American History

Radio has been one of the most popular communication medium in American before 1950s but these trends changed as American welcomed the television. Dramatic changes in American social, and cultural life has been observed ever since. As compared to radio, it has been observed that television has had a major influence on lives of the Americans thereby these impacts are in a need to be studied. Along with evidences and reactions from scholars, these impacts shall be observed in this paper.

Introduction
Radio as an Entertainment Medium
Radio has been considered as a poplar medium of entertainment between 1920s and 1940s. Americans born after 1950s rather cannot recognize this popularity this popularity is not comprehensive enough for the people who have lived in the periods invaded by television. Radio programming itself was changed when television came into force. Before 1950s, radios were an integral part of American culture where families of younger and older men and women would hurdle around these radios to listen and catch-up on their favorite shows. Many older and award winning celebrities have worked on radios and these include William Saroyan, Norman Corwin, Lucille Fletcher, George S. Kaufman, and Irwin Shaw. Agnes Moorehead is one of the most popular performers on television from the show Bewithced and she has been known from her radio show performances that have gained her even more fame as compared to television. She has been well known for a one woman thriller on radio, Sorry, Wrong Number, an episode from the series, suspense.

Television as a Revolution In 1930s
Revolution is a welcomed change in any society. 7th April 1927 is an important day in the American history when ATT Bell Telephone Laboratories auditorium situated in  New York City was filled with newspaper reporters along with dignitaries to see the first time ever demonstration of a television. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover added to this entertainment as he connected from Washington to New York over phone lines mentioning his historical words that human geniuses have finally reduced any distances.  ATT researcher, Herbert Ives led the project of television promising more revolution by introducing color television in 1929 and 1930 is the year known for an introduction of a two way interactive television.

After the Second World War, one of the far-reaching successful revolutions in American culture was characterized by television. As television invaded American residences, it became one of the dominant mass media. Statistics have reported that this was the time when people reported to have bought television in greater numbers per week than any other year. Number of American viewership of television increased in a steady rate and it has not fallen ever since.  None of the American citizens talked back against what was being aired on television and contents were accepted as normal and a part of American culture. Values and ideologies that were never existent in reality were being portrayed on television in 50s and these included ideal life, ideal workplace, ideal neighborhood and ideal schools. Programs being aired on television were an event to which American society was an eyewitness thereby accepting to everything that was aired.

Famous Television Shows In 1950s
One of the most important revolutionary programs that were aired on American television included You are there bringing important American historic events to living rooms of the Americans. American television had a great impact on print media and entertainment media. In those days it was observed that a great audience was absent from movie shows keeping cinema halls empty and filling up the living rooms to gain information and current affairs knowledge from news on television. Black and white was the color back than that changed to color broadcast in 1954. Since then there has been a revolution in the kind of shows aired and liked by the American viewers. The term of sitcoms was coined and gained popularity in viewers loving sitcoms as The Honeymooners, Father Knows Best,The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Lassie, andI Love Lucy. Characters in these most watched sitcoms were idealized and copied by millions of Americans.

Changes in Social Life Concepts
Concepts of Sunday evenings were completely changed by the television. Radio shows used to be a demand on these free of work evenings that were replaced by television screens and from kitchens, dining rooms and kitchens now walked to the living rooms to sit on front of the screens to watch favorite shows aired only on Sundays. These programs usually included variety shows and family dramas and most famous ones were DisneylandandThe Ed Sullivan Show.

Changes in American Marketers Concepts
Television provided a new opportunity to marketers and manufacturers. It was realized that Americans viewership was steadily increasing thereby marketers and manufactures started focusing on television shows to sell and advertise their products. It was known that women in particular were fond of morning shows and day time programs and these were used as a source to market products, as a result of which sales increased sharply. One of the most famous source for these marketers was a soap opera, Guiding Light.

As one of the most dominant mass media, television has invaded American households. 98 of American households own television sets and an average count of television switched on in these households Is seven hours. An average American watches television for about four hours on an average. Among all age and ethnicities, television viewership has increased steadily since the last 10 years. In 1980, 12 billion dollars were spent by marketers on commercials in order to market their product. These kind of multimillionaire large-scale economies are often endorsed as important factors of medias as competition among the networks in increasing and it gradually becomes intense for larger market share. Television programs are made interesting as based on these economies, it is seen that losing the viewership of even 1 audience can result in losses of millions. This loss has been estimated to be 15 million dollar for one network.

Changes in American News Broadcast
Concepts and ideologies were being revolutionized and so were the news. News that were simply read out by men were now accompanied by pictures in a recorded videotaped form that kept American viewers up to date with happenings from around the world. Technological changes followed. Introduction of coaxial cables and advanced technologies as microwave relays made the greatest difference in American television broadcast.

