TABLE OF CONTENTS TV Makes Its First Appearance in 1939 4 Everyone Tunes In to I Love Lucy 6 Quiz Show Scandals Change TV Advertising 8 TV Helps Decide the 1960 Presidential Election 10 TV Becomes an Important News Source 12 TV Brings War into Americans Living Rooms 14 People Worldwide Watch the Moon Landing 16 Sesame Street Proves TV Can Be Educational 18 Roots Teaches Adult Americans US History 20 Ted Turner Invents 24-Hour TV News 22 MTV Brings Music Videos to TV 24 VCRs Make It Possible to Record TV Shows 26 Fact Sheet 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 About the Author 32
1 TV MAKES ITS FIRST APPEARANCE IN 1939 Many Americans first watched television at the 1939 World’s Fair The fair displayed new technologies and innovations Viewers could see inside the RCA company’s new television machines They learned 2 Number of TV programs on NBC’s earliest schedule not including films Television had been in development for many years It was given a public showcase at the 1939 World’s Fair NBC began broadcasting at the World’s Fair TV did not become popular in the United States until after World War II 4 how the TVs worked and saw it was no trick The idea for television was not new The British had been watching TV since 1929 But before the World’s Fair TV was not widely available in the United States Many fairgoers were seeing television for the first time They could even view a living THE FIRST PRESIDENT ON TV President Franklin Roosevelt gave a speech to open the 1939 World’s Fair It was the first time a president appeared on television President Roosevelt’s speech was the first programming NBC broadcast Now NBC is one of TV’s major networks
room of the future Of course that living room had a TV Most Americans did not buy a TV right away The machines at the fair were expensive They cost between 200 and 600 Back then a gallon of milk cost 0 23 and cars approximately 750 A TV was out of reach for many Then World War II 1939 1945 slowed television’s growth Television companies created technology for the war instead After the war ended some of this technology was used in new TVs By the early 1950s TVs became less expensive More and more people were watching TV NBC cameras film fairgoers at the 1939 World’s Fair 5
