Television+of+the+Fifties+Period+One

Frankie

=**Television in 1950's**=

In the 1950’s America was changing. A lot more people were going to malls and eating at new fast-food places like McDonald's. Television was one thing that had a big impact on America.Television made it so millions of people could see things from all over the world in the comfort of their home. They could now see their leader speak or as he visited a foreign country.

By the end of the decade nearly 90 percent of American families had television sets in their homes. On average, American families watched about 6 hours of television a day. Many shows like //The Lone Ranger// started as radio shows. One of the most popular shows was //I Love Lucy//. More people watched the birth of Lucy and Ricky's son, the stars of the show, than watched President Eisenhower’s inauguration the next day. More than 44 million people watched //I Love Lucy// the day of the birth.

Color television was also introduced in the 1950's. The television broadcasters were not sure the idea would sell. Even though CBS was first to present a color television RCA was chosen as the industry standard by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Many people with black and white televisions wondered what was going to happen to them and if they could afford color sets. RCA declared that we were on a new path of color television.

The televisions the American people had to deal with were pretty difficult. They had big antennas on the top of their house. To get the channels to work you had to point it in the direction of your favorite channel. Most people did this by having dad go up and move the antenna around while someone yelled out the window when the reception was good. They had no remote control. They turned it on and off, changed the channels, and adjusted the volume manually.

Live musical performances were introduced. Jazz musicians preformed live on CBS in a special called //The Sound of Jazz.// They had invited a number of famous jazz musicians to perform live in December 1957. There were shows that were live also like //The Steve Allen Show//. Live shows are a little harder to find today than back in he 1950's.

Television definitely affected America in many ways. We were able to communicate and see things from other parts of the country. We could see the President talk in our own home. People had entertainment other than the radio and newspaper. People could view sporting events like they were actually there. Television made it easier for everyone to see what was happening all around our country and the world.