FCC Chairman predicts TV's future - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

PunkyP0WER · 06-21-2008, 02:03 AM

In his famous speech in 1961, when only 3 networks existed, FCC Chairman Newton Minow said this:
When television is good, nothing — not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers — nothing is better.
But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there for a day without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you — and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland."
If only he knew how prophetic his words would be. When he made that remark he probably did not realize the quality of programming that existed if he could have compared it to todays. Oddly enough, there is more channels than he probably could have ever dreamed of and yet so little to watch. Do you agree with his statement? was his statement justified for that time period and could it be applied now?

Mr. Television · 06-21-2008, 02:16 AM

I think it's more applied now. Back when he said it, television was in it's golden age. They had dramas, sitcoms, variety shows, westerns, news magazines, talent shows. Today all they have is reality and to a lesser extent crime shows. Their are 500 channels and nothing to watch. lol

PunkyP0WER · 06-21-2008, 02:31 AM

lol clint, tempus a recurring villian on lois and clark said almost the same thing when describing the future to lois in episode tempus fugitive. when i was writing my original post i was thinking about his quote from that episode. you read my mind.

dawsongirl · 06-21-2008, 02:41 AM

It's definetly more of a vast wasteland now than it was in 1961.

waichingliu81 · 06-21-2008, 09:23 AM

it seems as if there are over 100 channels on tv nowadays and still, there is hardly anything worth watching on there- unless it is retro and from the 60s or early 90s for example. i can only predict the state of tv to become worse in say the next 5 years. today's shows do not fare well or compare with the classics, well 99.9 % of them that is. that is why i rarely watch tv on my tv. i can go on you tube and watch classic sitcoms and cartoons that none of the channels seem to televise on tv, right now. i dislike reality tv, soaps, these so-called dramas which are taking up too much air time, whilst the likes of sitcoms and cartoons are being shunted. in fact, the sitcoms and cartoons we have now are mostly crap.

television, like the music industry has now gone to the dogs. i was proud to have been born in the 80s, even though it was deemed as a cheesy era at the time because you had a wide variety of tv shows and the quality of them were and are much better than what we have today. and yet now, it seems that tv executives and producers are more interested in making money than actually care about what the viewer wants to see

Sal · 06-23-2008, 10:45 PM

I think he was describing the way TV was back then. There were a lot of great shows around at the time---many of which I enjoy watching online---but he didn't seem to care for any of them. He assumed that TV would soon reach its lowest point but he was wrong by about 47 years. By the way, the best part of this story is that 3 years later, when Gilligan's Island---a show he would have hated for certain with a passion---entered the airwaves, the name of the ship that crashed on the island was called the "S S Minnow", a direct shot at his own name. The castaways have lived on and on in syndication and in our hearts ever since (see photo on my left) while Newton Minow is merely a footnote in American history, all because of the power of television, which he seriously failed to recognize, and now must suffer because of it. So, what was that quote again?

"I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there for a day without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you — and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off."

Buddy, you're on!

Now remember, that quote was from 1961. What sitcoms would people have been watching back then? Try these out:

Andy Griffith
Dick Van Dyke
Leave It To Beaver
Ozzie and Harriet
Donna Reed
Dobie Gillis
Dennis The Menace
Car 54
My Three Sons
Make Room For Daddy
Father Knows Best
Jack Benny

I don't know if I can make it through a whole day of TV watching with all those great shows to look forward to. I'd need at least a week!

06-21-2008, 02:03 AM	#1
PunkyP0WER Member Senior Member Join Date: May 23, 2008 Location: MACY*S on 34th St. Posts: 1,908	FCC Chairman predicts TV's future In his famous speech in 1961, when only 3 networks existed, FCC Chairman Newton Minow said this: When television is good, nothing — not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers — nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there for a day without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you — and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland." If only he knew how prophetic his words would be. When he made that remark he probably did not realize the quality of programming that existed if he could have compared it to todays. Oddly enough, there is more channels than he probably could have ever dreamed of and yet so little to watch. Do you agree with his statement? was his statement justified for that time period and could it be applied now?

06-21-2008, 02:16 AM	#2
Mr. Television 23 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,132	I think it's more applied now. Back when he said it, television was in it's golden age. They had dramas, sitcoms, variety shows, westerns, news magazines, talent shows. Today all they have is reality and to a lesser extent crime shows. Their are 500 channels and nothing to watch. lol
	__________________ Sonny

06-23-2008, 10:45 PM	#6
Sal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 20, 2001 Location: Oakville, Ont. Canada Posts: 6,200	I think he was describing the way TV was back then. There were a lot of great shows around at the time---many of which I enjoy watching online---but he didn't seem to care for any of them. He assumed that TV would soon reach its lowest point but he was wrong by about 47 years. By the way, the best part of this story is that 3 years later, when Gilligan's Island---a show he would have hated for certain with a passion---entered the airwaves, the name of the ship that crashed on the island was called the "S S Minnow", a direct shot at his own name. The castaways have lived on and on in syndication and in our hearts ever since (see photo on my left) while Newton Minow is merely a footnote in American history, all because of the power of television, which he seriously failed to recognize, and now must suffer because of it. So, what was that quote again? "I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there for a day without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you — and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off." Buddy, you're on! Now remember, that quote was from 1961. What sitcoms would people have been watching back then? Try these out: Andy Griffith Dick Van Dyke Leave It To Beaver Ozzie and Harriet Donna Reed Dobie Gillis Dennis The Menace Car 54 My Three Sons Make Room For Daddy Father Knows Best Jack Benny I don't know if I can make it through a whole day of TV watching with all those great shows to look forward to. I'd need at least a week!
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06-21-2008, 02:31 AM	#3
PunkyP0WER Member Senior Member Join Date: May 23, 2008 Location: MACY*S on 34th St. Posts: 1,908	lol clint, tempus a recurring villian on lois and clark said almost the same thing when describing the future to lois in episode tempus fugitive. when i was writing my original post i was thinking about his quote from that episode. you read my mind.

06-21-2008, 02:41 AM	#4
dawsongirl Member Forum Icon Join Date: Jan 04, 2001 Posts: 53,140	It's definetly more of a vast wasteland now than it was in 1961.

06-21-2008, 09:23 AM	#5
waichingliu81 debbie allen Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 28, 2006 Location: london, england, UK Posts: 4,347	it seems as if there are over 100 channels on tv nowadays and still, there is hardly anything worth watching on there- unless it is retro and from the 60s or early 90s for example. i can only predict the state of tv to become worse in say the next 5 years. today's shows do not fare well or compare with the classics, well 99.9 % of them that is. that is why i rarely watch tv on my tv. i can go on you tube and watch classic sitcoms and cartoons that none of the channels seem to televise on tv, right now. i dislike reality tv, soaps, these so-called dramas which are taking up too much air time, whilst the likes of sitcoms and cartoons are being shunted. in fact, the sitcoms and cartoons we have now are mostly crap. television, like the music industry has now gone to the dogs. i was proud to have been born in the 80s, even though it was deemed as a cheesy era at the time because you had a wide variety of tv shows and the quality of them were and are much better than what we have today. and yet now, it seems that tv executives and producers are more interested in making money than actually care about what the viewer wants to see