Waubonsee Community College

Television talk, a history of the TV talk show, Bernard M. Timberg, with Robert J. Erler ; introduction by Horace Newcomb

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrationsplates

index present

non fiction

Television talk

bibliography

49386373

Bernard M. Timberg, with Robert J. Erler ; introduction by Horace Newcomb

Texas film and media studies series

a history of the TV talk show

"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 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. -- Publisher

Introduction / Horace Newcomb -- 1. History of Television Talk: Defining a Genre -- Unspoken Rules -- History -- Three Major Subgenres -- Cycles -- Star Hosts -- Talk Worlds -- 2. The First Cycle (1948-1962): Experimentation, Consolidation, and Network Control -- CBS -- Introduction to the First Cycle -- Founders at CBS: Murrow and Godfrey -- 3. The First Cycle, Part II: Experimentation, Consolidation, and Network Control -- NBC and DuMont -- Sylvester "Pat" Weaver: NBC's Executive Visionary of Television Talk (1949-1955) -- Dave Garroway (1952-1961) -- Arlene Francis and Home (1954-1957) -- Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Tonight! Founding Traditions of Late-Night Entertainment Talk (1954-1962) -- Mike Wallace: The Grand Inquisitor of Television Talk (1956-1958) -- 4. The Second Cycle (1962-1974): Network Consolidation and New Challenges -- Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show (1962-1967) -- Mike Wallace: "The Grand Inquisitor" Returns (1962-1967) -- Barbara Walters: The "Tender Trap" (1962-1967) -- Challenges to Network Domination (1969-1974) -- Phil Donahue (1967-1974) -- 5. Competitive Ferment in the Late Second Cycle: The First Late-Night Talk-Show Wars (1967-1974) -- The Challengers: Bishop, Frost, Griffin, and Cavett -- Johnny Carson (1967-1974) -- 6. The Third Cycle (1974-1988): Transitions -- 1974: A Year of Change -- Watergate as National Talk Event -- New Voices in Syndication: Phil Donahue and Mike Douglas -- An Independent Voice: Bill Moyers -- The Voices of Women: Barbara Walters and Dinah Shore -- Battling from Within: Johnny Carson and NBC (1974-1980) -- Conclusion: The End of the Network Era -- 7. The Fourth Cycle (1980-1990): The Post-Network Era -- David Letterman and the Reinvention of the Late-Night Talk Show -- "America Held Hostage": The Genesis of ABC's Nightline with Ted Koppel -- New Hosts, New Audiences -- Joan Rivers and the Late-Night Talk-Show Wars of 1986-1987 -- Oprah Winfrey -- Geraldo Rivera -- Arsenio Hall -- New Consciousness of the Power of TV Talk -- 8. The Fifth Cycle (1990-1995): News as Entertainment -- Leno, Letterman, and the Late-Night Talk-Show Wars (1992-1995) -- News Talk as Entertainment and Politics: McLaughlin and King (1992-1995) -- The O.J. Simpson Verdict as a National Talk Event (1995) -- 9. The Fifth Cycle (1996-2000): Trash Talk, Nice Talk, and Blended Talk -- Ricki Lake and the National "Trash Talk" Debate -- When Words Break Down: Jerry Springer (1991- ) -- Rosie O'Donnell's "Nice Talk" (1996-2002) -- New Blends -- Bill Maher and Politically Incorrect (1993-2002) -- Garry Shandling and The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998) -- App. A Taxonomy of Television Talk / Robert J. Erler and Bernard M. Timberg -- App. A Guide to Television Talk / Robert J. Erler