UI Press | William Boddy | Fifties Television: The Industry and Its Critics

Fifties Television

The Industry and Its Critics

William Boddy provides a wide-ranging, rigorous analysis of the fledging American television industry during the period of its greatest economic growth, programming changes, and critical controversy. He traces the medium's development from the experimental era through the regulatory battles of the 1940s and the network programming wars of the 1950s.

"Intelligent, cogently argued, and revealing. . . . Fifties Television is a highly readable account of the political economy of this industry in the 1950s and adds to our understanding of the evolution of the culture industry in the United States."--Journal of American History

"As television becomes ensconced in respectable academic studies, with its own industry of theoretical and content analysis, this systems history should be a vital reference."--Choice

"Part of a recent and welcome trend in TV literature to shake off the nostalgia and examine instead the hidden economic factors that propelled the networks into media supremacy. . . . The story is a good one, and its message important in understanding the current state of television."--Electronic Media

William Boddy is in the department of speech at Baruch College, City University of New York, and is the author of numerous articles in journals and edited collections dealing with television and society.