Photo Galleries (2)
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Inventions: Communication
Inventions: Communication(14 Photos)
14 Photos
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Inventions: Inventors
Inventions: Inventors(8 Photos)
8 Photos
Videos (15)
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Invention of the Radio
Invention of the RadioVideo Clip (1:55)
Video Clip (1:55)
In the early 20th century, the first radio signals beamed across America. See how this cultural revolution began.
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Television Takes the World By Storm
Television Takes the World By StormVideo Clip (2:49)
Video Clip (2:49)
Is it true that Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton played a role in the invention that lead to Johnny Carson? Stay tuned!
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FDR: A Voice of Hope
FDR: A Voice of HopeVideo Clip (4:06)
Video Clip (4:06)
Elected in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was a reassuring presence for many Americans through the trials of the Great Depression.
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The Remote Control
The Remote ControlVideo Clip (5:30)
Video Clip (5:30)
It put power in the hands of the couch potato and made channel surfing a national pastime. Find out how the remote control became as important as the TV itself.
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Transistors Transform Electronics
Transistors Transform ElectronicsVideo Clip (3:12)
Video Clip (3:12)
The tiny transistor, introduced with little fanfare in the late 1940s, triggered one of the most sweeping technological revolutions.
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The Great Communicator
The Great CommunicatorVideo Clip (4:18)
Video Clip (4:18)
Ronald Reagan galvanized the American public through his famous speeches that helped redefine American politics in the 1980s.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Fireside Chat
Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Fireside ChatVideo Clip
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Ask Steve: Television in the 1960s
Ask Steve: Television in the 1960sVideo Clip (1:22)
Video Clip (1:22)
This segment of Ask Steve explains how television in the 1960's failed to reflect upon the turmoil and confusion felt during this decade of change. Television in 1968 lagged behind in social change because there were only three networks.
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Morning in America
Morning in AmericaVideo Clip (4:34)
Video Clip (4:34)
Morning in America was one of the greatest political ad campaigns because it promised a prouder, stronger, better America.
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Ask Steve: Walter Cronkite
Ask Steve: Walter CronkiteVideo Clip (1:26)
Video Clip (1:26)
In this video clip from Ask Steve, the question of whether or not Walter Cronkite was the reason we lost the Vietnam War was addressed. When he went to Saigon right after the offensive he wrote a report that stemmed this question.
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Ask Steve: How We Got the News in '68
Ask Steve: How We Got the News in '68Video Clip (1:36)
Video Clip (1:36)
On Ask Steve, the differences between watch we watch on the news today and what you would have watched in 1968 on the news is discussed. The technology, time span, and time frame of the news are some points that were made.
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The Checkers Speech
The Checkers SpeechVideo Clip (3:34)
Video Clip (3:34)
On September 23, 1952 Richard Nixon, mired in a scandal involving bribary and campaign funds, went on television and saved his political career.
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The Daisy Ad
The Daisy AdVideo Clip (3:02)
Video Clip (3:02)
The Daisy Ad, run for the first and last time on September 7th, 1964, but its impact was immeasurable. Political advertising was never the same.
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The First JFK-Nixon Debate
The First JFK-Nixon DebateVideo Clip (2:30)
Video Clip (2:30)
Charisma and on-camera personality were keys to winning the first televised presidential debate.
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The CB Radio
The CB RadioVideo Clip (2:07)
Video Clip (2:07)
The Citizens Band radio of the 1970s is still the trucker's favorite gadget.
Speeches & Audio (6)
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FDR's Fireside Chat on the Drought and the Dust Bowl
FDR's Fireside Chat on the Drought and the Dust BowlAudio Clip (2:46)
Audio Clip (2:46)
On September 6, 1936, in one of his famous fireside chat radio broadcasts, President Franklin Roosevelt describes the conditions he observed firsthand on a tour of the many states devastated by drought.
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Louis Beats Schmeling
Louis Beats SchmelingAudio Clip (1:05)
Audio Clip (1:05)
Two years after Max Schmeling's knockout of the undefeated Joe Louis in a non-title bout, they met again on June 22, 1938, for a dramatic rematch at Yankee Stadium. Playing out in live coverage, the match goes to Louis who defeats the German in two minutes and four seconds. Louis was hailed as a hero for all Americans.
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Report on D-Day Invasion
Report on D-Day InvasionAudio Clip (4:23)
Audio Clip (4:23)
Los Angeles Times war correspondent Tom Treanor recounts his firsthand experience landing on the beach at Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
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Apollo 13 Emergency Radio Transmission
Apollo 13 Emergency Radio TransmissionAudio Clip (0:13)
Audio Clip (0:13)
On April 13, 1970, James Lovell, Jr., John Swigert, Jr., and Fred Haise, Jr., were en route to the Moon aboard Apollo 13 when disaster struck 200,000 miles from earth.
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Lee de Forest on His Contribution to Radio
Lee de Forest on His Contribution to RadioAudio Clip (3:43)
Audio Clip (3:43)
Known as the father of the radio, Lee de Forest describes his 1906 invention of the thermionic valve and its place in the development of the radio.
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The "Vast Wasteland" of Television
The "Vast Wasteland" of TelevisionAudio Clip (2:49)
Audio Clip (2:49)
On May 9, 1961, in a speech before a meeting of television executives, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Newton N. Minow characterizes television programming as a "vast wasteland" of senseless violence, mindless comedy and offensive advertising.
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