Thursday, February 14, 2013

Blog post (from research) #8: (Due Monday, Feb 18)
Choose a single folder from the vertical files from Special Collections in Mass Media & Culture – station files, subject files, transcripts, pamphlets. Whatever you pick, summarize it briefly (describe the contents of the folder), then do some research and try to give the subject some historical context  (250-350 words; 2-3 secondary sources).

16 comments:

  1. In 1969, WWDC radio did a series called “Definition of an Emergency” regarding those who abused the ambulance service. People would call ambulances for non-emergency reasons. Ross Simpson was the reporter who covered the story and discussed alternative solutions for the problem. The problem got to be so bad that there was an ambulance shortage for those who really needed them. “Almost 75 percent of our runs are taxi runs,” one worker said. The conditions for the ambulance workers were tough too. They often went without eating or sleeping for days at a time. They were lucky to get a cup of coffee in their system. Between 50 and 75 percent ambulance runs were non-emergencies, according to an official in the report.
    Maryland was one of the first states to develop an Emergency Medical Service program in the mid-1960s, according to Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Service Systems. I think this gives historical insight into why hospitals experienced an unprecedented amount of “emergency” calls at that time. Hospitals that had helicopter pads were also quickly increasing. I think that with these improvements, people started having a newfound trust in hospitals. But people began to be so dependent on them that they were using ambulances for minor problems.
    There were a few solutions to this problem. One called for creating painted emergency lanes so that the ambulances can respond quicker to the high volume of calls. Another called for an override box that would be installed in ambulances to change the colors of traffic lights. But the problem was deeper than that. In 1966 the National Academy of Sciences published “Accidental Death and Disability: The neglected Disease of Modern Society” that showed just how poor emergency care was in the ‘60s. Many response workers had little training for cardio pulmonary resuscitation, childbirth and other life saving techniques. But I think response teams have learned from history and have improved since the ‘60s, and will continue to improve.
    http://www.emt-resources.com/ems-white-paper.html
    http://www.miemss.org/home/Home/WhoWeAre/tabid/74/Default.aspx

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  2. From the archives, I picked out a transcript of George Hicks's D-Day radio broadcast on June 6, 1944. The transcript includes description of natural sound, other people talking, and comments from what appears to be a professor noting the effectiveness of Hicks's speech.

    What drew my attention, besides the importance of the event, was the kind of language that Hicks used. He spoke in very descriptive language, letting the listener at home paint a picture of everything that was going on, while also using alliteration to give the broadcast some flair. It was also apparent that he had a very deep understanding of military tactics and equipment, as he used specific technical language at times - only to step back and explain what he was talking about to the listener at home.

    The New York World Telegram called it "the greatest recording yet to come out of the war". Hicks used a ARC Commando model Recordgraph, a "portable" film recording device that weighed a whopping 75 pounds, and he broadcast from aboard the U.S.S. Ancon.

    Hicks was a war correspondent, both with NBC and the Blue Network, the predecessor to ABC. The D-Day recording was his most famous broadcast, and earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

    http://www.veoh.com/watch/v14157495XzEmQ3km?h1=George+Hicks+Reporting+During+D-Day
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Hicks_(broadcast_journalist)
    http://www.latimes.com/includes/projects/hollywood/wof_stars/george_hicks_radio.jpg

