“And That’s the Way It Is”: A History of TV News (Virtual)

TV news has undergone remarkable transformations in the last seven decades. Beginning in 1948, evening newscasts drew tens of millions of viewers nightly, and expanded from 15-minutes to 30-minutes in 1963. With the launch of CNN in 1980, TV news expanded to 24 hours a day, seven days a week--and a new era in television journalism was born. In 1996, TV news would change once again with the launch of two new 24/7 cable channels: MSNBC and the Fox News Channel, which would have enormous implications on American political life. This presentation will look at these sweeping changes and examine the impact--both good and bad--of television journalism over the last six decades.

Brian Rose is a professor emeritus at Fordham University, where he taught for 38 years in the Department of Communication and Media Studies. He’s written several books on television history and cultural programming, and conducted more than a hundred Q&A’s with leading directors, actors, and writers for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Directors Guild of America.