Television talk : a history of the TV talk show / Bernard M. Timberg, with Robert J. Erler ; introduction by Horace Newcomb.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Timberg, Bernard.

Contributor:

Erler, Bob.

Erler, Funder.

Series:

Texas film and media studies series.

Texas film and media studies series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Television talk shows--United States.

Television talk shows.

Physical Description:

xv, 364 p., [32] p. of plates : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin, Tex. : University of Texas Press, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Flip through the channels at any hour of the day or night, and a television talk show is almost certainly on. Whether it offers late-night entertainment with David Letterman, share-your-pain empathy with Oprah Winfrey, trash talk with Jerry Springer, or intellectual give-and-take with Bill Moyers, the talk show is one of television's most popular and enduring formats, with a history as old as the medium itself. Bernard Timberg here offers a comprehensive history of the first fifty years of television talk, replete with memorable moments from a wide range of classic talk shows, as well as many of today's most popular programs. Dividing the history into five eras, he shows how the evolution of the television talk show is connected to both broad patterns in American culture and the economic, regulatory, technological, and social history of the broadcasting industry. Robert Erler's "A Guide to Television Talk" complements the text with an extensive "who's who" listing of important people and programs in the history of television talk.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

ONE History of Television Talk: Defining a Genre

TWO The First Cycle (1948–1962): Experimentation, Consolidation, and Network Control—CBS

THREE The First Cycle, Part II: Experimentation, Consolidation, and Network Control—NBC and DuMont

FOUR The Second Cycle (1962–1974): Network Consolidation and New Challenges

FIVE Competitive Ferment in the Late Second Cycle: The First Late-Night Talk-ShowWars (1967–1974)

SIX The Third Cycle (1974–1980): Transitions

SEVEN The Fourth Cycle (1980–1990): The Post-Network Era

EIGHT The Fifth Cycle (1990–1995): News as Entertainment

NINE The Fifth Cycle (1996–2000): Trash Talk, Nice Talk, and Blended Talk

TEN Conclusion

APPENDIX A Taxonomy of Television Talk

APPENDIX. A Guide to Television Talk

NOTES

SOURCES

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-292-79633-1

OCLC:

646760671