answerto someof the television industry's salesjob could be at its maximum problems. ln a report that year,the outfit effectiveness. Home'saudience, promised pointedto distinct differencesbetween the the show'sproducers, would consistof daytimeviewing preferencesof the upper- "womenpreconditioned to buy' (Pinl*ram middleclass and those ofthe lower-middle re53). classor "middlemajority." "The upper- middleclass," stated the report,"look for The claim that Homewould appealto upper- sophistication,cosmopolitan poise and class-mindedwomen was largely basedon individuality in characterand tastein their two assumptions.First of all wasNBC's entertainment.They feel it genteelto claim that no daytimetelevision devaluatetheir possessionsand are likely to programmingcatered to the upscale-minded becomehostile when exposedto long sales woman. Secondly,it was basedon NBC's talks." The surveyexemplified Kukla, Fran assumptionthat onceappropriate daytime & Ollie (a popular,and amongcritics, programmingbecame available, the desired highly acclaimedchildren's show) as a audiencewould tune in. To lay out the stark typical upper-middleclass program due to contrastbetweenHome and other forms of its integratedcommercial pitch. On the daytimeTV, NBC determinedthat the best other hand, TheKate SmrthHour, arguedthe time-slot for Homewould be in the early study,appealed to middle majority women afternoonwhen CBS offered its television becauseof its sincere,successful, and soapoperas (Today's_Home a Preliminary motherly aura. Social Researchsfessed that Reportn.d.). In their eagernessto locatea thesetwo typesof programmingrepresented consumptionoriented audience, however, different worlds both in terms of Home'sproducers made some fatal errors entertainmentappeal and the social structure which eventuallyhelped lead to the show's of their audiences."We find that downfall. Holding on to the assumptionthat commercials,unless carefully attunedto the womenwanted upscale householdand different audiences,will be ignored," shoppingtips as much as advertiserswanted cautionedthe report(Social Report 1951, p. to atfracttheir dollars,NBC paid very little 66). Unfortunatelyfor broadcasters, attentionto programmingpreferences 149 amongthe sameviewers. Instead,the well as establishinga Home sealof approval network poureda lot of efforts into to adornHome sponsors'productswere designinga corrmcrcial structurethat would consideredas well. Other plans includedthe attract sponsorsto the show. creationof a dressline basedon the show's femceewardrobe and the saleof recipe In termsof commercialstructure, Home boxesfor recipesdemonstrated on the show expandedthe sponsor-participationformat (SomeFacts About Homen.d.). In orderto developedon TheKate SmithHour a few presentHome's various segments,the yearsearlier. While the latter had required network in 1954constructed an innovative advertisersto sponsorat leasta fifteen- $200,000set for the shov/spremiere. The minute segmentof a show,the new concept, studio featuresgadgets to revolve, lift and called "magazineadvertising," offered them tilt consumergoods, promoting and short,and relatively affordable,segnrents of demonstratingtheir every feature. It was commercialtime. This, accordingto NBC, also equippedwith a special-effectsareato gaveadvertisers the "flexibility to move in portraythe effects of rain, fog, and sleeton and out of showsat will, to put pressurein variouskinds of merchandise.The set,in peak seasons,and to get maximum resultsat NBC'sown words,was built to minimum cost" (Broadcastingas You Need accommodateHome's function as a It 1954). By the late 1950s,and certainly by "machinefor selling" (PromotionalMaterial the 1960s,this would becomethe dominant for Home 1954). Perhapsbest of all, form of television advertising. In order to speculatedthe network, uWewill be get advertisers'commifinent, NBC promised consciouslycreating an atmosphere,a mood, discountsand specialdeals to thosesignrng an editorial backgroundagainst which the up for a minimum of fifty-trvo weeksof advertisedssales job can be at its maximum weekly one-minuteparticipations on Home. effectiveness.The audiencewill be in a Sponsorssigning up as CharterMembers buyingframe of mind" (Pinkbam1953). were assureda prominentrole in the shov/s editorial featuresand were told that oncea Much considerationwent into the planning year, an entire show would be devotedto of a centralpersonality or "editor-in-chief' them andtheir products. On this day, to leadtheshow. NBC did not considera promisedthe network, "the difference glamow girl to be the ideal hostess.It betweenservice features and commercials wanted"a pleasinglyatftactive, middle-aged would be as imperceptibleas possible." It woman- Hollywood's answerto the home would, in fact, be "difficult to tell wherethe economicsteacher" (Spigel 1992,p. 84). commercialbegins and infonnation leaves The network'sfinal choice fell on Arlene off'(Mills 1953b). Francis,a "self declaredanti-feminist" and "ordinary housewife"who held decidedly As part of an elaboratebranding 3trategy, traditional opinionsabout gender roles and NBC intendedto capitalizeupon Home's women'splace in society. "A girl'sjob is to merchandisingpotential. It was speculated be a girl," sated Francis. "Onceshe takes that the show,through "exploitative" devices over a man'sposition, sheloses her suchas magazinesbeing its imprint and femininity and her place in society" (What is featuringHome personalitiesand experts, Her line? 1954,p. 4). As hostessonHome, could bring in as much as half a million Ms. Francisstrung together a wide rangeof dollars