The Sponsor: Notes on a Modern Potentate (Galaxy Books) [Paperback]

Erik Barnouw (Author)

Book Description

Series: Galaxy Books | Publication Date: September 20, 1979

The television sponsor has become semi-mythical. He is remote and unseen, but omnipresent. Dramas, football games, and press conferences pause for a "word" from him. He "makes possible" concerts and public affairs broadcasts. His "underwriting grants" brings the viewer music festivals and classic films. Interviews with visiting statesmen are interrupted for him, to continue "in a moment." Sponsorship is basic to American television. Even noncommercial television looks to it for survival. A vast industry has grown up around the needs and wishes of sponsors. Television's program formulas, business practices, and ratings have all evolved in ways to satisfy sponsor requirements. Indeed, he has become a potentate of our time. The Sponsor is divided into three parts. In "Rise," Barnouw sketches the rise of the sponsor, in both radio and television, to his present state of eminence. In "Domain," the sponsor's pervasive impact on television programming is examined, with an emphasis on network television, the primary arena of the industry. And in "Prospect," Barnouw assesses what such dominance has meant for American society, mores, and institutions- and what it may mean for our future. This is a gripping volume about power, how it not only influences programming itself, but how it defines for the average person what is good, great, and desirable.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I haven't read a more stimulating and enlightening book about television. My mind still burns under its influence."--Bill Moyers

"Erik Barnouw should be recognized as a major national resource....[The Sponsor] is the most incisive and well-written study to date of the economic structure and ideological impact of modern broadcasting."--The Nation

"An interesting and revealing book."--American Council on Consumer Interests Newsletter

"Informative and well-written."--Wall Street Journal

"A chilling record of how Americans have been manipulated via their air waves for the profit of a few."--Daniel Schorr

About the Author

Erik Barnouw, now retired, was Chief of the Library of Congress's Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and recorded Sound Division, and long headed Columbia University's film division.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 20, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195026144
• ISBN-13: 978-0195026146
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,952,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historic Contribution to Media History, September 15, 2007

By 

Dr. W. G. Covington, Jr. (Edinboro, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Chronologically the beginning is a good place to start and Barnouw starts with KDKA, Pittsburgh, the nation's first radio station. From this point the entire telecommunications system branched out, grew, made moderations and exploded into the information age.

Tidbits on what were important issues of the time are humorous in retrospect. For example, at WEAF in New York there was discussion on whether something so personal as toothpaste should be advertised over the public airwaves. Critics such as Edgar Felix argued that "direct advertis(ing)" itself was resented by the public. As commercialization increased, the behind-the-scenes decision makers gained more control over the system. "Many programs were advertising agency creations, designed to fulfill specific sponsor objectives," Barnouw tells us.

PSAs (Public Service Announcements) followed campaigns designed to support the military in World War II. As the decades rolled on and power was concentrated in the networks, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against the ABC, CBS, and NBC which charged them with monopolizing prime time entertainment. Television news began as 15 minute segments and was expanded to 30 minutes in 1963.

This book is informative and well-written. It explains how the foundations of the modern information society came about.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The History of Sponsorship in America!, May 15, 2000

By 

KS (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sponsor: Notes on a Modern Potentate (Galaxy Books) (Paperback)

Really an excellent book. Traces the history of electronic communication (radio & TV)and with it the development of "This show is brought to you by.........."