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production, and for propriety in advertising. This responsibility cannot be discharged by any given group of programs, but can be discharged only through the highest standards of respect for the
American home, applied to every moment of every program presented by television. Program materials should enlarge the horizons of the viewer, provide him with wholesome entertainment, afford helpful stimulation, and remind him of the responsibilities which the citizen has toward his society.
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were newspapers' most popular items, they were not featured on the front pages because (according to Minow) the newspapers were still voluntarily bound to the public interest despite being outside the purview of the FCC, something Minow believed television had abandoned as it had become too beholden
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But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite each of you to sit down in front of your own television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you.
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You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly, commercials—many screaming, cajoling, and
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Television and all who participate in it are jointly accountable to the
American public for respect for the special needs of children, for community responsibility, for the advancement of education and culture, for the acceptability of the program materials chosen, for decency and decorum in
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forms of entertainment such as game shows "have a tremendous appeal" to the average
American. He indirectly referenced Minow in the interview, quipping "they can talk about the great wasteland and everything else—if you want to read books, read books."
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192:. Martin had recently watched twenty consecutive hours of television as research for a magazine piece, and concluded it was "a vast wasteland of junk". During the editing process, Minow cut the words "of junk".
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Like so many media reformers, Minow strikes me as reluctant to acknowledge an obvious difference between 1961 and 2011. TV is not a vast wasteland anymore. It's a crazy, weed-filled, wonderful, out-of-control
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at the time Minow had made his speech, leaving them unable to make the adjustments Minow had hoped. "The best the networks could do was slot a few more public affairs shows, paint rosy pictures for
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Minow conceded that there were numerous barriers to improvement, many of them financial, and expressed his reluctance to use the FCC as a censor, except to enforce rules imposed following
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offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you'll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it.
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Minow often remarked that the two words best remembered from the speech are "vast wasteland", but the two words he wished would be remembered are "public interest".
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In the speech, Minow referred to
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Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.
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Minow went on to dismiss the idea that public taste was driving the change in programming, stating his firm belief that if
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The speech was not without detractors, as that lambasting of the state of United States television programming prompted
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on May 9, 1961. The speech was Minow's first major speech after he was appointed chairman of the FCC by then
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of the era was wholly unacceptable, comparable to feeding a child nothing but "ice cream, school holidays and no
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that had run through the 1950s, contrasting the highbrow programs of that decade (Minow specifically cited
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When television is good, nothing—not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers—nothing is better.
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programming was proven false, noting that although "the critics will always look down their noses,"
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The phrase "vast wasteland" was suggested to Minow by his friend, reporter and freelance writer
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The producers of The
Flintstones have a new family called The Jetsons, who live in outer space.
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Minow mentioned a handful of praiseworthy shows that were still in production (among them
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In a 2011 interview marking the 50th anniversary of the speech, Minow stated that
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remarked in 1972 that Minow's assertion that viewers naturally gravitated toward
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Does Minow Still Think TV Is a 'Vast
Wasteland'?|Ad Age (subscription required)
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MP3 recording of the entire Minow speech, "Television and the Public
Interest"
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television, which was not yet as widespread as the major broadcast networks.
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Regulations on children's television programming in the United States
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Newton Minow's Vast
Wasteland Speech: How It Changed TV|Time
632:"Interview with Minow about the state of television in 2006
372:"Newton Minow: The 'vast wasteland' of television speech"
167:. A partial solution Minow proposed was the expansion of
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In his speech Minow also shared advice to his audience:
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How TV's 'Vast Wasteland' Became a Vast Garden|WIRED
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165:recent scandals in the quiz show genre
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1288:May 1961 events in the United States
526:"Legal Tales from Gilligan's Island"
420:""A Vast Wasteland," 50 Years Later"
44:National Association of Broadcasters
827:The Adventures of Gilligan's Island
254:after Newton Minow. Game show host
780:The Castaways on Gilligan's Island
457:. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp.
359:Television and the Public Interest
32:Television and the Public Interest
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36:Federal Communications Commission
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234:) were among the new offerings.
121:television choices were expanded
491:. July 27, 1962. Archived from
483:"Television: The Coming Season"
766:The New Adventures of Gilligan
392:Fallows, James (11 May 2011).
27:1961 speech by Newton N. Minow
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773:Rescue from Gilligan's Island
284:, Matthew Lasar pointed out:
1263:1961 in American television
1057:Rod Serling's Lost Classics
801:Surviving Gilligan's Island
516:Schwartz, Sherwood (1994).
418:Johnson, Ted (9 May 2011).
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856:The Real Gilligan's Island
524:Jarvis, Robert M. (1998).
169:non-commercial educational
1258:1961 in American politics
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969:Second series (1985–1989)
605:from AmericanRhetoric.com
42:to the convention of the
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1035:Twilight Zone: The Movie
927:First series (1959–1964)
518:Inside Gilligan's Island
300:Golden Age of Television
276:multi-channel transition
64:Golden Age of Television
34:" was a speech given by
1002:Fourth series (2019–20)
617:"Update" April 24, 2001
225:The Beverly Hillbillies
69:Westinghouse Studio One
987:It's Still a Good Life
981:Third series (2002–03)
612:article, June 17, 1996
530:Santa Clara Law Review
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274:, fueled by the 1980s
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95:, variety specials by
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141:children's television
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495:on February 19, 2011
398:The Atlantic Monthly
1200:Golden Earring song
994:Eye of the Beholder
842:A Very Brady Sequel
729:Thurston Howell III
190:John Bartlow Martin
1043:Nights Are Forever
357:Newton N. Minow, "
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538:. Retrieved
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325:High culture
310:Dumbing down
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1020:Other media
937:guest stars
724:The Skipper
330:Low culture
305:Network era
215:The Jetsons
101:Bing Crosby
1252:Categories
1188:pilot film
1150:Robin Ward
1108:attraction
1069:Literature
711:Characters
540:2014-04-01
499:2010-11-21
336:References
127:, movies,
125:quiz shows
1205:Rush song
1128:Narrators
1113:1997 film
758:Spin-offs
610:Maclean's
522:cited in
184:Reception
1236:Category
1193:episodes
974:episodes
942:Season 1
932:episodes
719:Gilligan
701:Season 3
696:Season 2
691:Season 1
683:Episodes
294:See also
260:highbrow
137:Westerns
1174:Related
1038:(1983)
811:Related
459:139–153
377:10 June
289:garden.
264:lowbrow
204:1962–63
133:sitcoms
54:Summary
1060:(1994)
919:Series
820:Minnow
818:S. S.
465:
434:12 May
403:12 May
251:Minnow
249:S. S.
1088:Other
1027:Film
488:Time
463:ISBN
436:2011
405:2011
379:2016
247:the
212:and
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99:and
72:and
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30:"
20:)
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