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  3. In 1972, a new character was introduced to the popular children’s program, Sesame Street; beloved or feared character, the Count von Count. The Count’s primary purpose was to teach children about mathematical concepts, like counting. As I discovered after looking into my vertical file, many parents and children wrote letters to the show demanding that he be removed because he was too terrifying for the children watching Sesame Street.
    What was most interesting about these letters is they were primarily positive about the show in its entirety, and their only real criticism of the show was the character of the Count. During the time the Count was introduced, the cast was expanding to incorporate more diversity in its members to further educate the young viewers on walks of life. The fact that the Count was the only criticism in these letters says a lot about the show’s success as a whole.
    By the 70s, Sesame Street was an “American institution” according to Michael Davis, author of the 2008 book Street Gang. Proof of this statement was found in experiments documented in the book G is for Growing. These experiments showed that the children who watched Sesame Street more frequently than others had a higher level of reading comprehension.
    I think this is especially interesting because these letters corroborated the fact that some children were watching this show every day if not multiple times a day. This show clearly had a huge impact as a source for the education of young children so in these letters that were complaining about the Count, the parents said their child would still be watching the show no matter what.
    Personally, what was most interesting about these letters was that people took the time to write into shows about issues they had and they expected change to come from them. Today’s equivalent of these letters would obviously be comments on a news story or a message board of some kind. It just seems foreign to our generation to write letters like this and expect a great change from the executives in charge of the show.


    http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2009/jan/11/sesame-street-role-model-gordon-is-touchstone-of/

    http://books.google.com/books?id=eKzuDAaCD9oC&pg=PA88&lpg=PA88&dq=Sesame+Street+Mielke+in+Fisch+%26+Truglio&source=bl&ots=wcutLiT2eb&sig=THFQxNqKkJY_7CLVmO9vVEJWtu0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=x2chUcCKHs240gGvj4DADQ&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Sesame%20Street%20Mielke%20in%20Fisch%20%26%20Truglio&f=false

    http://books.google.com/books?id=6gAwejVhA3MC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Street+Gang&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Rm4hUZHELM7F0AHexYCYAQ&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA

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  4. Sonia Manzano joined the cast of Sesame Street as Maria in 1971. Most of the letters in the Maria file I looked through were fan letters. Many of the letters were written by kids who wanted her picture and autograph. There were also some standouts. One kid said he wanted her picture so he could put it on his dresser. An adult fan sent Sonia an actual love letter. He wrote: “…I think I’m writing you, for two reasons (I) I am a fool and most important (2) I love you…I think of you every day when I awaken, and while I’m sleeping, the latter is best of the two because the subconscious takes over and displays the emotions you have suppressed during the in the form of a ‘dream’. [sic]” [1] Another letter was written by two supposed college kids who wanted Sonia to choose between them (as to who she liked better). I hope it was a joke because otherwise the letter comes off as very creepy. I found it interesting that most of these letters were addressed to Maria, not Sonia (the actress who played Maria). Sonia has said that people still lovingly call her Maria and she almost feels like that’s her name [2].

    Sonia Manzana was born to Puerto Rican parents and was raised in South Bronx [3]. In the file I found a letter from a viewer apologizing for remarks he/she had made about Sonia’s hair [4]. I’m not sure if the writer was referring to a previous “fan” letter or just remarks he/she had said in the past. I was actually expecting a lot more letters referencing racism or prejudice against Manzano and was pleasantly surprised that there weren’t any. I overheard another classmate talk about contents in her file and how some viewers wanted Sesame Street to stop teaching Spanish and instead teach “American” to immigrants. I was expecting more letters like this in Maria’s file but there weren’t (then again this can’t be all the mail she’s ever gotten on the show). Manzano has often been lauded for her positive portrayal of a Latina on television [5]. She would teach Spanish on the show and added to the diversity on Sesame Street. Her character Maria was smart and the Muppet characters always seemed to love and respect her. I think she was actually the first Latina character I watched on an English-speaking program and it may have been one of the reasons I always really liked her character. It made it feel like Latino culture and American culture weren’t mutually exclusive.

    Manzano went on to write episodes for Sesame Street and she now writes children’s and young adult books [6].