1948 is an important year as ATT started working on systems and technologies that can help in improvement of network transmissions. More changes were brought in when technologies paved in and live broadcasting took place of recorded news and more accurate and current information was available to American viewers in 1951. News have seen a great revolution when radio mews broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, from the program Hear It Now started to read news on TV in the program See It Now .

Revolutions were made by the introduction of television in American culture. Many improvements were seen in American culture in those days as information was flourishing and current accurate information was available to each and every viewer. Gradually gateways of knowledge opened and scholarly histories were made as uses of this flow of information were observed. But later on, many disadvantages and major changes followed in the American society as a result of this innovation and revolution and these changes will be discussed in the following sections.

Sociological Aspects of American Television
Research has highlighted important factors in relation to increasing television viewership. Sociological aspect has been highlighted and universality is considered as important phenomena in television viewership. Culture of masses is a term that is used relatively more as a definition of television in a sociological perspective. It has been argued that most of the highly educated elite say that news and sports are there choice in television programs but they are viewers to comedies and action adventure programs as proven by research. These observations are same in case of all blue collars and executive level managers. Research has also reported that television has now introduced homogeneity in American culture that is more centrally produced and standardized. Surprisingly this aspect has not been focused by the social scientists.

Social Definition of American Television
Here an important addition is the social definition of television in accordance to American viewership. It has been seen that the Americans in the mood to watch are more characterized by switching on their television sets, finding and searching for least objectionable content to watch thereby searching for program that can help them relax after a long day of work. Another group of American television viewers id identified. This group critically examines the program guide, discusses television program with friends, programs are watched more selectively and in a critical manner with these audiences being more focused towards television critics. Thereby there is a variation seen in an audience response towards television viewership. These variations are seen as important thereby researchers have developed an index of orientation of American viewers towards television and these are defined by three interconnected variables.  First variable defines television as a potentially rewarding and highly prioritized leisure activity, second factor is the definition of criticism that American television receives when television programs are discussed and criticized with friends and colleagues while the last variable is defined by the use of program guides and listings by viewers in order to make choices in program viewership.

Thereby television impact has been studied and observed by many researchers and it has been seen as an important and a contemporary issue. It has been seen that life of every single American has been touched by television but now it encompasses every sphere of life as individual identity and public policy including arts and politics, races, ethics, constellation of race along with issues such as ethics, gender, sex, regional issues and religious issues, social classes and communities as these issues shape up American cultured. Poets, dancers, actors, musicians, and performers that reach millions of Americans daily with new messages create completely new and ideal worlds on television. It has been realized by the scholars of modern age that shows and programs on television for modern generation are as important as bible and Shakespeare for nineteenth century audience. Daily conversations in the nineteenth century American public included Hamlet and Naomi and these have been now replaced by conversations that include television programs as I Love Lucy, Murphy Brown, As the World Turns, 90210, General Hospital, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, Seinfeld, The X-Files, ER, and Friends. Thereby television has not only changed the course of daily life of an average American but the way knowledge is shared and perceived has also changed.

Many researchers argue that America television is more of a mirror to American citizens life and experiences. Television programming has to be analyzed for redefining definitions of masculinity and femininity affirming an importance and exploration of dialect between ideology and American culture. In this case, two programs, I Love Lucy and Murphy Brown have been observed to have redefined birth narratives with changing ways of representation of gender on television. Thereby television has explored new perspectives in case of femininity and masculinity thus gender thereby opening up new channels. But this has been argued that this has created white centeredness on American television. Television shows and programs have more or less participates in issues that relate gender including families, roles of women in families as well as maternity. National debate has highlighted these roles highlighting racial and ethnic homogeneity.

Social Lives of Americans Radio Vs American Television
As compared to radio, thereby television has had a major impact on American lives. It has been stated and mentioned by Department of Education that each American child on an average watches television for 4 to 5 hours a day. This rate has has major influenced on social lives and learning capabilities of these children. Apart from social lives, ideologies that are spread by television shows are much different as the ones that need to be followed in real lives. Much different trains of thoughts are now being followed in American households. Radios were a communication medium that taught morality and subtle behaviors in these Americans as they used to socialize and gather in one room to listen to their favorite shows. Choices on radio programs was much lesser and lesser shows and programs were being aired on radios thereby majority of these were favorites of many people. But television has given greater and a wider choice to American people that makes them like variety of shows on different channels. Thus one show is liked by a single person within a family thereby only that person in the absence of other family members enjoys the shows. Radio shows on the other hand were listened by a family gathering thereto teaching them vales as engaging in mutual discussions rather than breaking in parts. Thereby radio shows had lesser impact on social lives as compared to the greater influence that television has brought in American lifestyle. Business, education, fashion, work, social lives, sports and politics, every aspect of life has been taken over by television creating biases in likes and dislikes rather than true opinionated decisions related to these aspects.

