Television: Innovation, Disruption, and the World's Most Powerful Medium
Volume 1: The Broadcast Age and the Rise of the Network
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Television: Innovation, Disruption, and the World's Most Powerful Medium
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Narrated by:
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Greg Littlefield
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Seth Shapiro
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By:
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Seth Shapiro
About this listen
No medium in history can match the power of television. No product has spread so far and so fast. Nothing has had so much influence. Nothing has impacted how the world sees itself like television.
Television: Volume 1 brings together seven decades of stories on how this happened into one epic narrative.
- How did an impoverished immigrant become the king of all media, creating the first radio network and the first TV network?
- What caused the inventor of FM radio to jump out of a window to his death?
- How did NBC, CBS and ABC innovate to build their media monopolies?
- How did Star Trek create the first fan culture movement?
- What made The Mary Tyler Moore Show the first great feminist show, and number one hit?
- What made Norman Lear the most influential TV comedy producer ever?
- How did Lucille Ball go from a washed-up B movie actress to a multi-millionaire Hollywood studio mogul?
- What makes Louis C.K. the Jackie Gleason of the digital age?
With unparalleled insider insight, it shares critical, practical, behind the scenes lessons from the business of TV. The Television series is a must for media executives, students, entrepreneurs, and fans.
Two-time Emmy Award winner, author Seth Shapiro is a leading advisor in business innovation, media and technology. He is an Adjunct Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, a Governor of the Television Academy, and Principal of New Amsterdam Media LLC.
©2016 Seth Shapiro (P)2016 Seth ShpiroListeners also enjoyed...
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American Rebel
- The Life of Clint Eastwood
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 118
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4 out of 5 stars 93
From the New York Times best-selling author Marc Eliot comes the definitive biography of one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful actors, producers, and directors in the history of American motion pictures. Marc Eliot examines the ever-exciting, often tumultuous arc of Eastwood's life and career, from his days as a disaffected college dropout, to his rise to fame as the archetypal loner, to his acceptance into the pantheon of the Academy as a multiple Oscar Award winner.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I learned the hard way.
- By Ty Pritchard on 07-23-10
By: Marc Eliot
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The Comedians
- Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy
- By: Kliph Nesteroff
- Narrated by: Kliph Nesteroff
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 564
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 506
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 506
In The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts. Based on over 200 original interviews and extensive archival research, Nesteroff's groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past 100 years.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Performance issues
- By E. A. Smith on 09-02-19
By: Kliph Nesteroff
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Dangerously Funny
- The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'
- By: David Bianculli
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 208
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 140
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 140
Decades before The Daily Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour proved there was a place on television for no-holds-barred political comedy with a decidedly antiauthoritarian point of view. In this explosive, revealing history of the show, veteran entertainment journalist David Bianculli tells the fascinating story of its three-year network run---and the cultural impact that's still being felt today.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Poor narration
- By Jane on 01-20-11
By: David Bianculli
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Seinfeldia
- How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything
- By: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 763
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 687
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 684
Comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld never thought anyone would watch their silly little sitcom about a New York comedian sitting around talking to his friends. NBC executives didn't think anyone would watch either, but they bought it anyway, hiding it away in the TV dead zone of summer. But against all odds, viewers began to watch, first a few and then many, until nine years later nearly 40 million Americans were tuning in weekly.
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4 out of 5 stars
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This bad narration is making me thirsty...
- By Audio Gra Gra on 10-06-16
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Pictures at a Revolution
- Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
- By: Mark Harris
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 596
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 431
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 432
Here is the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde - and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood and America forever.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Would It Be Too Much To Ask?
- By Casey Keller on 12-31-08
By: Mark Harris
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Street Gang
- The Complete History of Sesame Street
- By: Michael Davis
- Narrated by: Caroll Spinney
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 180
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 110
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 112
When the first episode aired on Nov. 10, 1969, Sesame Street revolutionized the way education was presented to children on television. It has since become the longest-running children's show in history, and today reaches 8 million pre-schoolers on 350 PBS stations and airs in 120 countries. Street Gang is the compelling and often comical story of the creation and history of this media masterpiece and pop culture landmark.
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3 out of 5 stars
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An important subject, but hardly gripping
- By Scott T. Hards on 09-24-10
By: Michael Davis
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The Big Picture
- The Fight for the Future of Movies
- By: Ben Fritz
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 441
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 373
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 372
In the past decade, Hollywood has endured a cataclysm on a par with the end of silent film and the demise of the studio system. Stars and directors have seen their power dwindle, while writers and producers lift their best techniques from TV, comic books, and the toy biz. The future of Hollywood is being written by powerful corporate brands like Marvel, Amazon, Netflix, and Lego, as well as censors in China. Ben Fritz chronicles this dramatic shakeup with unmatched skill, bringing equal fluency to both the financial and entertainment aspects of Hollywood.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Who is overseeing the audio part of this project?
