Is Reality TV destroying American Values?  

1961 Incoming FCC Chairman see the future (Reality Television) way back then... In 1961, Newton N. Minow, incoming FCC Chairman said in a speech "Television and all who participate in it are jointly accountable to the American public for respect for the special needs children, for community responsibility, for the advancement of education and culture, for the acceptability of the program materials chosen, for decency and decorum in production, for propriety in advertising. This responsibility cannot be discharged by any given groups of programs, but can be discharged only through the highest standards of respect for the American home, applied to every moment and every program presented by television. Program materials should enlarge the horizons of the viewer, provide him with wholesome entertainment, afford helpful stimulation, and remind him of the responsibilities which the citizen has toward society." He reminded the television industry that was not his words that was their words when they introduced television to the nation. The first television had one channel and was invented in 1927. The real push campaign for television was in 1948 and 1949. In the early 1950's they had close to 3 million television owners by the end of the decade they had 55 million viewers, over 530 local stations and 3 networks. Minow already saw the decline in the quality of programing. He felt the need to remind them of their own words that were used to promote the use of the public airways to enter private homes. He already felt they were headed in the wrong direction. That was back in 1961.