History of Mass Media

Mass Media includes several forms of media.

◦ Newspaper

◦ Radio

◦ Television

◦ Internet

What is Mass Media

As early as 1862, a still picture was transmitted through a wire.

In 1927, the first moving images were transmitted via television between Washington, DC and New York City.

In 1928, Charles Jenkins of W3XK in Maryland was the first license issued for a television station.

In 1930, Jenkins broadcast the first television commercial.

By 1936, there were 200 television sets in the USA.

Growth in the Television Industry

At the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) sponsored the first televised Presidential speech, delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The first practical color television system was demonstrated in 1946.

Color broadcasts became more common place in the mid 1950’s.

In 1948, the number of television sets in the USA exceeded one million.

Growth in the Television Industry

In 1948, Community Antenna Television (CATV) was introduced. Later to be known as cable tv.

For the first 40 years, television was mostly “live.” Programs were being broadcast as they were being performed.

In 1948, the Ampex Corporation introduced the first broadcast-quality magnetic tape recording system, the Video Tape Recorder (VTR). Home VTR’s were not available until 1976.

Growth in the Television Industry

Satellite broadcasting was introduced in 1962, allowing television signals to be sent and received anywhere in the world.

In 1969, satellite broadcasting allowed the world to watch live as television pictures were transmitted from the moon.

By 1983, consumers could subscribe to direct satellite systems for delivery of programming.

In 1995, televisions numbered over a billion world wide.

Growth in the Television Industry

1996 – The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the broadcast standards for high-definition tv (HDTV).

2002 – The FCC mandated that television manufacturers must equip all new televisions with tuners capable of receiving digital signals.

June 12, 2009 – ALL analog television broadcasts ceased. All television broadcast are now digital.

Growth in the Television Industry

The first generation of TV production thrived in the 1950’s with B & W television.

The second generation of TV production was the transition from B & W television to color television.

The third generation entered the television production industry during the 70’s and 80’s.The industry was transforming from analog technology to digital technology.

Evolution of the Industry

Most common known by consumers◦ Broadcast◦ Satellite◦ Cable◦ FACT: All of these only account for 5% of all the

television made annually.

So what makes up the other 95%?Industrial (non-broadcast)

Areas of Television Production

Commercial Broadcast Television◦ Commercial broadcast television facility – a

facility one that is “for- profit” and sends its signal via a transmission tower through the air. The signal is free to anyone with an antenna may pick it up.

◦ Ad – a television advertisement for a product or service. Also called a spot. The television industry to not call an advertisement a commercial.

◦ Broadcast – the television signal travels through the air from one antenna to another antenna.

◦ WALB is an example of commercial broadcast tv

Areas of Television Production

Subscriber Television ◦ Subscriber television – a fee-for-service

programming, where customers pay scheduled fees based on the selected programming packages. The television signals are transported by satellite transmission, by underground cables, or a combination of both.

◦ Cable tv and satellite tv are examples of subscriber television.

Areas of Television Production

Educational Television◦ Educational television – aims to inform the public

about various topics and is usually considered nonprofit. This includes television programming that supports classroom studies and replays classroom sessions.

◦ PBS (Public Broadcasting System) is an example of education television.

Areas of Television Production

Industrial Television◦ Industrial television – television that

communicates relevant information to a specific audience, such as job training videos. Also called corporate television.

◦ Videos can teach workers how to use a specific piece of equipment such as a photocopier, or help travelers how to speak another language, instruct soldiers on strategy, instruct repairmen how to fix a copier.

Areas of Television Production

Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)◦ Closed circuit television – television where the

signal is sent through wires and serves only an extremely small, private predetermined area.

◦ Our very own RNN (Rams News Network) is an example of CCTV.

◦ Surveillance television – a form of CCTV that is usually, but not always, used for security purposes. The cameras used in the system are always interconnected to a closed circuit television system.

◦ Surveillance television is not really television production.

Areas of Television Production

Home Video◦ Home video – video taped records of family

events and activities taken by someone using a consumer camcorder.

◦ “Funniest Home Videos” is a very successful program based on home videos.

◦ News agencies have been known to pay a great deal of money for newsworthy videos shot by enterprising consumers.

Areas of Television Production

There are two types of video production companies….large-scale and small-scale

◦ Large-scale video production companies – facilities with sufficient staff and equipment to produce multi-camera large-budget programming shot on location or in studios for broadcast networks or cable.

◦ The majority of what is seen on network television is actually produced by another company and sold to the networks for airing.

Video Production Companies

Small-scale video production companies◦ Businesses with limited staff and equipment

resources. They thrive on producing videos of weddings, commercials for local businesses, home inventories for insurance purposes, seminars, legal depositions, and real estate videos.

◦ A company of this type has a staff that rarely exceeds five people.

Video Production Companies

Network◦ A corporation that bundles a collection of

programs (sports, news, and entertainment) and makes the program bundles available exclusively to its affiliates. Generally, networks produce some of their own programming, but do not produce all of their own programs.

◦ NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX are examples of networks.

Television Program Origination

Affiliate◦ A broadcast station that has aligned itself with a

particular network. The network provides a certain number of hours of daily programming. The affiliate is responsible for providing the remainder of programming to fill the daily schedule.

◦ During a 21 1/1 hour broadcast day, the TPN network provides 4 hours of national news and 7 ½ hours of other entertainment programming. The local affiliate station must provide the remaining 10 hours of programming

◦ WALB and WFXL are examples of affiliates

Television Program Origination

Syndication◦ The process of making a specified number of

program episodes available for “lease” to other networks or individual broadcast stations, after the current network’s contract for the program expires.

◦ A typical syndication provides 26 episodes per year.

◦ A production company usually leases the right to air that program on a network.

Syndication

Syndication have various types of programs.◦ Dramas◦ Comedies◦ Talk shows◦ Game shows◦ Cooking shows◦ Animated programs◦ Children’s shows◦ Movies

Syndication

Local origination◦ Programming made in a specific geographic area,

to be shown to the public in the same geographic area.

◦ WALB and FOX31 have local origination for our area.

◦ Sylvester is in the process of launching a local television station to provide local origination programming.

Local Origination

Ads that run during programs pay for the purchase price of those programs.

Any money earned above the cost of the program goes to station overhead.

How much an ad costs varies◦ Ads on the Super Bowl range from $1.2M-$3M for 30

seconds, local ads could be as little as $10◦ How many are watching makes a difference.◦ Nielsen Ratings determine how many people watch

a program◦ The day and time the ad airs determines the fee

charged.

Financing the Programming Decisions

The future of video◦ The current prediction of the future of video is

centered around tablets.

◦ iPads, iPhones, Androids, etc.

What about the future ???