    [1]https://picasaweb.google.com/107783771895196435243/LoveLetter_Sonia?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKekvcOVruuF9QE&feat=directlink
    [2]http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/12405865-421/sonia-manzano-still-feels-at-home-on-sesame-street.html
    [3]http://www.cencom.org/ecom-prodshow/3252.html
    [4]https://picasaweb.google.com/107783771895196435243/February182013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLHtx4i6zLOiYA&feat=directlink
    [5] http://www.hispanicheritage.org/hispanic_det.php?id=86
    [6] http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/television/12405865-421/sonia-manzano-still-feels-at-home-on-sesame-street.html

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  5. The folder that I chose was Criticism of Sesame Street from 1970 to 1973. It was filled entirely with handwritten and typed letters from concerned parents, all addressed to the people at Sesame Street. Many of the letters shared common complaints: Cookie Monster demonstrates poor grammar and the children are imitating it, the puppets speak slang and have bad manners, the children are becoming afraid of monsters, and why can’t the show emphasize fruits and veggies instead of cookies and candy? Some letters, however, were more creative (and ridiculous). Many mothers and fathers wrote about individual skits with “inappropriate content” that scared or disturbed their children, begging the people at Sesame Street to not show that skit anymore. One such skit involved a wedding between two puppets, in which the rings are lost and the puppets grow very old waiting for the rings to be found. Another skit involved a set of teeth gobbling up a desk. Yet another showed a baker falling down a set of stairs. Parents complained that their children were afraid of these skits, and, in the case of the last one, they were imitating what they saw. Some letters were silly, like one parent who complained that the show has no sense of season or time. Others were legitimate, as in the case of a parent who wrote to complain about a foolish boy puppet with rolling eyes who conveyed the message that it’s OK to ridicule people with physical disabilities.

    After doing some research, I realized the criticism was more than just absurd letters from parents. In 1970, the state of Mississippi voted to ban the TV show due to the integrated cast of children. Latinos and feminists also objected to the show based on the depictions of Latinos and women. I also discovered that controversies on Sesame Street go back to the 60s, and deal with more serious issues. One episode deals with the death of Mr. Hooper. Another episode introduced a puppet with HIV. Other scandalous storylines throughout Sesame Street history include the anti-social Oscar the Grouch, the sexuality of Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster smoking a pipe, and an Arab puppet introduced to bridge the gap between Palestine and Israel. Throughout history, Sesame Street has been no stranger to criticism and controversy.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesame_Street#Critical_reception
    http://theweek.com/article/index/102691/katy-perry-and-10-other-sesame-street-controversies

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  6. I chose a folder that dealt with the mass media, specifically television, and its affect on children. I chose this folder because this seemed like a topic that would have stirred up great discussion among conservatives, government officials and concerned parents at the time. I decided to research this further, because the discussion over television and the media’s affect on children is a discussion that is still being had today.

    The folder contained an article written by Danny Kaye, a comedian and variety show actor and host from the 1950s and ‘60s.(1) In his piece entitled “How does TV affect our children?” Kaye makes five key arguments. First, he says television is easy to control, because you can always turn it off, rather that hide it like an inappropriate magazine or book. Next, television is not the only medium to affect people. He notes that vaudeville certainly could have affected children, as well as books and everyday life. Television is not to blame for influencing how children think. Furthermore, he counters the idea that television is too scary for young audiences but notes that Walt Disney and the Grimm brothers were telling stories that have been frightening children long before television. Lastly, Kaye believes that children can rationalize what is real from what is unreal, so it is alright to have programs on television that are a bit unrealistic and sometimes scary.

    Kaye brings these points up because there was an upcoming White House Conference on Children and Youth in which juvenile delinquency, emotionally disturbed children and television’s effects on children were going to be discussed.

    I researched further to discover that Kaye was a social advocate, serving as, “an ambassador at large for the United Nations Children’s Fund.”1 I also found that the issues being discussed at the conference were in result of an increase of delinquent youth across the world who were under supervised post-WWII.(2)