a year in additional revenues.Home departmentsdesigned with the upscale- test kitchensa la GoodHousekeeping * orientedwoman in mind. Home offered 150 fashiontips, recipes,interior decorationand TTIE RESPONSETO HOME gardening,child rearingand, not AND ITS DEMISE coincidentally,information on shoppingand consumption(Spigel 1992). Determinedto NBC had high expectationsfor Home. Even maintain its upscale profile, the network before the show was aired, network tried hard, thoughnot alwayssuccessfully, executivespredicted that it would scorea to reflect theseaspirations in its minimumNielsen rating of 10.0within six programming.On August8, 1954,for to nine monthsof its premiere,which would example,Arlene Franciswelcomed the translateinto an estimatedaudience of 4.4 ballerina AlexandraDanilova, performer of millionviewers(Mlls 1953a;Mills 1953b). Tchaikovsky'sSwan Lake and Sleeping Although the first Trendex afterHome was Beaut!'ballets.Francis also introduced Dr. launchedplaced the showbehindboth of its Ashley Montagu,whom NBC termedan direct network competitors(Strtlce h Rich "outstandingauthority on humanbehavior," andArthur Godfrey on CBS), NBC was very "the who discussed baby" (Homepromotion optimistic aboutHome's ability to eventually onA Timeto Live 1954). Only four days capturethe time slot (Cornell 1954). By later the shov/shostess interviewed "a early April, however,the shods ratingshad famoustime-and-motion-engineer" whose leveledoffto a little over 3.0, leavingNBC function wasto estimatethe numberof to concedethat the network was in for miles an averagehousewife might walk in "severalmonths of very bitter fighting" the kitchen during the year and suggesthow (Culligan 1954;Report on Hometo NBC the amountof walking could be reducedby afiiliated stations1954). Trendexratings for "While as much as one-half, Arlene bakesa the early part of Junecarried more bad gingerbreadcake, the efficiency expertwill news: Home'sratings had fallen to 1.9 traceher steps[and] afterthe cakepops @auenspeck1954). Network executives from the oven,the engineershows Arlene were quite bewilderedas to why the show how shecould have saved herselfhalfthe was not catchingon. time" (Marshall 1954). Later that week, Hameintroduced Dick Satterfield,a man Arguing that the show was too highbrow, who had broughtbeauty aid to "a million one network executivesuggested that Home women." Dick'spurpose on the showwas to adjust its contentto better fit the concerns instruct the audienceon howto combine and interestsof "the averagegal in weight-reducingexercise with gardenwork. Suburbia"(Barry 1954). "As long asHome This was the sameday Arlene Francis must be frrndamentallyabout things," introducedJim, a gentlemanwith a penchant worried a colleague,"it can neverbe "doing for anything,"including hatchingan endowedwith identification, spirit, warmth, ostribhegg by himself and selling an icebox and the rest of the things that goeswith the to an Eskimo(Home promotion onThree fundamentalhuman relationships that makes Stepsto Heaven1954). most successfultelevision (emphasison daytimetelevision in particular)" (Parks 1954). Televisioncritics agreed: "Where Home may have a difficulty is that, evenfor a woman'sprogram, it consistsof a phenomenalamount of straighttalk," wrote JackGould nThe New YorkTimes. "Almost everythingis a demonstrationor a l5l discussionand after severalmornings the its daytimeviewers. For example,while pacebegins to drag, at leastfor masculine fully awareof the fact that womenprefened ears. The programnow is so determinedly entertainmentover instruction,the network pro-housewifeand pro-motherin its insistedon airing a show instructing viewers ipproach that a little more material of on how to run up-scalehouseholds and use interestmay not be amiss. There the advertisers'products. The sho#s general "The maybe somewomen in the audiencewho commercialstructure did not help- not be adverseto being respectedfor magazinefonnat of advertising,"claims one would "turned their brain ratherthan their pocketbook" writer, out to be first and last to (Gould l9s4). accommodateadvertising. At its worst, the format amountedto little more than At the sametime asHome's Producers commercialsin searchof a program" adheredto the criticism by replacingsome (Bergreen1980, p. 173). of the shods servicesegments with entertainment,they were not readyto admit What the audiencerejection of Home and thattheir hopesof establishingHome as a similar programssuggests, then, is that "machinefor selling" werefading. "We women,in a very subtlemanner, had begun know," insisteda wishful network, 'that the to reject showsthat addressedthem basicconcept of Home...providing primarily as homemakersand consumers. demonstrableservice information for The televisionindustry was plainly out of America'shousewives ... is onewhich is touch with their femaleaudience. "American long overduefor both audiencesand women in the fifties were not advertisers"(Report on Home 1954). simply trappedin a paternalistic Unfortunatelyfor NBC, however,the superstructure,"argue Miller andNowak, "parts daytimeaudience did not seemto agree. As of that structurewas in collapse" one disenchantedviewer of Home wrote: (Miller andNowak 1977,p. 365). As more "Wont you menever give us womer\ some and more womenentered the work-force of us anyway,credit for wanting to think and, at the sametime, were subjectedto aboutthe largerissues of ow lives, rather media portrayalsthat contradictedtheir thanthe thingsmost of us can learnby actuallife situations,shows like Home were ourself?"(Rogers 1954). doomedto short life spans.

