Virtual Album of Mass Communication Media on Stamps

Mass Communication Media on Stamps Television
A German experimenter Paul Nipkow developed a rotating disk in 1884. In the 1920s, General Electric was experimenting with that technology when high school student Philo T. Farnsworth, for a class science project in 1922, came up with designs based on electronic circuits, rather than the Nipkow disk, to transmit and receive moving pictures. Farnsworth built a working system and applied for a patent. The big corporations were shocked. RCA and Westinghouse were spending big bucks on research and development and were about to apply for patents. There was legal wrangling. Farnsworth eventually worked out a royalty settlement with RCA. A Russian, Vladimir Zworykin, was doing similar research for Westinghouse and eventually invented the picture tube and image orthicon camera. The first tv sets had small 4-inch screens. By 1932, RCA had a tv station in the Empire State building and by 1936 was testing the system by broadcasting two programs per week. By 1940 there were several tv stations licensed. In 1946, 24 new TV licenses were issued by the FCC. Television sets were expensive to buy. For example, a 1947 basic model was $400. It was a status symbol to be the family on a block with a television set. By 1948, there were about 100 TV stations on the air. In 1950, less than 10% homes had a set. In 1960, nearly 90 percent had a set. In 1970, more than 95 percent. By 1992, more than 98 percent. By 1992, 99 percent had color television sets. Americans average more than seven hours a day of TV viewing time. The history of television closely parallels that of radio. It's supported by advertising; it's regulated by the FCC; the big three TV networks (NBC, CBS, ABC) were radio networks first and took much of the content of radio programming over to TV; the companies involved in research and development of radio also pioneered TV (RCA, GE, Westinghouse).

Mass Communication Media on Stamps
Television

A German experimenter Paul Nipkow developed a rotating disk in 1884.

In the 1920s, General Electric was experimenting with that technology when high school student Philo T. Farnsworth, for a class science project in 1922, came up with designs based on electronic circuits, rather than the Nipkow disk, to transmit and receive moving pictures.

Farnsworth built a working system and applied for a patent. The big corporations were shocked.

RCA and Westinghouse were spending big bucks on research and development and were about to apply for patents.

There was legal wrangling. Farnsworth eventually worked out a royalty settlement with RCA.

A Russian, Vladimir Zworykin, was doing similar research for Westinghouse and eventually invented the picture tube and image orthicon camera.

The first tv sets had small 4-inch screens.

By 1932, RCA had a tv station in the Empire State building and by 1936 was testing the system by broadcasting two programs per week.

By 1940 there were several tv stations licensed.

In 1946, 24 new TV licenses were issued by the FCC.

Television sets were expensive to buy. For example, a 1947 basic model was $400. It was a status symbol to be the family on a block with a television set.

By 1948, there were about 100 TV stations on the air.

In 1950, less than 10% homes had a set.

In 1960, nearly 90 percent had a set.

In 1970, more than 95 percent.

By 1992, more than 98 percent. By 1992, 99 percent had color television sets.

Americans average more than seven hours a day of TV viewing time.

The history of television closely parallels that of radio. It's supported by advertising; it's regulated by the FCC; the big three TV networks (NBC, CBS, ABC) were radio networks first and took much of the content of radio programming over to TV; the companies involved in research and development of radio also pioneered TV (RCA, GE, Westinghouse).

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