Perhaps the most far reaching change in communications worldwide was the advancement in the area of television broadcasting. During the 1950's, television became the dominant mass media as people brought television into their homes in greater numbers of hours per week than ever before. In the early fifties, young people watched TV more hours than they went to school, a trend which has not changed greatly since that time. What was portrayed on television became accepted as fact. The ideal family, the ideal schools and neighborhoods, the world, were all seen in a way which had only partial basis in reality. People began to accept what was heard and seen on television because they were "eye witnesses" to events as never before (live TV, an uncontrolled event) . The affect on print news media and entertainment media was felt in lower attendance at movies and greater reliance on TV news sources for information. And then, in 1954, black and white boradcasts became color broadcasts.
Shows called " sitcoms " like The Honeymooners , Lassie, Father Knows Best, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet , and I Love Lucy featured popular characters whose lives thousands of viewers watched and copied. Families enjoyed variety shows like Disneyland and The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday evenings. Daytime programs like Guiding Light, or All My Children "soap operas" were popular and helped advertisers sell many products to the homemakers of America. News broadcasting changed from newsmen simply reading the news to shows which included videotaped pictures of events which had occured anywhere in the world, and then to more and more live broadcasts of events happening at the time of viewing. This was made possible in 1951 with the development of coaxial cable and microwave relays coast to coast. When Edward R. Murrow began offering his weekly radio program (called "Hear It Now") on TV as "See It Now," the world of news broadcasting was irrevocably changed (eyewitness recounts the change)
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