ln August 1957,aftrr morethan three years EPILOGUE with poor ratings,NBC realizedthat Home, which hadbeen accorded one of the largest Given the more than fiffy yearsthat have staffsand budgets of any programin the passedsince the introductionof daytime NBC stable,had provena resounding television and the unsuccessfultenure of failure. The network atributed the shov/s programmingconcepts like Home's, one cancellationto low ratings,high might think that the television industry had programmingcosts and, most important, leameda lesson. Add to this that during last decliningadvertising revenues (No place for half-century,society has undergone a drastic Home1957; Ratings, biz dip 1957). tur-around regnrdingits views on "acceptable"roles and professions for In analyzingwhat went wrong withHome, women. Consequently,one might assume much suggeststhat NBC was hurt by its that the advertisingcommunity, which arrogantattitude tounards the preferencesof pridesitself on being a stepahead of new 157 trends,and the media industry, which is Corporationpapers, the StateHistorical joined at the hip to the advertisingindusfiy, Societyof Wisconsin,Madison [hereafter: would be reflecting thesechanges. Yet, NBC papersl. while advertisershave made some adjustments,it is alsosurprising to seehow AdvertestResearch (1950), The Television little things have changed@rose 2000). Audienceof Today;Study of Da:ytime Advertisersstill insist on addressingwomen Television,Vol. 2, Number2, June,Box primarily as mothers,homemakers and 193,Folder 10. consumers.This is evidenteven on the Internet,a medium that did not come of age Advertisementfor WDAI-TV Kitchen Klub until the latter part of the 1990s. Websites (1954),Broadcasting, July 5, 47. createdspecifically for women demonstrate this very well. The promisefrom Advertisementfor WPTZ'sLet SkinnerDo iVillage.com to provide womenwith It (1952),Broadcasting, September 61. "relaxation 1, and distraction,solitude and "a community,"during few precious All Day Long(1951), Newsweek, momentsstolen-just for [women]- from September24,57. [their] familiesand jobs," for example,is a direct throwbackto the mannerin which All-Day Looker(1948), Time, television executivespromoted daytime November22,46. televisionin the 1950s(Prose 2000, Spigel 1992). The online magazineoffers hints on All-Day Television(1 948), New sw eek, self-improvementand reasonswhy October4,52. chocolatemay be beneficial to one'shealth. "Not interestedin football?* asksan article, Allen, RobertC. (1985),Speaking of "Cook 'Souper'Bowl Soap then* up a andother Operas,Chapel Hill, NC: University of tasty snacksfor your favorite football fans!" North CarolinaPress. (Prose2400,p. 66)" Arlene Franciscould not havesaid it better. Barry,Charles C. (1954),letter to Richard Pinkham,March 3, Box 123,Folder 17, The mannerin which advertisersand mass NBC papers. mediacontinue to addresswomen suggests that insteadof escapingwhat William Chafe Baughman,James L. (1987),"The uthe Promise hastermed genderprison ofthe 1950s" of AmericanTelevision, " Prospects,Vol. (Chafe 1972),women haveended up with il, llg-133. what FrancineProse describes as "A Wastdlandof One'sOwn" (Prose2000). Bergreen,Laurence (1980), Look Now,Pay Exactly how and why this happened Later, GardenCity, NY: Doubleday& continuesto be an arearipe for future study. Company,Inc.

