Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show

Bernard M. Timberg; Robert J. Erler

Published by University of Texas Press 2002

Television Talk

A History of the TV Talk Show

Bernard M. Timberg and Robert J. Erler
With contributions by: Horace Newcomb

In the series Texas Film and Media Studies Series

https://doi.org/10.7560/781757

Overview
Contents

About this book

A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Book

Flip through the channels at any hour of the day or night, and a television talk show is almost certainly on. Whether it offers late-night entertainment with David Letterman, share-your-pain empathy with Oprah Winfrey, trash talk with Jerry Springer, or intellectual give-and-take with Bill Moyers, the talk show is one of television's most popular and enduring formats, with a history as old as the medium itself.

Bernard Timberg here offers a comprehensive history of the first fifty years of television talk, replete with memorable moments from a wide range of classic talk shows, as well as many of today's most popular programs. Dividing the history into five eras, he shows how the evolution of the television talk show is connected to both broad patterns in American culture and the economic, regulatory, technological, and social history of the broadcasting industry. Robert Erler's "A Guide to Television Talk" complements the text with an extensive "who's who" listing of important people and programs in the history of television talk.

Author / Editor information

Bernard M. Timberg is Associate Professor of Communication Arts at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Reviews

Bernard Timberg’s work on talk shows reminds us all of how intimately we have been connected to this delightfully complicated form of television. It is difficult to imagine America in the twenty-first century without the talk show, and now it is difficult to imagine the talk show without Timberg’s rich historical perspective.

— Horace Newcomb, editor of Encyclopedia of Television

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
INTRODUCTION Horace Newcomb Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
ONE History of Television Talk: Defining a Genre Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
TWO The First Cycle (1948–1962): Experimentation, Consolidation, and Network Control—CBS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	19
THREE The First Cycle, Part II: Experimentation, Consolidation, and Network Control—NBC and DuMont Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	34
FOUR The Second Cycle (1962–1974): Network Consolidation and New Challenges Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
FIVE Competitive Ferment in the Late Second Cycle: The First Late-Night Talk-ShowWars (1967–1974) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
SIX The Third Cycle (1974–1980): Transitions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
SEVEN The Fourth Cycle (1980–1990): The Post-Network Era Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	111
EIGHT The Fifth Cycle (1990–1995): News as Entertainment Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	147
NINE The Fifth Cycle (1996–2000): Trash Talk, Nice Talk, and Blended Talk Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
TEN Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	191
APPENDIX A Taxonomy of Television Talk Robert J. Erler and Bernard M. Timberg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
APPENDIX. A Guide to Television Talk Robert J. Erler Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	204
NOTES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	305
SOURCES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	337
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	343

Language: English
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 416

eBook

Published: January 1, 2010
ISBN: 9780292796331