ers watched television 10.6 hours daily while other
groups watched an average of 7.3 hours per day.The
Cosby Showwas the first series in which the majority of
the creative team and cast were black. The series pre-
miered in 1984 and was a smash success from the
very first episode. Both parents were professionals, a
doctor and a lawyer, who offered an upbeat portrait
of a black family in which the parents respected one
another and nurtured their five children. The show
often characterized the joys and tribulations of rais-
ing a large family and was subtle in its approach to
improving race relations. By the late 1980’s, irrever-
ent comedies such asRoseanne,Married...with
Children, and the animated seriesThe Simpsonsbegan
to rule the airwaves. These sitcoms maintained a sa-
tirical edge to current issues and social problems in
environments where the families were decidedly dys-
functional.
Another genre that started to emerge was reality
show programming, which ran the gamut in regards
to content. Some shows genuinely addressed adult
topics on sensitive cultural issues that were informa-
tive to viewers, while other programs reverted to sala-
cious Hollywood gossip found in the tabloids. Rat-
ings for these programs proved extremely high and
profitable to the cable networks. The daytime televi-
sion talk show, with hosts such as Phil Donahue and
Oprah Winfrey, began to replace documentaries.
Some hosts, such as Geraldo Rivera and Morton
Downey, Jr., used sensationalized scenarios, called
trash TV, to boost ratings. The producers of these
shows wanted to provoke their guests by goading
them into argumentative confrontations that some-
times escalated into brawls or fistfights. The nega-
tivity that pervaded tabloid talk shows began to af-
fect advertising in commercials, in which companies
would malign a rival product using a cleverly dis-
guised name. In presidential political campaigns,
ads showed opponents veering away from discussing
the issues in favor of personal attacks.
Impact In 1979, the average television viewing time
was 29 hours per week. As the local number of cable
systems began to grow in the early 1980’s, new out-
lets for the television industry took center stage. Pay
television altered the viewing habits of the American
public. These technological innovations allowed net-
work and cable executives to export American pro-
grams abroad as television truly became interna-
tional in scope throughout the decade. The “Big
Three” networks that had supervised shows for more
than forty years were finding it very difficult to com-
pete with the interests of major corporations.
The deregulation that occurred during the Rea-
gan years caused critics to take sides. Some argued
that television had been democratized, that the pub-
lic was able to take control and choose its own pro-
gramming, while others contested that the quality of
shows had declined because companies were con-
cerned only with ratings and profit margins. These
reviewers contended that the packaging of shows to
audiences led to a rise in syndication rather than the
development of creative shows. As a result, quality
programming, such as programs geared toward chil-
dren, news commentaries, documentaries, and fine
arts, declined during the decade.Further Reading
Abramson, Albert.The Histor y of Television, 1942 to
2000. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2003. A retired
network television engineer traces the technolog-
ical innovations in the industry over sixty years.
Focuses on the rise of the camcorder and digital
prototypes for audio/video during the 1980’s.
Barnouw, Erik.Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of Ameri-
can Television. 2d rev. ed. New York: Oxford Uni-
versity Press, 1990. Barnouw, professor emeritus
of dramatic arts at Columbia University, addresses
the development and impact of the communica-
tions revolution in radio and television from 1920
to 1990.
Comstock, George.Television in America.2ded.
Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1991.
Analyzes the social, political, and behavioral
forces that shaped the programming habits of the
American public. Discusses emerging technolo-
gies such as cable, satellites, and VCRs. Meant to
be a text for courses in communication, journal-
ism, and popular culture.
Doyle, Marc.The Future of Television: A Global Over-
view of Programming, Advertising, Technology, and
Growth. Lincolnwood, Ill.: NTC Business Books,- Focuses on the future of television pro-
grams, marketing, and policy in an era of mass
globalization. Chapter 1 is an overview of the
1980’s.
Feuer, Jane.Seeing Through the Eighties: Television and
Reaganism. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, - Delves into the relationship between poli-
tics, television programming, and viewing behav-
954 Television The Eighties in America