Introduction of Television to Australia in 1956 - Literature review Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tutor :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Title : Institution : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date :xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx @ 2012 Introduction September 1956 was the time in which television was launched in Australia (Armstrong 1982, 42). Since that time, it has impacted every Australian in one way or the other. The introduction of television was under government policy control with the Royal Commission on Television findings playing a major role in the process. Television in Australia was received with mixed reactions. Various stake holders offered resistance and criticisms to television in the country. There were so many debates about the issue and many people expressed their fears (Cunningham 2000, pp. 27).The government, audiences, the media industry and the rest of the country raised questions and debates concerning this development. This paper examines and analyses the various reactions in terms of debates and questions that met the introduction of television in Australia in 1956. The Australian government agreed to the introduction of television in Australia with consideration given to the Olympic Games that were coming to Melbourne in the same year. There were a lot of criticisms including those of moral and cultural nature coming from various quarters. Before 1956, there were questions on whether it was right for television to be brought to Australia. There were debates about how television could impact on the society. Some articles on such effects were in existence in the United States and people took examples from the morally and culturally debased state of American television in those days (Armstrong 1982, 44). Government The Australian government in the time when debate about television was raging was torn in between two sides. On one hand it desired to have television in the country so that Australia could move to the level of the United States and Britain. On the other hand it was at a loss on how to deal with the moral, cultural and societal issues being raised by different groups of people. Another problem was the bad state of the economy in that period (Arrow, 2009, pp. 43). In the 1948 debate about the Broadcasting Bill, arguments were raised about the ability of television to deny magazines and newspapers their advertising revenue. Radio was also cited as being in danger because it was believed that radio listeners would switch to television. Calwell, a member of the Labour Party suggested that for the sake of the public, television in Australia needed to be controlled by national stations. However this was a selfish desire because monopoly was not going to benefit the industry. The government came to the point of awarding licenses to investors in the television industry later in the 1953 after much opposition to commercial television for a number of years. This was accomplished through a repeal of the 1948 Broadcasting Act. One major argument to support the fear of the government was that the country was in recession (Arrow, 2009, pp. 40). Its economic situation was delicate and allowing the introduction of television in the country was going to take funds from important projects. At that time there were great labour and material shortages and the industrial base was very much underdeveloped. The government questioned how viable the television industry was going to be in the long term because if problems arose it could be expected to bail out many networks and stations with financial difficulties in case the economy worsened. However the government was proved wrong later in time when the industry picked up and the technology spread to the entire country (Cunningham 2000, pp. 25). Industry Beaver, who was at the time the Australian Federation of Commercial Broadcasting Stations president representing the commercial radio stations wanted a competitive system that was well regulated with every region or city having more than one television station. He argued that this would ensure quality material being broadcast in those cities and regions. He opposed the claims made by other people such as Boyer who opposed commercial television. He said that the audience should choose what to watch since it was not fair to choose for them. Restrictive controls according to him could not be used to force the people to watch certain programs (Hartley, Green and Burgess 2007, pp. 110). Beaver argued against the idea that commercial television was going to target “a lowest common denominator audience” so that it could increase the audiences as much as possible and maximize its revenue from advertising. He argued that most commercial programs on radio were created to target specialized audiences based on the kind of product in the adverts and that this would also be the case with television (Bye 2006, pp. 160). He was also against the view that his opponents expressed that it was very expensive to produce good programs and so commercial television would not afford to broadcast such programs. He argued that there was a high possibility to make low cost but high quality television programs. Many people including various groups raised questions and fears about the possibility of Australian commercial television following the American programming style. To this, Beaver said because it had not taken place on radio stations then it was not possible for television (Hazelhurst 1982, p. 110). Looking at his argument, it is possible to conclude that he failed to consider the problems resulting from the high costs of television. This problem made the Australian television industry to depend on imported programs from America. The argument that television could affect children received its match in Beaver’s statements. He said that the problem resulting from entertainment effects caused by radio, books, comic and films on the behavior of young people was older than any body alive at that time. Definitely, television was not going to be the cause of this problem. His reasons were that children are exposed to horror and violence early in life in the stories they read while in nursery school and the fairy tales they come across as they grow (RCTV 1954, p. 4). Audiences Various groups in Australia are recognized as having resisted the introduction of television in the country. They include women groups, churches, the labour movement, the advocates and public interest groups. Major arguments made against television in Australia emphasized that it would have bad effects upon children, women on their house hold chores, and on the social life of adults. It was argued that television would strain the eyes of children and maintain them in the house, affect their studies and adults would stop socializing. Television was regarded as being antisocial and that it had the potential to destroy family life (Jacka 2000, p. 57). Churches and women groups raised questions about the moral implications on television on children and the general public. They asked for regulation from the government that would ensure that commercial television stations were strictly controlled to avoid the broadcast of morally unfit materials. They also asked for the enactment of legislations to compel television stations to provide free programming on Sundays and major Christian holidays (Walter1994, p. 57). Calwell, a representative of the Labour Party appearing before the Royal Commission on Television argued that private media owners would give support to the conservative opponents of the Labour Party in opposing the social welfare and nationalization policies. Arguments by the Labour party were however expressed in terms of culture. They sought of agreed with the churches, women groups and other on moral and cultural issues (ABC 2011). Arguments pointed at commercial television and not television in general as being a big problem. They said that it would develop a culture that is debased in its search for a big audience. What was taken as popular could be culturally undesirable and therefore people need not have the freedom to choose the television they want. Moral decay in the society was a major argument following reports of the United States going that direction because of television (Herd 2006, p.125). The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) opposed commercial television. ACTU was not under the control of industrial groups and went a head to support nationalized industries. ACTU wanted the system to be under the ownership of the public. They made economic and not cultural arguments. They argued that the economy of Australia was not able to afford television. They also argued that programming on commercial television was going to become incidental to advertising requirements (Spigel 2001, p. 390). Dunstan, the Herald and Weekly Times print media group general manager tried to counter the arguments made against commercial television. He believed that television should have cultural telecasts like programs on arts. However he observed that in other countries people liked popular entertainment (Sydney Morning Herald 1952, p. 7). Conclusion Television was officially introduced in Australia in 1956 after a lot of discussion on what the country would look like with people owning and watching television sets. Accepting television in the country was not easy for many people since so many arguments and debates dominated the country about this issue. Major groups involved in these debates were the government, the industry, the audiences comprising of women groups, churches and advocates among others. Debates were centered on the cultural and moral effects of television on the society and on children. Other people in the media industry had issues about television preventing radio and print media from getting revenue from advertising. The government raised issues about the bad state of the economy and how it was unprepared to bail out networks and stations that would be struggling due to financial issues. Another issue for the government was the fear of television sucking up funds meant for other important projects. All these arguments were however pushed a side and television allowed into the country. Australians were later to discover that they could cope with all the problems raised by various groups since television was very important especially in a modern world. References ABC (2011), Fifty years of ABC TV Viewed at: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/50years/ on 19 June 2011. Armstrong, M. (1982) "Historical Outline", in Broadcasting Law and Policy (Sydney: Butterworths), pp.35-48; Arrow, M. (2009) Its here at last! The introduction of television in Australia, in Crotty, M. and Roberts, D. (eds) Turning Points in Australian History, UNSW Press, Kensington. Bye, S. (2006) TV memories, The Daily Telegraph and TCN: First in Australia, Media International Australia, No. 121, pp.159-173. Cunningham, S. (2000) History, contexts, politics, policy in Turner, G. and Cunningham, S. (eds) The Australian TV Book, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, pp. 13-32. Hartley, J., Green, J. and Burgess, J. (2007) Laughs and Legends, or the Furniture That Glows: Television As History in Jacka, L. (ed.) Australian Television History, Curtin University of Technology, Perth. Hazelhurst, C. (1982) The Advent of Commercial TV, Australian Cultural History, No. 2, pp. 104-119. Herd, N. (2006) The weaker sisters: The first decade of ATV-0 Melbourne and Ten-10 Sydney, 1964-1975, Media International Australia, No. 121, pp.119-135. Jacka, L. (2000) Public service TV: An endangered species? In Turner, G. and Cunningham, S. (eds) The Australian TV Book, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, pp. 52-68. Report of the Royal Commission of Enquiry into Television (hereinafter RCTV Report) (Canberra: Commonwealth Printer, 1954). Spigel, L. (2001) Media homes: Then and now, International Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 385-411. Sydney Morning Herald (23 November 1952). "The Implications of TV as a Public Medium", copy in RCTV Records, AA CP357/8, Bundle 1. Walter, J. (1994) Controlling the Technology of Popular Culture and the Introduction of Television to Australia in Craven, I. (ed.) Australian Popular Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and Melbourne. Read More