    However, after finding some research that was presented at the conference, I found that some supported television in the socialization of children. John Anderson stated that, “children need heroes with whom they can identify,” and that television could have a role in this process of identification and attachment (p. 74).(3) Ralph Tyler also stated that television could be used to reinforce values placed on educational achievement (p. 84). It seems that the previous conference was concerned more with the negative effects of television that the 1960 meetings, according to a conference history written and distributed by Georgetown University.(4) I also found a folder that contained a preview of “The Mass Media: Their Impact on Children and Family Life,” written by Otto Klineberg of Columbia University and Joseph T. Klapper, a consultant sociologist for General Electric (also a former researcher at Columbia University). The summary of their studies found that television was not responsible for the primary or important changes in children’s behavioral patterns. Overall, their findings were positive. However, these as well as the other findings presented at the White House Conference need to be taken with a grain of salt. Klineberg and Klappers findings were distributed by the Television Information Office, which was created by the National Association of Broadcasters.(5)


    ---
    1 http://www.biography.com/people/danny-kaye-9361156
    2 http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2010/summer/youth.html
    3 http://archive.org/details/childrenyouthin100gold
    4 http://mchlibrary.info/history/chbu/19074.PDF
    5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_Information_Office

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  7. The file folder I chose for this assignment was “Criticism, Sesame Street, 1971-1976.” As an almost daily Sesame Street consumer for much of my early childhood, I was intrigued by the reception it received from parents – especially during the early 1970s, a time of significant social change. Most of the parental criticisms were unfound and had no real basis for complaining, but there were a few letters ranging form progressive to reactionary that caught my attention.

    The first letter of worth was written in April 1974, and came from a parent concerned that there was too much diversity in Sesame Street. This individual went on to write that while they thought Sesame Street was a generally positive show, “many of [Sesame Street] viewers live in the suburbs and are not minorities…I tend to think you emphasize more for city-dwellers and minorities.” There was also a parent upset that a song on the show had the father say “first was me” – “each spouse contributed an equally important pre-existence, and the husband…It is damaging to little girls to hear repeatedly that men come first,” she wrote – and another concerned individual who thought Sesame Street promoted sugar consumption.

    Sesame Street, which first premiered in November 1969 and is one of the longest-running children’s shows still on television, was initially “designed to capture the attention of inner-city kids” but soon spread to a much wider audience both in age range and socioeconomic background. [1] The show came to life at a time where there was significant cultural change – from an increase in civil rights afforded to individuals to an accepting baby boomer generation living in the final years of the counterculture movement – and promoted acceptance and tolerance, a message that clearly was not heeded by all viewers.

    Despite some controversy, Sesame Street became a cultural staple in America. Kermit the Frog became the first character with his own balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1977, and in 1979 Kermit even hosted The Tonight Show. [2] The show has also maintained a topical nature that covers important societal issues. In 1985, the show debuted a character that was adopted, which thrust the issue to the forefront and even generated some controversy. [3]

    [1] http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/TV/9811/13/sesame.street/
    [2] http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/61744/
    [3] http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19851223&id=nVUQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cIsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4789,4072679

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  8. So I cheated slightly and picked more than one folder... but I figure no one will mind. To my delight, one of the vertical file boxes was PBS/NET 92-111, which was half full of miscellaneous folders on Julia Child's "The French Chef." Each folder was labeled after a different episode, so I selected two: "#25 French Croissant" because it's a classic, and "#35 Boeuf Bourguignon" because it is one of Child's most famous dishes. After each of the miscellaneous episode files there was also a miscellaneous photo file, which I also selected.

    Inside #25 was a recipe for the croissants, a video tape evaluation sheet, two program format logs, a memo regarding the episodes and a PBS video tape technical evaluation. The contents of #35 were very similar: a sheet of February show listings (which included four episodes of "The French Chef"), a description of the episode and its recipe, a preview report, two video tape technical evaluations forms, three program format logs, the script for an introduction to the show, and a technical impairment notification. The only air date I could find was for #35, which showed on December 5, 1973. In the photographs folder I chose three pictures that really caught my attention -- one of Child from below, which exposes the lighting and other stage elements normally out of sight, a photo of a few of the crew members eating Child's food after filming had concluded, and a photo of Child cooking during the show wearing her cat eye glasses (there really is no significance there, I just enjoyed the glasses). Check it out here: https://twitter.com/Tmgriffi/status/302154416339955714/photo/1

