| Description |
x, 305 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Contents |
The heritage of radio programming / (1927-1947) -- The experimental days of TV programming / (1939-1947) -- Finding an audience / (1948-1952) -- The rise and fall of live drama and quiz shows / (1953-1959) -- Detectives, cowboys, and happy families / (1960-1969) -- Controversy in prime-time / (1970-1984) -- Changes in competition / (1985-1995) -- New voices / (1996-2005) |
| Summary |
"Television is a unique medium in that both its dramas and its comedies have the ability to tell their stories in real time, with characters developing over years rather than just the two hours allowed in a movie or the few hundred pages of a book. Writing as academics who are also self-confessed fans, Moore, Bensman and Van Dyke offer an analysis of this and other aspects of the medium that invades most American homes on a regular basis. The focus is on programming: the shows, the producers, the genres, the trends, and the influences. Why do programs look the way they do? Why are they scheduled as they are? Why do some shows air while others are cancelled? What has shaped and influenced the shows we see?"--BOOK JACKET |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [285]-291) and index |
| Subject |
Television broadcasting -- United States -- History.
|
| Author |
Bensman, Marvin R., 1937-
|
|
Van Dyke, Jim, 1947-
|
| LC no. |
2005034612 |
| ISBN |
0275981428 hardback |
|
