Table of Contents

Foreword. Preface. Introduction. Chapter 1: (1926 1938) The Birth of the National Experience. Live From New York... It s a Radio Network! Laughter is the Great Unifier. Network News Begins. Sport is the Biggest Drawing Card. Radio City. A Revolution in Politics. A Nation Swings to the Music. Chapter 2: (1939 1945) NBC is Red, Blue, and...White. Television Goes Public. America Goes to War. Thanks for the Memories. On the Brink Television. Chapter 3: (1946 1949) Ready, Set, Go! Take me Out to the Ball Game. From Stage to Screen. Mr. Television. Say Kids, What Time Is It? Going the Distance: Meet the Press. Celebrating Holiday Traditions. Chapter 4: (1950 1955) Seeing is Believing. The Man with the Vision: Pat Weaver. Comedy Coast to Coast. Your Show of Shows. Say the Secret Word and... Network TV Finds a Home. Spectacular Television. Just the Facts, Ma am. Hopscotching the World: The Birth of TV Journalism. The Today Show--The Garroway Era. Every Picture Tells a Story. Peter Pan. This Could be the Start of Something Big. Chapter 5: (1956 1963) Television Goes West. The Quiz Show Scandals. Westward Ho! Family Life on the Ponderosa. The Greatest Game Ever Played: Football Hits the Big Time. Feel Good America. Small Viewers, Big Ideas. Goodnight, David...Goodnight, Chet. The Tonight Show--The Jack Paar Era. The First Television President. Chapter 6: (1963 1970) Tuned in, Turned On. The Times They Are A Changin . The New Frontier. Beam Me Up, Scotty! Spies Like Us. The Wonderful World of Color. Sock it to Me! The Game Within the Super Game. The Today Show--The Walters and Downs Era. You ve Got a Long Way to Go, Baby. Sands Through the Hourglass. And the Beat Goes On... He e e e e rrre s Johnny! Chapter 7: (1971 1979) TV Gets Real. The Fall of Saigon and a President. Reality Comes to the Mean Streets. Sanford and Chico. The Devil Made Him Do It. Live From New York--It s Saturday Night! Isn t That Special! Little House on the Prairie: Folksy Farmers and Family Values. Staying Up Late--The Midnight Special. The Genesis of Reality TV: Real People. Big Events, Big Stars. The Game That Transformed Sports Television. Chapter 8: (1980 1986) The Second Golden Age. Defenders of Quality. Let s be Careful Out There. Where Everybody Knows Your Name. Family Ties. Cool Cops, a Suave Impostor, and a Private Army on the Run. Baseball s show of Shows. Insomniacs Delight. What a Difference Today Makes. Lawyers in Love. Living in a Different World. Golden Girls--and Boys. Guess Who s Coming to Prime Time: Bill Cosby. Chapter 9: (1986 1999) A New Era in Broadcasting. The Wright Stuff. Business News, Consumer Tips, and a Rough Start. Dateline NBC. Friends and Family. Tossed Salads and Scrambled Eggs. Masters of Their Domain. Mad About You. Family Values for a New Generation. That Was the Decade That Was. Bob Hope: A Legend in Laughter. Last Hurrahs. Chapter 10: (2000 2002) A New Century. In the Criminal Justice System... "Sir, I am a Complete Unknown! No Consolation Prizes, No Lovely Parting Gifts... Profiting From Experience. NBC and Microsoft Get Connected. Saturday Night Alive and Well. Behind the Medicine. This Is Today, on NBC. Meet the Press--The Russert Era. A New Age in Sports Broadcasting. America s Olympic Network. The Personal Drama of Politics. Jay Leno: Keeping Tonight on Top. Nightly News, Brokaw Style. September Eleventh. Afterword. Bibliography. Credits. Index.

About the Author

NBC: NBC has evolved from its beginnings as a radio broadcaster into a diverse, international media company. In addition to the NBC Television Network and thirteen television stations (with an agreement to acquire a fourteenth), the company owns CNBC, operates MSNBC in partnership with Microsoft, and maintains equity interests in a number of additional cable networks. NBC also recently entered into an agreement to acquire Telemundo, the nation's second largest Spanish language media company. NBC is owned by General Electric, one of the world's leading corporations, with operations in more than 100 countries and more than 300,000 employees worldwide. MARC ROBINSON has practiced law, run a product group on Wall Street, pioneered in the field of simplified communications, provided strategic marketing and advertising to top tier financial firms, and authored over twenty books for the personal finance, children's, and coffee table book markets. He is the owner of Top Down, a book packager; CEO/founder of MoneyTours, an online personal finance employee benefit; and cofounder of the Latino Education Achievement Project (LEAP).