    According to the Smithsonian, "The French Chef" aired 90 color episodes on PBS from 1970-1973.[1] The theme of the second season of the show, which premiered right after her second volume of "Mastering The Art of French Cooking" was published, was "The French Chef Faces Life" and prepared viewers for cooking in a variety of real-life situations. [2] The documents in the vertical file are consistent with this background information, as many of the formal logs and tape evaluation sheets reflected that the episodes were in color and one (as previously mentioned) had an air date attached to it. Although there were little to no clues as to when the photographs were taken, I have been led to believe that they were taken at least during the second season of "The French Chef" because set lighting and infrastructure can be seen at the top of one of the photographs, meaning the show was not shot in Child's home but in a studio set.

    [1] http://amhistory.si.edu/juliachild/flash_home.asp
    [2] http://www.juliachildfoundation.org/timeline.html

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  9. The first folder I looked through were viewer letters to Sesame Street regarding breast feeding and I had no need to look any further. In 1974, Sesame Street, after a montage of various mammals nursing their children, a human mother was shown nursing her baby. According to the letters, prior to this episode, mothers were only shown bottle feeding their babies. Almost every letter I read was in appreciation of Sesame Street’s move toward natural breast feeding, which they saw as a beautiful, natural moment in an increasingly artificial world. Mothers praised the program’s depiction of the “natural scheme of things,” the way it “represented the human mother, nursing her young, in nature’s way,” and said it was a “zillion” times better than bottle feeding. The most common words women used in their letters were natural, normal and human. Many emphasized the naturalness of humans nursing like all other mammals and the health benefits of nursing over bottle feeding. Quite a few of the women writing mentioned having breastfed their children and said their children expressed confusion when they saw the bottle feeding, whereas the breastfeeding made perfect sense to them. There were a few letters from

    The letters came from all over America, from Alaska, to California, to Pennsylvania—even my little 8,000-person hometown of Delmar in Upstate New York! That letter came from a lesbian breast-feeding couple who signed it, “Peace!” This is a good segway in to my theory for the change in societal reactions to breastfeeding in 1970s America. By the end of WWII, bottle-feeding was the norm in America, and it wasn’t until the mid 1970s that breastfeeding began to make a return. [1] I believe the second wave Feminist movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, along with emerging evidence that breastfeeding is healthier for both mother and baby, contributed to Sesame Street making the step to show a nursing mother. The Feminist movement loosened strict male-dominated morals regarding female body display, while evidence for breastfeeding led to its rise in America (though this rise occurred at much higher rates in well-educated Caucasian women) [1]. The producers of Sesame Street caught on to these trends and took a risk by showing the nursing mother, and it paid off with increased respect among mothers throughout the country. There were two letters in the file I found from displeased women, who felt breastfeeding was a “private” matter and children watching Sesame Street need to retain their innocence instead of seeing immoral and unnecessary nudity; however judging from this file of letters, the overwhelming response from women was extremely positive. Breastfeeding on Sesame Street continued to be featured until the 1990s, when the program returned to bottle feeding [2].


    [2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/sesame-street-breastfeeding_n_1187086.html
    [1] http://jn.nutrition.org/content/131/2/421S.long

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  10. I picked one of the sports folders, which contained articles from the early 1970s about the evolving culture of sports on television. I noticed a lot of the articles in the folder were about the evolving culture of NFL games being broadcast on television.

