I present, for your reading and viewing pleasure, in three-color Technicolor “The Archive of American Television”
So let us learn a little more about this historical website:
What is the Archive of American Television? (AAT)
Well, let’s use the home website of the Archive to glean the necessary information. (A majority of this post will be taken from Emmy TV Legends, the official website of the AAT)
Founded in 1997, the Television Academy Foundation’s Archive of American Television has conducted over 600 long-form videotaped interviews with the pioneers of television. These interviews chronicle the birth and growth of American TV History. The Archive’s vision is to chronicle electronic media history as it evolves, whatever form it may take and make the interviews available worldwide. We have digitized over 2,000 hours of original content, making hundreds of interviews accessible online, for free. We continue to produce interviews every year.The collection covers a variety of professions, genres, and topics in television history.
Why Should I Care?
You would be hard pressed to find a group of people within your sphere of influence who were not, in some form or fashion, influenced by the medium of television. Before the advent of cable and satellite TV, there was broadcast television; the pioneers who worked within this fascinating and very powerful new medium could teach us all a lesson about where television started and how it got on its current trajectory.
From theater to radio, and radio to television, societies are judged by how they choose to entertain themselves.
Is It Only Actors Who Are Interviewed?
No, on screen talent are but a part of this amazing archive…
We cover all TV Professions,: Actors, Directors, Writers, Producers, Art Directors, Stuntmen, Composers, Music Directors, Historians, News Anchors, Talk Show Hosts, Religious Broadcasters, Puppeteers, Animators, Lighting Designers, Editors, Production Designers, Announcers, Sportscasters, Audio Engineers, Cameramen, Publicists, Advertising Executives, Network Founders and more
What Interviews Have You Seen?
I only recently discovered this site whilst doing some research for another project on this blog; consequently, I have only skimmed through three interviews thus far: Michael J. Fox, Andy Griffith, and Fred (Mr.) Rogers.
Video Promo
Here is a video promo from the site1
In Conclusion
This site can really help one understand the medium of television. As with any other archive, it will only grow richer as time passes. I encourage you to add it to your list of sites to visit so that you can better understand the society you are living in as well as the society your parents and their parents traversed.
Until next time…
1. Video used with implied permission as this video was taken directly from the press and resources page along with the fact that embedding of the video is explicitly allowed on foreign sites.
