The ‘gator turned up this tidbit this morning.
Today is the 50th anniversary of Edward R. Murrow’s seminal address about radio and television. Now known as the “wires and lights in a box” speech, Mr. Murrow implored the attendees at the Radio and Television News Directors Association convention to make the most of the two electronic media, rather than allowing them to insulate Americans “from the realities of the world in which we live.”
‘Wires and Lights in a Box,’ Fifty Years Later – NYTimes.com.
I’ve long been a fan of Murrow’s. That era of television is fascinating in the parallels it has with the evolution of the Internet. Murrow, Cronkite, Huntley-Brinkley … names to conjure with. Sometimes I compare those names to the ones we have today and just sigh in dispair.
October 16th, 2008 at 10:19 am
I did a paper on Murrow during graduate school. He was very prescient in terms of the use of the new medium. He realized the difference between a hot and cold medium before Marshall McLuhan did. I would tend to agree with his assertion-95% of television is glowing lights in a box, getting closer to 100% the longer shows like American Idol and Big Brother stick around.
October 16th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I wonder what Murrow would say to television shows today—and the internet for that matter??
October 16th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
While television can be used for education, it is most often used for entertainment of a very poor quality. If he thought it was bad then, it would be shocking now. Most television shows are not worth watching. They are full of junk and garbage and I am finding that parents are allowing their children to watch whatever on tv and students are learning way to much, way to early. I wasn’t even allowed to watch the Simpsons when I was young, and the cartoons the kids are watching now are a lot worse. TV has turned into a babysitter in a lot of households.
October 17th, 2008 at 10:07 am
He is right. Television can be used to educate and inspire and yes it does depend on how it is used. I let my son whatch popular educational videos that displayed images and played classical music and later taught sign language. I admitt I sat him down to watch to sooth him and get some cleaning done. I find it wasn’t a waste and he still does some of the signs. It all depends on how you use it.
October 18th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
I think that his suspicions turned out to be correct. He knew how powerful the television would become. Today, we base our entire lives around it. I know that I rely on it to give me information on everything from the weather to who to vote for for president. Sometimes I wonder if it controls too much of me.
October 19th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I do agree that he was insightful as the to prospects for the television but I wonder if he had any idea of the extent to which the television would engulf our lives. How many homes today, or classrooms for that matter, do not have at least one television. Sometimes I wonder if we even see the full potential today. Isn’t there so much more we could do to improve education by utilizing this tool rather than for mere entertainment?