Inventing Television News: 1946-1959

Overview

At first, no one knew quite what to do with the television news, until radio news veterans introduced controversial subjects such as racial segregation. Then the public began watching in droves. The Senate anti-communist hearings conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s drew thousands to their television sets each day. The public and private controversies initiated by these innovations are detailed in this program, including the BBC battle with the British government over whether media information should be controlled by the state. (48 minutes)