Erik Barnouw – författare

Tells how radio and television became an integral part of American life, of how a toy became an industry and a force in politics, business, education, religion, and international affairs.

Tells how radio and television became an integral part of American life, of how a toy became an industry and a force in politics, business, education, religion, and international affairs.

This is the second major revision of a book universally acclaimed as the definitive history of the documentary film. The final section has been completely rewritten and expanded to take into account the major films and trends of the past nine years. Particular attention has been paid to the growth of documentary film-making in the Soviet Union since Glasnost and the corresponding expansion in the United States, including Ken Burns's The Civil War, which broke all audience records for Public Television in 1990.

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 selection of essays, articles, lectures, and other writings by Erik Barnouw, dean of American media scholars, chronicles "the phenomenon of old media giving way to new, and then being replaced by them, as the ghosts of old media rise in new forms." In Media Lost and Found, the sixteenth century will introduce us to early stirrings of photography, as well as the rise of "black lists," which have a too-familiar ring within our own lifetime. The collection begins with an article on documentary film pioneer Robert Flaherty. Barnouw then moves to a discussion of his Dutch heritage and its role in Western civilization. This is followed by fascinating accounts of ingenious pioneers of camera obscura and magic lantern phantasmagoria, precursors of the magic of motion pictures. There are lively accounts of Barnouw's own experiences, an informative brief history of communications breakthroughs, and an examination of the foibles of media censorship. The final articles discuss the importance of Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray and cinematographer Boris Kaufman, brother of Soviet filmmakers Djiga Vertov and Mikhail Kaufman. In his writing and in his life, Erik Barnouw has been consistently elegant, self-deprecating, affectionate, and redolent of great depths, encouraging us to look for and foster them in our own lives.

This selection of essays, articles, lectures, and other writings by Erik Barnouw, dean of American media scholars, chronicles "the phenomenon of old media giving way to new, and then being replaced by them, as the ghosts of old media rise in new forms." In Media Lost and Found, the sixteenth century will introduce us to early stirrings of photography, as well as the rise of "black lists," which have a too-familiar ring within our own lifetime. The collection begins with an article on documentary film pioneer Robert Flaherty. Barnouw then moves to a discussion of his Dutch heritage and its role in Western civilization. This is followed by fascinating accounts of ingenious pioneers of camera obscura and magic lantern phantasmagoria, precursors of the magic of motion pictures. There are lively accounts of Barnouw's own experiences, an informative brief history of communications breakthroughs, and an examination of the foibles of media censorship. The final articles discuss the importance of Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray and cinematographer Boris Kaufman, brother of Soviet filmmakers Djiga Vertov and Mikhail Kaufman. In his writing and in his life, Erik Barnouw has been consistently elegant, self-deprecating, affectionate, and redolent of great depths, encouraging us to look for and foster them in our own lives.

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.