Minow Was Right

Date: July 17, 2008
Time: 23:48
Place: Home

In 1961, the Federal Communications Commission elected a new chairman. The man's name was Newton N. Minow (b. 1926).

On May 9, 1961, he addressed the National Association of Broadcasters. The speech was entitled, "Television and the Public Interest". A famous line that has been attributed to that speech was "Television is a vast wasteland." Unfortunately, it is a misquotation. The actual line is in the following excerpt.

When television is good, nothing -- not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers -- nothing is better.

But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite each of you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.

In this day and age of instant communication and cable television, television stations don't "sign off" anymore. Or at least, not the way they used to. These days, when a particular station is done with their scheduled programming, they turn to what is referred to as "Paid Programming" or as we call it, "infomercials".

But what's worse these days, is what network executives are passing for programming, "reality shows". A 30- to 60-minute melange of insanity, stupidity, and incessant howling.

And that's just the studio audience.

But now, things have gotten completely out of hand. The television network known as TVLand, an offshoot of Nick-At-Nite, is not only airing episodes of "Extreme Home Makeover", but they are now coming out with "original" programs of their own. I'm not going to name them as that would be giving them publicity. Yes, I know I named that other one, but I figured by now, most people have heard of it.

Minow did not foresee the future of television, he was simply stating what he believed to be factual, and at the time he said it. He's still alive, but I doubt very much if he watches television anymore, but if he does, even if it's just the news, I wonder about one thing, does he smile every time he hears the announcer tell what's coming up later, especially when it's a "Special Extended Edition" of "American Idol".