In 1961, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton Minnow (best name in American history) took to the microphone in Washington D.C. to discuss the current state, as well as the future, of broadcasting to a room full of broadcasters. What they didn't expect from the leader of the FCC was scathing, critical analysis of TV entertainment. In short, Minnow felt that TV entertainment was no longer in the interest of public service, but just a vehicle for advertising dollars. And the more money that was made, the worse programming got. 

 

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/newtonminow.htm (speech transcript)

 

https://www.history.com/speeches/the-vast-wasteland-of-television (speech)

 

At one point in his speech, Minnow said: "When television is good, nothing — not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers — nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite each of you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland. You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly, commercials — many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you'll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it."

 

We can look at shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and others to exemplify this point. We call these shows "cinematic television" - meaning they are just as (if not more) engaging and complex as a big budget Hollywood film. This creates a wide departure from what Minnow said of TV in 1961, but many people still agree with him. 

 

What do you think? 

 

How does Minnow's statement hold up today? Is TV a "vast wasteland?" Or does the rise of cinematic television mean that TV couldn't possibly be a vast wasteland? Are these complex, sophisticated, long-running shows good enough to "cancel out" the programming that many people love to criticize (Kardashians, Real Housewives, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, etc.)?

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Newton Minnows critique of television in 1961 labeling it a vast wasteland was a scathing assessment of the state of the medium at that time His main ... View the full answer