<
https://theconversation.com/saving-broadcastings-past-for-the-future-archivists-are-working-to-capture-not-just-tapes-of-tv-and-radio-but-the-experience-of-tuning-in-together-204509>
"We’ve lived with broadcasting for more than a century. Starting with radio in
the 1920s, then television in the 1950s, Americans by the millions began
purchasing boxes designed to receive electromagnetic signals transmitted from
nearby towers. Upon arrival, those signals were amplified and their messages
were “aired” into our lives.
Those invisible signals provided our kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms with
access to jazz clubs, baseball stadiums and symphony halls. For a century, they
have been transporting us instantly to London, Cairo or Tokyo, or back in time
to the old West or deep into the imagined future of interplanetary travel.
The reception of those radio, then television, signals didn’t just inform us,
they shaped us. Everyone experienced broadcasting individually and
collectively, both intimately and as members of dispersed crowds.
Radio and television fostered an ephemeral and invisible public arena that
expanded our understanding of the world – and ourselves. Whether it was the
final episodes of radio serials like “Gangbusters”, or television’s “M*A*S*H”
or “Seinfeld,” Americans often marked the passage of time by shared broadcast
experiences.
Even today, more Americans use standard AM/FM radio broadcasting than TikTok.
At a time when most Americans get their news from local TV stations and
broadcast television networks, and radio remains pervasive, it might seem
frivolous to express concern about preserving technologies so deeply embedded
in daily life.
Yet a media evolution is occurring, as paid subscription video streaming and
audio services climb in popularity, and fewer Americans are consistently tuning
in to broadcast media."
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
