Television is a unique medium in that both its dramas and its comedies have the ability to tell their stories over real time, with characters developing over years rather than just the two hours allowed in a movie or the few hundred pages of a book. Despite this, very few authors have attempted to look at television from this vantage point. Prime-Time Television provides an essential resource for anyone interested in the history of television. The focus here is on programming: the shows, their producers, the genres, the trends, and the influences. Everyone interested in the questions of why the programs look the way they do, why they're scheduled as they are, why some shows air while others are cancelled, and what has shaped and influenced the shows we see, will want this book. The chapters are organized chronologically, beginning with an examination of radio's influence on early television, and cover all major developments--technological, aesthetic, and to some extent cultural--in the medium. Concise sidebars cover more concise topics, such as the quiz show scandals, and the introduction of the three-camera filmed sitcom with "I Love Lucy," a model that has remained the standard for over 50 years.

The Radio Act of August 13, 1912, provided for the licensing of radio operators and transmitting stations for nearly 15 years until Congress passed the Radio Act of 1927. From 1921 to 1927, there were continual revisions and developments and these still serve as the basis for current broadcast regulation. This book chronicles that crucial six-year period using primary documents. The administrative structure of the Department of Commerce and the personnel involved in the regulation of broadcasting are detailed. The book is arranged chronologically in three sections: Broadcast Regulation and Policy from 1921 to 1925; Congestion and the Beginning of Regulatory Breakdown in 1924 and 1925; and Regulatory Breakdown and the Passage of the Act of 1927. There is also discussion of the Department of Commerce divisions and their involvement until they were absorbed by the Federal Communication Commission. A bibliography and an index conclude the work.