speech by Newton Minow
1 Newton Minow (1926— ) was appointed by President John Kennedy as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the agency responsible for regulating the use of the public airwaves. On May 9, 1961, he spoke to 2,000 members of the National Association of Broadcasters and told them that the daily fare on television was "a vast wasteland." Minow's indictment of commercial television launched a national debate about the quality of programming. After Minow's speech, the television critic for The New York Times wrote: "Tonight some broadcasters were trying to find dark explanations for Mr. Minow's attitude. In this matter the viewer possibly can be a little helpful; Mr. Minow has been watching television."
2 Ours has been called the jet age, the atomic age, the space age. It is also, I submit, the television age. And just as history will decide whether the leaders of today's world employed the atom to destroy the world or rebuild it for mankind's benefit, so will history decide whether today's broadcasters employed their powerful voice to enrich the people or debase them. . . .
3 Like everybody, I wear more than one hat. I am the chairman of the FCC. I am also a television viewer and the husband and father of other television viewers. I have seen a great many television programs that seemed to me eminently worthwhile, and I am not talking about the much-bemoaned good old days of "Playhouse 90" and "Studio One."
4 I am talking about this past season. Some were wonderfully entertaining, such as "The Fabulous Fifties," the "Fred Astaire Show" and the "Bing Crosby Special"; some were dramatic and moving, such as Conrad's "Victory" and "Twilight Zone"; some were marvelously informative, such as "The Nation's Future," "CBS Reports," and "The Valiant Years." I could list many more—programs that I am sure everyone here felt enriched his own life and that of his family. When television is good, nothing—not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers—nothing is better.
5 But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet, or rating book to distract you—and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland.
6 You will see a procession of game shows, violence, audience participation shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, Western badmen, Western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence and cartoons. And, endlessly, commercials—many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And, most of all, boredom. True, you will see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, try it.
7 Is there one person in this room who claims that broadcasting can't do better?. . .
8 Why is so much of television so bad? I have heard many answers: demands of your advertisers; competition for ever higher ratings; the need always to attract a mass audience; the high cost of television programs; the insatiable appetite for programming material—these are some of them. Unquestionably these are tough problems not susceptible to easy answers.
Which statement offers the BEST counter-argument to the experiment described in sections 5-6?
Responses
A It is unrealistic to expect someone to watch television programming all day long.It is unrealistic to expect someone to watch television programming all day long.
B You have not specified which channels the person trying this is supposed to watch.You have not specified which channels the person trying this is supposed to watch.
C There are good and bad shows just as there are good and bad books; it is up to the viewer to turn off bad shows.There are good and bad shows just as there are good and bad books; it is up to the viewer to turn off bad shows.
D The quality of programming on TV is controlled by the viewers; programmers put on shows that draw the largest audiences.The quality of programming on TV is controlled by the viewers; programmers put on shows that draw the largest audiences.
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The statement that offers the BEST counter-argument to the experiment described in sections 5-6 is:
C. There are good and bad shows just as there are good and bad books; it is up to the viewer to turn off bad shows.
This statement challenges Minow's perspective by suggesting that it is the responsibility of the viewer to discern between good and bad programming, implying that not all television content is inherently poor and that viewers have the agency to choose what to watch.
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