Abstract
From the mid-1950s onwards, the number of television viewers in West Germany increased rapidly and television became the “window to the world” for many people. Through audio-visual reporting the people were informed so that they could feel save as they know what had happened in the world, especially in times of the Cold War. The Suez Crisis of 1956/1957 was one of the Cold War conflicts that television was able to report on continuously and thus demonstrate its advantages. The Suez Crisis has to be considered not only in the context of the larger, geopolitical conflict between East and West, but also in a decolonization context, and it affected the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in several ways. The daily newscast Tagesschau, and the weekly compilation Wochenspiegel was able to convey images from a distant region with high actuality. In the beginning, Tagesschau used material from the cinema newsreel and followed its style, but the news editors very soon developed their own strategies of modern reporting. This article outlines the style of West German television news in the 1950s as well as the routines and ways of reporting, which continue in news production today.
Highlights
The medium of television was “ramped up” in the 1950s from an experimental program to a mass medium[1] and it became an “everyday event.”[2]. In world-shaking times of crises, such as those triggered by the Suez conflict of 1956/1957, new media can prove themselves and their advantages and set themselves apart from established media
Newsreel cinematographers filmed for the television or newsreel cinematographers changed to television stations (Jan Thilo Haux, among others)[3]
According to a survey conducted by the Institut für Demoskopie in Allensbach [Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research] in 1956, most people who owned television set bought it in 1955.7 The viewers were satisfied with the information offered, with the information they received through the Tagesschau.[8]
Summary
The medium of television was “ramped up” in the 1950s from an experimental program to a mass medium[1] and it became an “everyday event.”[2]. According to a survey conducted by the Institut für Demoskopie in Allensbach [Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research] in 1956, most people who owned television set bought it in 1955.7 The viewers were satisfied with the information offered, with the information they received through the Tagesschau.[8] The importance of television continued to grow to be a ‘Welterklärer’ [explainer of the whole world] This was achieved through the expansion of the network of correspondents (e.g. Hans Wilhelm Vahlefeld and Peter von Zahn were first correspondents)[9] and cooperations with news agencies, such as Telenews and United Press (UP).[10] An agreement on the mutual exchange of BBC and newsreel material had existed since 1953.11 In 1956, the Tagesschau became a brand name and was given an unmistakable signature tune, which can still be heard in its modern variation today.[12].
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