The Complications of Early TV

Abstract

In 1948, after several years of spurning anxious electronic manufacturers, Americans began purchasing TV sets. And Harry S. Truman was among the first to participate in what became the great television boom. That June, a receiver was delivered to the White House. The newest medium fascinated Truman. Even before he obtained his set, the president was asking network technicians how the TV camera worked.1 Although Truman's enthusiasm for household technologies is far less consequential than his foreign policies, historians of international relations would do well to give more attention to the home screen. No other technology penetrated the American home more quickly. By the end of Truman's presidency, one third of all households had televisions. Four years later, as Dwight D. Eisenhower dressed for his second inauguration, TV sets could be found in about three fourths of all American homes.2 That said, the study of television's first years poses severe evidentiary challenges for historians. Back issues of newspapers and periodicals have been preserved. A college freshman can pore over the Washington Post's coverage of the Korean War. Video is another story. Networks and stations aired much of their earliest programming live. As late as October 1955, 77.7 percent of all network programming was telecast live.3 Performances that were recorded by the kinescope process were not always saved. Then, too, the number of TV archives is small and not always scholar friendly. The historian often has to settle for reading transcripts and scripts preserved in individual and corporate collections.