"When television is good, nothing -- not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers -- nothing is better.Often cited as one of the top speeches of the 20th century, Minow's address is now more relevant than ever. Given in the infancy of TV, at a time when only three networks programmed a limited number of hours a night, the speech was, nevertheless, a milestone in television development. Now, the "vast wasteland" of television has expanded to hundreds of networks programming 24 hours a day, which can only further obscure the good programming among the bad.
"But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite each of you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there, for a day, without a book, without a magazine, without a newspaper, without a profit and loss sheet or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.
"You will see a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, western bad men, western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons. And endlessly commercials -- many screaming, cajoling, and offending. And most of all, boredom. True, you'll see a few things you will enjoy. But they will be very, very few. And if you think I exaggerate, I only ask you to try it."
- Excerpt from Television and Public Interest, Newton M. Minow, May 9, 1961
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