REFERENCES Beville,Hugh M., Jr.(1954), memo to RobertSarnoff, March 9, Box 567C,Box AdvertestResearch (1949), The Television 17,NBC papers. Audienceof Today; Study of Daytime Television,Vol. I, Number 1, March,Box Beville,Hogh Malcolm, Jr. (1985), 193,Folder 10,National Broadcasting AudienceRatings: Radio, Televisio4 and 153 Cable,Hillsdale,NJ: LawrenceErlbaum DepartmentStore TV (1950),Sponsor, Associates,Publishers. April24,31.

Boddy,William (1990),Fifiies Television Dont LoseOut on DaytimeTV (1951), TheIndustry and lts Critics,Urbanaand Sponsor,October 8,37. Chicago:University of Illinois Press. Douglas,Susan J. (1995),Where the Girls Boddy,William (1987),"Operation frontal Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass lobesversus the living room toy: The battle Media, New York: Times Books, first over prograilrmecontrol in early television," publishedlrl'1994. Media, Culture, and Society,Vol. 9, Number3, July 1987,347-368. Friedan,Betty (1983),The Feminine Irlystique,NewYork: W.W. Norton& Broadcasting- as you needit (1954),Box Company,first publishedin 1963. 142,Folder 17, NBC papers. Gould,Jack (1954),"Home, Daytime Show Cantor,Mauriel G. and SuzannePingree for Womenon N.B.C. StartsAmbitiously," (1983),The ,Beverly Hills, CA: TheNew YorkTimes, March 5, Box 280, SagePublications. Folder21. "Sitcoms Chafe,William H. (1972),The American Haralovich,Mary Beth (1989), and Woman:Her ChangingSocial, Economic, Suburbs:Positioning the 1950s andPolitical Roles,1920-1970, New York: Homemaket,"Quarterly Review of Film and Oxford University Press. Video,Vol. 11,6l-83.

Christopher,Maureen ( I 953),"Ratings, Hartmann,Susan M. (1982),The Homefront Raidingsand RebatesAre Broadcasting's and Beyond: American Womenin the Bugaboos:Sarnofl " AdvertisingAge, I 940s,: TwaynePublishers. September21,3. Head,Sydney W. (1982),Broadcasting in Cornell,Jim (1954),memo to NBC America,Boston: HoughtonMifflin executives,March 2, Box l23,Folder26, Company. NBC papers. Horton,Donald (1946), "They Like Video Culligan,Joe (1954), memo to JakeEvans But Look to Future,"Broadcasting, andFred Dodge, April 14,Box 567C,Folder October7,16. 17,NBC papers, Householdllint Shows'(I 952), DaytimeTV: Network Programming Broadcasting,November 24, 94. ( 1951), Sponsor, January 29, 36. Homeproduction onA Timeto Live (1954), Dauenspeck,Robert D. (1954),memo to August13, Box 133,Folder 68, NBC "All TrendexPocketpiece Receivers," July papers. 14,Box 374,Folder 58, NBC papers. 154 Home productiononThree Stepsto Hewen No Placefor Home(1957), Newsweek, (1954),August17, Box 133,Folder 68, June10,98. NBC papers. Parks,Ben (1954),memo to SylvesterL. Jaffee,Alfred J. (1954),"What areYour Weaver,April 30,Box 123,Folder 26, NBC 'Rights'toa Timeslot?"Sponsor, April5,31. papers.

