Douglas Gomery
Resident Scholar and Emeritus Professor of Journalism
Library of American Broadcasting
University of Maryland

Q - How would you characterize the "state" of broadcasting today? How far has it come since the 1920s? Broadcasting has gone from a luxury good to a necessary part of modern life. It's growth has gone from a limited set of channels to so many that few can name them all. The good part - there is something for everyone.

Q - Will Radio and TV as we know it exist in the same way in 10 or 20 years?

I could make a prediction for the next few years: We all will watch Higher Definition signals, and buy a Blu-Ray DVD player, but as to a generation, it would like asking me in 1975 (with the three TV channels) what would we see in 1995 - 100 channels!  Broadcasting will be different and I speculate - gulp! - that the key will be some new combination of the Internet and TV and radio.

Q - What about the rest of the world? Has the Internet changed the equation even in nations with little broadcast infrastructure beyond radio?

Not yet.  The reason is not the technology, but the politics.  Globalization is a myth.  Only for English language speakers, which is a small portion of the world.  Nations fight wars to protect their ways of life.  They will carry this nationalistic zeal to control mass media in whatever form it comes.

Q - The new Newseum is already drawing rave reviews. How important is a museum like this to ensure that Americans understand the media's place in our democracy? 

I do not rave for a museum that was built with the money I paid for monopoly newspapers, and presents a pro-newspaper point of view.  It's not educational; it IS good PR.  The irony is as the newsPAPER is disappearing, the monopolists are touting their past glory.

What about the Library of American Broadcasting here at Maryland? This is an archive - not a museum.  The LAB collects anything closely related to broadcasting - public and private.  It is a gift to scholars who want to understand what has come before.  This meets an educational need.

Q - What about CBS News Anchor Katy Couric? She took over the anchor desk from Dan Rather with high expectations, but the ratings have been dismal.

Katy suffers from typecasting.  She was a brilliant morning person - full of energy and curiosity.  Reading the news - she is just dull. It is like when Michael Jordan tried minor league baseball.  Terrible.  Back to professional basketball and his talents and three more championships. I feel sorry watching her. 

Q - In your mind, what were the most significant events that helped bring broadcasting into the mainstream and do you see one or two events coming that will have long-lasting impact in the future?

The key factor that made broadcasting so ubiquitous was its ease of use.  Studies show that babies can use remote controls before they can talk. Second, broadcasting is instantaneous.  Indeed, the New York Times recently stopped printing a TV schedule.  Want to know what's on - turn on the set - like your car radio - and press the buttons.

The key long lasting decision was just made by manufacturers to support the Blu-Ray high definition DVD - thus avoiding the old avoid Beta v. VHS format wars that we know VHS won.   The lesson is that the inferior technology won again.  Sony in this case - which owns a Hollywood studio - was able to convince its fellow Hollywood studios to adopt Sony's more expensive Blu-Ray format.  So if you want to see a movie in the highest definition, that is only possible in a movie theater.

A History of Broadcasting in the United States
and other books by Douglas Gomery
Prof. Gomery's Journalism Home Page
The Library of American Broadcasting