    An article that really jumped out at me was called "Pro Football Tackles Doris Day Carol Barnett and the Movies" written by Melvin Durslag for "TV Guide." The article talked about how Monday Night Football ended up being broadcast on ABC over NBC and CBS. NBC and CBS were afraid of losing sponsors for their Sunday broadcasts of NFL games. Also, NBC and CBS did not want to take time away from their most popular shows at the time, "Gunsmoke" and "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In." [1]

    Despite all of the innovations that have taken place with the Monday Night Football broadcast, people consider the earlier broadcasts, anchored by Don Meredith, Howard Cosell, and Frank Gifford to be better. Part of the reason people consider the older broadcast better is partly because of its current network, ESPN. The argument for why MNF was so big for people was the idea of seeing football on a weeknight, but now it is possible to see a football game every day of the week on ESPN, between college football, high school football, and Thursday Night Football on NFL Network. [2]

    I am sure that the heads of CBS and NBC look back on their decision to pass on MNF as one of the biggest mistakes, if not the biggest, of their careers, as it has become one of the biggest and most profitable weekly broadcasts in the past 40-plus years.

    [1] http://www.tv.com/shows/monday-night-football/
    [2] http://www.aolnews.com/2010/12/08/monday-night-football-today-isnt-close-to-what-it-once-was/

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  11. I picked the folder that contained a booklet titled "Television's Novelty is Over/What Can You Expect Now?" published by the Sports Committee of the Radio-Electronics-Television Manufacturers Association. The articles inside were all about the future of broadcasting, now that 28 million American homes had televisions in 1953. They also took a retroactive look at the expectations of other aspects of the "recreation" industry, like record sales, sporting event ticket sales, and radio use.

    An article that jumped out at me was one called "Everest Wasn't the Only Record Climb in 1953." It showed that "television whetted the appetite for more intensive news coverage and analysis," which contributed to a rise in newspaper circulation (and higher advertisement prices). Magazines, meanwhile, "stepped up their use of color [and] enlivened their editorial matter," among other tactics, to keep pace with television and also experienced a rise in circulation. Books, especially new paperback editions, lead to sales increases and a growth in libraries. It was interesting to think that people thought the newspaper, magazine, and book industries would all collapse into oblivion because of the television.

    This perception might have been unique to North America, however; after some preliminary research, it became clear that the continent with the most radio receivers in the 1950s was North America, which indicates a penchant for broadcasting early on [1]. Furthermore, by 1963, 98% of American households had televisions [2]. It makes me realize just how widespread the broadcast and recreation industry is, and also how difficult it is to predict the future.

    [1] http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0003/000337/033739eo.pdf
    [2] http://www.tvhistory.tv/Annual_TV_Households_50-78.JPG

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  12. As I read through my batch of “Sesame Street” criticism letters, I was surprised to find so many of the writers complaining about how they thought the show was too liberal and somewhat un-American. A few of the letters complained about how one of the songs seemed to glorify the five-member family as being the perfect size. The writer was angry at this insinuation because they felt their was huge population problem in the U.S. and that it could never be solved if couples continued to have more than two children. Other submissions balked at the idea that “Sesame Street” was teaching viewers about languages other than English. One woman wrote that she was trying to teach her child to have patriotism for the country, and that meant that everyone living in the United States should speak English because it was the “American thing to do.” More specifically, she said, “Why can’t you try to teach the Spanish-speaking people English instead of vice-versa?”

    After reading a lot of this conservatism criticism, I did some more outside research. I found that during the first half of the 1970s (when most of these letters were written), the country was led by President Richard Nixon and his conservative administration. With my eyes, this criticism seemed outdated, prejudice and backward. However, the historical context of these letters show that these opinions were not considered unusual or crude.

    I also found that even among today’s standards, some still regard “Sesame Street” as being too liberal, not just for kids but adults too. For many years now, there has been a political fight between politicians and “Sesame Street.” Politicians such as Mitt Romney, most recently, do not agree with many of the current societal issues that are portrayed on the show, such as same-sex marriage. As a result, Romney promised to cut government funding for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) which is the home of “Sesame Street.” [1] Additionally in 2011, conservative columnist and author Ben Shapiro wrote a book titled “Primetime Propaganda” in which he accused several shows, including “Sesame Street” of having an entirely left agenda. Shapiro was very disturbed by and against the segments that followed after 9/11, specifically one with a picture of Osama Bin Laden. While the episode was about peaceful conflict resolution, the author found it to be disgusting and inappropriate. [2]

    [1] http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/04/entertainment/la-et-st-history-political-fight-over-pbs-20121004
    [2] http://www.newscorpse.com/ncWP/?p=4560

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  13. I picked up folder titled “Women in Broadcasting.” The folder contains biographies of women in radio including Dr. Joyce Brothers, Edith J. Meserand, an obituary of Margaret Cuthbert, Claudine Macdonald, and Ora Nichols.

