The Box | The Box

At a glance:

Author: Jeff Kisseloff
First Published: 1995
Type of Work: Cultural history
Time of Work: 1920-1961
Setting: The United States, primarily New York and California
Principal Characters: David Sarnoff, William S. Paley, Dave Garroway, Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, Red Barber, Don Hewitt, Edward R. Murrow, Joseph R. McCarthy, John F. Kennedy
Genres: Nonfiction, History
Subjects: United States or Americans, Communication, Popular culture, Mass media, Television or television broadcasting, Radio or radio broadcasting, Sports, Reporting or reporters
Locales: California, United States, New York

For a medium that has transformed the world, television had unlikely, even uncertain beginnings. There is still dispute as to when, where, and what constituted the first public broadcast: Was it a toy statue of the comic-strip character Felix the Cat or a crude drawing of a dollar sign? (Either one could be seen as appropriate and would serve as an apt, even symbolic representation of the new technology and its impact.) From the first, the producers as well as the consumers were baffled: Was television a vehicle for news or entertainment? Was it radio with pictures, a newsreel in the...

The Box | The Box

At a glance:

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