Television news made meteoric progress in the 1950s. It rose from being a plaything for the rich to a major factor in informing the American public, and an aggressive rival to newspapers, radio, and news magazines. This volume is an insider's account of the arduous and frequently critical steps undertaken by inexperienced staffs in the development of television news, documentaries, and sports broadcasts. The author, the first president of CBS News, provides a treasure trove of facts and anecdotes about plotting in the corridors, the ascendancy of stars, and the retirement into oblivion of the less favored.
This volume is an important contribution to the history of television journalism and will appeal both to journalism and broadcasting scholars and to those interested in the meteoric rise of television.
Introduction: The Decade That Shaped Television News
The Search for a Road Map
The First Awkward Steps
A New Star on the Horizon
Driving Television's Golden Spike
A New Species of Documentary: The Birth of "See It Now"
Breaking New Ground
Blacklisting and the Exploitation of Fear
Not So Strange Bedfellows: Politics and Television
Television News Comes of Age
The Great Airplane Race
The Corporation Declares a Cease-Fire
Aftermath of the Cease-Fire
Spare the Rod but Don't Spoil the Picture
Combat in the Corporate Stratosphere
The Changing of the Guard
Filling the "See It Now" Void: The Birth of "CBS Reports"
The Happy Couple: Pigskin and Image Orthicon Tube
Carrying the Olympic Torch to Television
In Pursuit of the Dollar
The End of the Decade
Bibliography
Index