    Two booklets in the folder particularly stood out to me. One booklet includes a transcript from a 1966 speech by Marion Stephenson, the first woman Vice President in the history of NBC and RCA. The speech, titled “Rapidly Changing World Demands Education Be a Continuing Process”, was at a dinner for Chicago Legal Secretaries Association. Stephenson warns that women are not educating themselves to compete for executive positions. She compares professional women in the U.S. with women in Finland, citing that only 6% of women are doctors in the U.S., compared to 23% of women in Finland. She also says women occupy 27 of 200 seats of parliament in Finland, while only two women are U.S. Senators and eight women are House members. This booklet also includes a 1964 essay from Stephenson titled “How to Succeed in Business By Really Trying”. In my research, I came across a Bryant college pamphlet titled “Executive Careers for Women” [3], which contains sections titled ‘combining a career with marriage’, ‘the career wife or that useful second income’, and surveys on women in executive positions. The pamphlet included that Stephenson was an alumnae of Bryant, a four-year residential college for men and women seeking a liberal education for business. She was the chairman of Bryant’s Centennial Symposium on “The Status of Women in America”. It's fascinating to think that the concept of women with careers was stilla hot topic in a year as late as 1970. It's also scary to think that not all that much has changed; the percentage of women in Congress and in executive corporate positions is still remarkably low.

    The second booklet is called ‘Women in Broadcasting’… distributed by American Women in Radio and Television (AWRT), and is a “survey of women dedicated to the present and future of the communications industry…women of AWRT-American women in radio and television.” It’s an in-depth study of women in broadcasting and a comprehensive profile based on 60% of the AWRT membership responding to the survey. It shares statistics of women in high positions, recognition, honors and awards they’ve received, etc. In my research, I found that AWRT is a Washington, D.C. nonprofit that was originally part of the women’s division of the National Association of Broadcasters and became independent in 1950. At its first convention, AWRT had 282 female members and today has more than 2,300 men and women members [1]. In 1960, it established “The Foundation of AWRT, which supported educational programs, charitable activities, public service campaigns, and scholarships to benefit the public, the electronic media and communication and associated industries” [2]. It's neat to see what AWRT is today and that it's still a thriving non-profit that holds events, exhibits, and symposiums.

    [1]http://www.archives.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=americanwome
    [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_for_Women_in_Media
    [3] http://digitalcommons.bryant.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=docu

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  14. I chose to look into the file folder, “Series II – Station Files for WBAL from the 1940s” from the Tom O’Connor Collection. This file in the collection begins with a newspaper clip on WBAL being accepted as an applicant for a modulation channel from the Federal Communication Commission, and ends with an advertisement for a shining star on the network, football analyst Nick Campofreda. One thing that stood out to me was the station’s first TV broadcast March 11, 1948. According to the Baltimore Sun, the station kicked off WBAL-TV with a program called, “This is Baltimore.”
    The show’s first words, which followed an introdction of bugles and drums, were, “Historic Fort McHenry! Where the rockets’ red glare and the bombs burst in air back in 1812 during the British bombardment — and where Francis Scott Key wrote our National anthem.”
    Compofreda took place in the inaugural performance, as well as former Baltimore City Mayor, Theodore R. McKeldin, the namesake of the university’s main library.
    A story detailing the preparations the network took leading up to its debut notes, “program directors will sit in the control room, Mr. See explained, as well as men performing the various technical operations involved.”
    Women largely didn’t appear on screen in news shows until the 1970s, including WBAL-TV’s current lead investigative reporter, Jayne Miller.[1] However, the inaugural program did include a dance to the music of “Andalusia” by a woman named Shirley Getz. And stage manager for a women’s interest program, Mollie Martin, shared a few of the things women listeners could look forward to hearing on WBAL-TV: food, decoration, art, literature, and the newest solutions in home-making — such as setting an attractive table.
    It would be interesting to research further about how WBAL-TV catered to women in its early years and how female journalists broke into more serious roles at the network.

