Posts Tagged ‘Cable Television Generation’
The Day Television Lost Control: “The Heidi Game”
TweetShareShareIt was the football game that changed the rules of broadcasting. It was the game that showed how the democratic, decentralized people’s voice could overrule the authoritative, centralized control of network brass. It was the game where a little girl in the Swiss Alps and superstar athletes toppled how we would watch live sports forever.…
Read MoreYou Should Be Dancing: How The Bee Gees Reinvented Their Lives and Revived Disco
TweetShareShare Irving Stone studied great men his entire life…their habits, attitudes and qualities. He finally concluded their primary characteristic was RESILIENCE. “You cannot destroy these people” he said, “Every time they’re knocked down, they stand up.” And sometimes they even dance. Need an example? Consider the Bee Gees. This trio of brothers formed in…
Read MoreThe Tale of Two Kings: How Two Men Began and Ended the Modern Civil Rights Movement
TweetShareShare The modern civil rights movement began and ended with edicts by two different “Kings.” Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963 launched it, while Rodney King’s “Can We All Get Along?” television message on May 1, 1992 ended it. It was three decades of “movement” that abolished segregated…
Read MoreGen X Goes To Jail
TweetShareShareGen X (born 1961-1981) is the most incarcerated generation in American history, as the Pew Research confirmed this past week. According to the Bureau of Justice, the number of Americans in prison currently has returned to the 1995 level, and continues to fall annually. The rate had been rising exponentially every year since 1980, when…
Read MoreBuckner and Bartman: How 1986 and 2006 Framed a Generation Named “X”
TweetShareShareGen X. Goonies. Nerds. Bad News Bears. Born in the 1960s and 1970s, these kids were also known as “slackers” and the Dumb Generation. They wore their baseball caps backward, listened to heavy metal, grunge and rap. They dropped out of school and church, played video games, got tattoos and earrings, and generally disgusted our…
Read MoreThe Day Disco Died (And How We Got It In The First Place)
TweetShareShareIn the late 1970s, there was only two opinions about a popular dance craze known as “disco.” It was either the best thing since the jitterbug or the worst thing since the Hindenburg. Very few had a view in the middle. For the critical ear, the monotonous beat, synthesizer hooks, flourishing strings and banal, often…
Read MoreThe Long Play (LP) Vinyl Arrives!
TweetShareShare Today is a big day in the “Vinyl is Final” world, as it’s the day that 33 1/3 rpm records debuted. This format allowed for longer recordings (around 30 minutes per side). The LP (long play) would be a significant technological innovation for the coming “rock ‘n roll” era that relied upon “singles”…
Read MoreThe Introduction of the VCR
TweetShareShareTelevision was (and is) a transformative technology. It transformed how we processed information and received entertainment. It transformed how we interacted with our world. It transformed education, religion and government. And it introduced other transformative technologies, from the remote control to “smart” television. From rabbit ears to cable to satellite to streaming, television has reimagined…
Read MoreThe Cable News Network Reimagines the News
TweetShareShareThe emergence of cable television news reimagined how information was reported and consumed. With a 24/7/365 platform the Cable News Network (CNN) could report LIVE news visually, as it happened…with no commercial breaks if necessary. It was the brainchild of media mogul Ted Turner. Watch CNN in 1980… Unfortunately, cable news wasn’t good for radio.…
Read MoreHeeeeeere’s The End, Johnny!
TweetShareShareThe Tonight Show with Johnny Carson was the drug of choice for late night insomniacs for three decades.The program was ranked #12 on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. The undisputed King of Late Night talk show hosts, Johnny Carson (1925-2009) made his debut on October 1, 1962 at the NBC studio…
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