Overview

This is the first in-depth look at the development of the television newscast, the most popular source of news for over forty-five years. During the 1940s, most journalists ignored or dismissed television, leaving the challenge to a small group of people working above New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. Without the pressures of ratings, sponsors, company oversight, or many viewers, the group refused to recreate newspapers, radio, or newsreels on the new medium. They experimented, argued, tested, and eventually settled on a format to exploit television’s strengths. This book documents that process, challenging common myths – including the importance of a popular anchor, and television’s inability to communicate non-visual stories – and crediting those whose work was critical in the formation of television as a news format, and illustrating the pressures and professional roadblocks facing those who dare question journalistic traditions of any era.

Full Product Details

9781433106026

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Reviews

""Did you know Ed Murrow once wished aloud that television had never been invented? That was just one of many things I learned from this fine account of the beginning of TV news. Masterful research and a pleasure to read."" (Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and moderator of 'Face the Nation') ""Mike Conway skillfully reconstructs a lost chapter in the history of television: how a few creative and dedicated CBS employees invented television news in the 1940s. In the process, Conway upends the widely held view that TV news possessed few virtues until Ed Murrow and Fred Friendly launched 'See It Now' in 1951. This book is essential reading for historians of journalism and broadcasting."" (James L. Baughman, University of Wisconsin) ""This book is a remarkable piece of serious scholarship. Mike Conway has told a fiercely accurate story of the development of the industry. His rich detail [and] his authentic descriptions of events of long ago come to life for me as vividly as if they happened only yesterday."" (Chester Burger, CBS Television News, 1946-1954) ""Anyone who laments the passing of the old guard in TV news will greatly benefit from reading this superbly-researched, insightful account of the founding of the field at CBS News, by the most respected emerging scholar in the field of journalism history, Mike Conway. While our landscape is littered with memoirs by CBS news pioneers, this book provides a serious, scholarly examination of the medium's early era and its influence. It offers the underlying rationale for broadcast innovations and some indispensable perspective on what passes for news today. The author explains what made TV news tick - and how it translates to the modern day."" (Mike Murray, University of Missouri-St.Louis, Editor-in-chief, 'Encyclopedia of Television News')

Did you know Ed Murrow once wished aloud that television had never been invented? That was just one of many things I learned from this fine account of the beginning of TV news. Masterful research and a pleasure to read. (Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and moderator of 'Face the Nation') Mike Conway skillfully reconstructs a lost chapter in the history of television: how a few creative and dedicated CBS employees invented television news in the 1940s. In the process, Conway upends the widely held view that TV news possessed few virtues until Ed Murrow and Fred Friendly launched 'See It Now' in 1951. This book is essential reading for historians of journalism and broadcasting. (James L. Baughman, University of Wisconsin) This book is a remarkable piece of serious scholarship. Mike Conway has told a fiercely accurate story of the development of the industry. His rich detail [and] his authentic descriptions of events of long ago come to life for me as vividly as if they happened only yesterday. (Chester Burger, CBS Television News, 1946-1954) Anyone who laments the passing of the old guard in TV news will greatly benefit from reading this superbly-researched, insightful account of the founding of the field at CBS News, by the most respected emerging scholar in the field of journalism history, Mike Conway. While our landscape is littered with memoirs by CBS news pioneers, this book provides a serious, scholarly examination of the medium's early era and its influence. It offers the underlying rationale for broadcast innovations and some indispensable perspective on what passes for news today. The author explains what made TV news tick - and how it translates to the modern day. (Mike Murray, University of Missouri-St.Louis, Editor-in-chief, 'Encyclopedia of Television News')

«Did you know Ed Murrow once wished aloud that television had never been invented? That was just one of many things I learned from this fine account of the beginning of TV news. Masterful research and a pleasure to read. -- Bob Schieffer

Did you know Ed Murrow once wished aloud that television had never been invented? That was just one of many things I learned from this fine account of the beginning of TV news. Masterful research and a pleasure to read. (Bob Schieffer, CBS News chief Washington correspondent and moderator of 'Face the Nation') Mike Conway skillfully reconstructs a lost chapter in the history of television: how a few creative and dedicated CBS employees invented television news in the 1940s. In the process, Conway upends the widely held view that TV news possessed few virtues until Ed Murrow and Fred Friendly launched 'See It Now' in 1951. This book is essential reading for historians of journalism and broadcasting. (James L. Baughman, University of Wisconsin) This book is a remarkable piece of serious scholarship. Mike Conway has told a fiercely accurate story of the development of the industry. His rich detail [and] his authentic descriptions of events of long ago come to life for me as vividly as if they happened only yesterday. (Chester Burger, CBS Television News, 1946-1954) Anyone who laments the passing of the old guard in TV news will greatly benefit from reading this superbly-researched, insightful account of the founding of the field at CBS News, by the most respected emerging scholar in the field of journalism history, Mike Conway. While our landscape is littered with memoirs by CBS news pioneers, this book provides a serious, scholarly examination of the medium's early era and its influence. It offers the underlying rationale for broadcast innovations and some indispensable perspective on what passes for news today. The author explains what made TV news tick - and how it translates to the modern day. (Mike Murray, University of Missouri-St.Louis, Editor-in-chief, 'Encyclopedia of Television News')

Author Information

The Author: Mike Conway is an assistant professor at the Indiana University School of Journalism. He worked in television and radio journalism for close to twenty years.

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