    [1] http://www.wbaltv.com/11-News-I-Team-Lead-Investigative-Reporter/-/9380084/10417956/-/u61cpw/-/index.html

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  15. I picked the WTTR folder from the files because it is a little AM station centered in my hometown. I wasn't expecting to see it in there but as soon as I did I was excited to see what its history contained. WTTR is carried over 1470 AM, and also included 100.7 FM at one point. I found that interesting because 100.7 is a classic rock station that always identifies Westminster, MD as it's location. 1470 plays oldies music with it's trademark slogan called "The Greatest Hits of All Time."[1]

    In the file I compared ad cards from various years to see how the community grew during the 50's and 60's. Westminster is a small to medium sized town 20 miles west of Baltimore that is primarily agricultural and rural. Seeing the population grow from 349,000 in 1950 to 1,487,634 in 1966 to 1,562,016 in 1973 shows me how quickly the area became a suburban hotspot during that era in American history. The market data listed on all three ad cards were quite informative and also described Westminster as "A rich and growing market."

    It's worth noting that the station is now owned by Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak [2]. He bought the station in 2005 because "“WTTR is basically the same kind of station as WNAV. It is a real community station. Given the price tag and what it means to the local community, it seems like a good investment.” Sajak got started in community radio so this was a natural fit and also ensured that WTTR would maintain its same format - oldies music, Ravens and McDaniel football, Orioles baseball and myriad high school sports.

    [1] http://www1.arbitron.com/sip/displaySip.do?surveyID=WI13&band=am&callLetter=WTTR
    [2] http://www.carrollmagazine.com/articles/the-fortunes-of-old-fashioned-wttr-get-a-boost-from-pat-sajak.html

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  16. The folder I picked was 40: Sports in Broadcasting (A2-Z2). I gravitated to the box with the sports folders because for all my modern day knowledge of sports I am not well versed in the beginning history of broadcasting games and events. In the folder there were articles documenting the first paid broadcaster (Harold Arlin, allegedly) and some interesting pieces on the beginning stages of baseball broadcasting. For example, baseball people thought that radio broadcasting would hurt the money made at the gate but in reality attendance rose and a new audience was unlocked; women.

    For all the baseball articles the bulk of the folder was about the money different networks shelled out for the rights to different sporting events. One article stated that NBC paid $1 million for the 1964 Olympics, they were then out bid in 1968 by ABC who paid $4.5 million, and ABC won the bidding war again in 1972 with a price tag somewhere between $12 and $14 million dollars. That was a whooping (minimum) increase of $11 million dollars for the Olympic coverage in just eight years. Since then the price has only continued to trend up, alarmingly, as the 2012 Summer Olympics cost NBC $1.18 billion to cover. [1]

    While the Olympics were awarded to one network other sports were split between several. According to the articles in the folder in 1969 the NFL showed games on CBS and NBC but with the NFL/AFL merger Pete Rozelle threatened to allow ABC to buy into the fold to keep the other networks from asking for more money. NBC and CBS resisted but ABC was eventually brought in for a new time slot of games, Monday nights. Back then each network got a $1.5 million dollar split from each team, in 2011 ESPN extended there deal with the NFL for Monday Night Football till the 2021 for $15.2 billion dollars [2] or $1.9 billion a year.

    [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/sports/olympics/nbc-is-looking-for-big-payoff-on-olympics.html?_r=0
    [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/sports/football/espn-extends-deal-with-nfl-for-15-billion.html

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