- By Lori P on 11-19-19
By: Ben Fritz
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Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted
- And All the Brilliant Minds Who Made the Mary Tyler Moore Show a Classic
- By: Jennifer Armstrong
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 100
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
Mary Tyler Moore made her name as Dick Van Dyke's wife on the eponymous show; she was a cute, unassuming housewife that audiences loved. But when screenwriters James Brooks and Allan Burnes dreamed up an edgy show about a divorced woman with a career, network executives replied: "Americans won't watch television about New York City, divorcées, men with mustaches, or Jews." But Moore and her team were committed, and when the show finally aired, in spite of tepid reviews, fans loved it.
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2 out of 5 stars
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An Interesting Story That Never Quite Gets Told
- By S. Blythe on 07-26-13
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The Simpsons
- An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
- By: John Ortved
- Narrated by: John Allen Nelson, Justine Eyre
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 150
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4 out of 5 stars 104
John Ortved's oral history is the first-ever look behind the scenes at the creation and day-to-day running of the television phenomenon known as The Simpsons, as told by many of the people who produce it.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Great Content, Awful Reading
- By JH Easton on 03-13-11
By: John Ortved
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Best. Movie. Year. Ever.
- How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen
- By: Brian Raftery
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 515
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 437
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 436
From a veteran culture writer and modern movie expert, a celebration and analysis of the movies of 1999 - arguably the most groundbreaking year in American cinematic history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Like talking about movies with a friend
- By Shawn Inmon on 05-30-19
By: Brian Raftery
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Steve McQueen
- A Biography
- By: Marc Eliot
- Narrated by: Marc Eliot
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 77
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4 out of 5 stars 69
One of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and '70s with now-classics such as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Bullit, Steve McQueen is renowned as one of the most exciting actors ever to come out of Hollywood. Now, in Steve McQueen: A Biography, best-selling author Marc Eliot gives unique insight into McQueen's life, from his films to his three marriages, many affairs, and struggles with addictions.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Snooze
- By Cill on 10-27-11
By: Marc Eliot
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The Fifties
- By: David Halberstam
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 34 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 569
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 505
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 500
The Fifties is a sweeping social, political, economic, and cultural history of the 10 years that Halberstam regards as seminal in determining what our nation is today. Halberstam offers portraits of not only the titans of the age: Eisenhower, Dulles, Oppenheimer, MacArthur, Hoover, and Nixon; but also of Harley Earl, who put fins on cars; Dick and Mac McDonald and Ray Kroc, who mass-produced the American hamburger; Kemmons Wilson, who placed his Holiday Inns along the nation's roadsides; and more.
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5 out of 5 stars
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one of the very best
- By Chester Chellman on 09-25-18
By: David Halberstam
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Superman
- The High-Flying History of America's Most Enduring Hero
- By: Larry Tye
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 324
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 299
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 298
From two-fisted crimebuster to über-patriot, social crusader to spiritual savior, Superman—perhaps like no other mythical character before or since—has evolved in a way that offers a Rorschach test of his times and our aspirations. In this deftly realized appreciation, Larry Tye reveals a portrait of America over seventy years through the lens of that otherworldly hero who continues to embody our best selves.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This Superman soars
- By tru britty on 07-13-15
By: Larry Tye
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DisneyWar
- By: James B. Stewart
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 25 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,170
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,032
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,024
DisneyWar is an enthralling tale of one of America's most powerful media and entertainment companies, the people who control it, and those trying to overthrow them. It tells a story that - in its sudden twists, vivid, larger-than-life characters, and thrilling climax - might itself have been the subject of a Disney classic - except that it's all true.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Really interesting story... No ending.
- By rotinaj on 12-18-17
By: James B. Stewart
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Can I Go Now?
- The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood's First Superagent
- By: Brian Kellow
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 67
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 59
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Story4 out of 5 stars 59
A lively and colorful biography of Hollywood's first superagent - one of the most outrageous showbiz characters of the 1960s and 1970s, whose clients included Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine, and Candice Bergen. Before Sue Mengers hit the scene in the mid-1960s, talent agents remained quietly in the background. But staying in the background was not possible for Mengers.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A little long.
- By Doris on 11-29-15
By: Brian Kellow
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Seven Dirty Words
- The Life and Crimes of George Carlin
- By: James Sullivan
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 153
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 126
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Story4 out of 5 stars 128
In Seven Dirty Words, journalist and cultural critic James Sullivan tells the story of Alternative America from the 1950s to the present, from the singular vantage point of George Carlin, the Catholic boy for whom nothing was sacred.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Carlin's CV with no Depth or Insight
- By Dubi on 01-23-14
By: James Sullivan
What listeners say about Television: Innovation, Disruption, and the World's Most Powerful Medium
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- O. Marcus
- 07-17-19
Great book
It is an encyclopedia that can be read cover to cover. Cant wait for the 2nd part
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