Leiss,William, StephenKline andShut Pinkham,Richard A H. (1953),memo to Jhally(1990), Social Communication in JohnK. Herbert,December 8, Box 567C, Advertising,NewYork Routledge. NBC papers.

Lipsitz, George(1990), Time Passages, Promotionalmaterial for Home(1954), Minneapolis: University of Minnesota NBC-TV SalesPromotion, April 12,Box Press. 374,Folder 58, NBC papers. 'Why Marchand,Roland (1985), Advertising the Prose,Francine (2000), Is Pop AmericanDream,Berkeley and Los CultureFor WomenSo Dumb," TheNew Angeles: Universityof CaliforniaPress. YorkTime Magazine, February 13,66-71.

Marshall,Jack (1954), telegram to Harry Ratings,Biz Dip, HomeGets Boot; New Trigg, August 10,Box 133,Folder 68, NBC ArleneShow (1957), Variety,May 29,26. papers. Reporton Hometo NBC afliliated stations McChesney,Robert W. (1993), (1954),April 9, Box 123,Folder 26, NBC Telecommunications,Mass Media and papers. Democracy: TheStrugglefor Control of "Kathy's US. Broadcasting 1928-1935,New York: Robertson,Bruce (1949), Daytime Oxford University Press. Success,"November 7, 6.

McFadyen,Robert W. (1950),memo to Rogers,Mrs. HarrisJ. (1954),letter to "SalesStaff," December 29, Box 56T8, SylvesterL. Weaver,March 8, Box 123, Folder2, NBC papers. Folder26, NBC papers.

Mills, Ted (1953a),memo to JohnK. RumpusRoom (1950), Broadcasting, Herbert,June 10, Box397, Folder44, NBC November13,63. papers. Schofield,Arthur (1950),"Selling Mills, fed ltlSft), memoto SylvesterL. Advertiserson Video," Televiser,February, Weaver,Jr., September11, Box 377,Folder 105. 6, NBC papers. SocialResearch Issues First of Six TV Miller, Douglasand Marion Nowak (1977), Reports(195 1), Advertising Age, TheFifties: The Way WeReally Were, January15,66. GardenCity: Doubleday& CompanyInc. Somefacts about Home (n.d.), Box 397, Folder44, NBC papers. 155

Spigel,Lylnm (1992), Make Roomfor W: IngerL. Stoleis AssistantProfessor in the Televisionand the Family ldeal in Postwar departmentof Advertising at the University Arnerica,Chicago: University of Chicago of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,810 Press. WrightStreet, Urbana,IL 61801; [email protected] Stasheff,Edward and Rudy Bretz (1956), The TelevisionProgram, New York Hill andWang,Inc. "There Stole,IngerL. (1997), Is No Place Like Home: NBC's Searchfor aDaytime Audience,1954-1957," The Communication Review,Volume 2, Number2,135-161.

TelevisionHomemaker Programs ( I 953), Sponsor,May4,72.

TelevisionReaches Stage of Big-Volume (1948),Business Week,January t0, 26.

The Network'sView of HomemakerShows (1952),Journalof PracticalHome Economics,October 15, 15.

Today'sHome: A PreliminaryReport on Two Audiences(n.d.), Box279, Folder48, NBC papers.

WABD DelaysLaunching Full Daytime Schedule(1948), Broadcasting, October 18, 63.

Whatis Her Line (1954),W Guide,July 9- 18,4.

Who'sLobking (1954),Advertising Age, November16,92.

Wilson,Pamela (1995), UNBC Television's 'operationfrontal lobes': Cultural hegemony and fi fties' prograrming," H istorieal Journalof Film and Television,Yol.15,No. 1,83-104.