On April 30, 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt became America’s first reality television star. The Commander-in-Chief broadcast a message from his podium at the World’s Fair in New York. Although it was not the first TV show ever, it was of great importance: at the time of its broadcast, only a few television sets were in use. Almost two decades later, 90 percent Almost every American home has a television, and the country’s love of screens is firmly established.
And between that early novelty and its subsequent spread, there was much doubt as to whether television would ever be truly popular. While RCA was busy showing off its televisions in the early days of the technology, a reporter for New York times He was write about “The problem with television is that people have to sit with their eyes glued to the screen. The average American family doesn’t have time for that.
the times He wasn’t the only skeptic, as these quotes make clear.
“The very nature of television … limits the ability of many people to enjoy it with the same freedom as they might enjoy broadcast radio, because television programs require the constant attention of the person watching them … and it is clear why television is seen by scholars as incapable of on replacing radio broadcasting and why they view it as a complement to radio. —James Brandon, the state (Columbia, South Carolina), October 26, 1939
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“Of course it would be interesting to watch movies in your living room for a while. But four hours in the evening or even one show every night is too much. Tests show that people will not watch movies at home nearly as much or as long as they listen to the radio.” . —Dyson Carter, Sun Times (Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada), August 25, 1945
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“[Television] It will not be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night. —Darrell F. ZanuckStudio Head, 20th Century Fox, 1946
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“Comedy shows don’t click… The nightclub and slapstick flops. So does the fast guy. We simply haven’t found a formula for humor on TV.” —Ben Finer, Jr.CBS CEO, Pittsburgh Press (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), January 19, 1946
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Bill Fay, sports editor for The CollierHe wrote an article for the current issue of the Weekly magazine saying “Blocked colleges can make dormitories in their empty stadiums when television provides every fan with a better seat in the house.” … He wrote that minor league baseball would disappear, the major leagues would expand to the West Coast, unoccupied bleachers would be torn down, causing parks to expand uniform distances. —Bill Britton, Ventura County Star (Ventura, California), February 14, 1949
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“By bringing the classroom home, it will be possible for 100,000 students simultaneously to take the same beginner course in Spanish, childcare, or interior decorating, while the average classroom on campus today consists of 25 to 50 students.The proceeds of the payment as you see it from these home advising courses will provide funds for new university buildings, laboratories, scholarships, teachers’ salaries, and our colleges can stop once and for all from this hat. —Billy RoseDecatur Daily Review (Decatur, Illinois) June 14, 1950
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“the television, [furniture salesman Henry Richards] He continued, it would keep American children home and away from places of ill influence, instill in them an appreciation of home life and thus build them into better citizens. —Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah), August 7, 1950
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“I think the audience will be able to spot the fake politician just as easily as they will be able to spot the fake comedian.” —Sylvester WeaverVice President of NBC Delaware County Daily Times (Chester, Pennsylvania), December 12, 1950
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“Color television will supplement black and white reception, not replace it,” said Robert M. Lutz, Pennsylvania area manager for GE’s radio and television division, told the Sunbury Rotary Club in a speech at the Neff Hotel Thursday night. He made a comparison by pointing out that the average American consumer hasn’t stopped buying low-priced cars just because they want an expensive one… People, he says, buy entertainment, and it’s conceivable that some TV shows will never be broadcast in color. A television newscast will not necessarily be more informative in color than it is in black and white. —daily item (Sunbury, Pennsylvania), March 12, 1954
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“The day when there will be no more screens in your TVs is not far away… If our world held together and politicians didn’t destroy it, TV would jump off the screen, off the set, and appear in 3D in your living room. It would come out Actors and walk around as in a theater in the round. Images will be formed in space rather than being confined to the small screen. You will be able to walk around and actually put your finger on Audrey Hepburn or Cary Grant. You will hear their voices and see their characters. Instead of screen size, you will be in size natural and in color in the end. —Arch Obolerplaywright, Fort Worth Star Telegram (Fort Worth, Texas), August 13, 1954