Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

Television-A Social Influence NEW WONDER OF MASS COMMUNICATION GIVES EVIDENCE OF BECOMING. GREATEST SINGLE DEMOCRATIZING AGENT SINCE INVENTION OF PRINTING By John F. Royal Vice President in Charge of Television, National Broadcasting Company From an Address to the General Federation of Women's Clubs, Cleveland, Ohio. MY VISIT here is to tell you about a new guest coming to your homes in the very near future. The name is TELEVISION, and she will be beautifully gowned in a black-and-white dress. You have been hearing much about this new wonder of mass com- munication, this new art of sight and sound combined, and I assume you have a natural curiosity about it. Except for the spoken and writ- ten word, there have been only six major innovations of method in human communications: printing, telegraphy, telephone, the movies, radio—and now. Television. The invention of each, in turn, has re- sulted in social and psychological changes and advances of a revolu- tionary nature. In television are combined in one medium the singular advantages of each of the others. Mass communi- cation became possible, for example, with the invention of the printing press. The telegraph gave wings to the transmission of ideas and mes- sages, made possible their dissemi- nation over great distances in shorter time. The telephone added the intimate quality of the human voice to the transmission of mes- sages. The motion picture film made it possible for these ideas and mes- sages to be dramatized visually, and recorded for the enjoyment of greater numbers of people. Along came radio—to reduce the dimen- sions of the globe to the proportions of a loud speaker, as it carried mes- sages instantaneously and inexpen- sively to and from the farthest re- gions of the earth into the living room. Radio, within the space of a single generation, eradicated pro- vincialism and fostered the greatest upsurge in all time. And now comes television—adding vision and ani- mation to the speed and immediacy of radio communication. On or about June 1st, or soon thereafter, television sets should appear in the dealers' windows, but not everywhere. These first sets will be distributed where transmit- ters are now in operation. This means New York and vicinity, Sche- nectady, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles. Outlook f-or Color Television There are some who—crying in the wilderness—are suggesting that television should wait for color. One executive of a company crusading for delay has said that the public will wait indefinitely for color. I feel that to be an absurd statement. Our country was not made great by waiting. Progress never waits. We have experimented with color and recently gave a public demon- stration at the RCA Laboratories in Princeton. At that time we stated that color—I mean good color —will ultimately be a reality in television, but it is far from being ready for public acceptance at this time. That is not the opinion of one company, but rather the joint opin- ion, the consensus, of the engineer- ing staffs in the entire industry, with a few minor exceptions. There is nothing in our lives with a greater psychological effect than color, but it must be handled with care. When good and practical color in television is ready for your homes, our company will have it. Many of you are familiar with the many trying years of color effort by the motion picture industry. Much of the same uncertainty faces us in our color problem in television. Matthew Henry, many years ago, said: "Many a dangerous tempta- tion comes to us in fine gay colours that are but skin-deep." We feel color in television at the moment is only skin-deep. Entertainment for All In television, as in sound radio, there will be entertainment and education for all, as the resources of the theatre, the university, the concert stage, the sports arena and the whole wide world are tapped by the television camera and supple- mented by motion picture film. More even than sound, television, which enables man to see as well as hear—and seeing for himself com- prehend better—gives evidence of becoming the greatest single de- mocratizing agent since the inven- tion of printing. Because television will enable many people to observe the same event at the same time, television will build a consciousness of equal- ity and a community of interest. This consciousness will be enhanced by the fact that television will enter directly into the home and have the distinct personal appeal of allowing people to see things for themselves as they really appear. Educationally, television will en- able the best of current thinking about human affairs to be presented vividly to millions of people in their homes as well as to children in schools. The success of television will be a joint responsibility — yours and ours. Its potential powers will go beyond anything we have ever imagined. We invite your coopera- tion, your advice and suggestions, and by this means our way of living can be made better, and together we can create a more relaxed and peaceful world. [30 RADIO AGE]