The government came to the point of awarding licenses to investors in the television industry later in the 1953 after much opposition to commercial television for a number of years. This was accomplished through a repeal of the 1948 Broadcasting Act. One major argument to support the fear of the government was that the country was in recession (Arrow, 2009, pp. 40). Its economic situation was delicate and allowing the introduction of television in the country was going to take funds from important projects.

At that time there were great labour and material shortages and the industrial base was very much underdeveloped. The government questioned how viable the television industry was going to be in the long term because if problems arose it could be expected to bail out many networks and stations with financial difficulties in case the economy worsened. However the government was proved wrong later in time when the industry picked up and the technology spread to the entire country (Cunningham 2000, pp. 25). Industry Beaver, who was at the time the Australian Federation of Commercial Broadcasting Stations president representing the commercial radio stations wanted a competitive system that was well regulated with every region or city having more than one television station.

He argued that this would ensure quality material being broadcast in those cities and regions. He opposed the claims made by other people such as Boyer who opposed commercial television. He said that the audience should choose what to watch since it was not fair to choose for them. Restrictive controls according to him could not be used to force the people to watch certain programs (Hartley, Green and Burgess 2007, pp. 110). Beaver argued against the idea that commercial television was going to target “a lowest common denominator audience” so that it could increase the audiences as much as possible and maximize its revenue from advertising.

He argued that most commercial programs on radio were created to target specialized audiences based on the kind of product in the adverts and that this would also be the case with television (Bye 2006, pp. 160). He was also against the view that his opponents expressed that it was very expensive to produce good programs and so commercial television would not afford to broadcast such programs. He argued that there was a high possibility to make low cost but high quality television programs. Many people including various groups raised questions and fears about the possibility of Australian commercial television following the American programming style.

To this, Beaver said because it had not taken place on radio stations then it was not possible for television (Hazelhurst 1982, p. 110). Looking at his argument, it is possible to conclude that he failed to consider the problems resulting from the high costs of television. This problem made the Australian television industry to depend on imported programs from America. The argument that television could affect children received its match in Beaver’s statements. He said that the problem resulting from entertainment effects caused by radio, books, comic and films on the behavior of young people was older than any body alive at that time.

Definitely, television was not going to be the cause of this problem. His reasons were that children are exposed to horror and violence early in life in the stories they read while in nursery school and the fairy tales they come across as they grow (RCTV 1954, p. 4). Audiences Various groups in Australia are recognized as having resisted the introduction of television in the country. They include women groups, churches, the labour movement, the advocates and public interest groups. Major arguments made against television in Australia emphasized that it would have bad effects upon children, women on their house hold chores, and on the social life of adults.

It was argued that television would strain the eyes of children and maintain them in the house, affect their studies and adults would stop socializing.

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