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The Techno-Edged 80s

In the 1980s radio and television were about to enter an era of deregulation under FCC Chairman, Mark Fowler. Fowler won few friends among consumers, but under his direction the FCC sped up the consolidation and growth of the media industries. Ben Bagdikian’s essay does a good job of detailing media consolidation. FCC’s relaxation of trafficking rules and ownership caps allowed Rupert Murdock’s News Corporation to buy the Metromedia group and form FOX broadcasting.

New technologies such as the home computer, compact disc players, and home video cassette machines were introduced to the general public in the early 1980s. Also, NHK, the Japanese broadcasting system demonstrated a high-definition television system to the FCC that they had been working on for more than a decade. The above links to How Stuff Works provide a technical tutorial for those technologies.

In 1984, Congress passed the Cable Communications Policy Act. Because of this new legislation, cable was able to begin to challenge over-the-air television networks for viewers. New cable television networks such as USA, ESPN, and MTV all started during this decade. By the end of the 1980s, the number of cable franchises in the United States had doubled and more than 20 cable superstations were created.

Deregulation of the rule of sevens allowed for new purchases of television and radio groups. In 1985, General Electric, founder and one-time owner of RCA (and NBC) announced it was going to purchase its prodigal son. Several years later, GE sold RCA to Thomson Electric of France but GE kept NBC. Group partners, Capital Cities Communication purchased ABC in 1985 while both NBC radio and Mutual Radio became part of the Westwood One radio group. The courts shook up both the FCC and the broadcasting industry when it ruled the Must-Carry Rules were unconstitutional. As 1986 came to a close, the FCC repealed the Fairness Doctrine.

Local television news gained viewers and time as stations expanded local television coverage in many markets. Game shows such as Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy became the most watched syndicated programs. As cable continued to challenge network television, broadcasters expanded the spectrum of programming including trashy talk shows and high quality miniseries such as Lonesome Dove. Sports continued to draw large audiences of network television. Hill Street Blues, Happy Days, The Cosby Show, and St. Elsewhere were among the most popular shows.

The media began to demonstrate its ability to provide live coverage of breaking news events. In 1986, America’s space program suffered a terrible tragedy—the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart only 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of seven crew members. The Challenger disaster Web site developed by the Federation of American Scientists and the assassination attempt on President Ronald Regan Web site from the University of Missouri Law School show the coverage.

FM radio had displaced AM as the most popular radio band. Station formats became very specialized with classic rock stations finding a loyal following. As music moved from AM to FM, station programmers embraced talk shows and news formats for AM stations. FM stations featured music by Van Halen, U2, Madonna, Bon Jovi, The Police, REM, Poison, and Def Leopard among others. Check Bradboard’s Top Hits of the 1980s and see how many you recognize.