The 80′s Mold for Modern Media
Long before the endless laundry list channels currently available through Direct TV packages and whatnot, the broadcast airwaves were ruled by 3 major names in household television, ABC, CBS and NBC. Though 80′s imagery is iconized by television shows such as Miami Vice, Magnum PI and The A-Team, the decade made a much larger contribution to the TV/entertainment news industry than a few hit shows with loud colors. The 80′s were a turning point in terms of the way people watch TV and the programming available to consumers. Three major developments have shaped viewer demand, with wide-spanning repercussions for facets of today’s marketplace.1. The Launch of CNN Cable Network News, as it is known in full, debuted on June 1, 1980, under the leadership of Ted Turner, providing the first ever constant 24-hour cycle of news coverage, not to mention the first exclusively news channel in the country. Today’s television landscape features many imitators, with major networks now providing their own spin-off 24-hour news channels, but CNN was the first to show the world as it spins in real time. [Read more →]