Television is more of a rule maker and a cultural activist in America culture. This has been argued by scholars by taking into consideration a show, The Real World that was broadcasted by MTV.  Pedro Zamora is shown as a gay activist, who suffered from AIDS and dies, but his death has been argued as a beautiful death completely ignoring the horrific truth behind AIDS. Homosexuality of Pedro is argued as an accidental aberrance thereby creating a bias and spreading wrong values thus wrong information. Another gay is introduced on scene shedding tears on Pedros death thereby this show has been criticized to marginalize gays and homosexuals.

Integration of Uniformity in American Culture
In relation to integration of television in American culture, many questions have been raised. An impact of television on integration of uniformity in American culture needs to be studied. Cultural changes especially in case of cultural homogeneity has an effect on many individual that belong to diverse cultural backgrounds thereby there is a need to realize and analyze the response produced by these individuals to address integration of cultural homogeneity as a result of television. There has been a fining in this scenario that addresses the fact that more educated individuals watch television for lesser hours as compared to lesser educated. Three minutes are reduced for every additional year of education in American population. In this case, similarity found highlights that both groups have viewership of same kind and categories of programs.

Another question important in this fact is reasons of highly educated American viewership to television, with only three minutes difference with less educated viewers. Thereby here it can be argued that television has an effect on intentions of viewers as it has been added that highly educated watch television for research purposes, and in some cases for movies and sports .

Television As a Source of Leisure
Here it needs to be argued if television viewership is thought provoking. Many American viewers are characterized by a thoughtless and a passive state of mind while watching television. Almost 25 of the Americans state that thoughtless and passive state of mind is common while watching television. Along with these, Americans report that there no observation of emotional content being felt on watching television, no programs on television were able to create emotions related to likes and dislikes. Research have been include that argue that a number of Americans when asked about any emotions provoked while watching television, than replies report mind blankness while watching television. One of the most important set of replies has been received is that television is another source to rest the mind and out the thoughts to rest .

Creating Gender Biases through shows on American Television
Feminism and post feminism was highlighted along with maternity in 1990s on American television and there was a gradual change ever since as there was an increase in marginalization of black people. Thereby television was creating racial issues by highlighting white as compared to black people repeating social liberalism episodes from 1950s. White domination over black was being highlighted thereby creating racial dominations in American society. Thereby American television was in certain ways treating specific social issues thereby scholars started to think about the roles American television was playing in an American life. It has been thereby argued that television is a kind of media that tends to forefront immediacy and novelty by ignoring socio economic and historical contexts .

Changing Real Life Concepts of American Teenagers
Similarly it has been seen that American television shows as Beverly Hills 90210 is rather an accurate representation of an average American teenager growing up in an era of 1980s or 90s. Many situations integrated in this show are closer to reality thereby touching every average American teenagers heart as a result of which these shows have the greatest viewership. Nevertheless, messages given out by these shows are more  important. It has been observed that message being portrayed in this show for parents of American teenagers is that situations faced by characters in the shows and the ways in which solutions are devised by these characters are ideal. Thereby these whose are more or less an informative source not only for target teenagers but elder community as well .

Changes In American Magazines And News Content
As a primary source of entertainment, American television has had a major impact on American society. It is more of a revolution as  it has changed an ideology that was followed in newspapers, magazines and books. Contents in these entertainment and information source have changed since 1950s. America culture has suffered an impact as a resukt of these major changes as gaming, sports, fashion and politics is on centre stage on television . Reaction and behaviors of an average American has changed as the ways in which real life situations were being perceived has changed dramatically. These changes are because of ideal messages being delivered and aired on television through programs .

Social lives of Americans have seen the most dramatic changes. Endless amount of information is now being spread been every American household. Television has become a media to advertise thereby it is one of the main source used by politicians in election days and by presidents to keep the public informed of any current and important events globally.

Innovation has not remain limited to the television, it has taken steps further and these days, shopping is done by Americans through television, businessmen keep themselves up to date about information about stock markets, share prices. Sport lovers watch live games on television as even NFL drafts are live on television . Thereby spread of information is fast and rapid that had caused major changes in communication methods of Americans in daily lives, work lives and social lives. As compared to past when students were found to be involved in literature and reading, these days student are more enthusiastically observed to be involved in discussing television live shows as American Idol as these shows are based on public participation thereby a majority of American teenagers are now more concentrated towards voting and participating in these live shows. Thereby television has been most influential on American society .

Conclusion
One important fact that has to be added here is that moral values and teachings from elders are changing thereby having additional influences on youth. Television has contracted the world into a global village thereby information about how to have the best life style to have the best social status is well known. Thereby elders teach and command children and teenagers to move and live in accordance to modern societies. An ideology of everyone is doing it, is being followed thereby changing American cultural values in a dramatic manner.