Public Television

U.S. public television stations are independent and serve community needs. All public television organizations are linked nationally, however, through three national organizations: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), created by Congress in 1967 to channel federal government funding to stations and independent producers; the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), formed in 1969 and which today distributes programming and operates the satellite system linking all public TV stations; and the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS), which helps member public TV stations with research and planning.

Self-Regulation and Regulation

Responding to public complaints about violence on network TV programs, the four major national TV networks – ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox – agreed in mid-1993 on transmitting "voluntary" parents' advice some programs, warning of violence levels that might be inappropriate for children. Similarly, the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) announced on February 1, 1994, an initiative to reduce the level of violence on TV, including parents' advice, a violence rating system, and an industry group to monitor programs.

Emmy Awards, September 19, 2004: 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards

The following is the order in which categories will be announced during the 56th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 19, airing on ABC at 8/7central.

As the winners are announced you will be able to click on a category below and view all nominees with the winner marked by an Emmy statuette.

• Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

• Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

• Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

• Directing For A Comedy Series

• Writing For A Comedy Series

• Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

• Directing For A Drama Series

• Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie

• Directing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program

• Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program

• Writing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program

• Writing For A Drama Series

• Supporting Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie

• Variety, Music Or Comedy Series

• Writing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special

• Reality-Competition Program

• Made For Television Movie

• Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie

• Directing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special

• Lead Actress In A Drama Series

• Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

• Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

• Lead Actor In A Drama Series

• Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie

• Miniseries

• Comedy Series

• Drama Series

(www.usembassy.de/usa/media-television.htm)

The Ed Sullivan Show

The Ed Sullivan Show was the longest running variety series in television history (1948–71). Hosted by Ed Sullivan, the show became a Sunday night institution on CBS. For twenty-three years the Sullivan show fulfilled the democratic mandate of the variety genre: to entertain all of the audience at least some of the time.

In the late 1940s, television executives tried to bring the vaudeville stage to the new medium. As sports reporter, gossip columnist, and master of ceremonies of various programs, Ed Sullivan had been a star on the Broadway scene since the early 1930s. He had even hosted a short-lived radio series that introduced Jack Benny to a national audience in 1932. Although Sullivan had no performing ability (comedian Alan King said: "Ed does nothing, but he does it better that anyone else on television"), he understood showmanship and recognize a talent. CBS producer Worthington Miner hired him to host the network's variety The Toast of the Town and, on 20 June 1948, Sullivan presented his premiere really big show.

The first telecast served as a basis for Sullivan's unique construction of a variety show. He brought together the famous headliners Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein with the up-and-coming stars, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, fresh from the nightclubs in their television debut. He also liked to combine the extreme ends of the entertainment spectrum: the classical pianist Eugene List and ballerina Kathryn Lee, with the novelty, a group of singing New York City fireman and six of the original June Taylor Dancers. From the beginning, Sullivan served as executive editor of the show, deciding in rehearsal how many minutes each act would have during the live telecast. In 1955, the title was changed to The Ed Sullivan Show.

Sullivan had a deep understanding of what various demographic segments of his audience wanted to see. As an impresario, he debuted ballerina Margot Fonteyn in 1958 and later teamed her with Rudolf Nureyev in 1965; saluted Van Cliburn after his victory in the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow; and welcomed many neighbors from the nearby Metropolitan Opera, including Roberta Peters, who appeared 41 times, and Maria Callas, who performed a fully staged scene from Tosca. He introduced movie and Broadway legends into the collective living room, including Pearl Bailey, who appeared 23 times; Richard Burton and Julie Andrews in a scene from the 1961 Camelot; former CBS stage manager Yul Brynner in The King and I; Henry Fonda reading Lincoln's Gettysburg Address; and the rising star Barbra Streisand singing "Color Him Gone" in her 1962 debut. He sometimes devoted a telecast to one theme or biography: "The Cole Porter Story," "The Walt Disney Story," and "A Night at Sophie Tucker's House."

What distinguished Sullivan from other variety hosts was the ability to make use of teenage mania. He introduced the teenager subculture to variety shows. Elvis Presley had appeared with Milton Berle and Tommy Dorsey, but Sullivan's deal with Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, created national headlines. The sexual energy of Presley's first appearance on 9 September 1956 shocked the audience. By his third and final appearance, Elvis was shot only from the waist up, but Sullivan learned how to capture a new audience for his show, the baby boom generation.

In 1964 Sullivan signed the Beatles for three appearances. Their first appearance on 9 February 1964 was at the height of Beatlemania, the beginning of a revolution in music, fashion, and attitude. Sullivan received the biggest ratings of his career, one of the most watched programs in the history of television. Sullivan responded by welcoming icons of the 1960s counterculture into his arena, most notably The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Janis Joplin, and Marvin Gaye. One performer who never appeared was Bob Dylan, who walked off when CBS censors banned his song "Talkin' John Birch Society Blues."

Although called "the great stone face" on screen, Sullivan was a man of intense passion off camera. He openly embraced black performers, including Bill Robinson, Ethel Waters, Louis Armstrong, and Diana Ross.

Sullivan was always looking for new shows, especially for children. His interplay with the Italian mouse Topo Gigio revealed a sentimental side to Sullivan's character. He also was the first to introduce celebrities from the audience and often invited them on stage for a special performance. Forever the sports columnist, he was thrilled by athletic heroes, and always had time on the show to discuss baseball with Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays and learn golf from Sam Snead or Ben Hogan.

The Ed Sullivan Show reflected an era of network television when a mass audience and, even, a national consensus seemed possible. Sullivan became talent scout and cultural commissar for the entire country, introducing more than 10,000 performers throughout his career. His show recognized that America should have access to all electronic media. The Vietnam War, which split the country politically, brought about a crisis of the variety show. By 1971, the audience did not need Sullivan's variety entertainment any longer; cable and the new technology promised immediate access to any programming desire. The Sullivan library was bought by producer Andrew Solt in the 1980s and has served as the source of network specials and programming for cable services.

(www.museum.tv/archives/etv/E/htmlE/edsullivans/edsullivans.htm)