http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/29/showbiz/tv/sixties-television-then-now/
In regards to viewers, TV producers of the 60s missed the mark tremendously, and it’s no surprise that the term “wasteland” has been used by the former Federal Communication Commission chairman to describe our preferred form of entertainment.
According to this article, the consideration of audience in terms of content, genre, and language was weak. The programmers only targeted a small pool of people, hence failing to make the connections between the viewers- that exists today.
As much as television of the 60s is considered a breakthrough decade in terms of broadcasting live events, critiques claim that TV did not fully reflect what was going on in the country. The conservative nature of the 50s still lingered on and programmers felt the need to provide “dumb-down” shows or present the news in a “gingerly” fashion. The social movements were not well televised as expected for a major community, whereas today's news channels would relish in the opportunity to broadcast a controversial topic of interest or curiosity, that would attract TV ratings. TV producers made the general assumption that the viewers wanted lightweight shows (comedies, fiction), which demonstrates the minor comprehension of their audience. The changing values and attitudes of the 60s was not well captured on the screen, and this was finally recognized when the Vietnam War was televised and the attention of the audience was caught. This televised moment proved that the public could handle more that programmers initially assumed.
In regards to viewers, TV producers of the 60s missed the mark tremendously, and it’s no surprise that the term “wasteland” has been used by the former Federal Communication Commission chairman to describe our preferred form of entertainment.
According to this article, the consideration of audience in terms of content, genre, and language was weak. The programmers only targeted a small pool of people, hence failing to make the connections between the viewers- that exists today.
As much as television of the 60s is considered a breakthrough decade in terms of broadcasting live events, critiques claim that TV did not fully reflect what was going on in the country. The conservative nature of the 50s still lingered on and programmers felt the need to provide “dumb-down” shows or present the news in a “gingerly” fashion. The social movements were not well televised as expected for a major community, whereas today's news channels would relish in the opportunity to broadcast a controversial topic of interest or curiosity, that would attract TV ratings. TV producers made the general assumption that the viewers wanted lightweight shows (comedies, fiction), which demonstrates the minor comprehension of their audience. The changing values and attitudes of the 60s was not well captured on the screen, and this was finally recognized when the Vietnam War was televised and the attention of the audience was caught. This televised moment proved that the public could handle more that programmers initially assumed.
Television today is doing much better than the 60s because programmers have a better understanding of their audience, and therefore have become sensitive to their needs. That explains the astounding popularity of the Kardashians who have become the face of reality TV, a relatively new genre that has gained a strong following over the years.
-Njillan Sarre
I enjoyed reading your analysis of the audience of televisions in the 1960s and today. You made some very good observations regarding the size of the television audience. In the 1960s, the television failed to cater to the interests of all different types of people. Today, people can get up to 1000 channels on their television. They have the option of adding on different packages. For example, my dad has made sure that we have every single available sports channel. People in the 1960s did not have any choice as to what they were watching so programs needed to keep in mind the interests of the country as a whole, which is a difficult thing to achieve.
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