By the time that 1960 rolled around, America was ready to begin embracing the many social possibilities of the television set. If the 1940s and 1950s were television’s adolescence, the 1960s and 70s are television’s angsty teen years, full of new landmarks and increasingly serious broadcasts. It was this very year that one of the most historic events in American television took place. You see, 1960 was an election year, and for the first time ever, the presidential debates between the two candidates were going to be televised. These two candidates are none other than Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. The televised would prove to have a monumental impact on the election-the first televised debate drew over 80 million viewers, which was the largest audience ever measured at the time. This debate alone would introduce an entirely new aspect to America’ political landscape-the importance of image. Shortly before the first Kennedy-Nixon debate, Nixon had stayed in the hospital due to a serious knee injury. Unfortunately for Nixon, he was still underweight for the debate, and the entire nation saw him looking extremely ill, especially since Nixon refused and television makeup to cover his pale skin and perpetual five-o-clock shadow. Kennedy, on the other hand, was well rested, tan, and confident. The differences that these appearances made were monumental. Take a look.
As you can see, Nixon is not at the top of his game, and many claim that his loss in the 1960 election came at the cost of this debate. Nixon realized his error, and in the subsequent three debates, wore make-up and presented himself much better. Regardless, this was the first time that the American people were permitted to see their presidential candidates in action on such a grand scale, and presidential politics would surely never be the same.
Of course, this isn’t the only significant event in television history that Kennedy had a part in. In 1961, he would become the first president inaugurated on television, and in 1963 his assassination would mark the end of his presidency. While the footage of his death was not aired immediately, the Zapruder film would later become one of the most notorious videos in our nation’s history. The new television media that was emerging no doubt magnified the impact of the assassination on American citizens, and the death of Kennedy became known as one of our nation’s most memorable events in recent history. Shortly after Kennedy’s death, Jack Ruby murdered suspect Lee Harvey Oswald on live television. This surprising event marked yet another dark event in America’s history with television, and these events would slowly change the way that our society views the uses and possibilities of the television.
Earlier in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. This speech was a huge triumph for the civil rights movement and helped to rally support for the cause. The speech, as we all know by now, is one of the most famous orations in our national history.
The same year would bring the rise of television news as well. On September 2, 1963, CBS Evening News would become the first news program in the United States to extend its airtime from 15 to 30 minutes, with most major news outlets following suit. Along with these changes, Americans began getting more and more news from the television than from other news sources, such as newspapers and radios. This trend has strengthened over the past decades and paved the way for many of the prominent news programs we have today, such as CNN and ABC news.
Culturally speaking, 1964 was an extremely important year for the television set. Across the ocean, the BBC would introduce a show called Top of the Pops, a legendary show featuring many of the most popular musical artists from the day, including the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Throughout it’s historic run, it would serve as an important part of the music industry, as the show had the most popular artists of the day, and the increasing visibility of these music artists would popularize many of our modern-day musical legends. Speaking of such, 1964 was also the year that the Beatle debuted on the Ed Sullivan show, breaking television records and introducing our nation to the four young Liverpool lads that would later become America’s mot revered pop artists. The Beatles maintained a relationship with the television throughout their career by releasing new material on TV and making more television appearances. The cultural effects of this have been massive, from the recording industry to the music we listen to the drug culture of the late 60s and rock music beyond. If it weren’t for television, the Beatles might have never caught on, and we might live in a very different place today.
1966 marks another historic event in television history. Starting on October 17th, all of NBC’s newscasts were televised in color. This would pave the way for the eventual transition of all television into color.
Since Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the presidency and increased the United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and coverage of this war would increase sharply in the 60s and 70s. The Vietnam War became the first war to be largely televised, exposing the horrors of war to the public in a very real way. The citizens had never seen such gruesome depictions of war before, and the level of realism that the television allowed to be communicated was astonishing. This type of media coverage fueled anti-war sentiments in the citizens and increased the civil unrest of the 60s and early 70s.
This kind of coverage has been seen time and time again since, most recently in the Iraq War.
The final year of the 1960s also marked a great event for all of mankind. On July 20th, 1969, over 720 million people around the world viewed a live broadcast from the Moon. This surely had a huge impact not only on our culture, but on humanity as a whole. This was a realization that science had gotten us to the Space Age.
The 1970s were a time of change for both the television and the United States. After the civil rights movement, the depiction of African Americans and Caucasian Americans on television became more acceptable. 1971 would see the popular television show All in the Family get some new cast members. These new members were The Jeffersons. Later, in 1972, the same program would feature Sammy Davis Jr. in a guest appearance, and the increasing visibility of race relations on television both promoted and supported ethnic diversity in a time of tension. Later, Detroit would become the city to host the first all-black television station.
Along with the depiction of African Americans, the use of sex and women became much more liberal. Sexual themes were explored much more frequently and couples were getting much more intimate on screen than would ever be permitted in television’s early days. One of the most shocking of these gradual changes was in 1972, when the main character of the sitcom “Maude” decided to have an abortion. The changes in the way that sex and women are portrayed on television reflect the ways that our society is breaking further and further away from it’s traditional roles and values.
Earlier, in 1970, The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) first went on air. This non-profit television service has since become the main provider of programming to public television in the United States.
Next, the King himself makes an appearance. Indeed, Elvis Presley himself made television history when his special, “Aloha from Hawaii,” was viewed by more than 1 billion viewers worldwide. This, obviously, is a far cry from the early days of television.
The next year, Nixon would make yet another chapter in the history of television. His resignation speech aired on national television, and the Watergate spectacle became a testament to the growing power of the media since the popularization of the television set. This coverage would lead many Americans to become wary and suspicious of their government, and this trend continues today.
One of television’s longest series and biggest stars comes out of 1975. Andy Kaufman, the now-famed lunatic comedian, made his debut on the first episode of Saturday Night Live. He is shown lip-syncing to the theme from “Mighty Mouse,” and for some reason people found it hilarious. Saturday Night Live has become one of the longest running television shows ever, and is still running today. It’s sense of humor has no-doubt had an influence the youth culture for the past several decades.
At the end of the decade, ESPN began to air sports 24/7 and becomes the first cable channel to launch.
As is evident, the 60s and 70s definitely presented a time of evolution for the box we know as the television, and without a doubt, this tool of mass-communication will continue to change for decades to come.
