Newton Minow’s speech, “Vast Wasteland,” given in May 1961 criticized the broadcasting industry for creating mindless television. It is just as true today as it was 52 years ago. When Minow gave his speech, he was the newly appointed head of the FCC and determined to better uphold the standards of PICON — public interest, convenience, and necessity.
“Now what do we mean by ‘the public interest?'” He asked during his speech. “Some say the public interest is merely what interests the public. I disagree.”
I disagree as well. Television is a major media outlet. People do not always question what they see or hear on TV. Broadcasters should keep that in mind. I agree with Minow that the media should be used to inform and educate the public no matter what medium.
“It should be making ready for the kind of leadership that newspapers and magazines assumed years ago, to make our people aware of their world,” demanded Minow in his speech.
Television today has improved in some ways — such as educational channels like Discovery and daily news shows — but in many ways it has also fallen to the entertainment industry — showing reruns of popular movies and mindless cartoons. I hope this is something that is mended in the near future. Television is a very influential and popular medium.
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