Television in the age of radio : modernity, imagination, and the making of a medium / Philip W. Sewell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sewell, Philip W., 1970-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Television broadcasting--Social aspects--United States.

Television broadcasting.

Television broadcasting--United States--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (234 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, New Jersey : Rutgers University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Television existed for a long time before it became commonplace in American homes. Even as cars, jazz, film, and radio heralded the modern age, television haunted the modern imagination. During the 1920's and 1930's, U.S. television was a topic of conversation and speculation. Was it technically feasible? Could it be commercially viable? What would it look like? How might it serve the public interest? And what was its place in the modern future? These questions were not just asked by the American public, but also posed by the people intimately involved in television's creation. Their answers may have been self-serving, but they were also statements of aspiration. Idealistic imaginations of the medium and its impact on social relations became a de facto plan for moving beyond film and radio into a new era. In Television in the Age of Radio, Philip W. Sewell offers a unique account of how television came to be-not just from technical innovations or institutional struggles, but from cultural concerns that were central to the rise of industrial modernity. This book provides sustained investigations of the values of early television amateurs and enthusiasts, the fervors and worries about competing technologies, and the ambitions for programming that together helped mold the medium. Sewell presents a major revision of the history of television, telling us about the nature of new media and how hopes for the future pull together diverse perspectives that shape technologies, industries, and audiences.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Substance of Things Hoped For

1. Questions of Definition

2. Engendering Expertise and Enthusiasm

3. Programming the System for Quality

4. Seeing Around Corners

Conclusions: Why Not Quantity Television?

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

About the Author

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-8135-6271-6

OCLC:

865508918