American Decades

Important Events in the Media, 1980–1989

On June 1, Atlanta entrepreneur Ted Turner debuts the twenty-four-hour news channel, Cable News Network (CNN).
On July 2, in Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that the press and the public have a right to attend criminal trials.
From September 15 to September 19, NBC's miniseries Shogun, starring Richard Chamberlain and Toshiro Mifune, captivates audiences.
On October 14, President Carter signs a law forbidding the unannounced search of newsrooms except in special circumstances.
On November 21, the nighttime television soap opera Dallas captures the largest audience in history for an episode of a TV series. The episode answers the question from the spring season concerning an attempted assassination of the lead character J.R. Ewing: "Who Shot J.R.?" Some 83 million viewers find out.

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