Possible Social Effects of Television

O N JUNE 27, 1940, a social and political event took place which may well be regarded in the future as a milestone in human affairs. On that day, for the first time in history, a spellbound audience of ten thousand or more people in New York City and its vicinity witnessed the nomination of a candidate for President of the United States at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, nearly one hundred miles away. The members of this audience, seated comfortably in their homes and in restaurants or other public places, were aurally, visually, and immediately transported to the distant scene by the modern miracle of television. The time was a critical one in the history of the nation; the event one of traditional significance; and its outcome a subject of the greatest interest to millions of people. Many of those in the television audience saw a substantial part of the entire Convention proceedings, which were broadcast by television for more than thirty-three hours, over a period of five days; and they were so absorbed that it was given one of the highest audience program ratings of the year.1 This was one of a series of programs of the television broadcasting service inaugurated by the National Broadcasting Company in New York City on April 30, 1939. Considered as an extension of the already existing radio sound broadcasting system, this new service marks an important development in mass communication. Considered more

Computer Science · Media Studies and Communication · Radio, Podcasts, and Digital Media

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