THIS IS AMERICA - History of Children's Television

THIS IS AMERICA - History of Children's Television
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Monday, May 24, 2004

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Today we bring you a history of children's television in the United States.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

 
Howdy Doody and Bob Smith
Television became popular after World War Two in the nineteen-forties. Successful radio programs became early television shows. "Howdy Doody" was one of the first shows for children. The television show began on N.B.C., the National Broadcasting Company, in nineteen-forty-seven. Soon, it expanded to five days a week.

Howdy Doody looked like an average American boy. Only he was made of wood and controlled with strings² from above. He had red hair, although he appeared in black-and-white, like everything else in early television. And he had a permanent smile.

An actor named Bob Smith, known as Buffalo³ Bob Smith, started the show each time with the same words.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In the early days, local television stations all over the country produced programs for children. Local actors, artists and musicians performed live. Often they played movies or animated⁴ cartoons like "Bugs⁵ Bunny" or "Popeye the Sailor."

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

But Popeye the Sailor and Bugs Bunny were movie stars, really. In time, cartoons made especially for television replaced them.

Hanna-Barbera Studios created cartoons like "Huckleberry Hound⁶" and "Yogi Bear."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Shows like "Yogi Bear" were syndicated. That means local stations paid for the rights to broadcast the program in different cities.

Tim Hollis is an expert on the history of children's television. He says that by the nineteen sixties, many shows were franchised⁷. A local station would pay to use the idea for a show, but then produce it with local actors.

Two popular franchised shows during the nineteen-sixties were "Romper Room" and "Bozo the Clown." Tim Hollis estimates that at one time, the United States had more than two-hundred local Bozo the Clowns.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Television presented a new way for businesses to market to children through advertising⁸. However, in the nineteen-sixties, many parents grew concerned. They thought their children were seeing too many commercials for products.

As a result, the Federal Communications Commission⁹ limited the amount of commercial time in children's programs. The government also barred local children's actors from reading commercials. This was meant as another way to reduce the influence on children. But these actions also reduced the amount of money that stations earned.

By the early nineteen-seventies, most local television stations stopped producing their own shows for children. Many replaced them with syndicated programs like "I Love Lucy" and "Gilligan's Island."

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In addition to syndicated programs, local stations used national network shows to fill their broadcast day.

C.B.S., the Columbia Broadcasting System, launched a children's show in nineteen-fifty-five. Each day, the star wore a red coat with pockets on the sides. The pockets were big -- big enough maybe even for a mother kangaroo to carry her baby. So an actor named Bob Keeshan became known as Captain Kangaroo.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

C.B.S. aired "Captain Kangaroo" for twenty-nine years. In nineteen-eighty-four, the show moved to public television. There, it appeared for six more years.

 
Sesame Street
Another popular children's show on the public broadcasting system is "Sesame Street." This show began in nineteen-sixty-nine. Today, different versions of "Sesame Street" can been seen in more than one-hundred-twenty countries.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

 
Fred Rogers
Public television also brought young children an educational show called "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

It always started the same way. "Mister Rogers" -- Fred Rogers in real life -- walked through the front door into his television house, put on a sweater and changed his shoes.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Fred Rogers began the show in nineteen-sixty-eight. "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" aired for more than thirty years.

Today, the shows on educational television for young children include imports like "Teletubbies" from Britain. In general, though, the programs on American television aimed at children are mainly for entertainment.

Cable television became popular in the United States in the nineteen-eighties. There are children's programs twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

VOICE TWO:

One of the most popular cartoons on cable is about a square yellow sea sponge¹⁰. He lives deep in the Pacific Ocean, in a city called Bikini Bottom. His name is SpongeBob SquarePants.

A former marine-biology teacher named Steven Hillenburg created "SpongeBob SquarePants" in nineteen-ninety-six. The show began on the Nickelodeon cable channel three years later.

Children consider SpongeBob an honest person -- I mean, creature -- who always sees the brighter, happier side of life. The show is also aimed at adults, a lot of whom do find it funny.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

These days, there are hundreds of channels of broadcast, cable and satellite television to choose from. Plus there are countless¹¹ videos and video games. Children can see all sorts of things, and their parents do not always supervise¹².

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry¹³ says children in the United States watch TV an average of three to four hours a day. The American Academy of Pediatrics says children under the age of two should not watch any television at all. And it says older children should watch no more than one to two hours a day.

Many scientists believe that too much television can cause attention problems for children later in life. Studies have also linked a lot of television with children becoming too fat and too aggressive.

VOICE TWO:

There are also concerns about the limited number of female heroes on television for girls to identify with. And critics say children's television is too often simply a method to sell things to young consumers.

Product marketing¹⁴ tied to shows is a major business. SpongeBob SquarePants, for example, appears not just on television. He is also on clothes, bedding, books, school supplies and toys.

Experts urge parents to watch shows with their children and discuss them. Some of what they see might make them wish for the days of that puppet with a big smile on his face.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Jill Moss and produced by Caty Weaver¹⁵. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

3 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

4 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

5 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 hound   

n.猎狗，卑鄙的人；vt.用猎狗追，追逐

参考例句：

• The hound found the trail of the rabbit.猎狗发现了兔子的踪迹。
• The police have promised to hound down those responsible for the explosion.警方已保证要追查此次爆炸事件有责任的人员。

7 franchised   

v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is starting the first school himself,but subsequent ones will be franchised to use the Fujita method. 他已经自己开办了第一所学校，但是以后的学校将被特许使用富士达方法。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Driving tests for franchised bus are held on request by bus companies. 专营巴士的驾驶考试只在巴士公司要求下才举行。 来自互联网

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

10 sponge   

n.海绵，海绵状的东西；v.用海绵擦拭，吸收掉， 抹掉

参考例句：

• The child is screwing water out of a sponge.小孩正把海绵中的水挤出来。
• You should try to sponge out the memory of the accident.你该努力抹除那次事故的记忆。

11 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

12 supervise   

v.监督，管理，指导

参考例句：

• We must supervise and speed up the fulfilment of assigned tasks.已经布置了的工作，应当认真督促检查。
• Tomorrow he will supervise all the pupils taking the English examination.明天全体学生考英语，他将担任监考。

13 psychiatry   

n.精神病学，精神病疗法

参考例句：

• The study appeared in the Amercian science Journal of Psychiatry.这个研究发表在美国精神病学的杂志上。
• A physician is someone who specializes in psychiatry.精神病专家是专门从事精神病治疗的人。

14 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

15 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。