The Media 1

The late 60’s brought about color television and the installation of cable. This, theoretically, would bring television to everyone. Heavy duty cables were run from the “head end” to almost every street in America. Those who lived in the outlying areas still had no cable access, as it was not financially feasible for companies to install cable wires to just one house. The installation of cable brought the three major networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC, and a host of local stations into the home of the average family.

Television in the 70’s made major strides. Cigarette ads were banned, Home Box Office was introduced, and ABC-TV began to show Monday Night Football. Students in school watched space shuttle missions launch live from their desks. Video games were the rage. Pac-Man and his girlfriend ate the lawn-mowing and babysitting quarters, and the first home video game system was introduced. Computers began to enter lives, but not yet in the form of personal computers. After school, cartoons were watched, and chores and homework was done on the commercials. Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood were watched by the younger children, until The Brady Bunch and The Flintstones took over as the child got older.

News in the 80’s showed the eruption of Mt. Saint Helen’s, with live footage from the scene. Everyone walked around asking, “Who shot JR?”, and MTV was introduced in 1981. Family tv time consisted of cuddling on the couch with a parent and watching The Donny and Marie Show, and Sonny and Cher. Programs that showed sex and violence such as The Dukes of Hazard and Dallas were too racy to be watched. The library was also valuable, not only for research projects and book loans, but for the reading programs it offered.

Today, libraries offer much more than just book loans. CD’s, DVD’s and both video and audio tapes are available for loans. Additionally, computers are available for library patron use. Children without a home computer can do research on the internet for free. There are also summer reading programs to promote literacy. With the resources available on the internet, a child today would not have to pick up a book unless they enjoy reading.

With the availability of cable and the inexpensiveness of a television, most children have both in their bedrooms. Each entity in the household can choose what they want to watch, and watch it on their own set. Cable companies offer hundreds of channels available 24-hours a day. Signals can be picked up from around the world with the advent of satellite, and can be watched in many different languages.

The increase in technology that is available today has increased the presence of media in the lives of everyday America. Anything that can be imagined can be accessed on the television or the home computer, via the internet. As more companies became involved in the technology race, competition has driven the price down, making these technological advances available the the masses.