Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show

* Introduction by Horace Newcomb *1. History of Television Talk: Defining a Genre * Introduction * Unspoken Rules * History * Three Major Subgenres * Cycles * Star Hosts * Talk Worlds *2. The First Cycle (1948-1962): Experimentation, Consolidation, and Network Control-CBS * Introduction to the First Cycle * Founders at CBS: Murrow and Godfrey * Close-up: "The Case of Milo Radulovich," See It Now, October 20, 1953 *3. The First Cycle: Experimentation, Consolidation, and Network Control-NBC and DuMont * Sylvester "Pat" Weaver: NBC's Executive Visionary of Television Talk (1949-1955) * Dave Garroway (1952-1961) * Arlene Francis and Home (1954-1957) * Close-up: Arlene Francis' Last Home Show, August 9, 1957, NBC * Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Tonight! Founding Traditions of Late-Night Entertainment Talk (1954-1962) * Close-up: Jack Paar's Walk Off the Set of The Tonight Show, February 1960 * Mike Wallace: The Grand Inquisitor of Television Talk (1956-1958) * Conclusion *4. The Second Cycle (1962-1974): Network Consolidation and New Challenges * Introduction * Johnny Carson and The Tonight Show (1962-1967) * Mike Wallace: "The Grand Inquisitor" Returns (1962-1967) * Barbara Walters: The "Tender Trap" (1962-1967) * Challenges to Network Domination (1969-1974) * Phil Donahue (1967-1974) *5. Competitive Ferment in the Late Second Cycle: The Late-Night Talk-Show Wars (1967-1974) * Introduction * The Challengers: Bishop, Frost, Griffin, and Cavett * Close-up: Norman Mailer vs. Gore Vidal on The Dick Cavett Show, ABC, December 1, 1971 * Johnny Carson (1967-1974) * Conclusion *6. The Third Cycle (1974-1980): Transitions * 1974: A Year of Change * Watergate as National Talk Event * New Voices in Syndication: Phil Donahue and Mike Douglas * An Independent Voice: Bill Moyers * The Voices of Women: Barbara Walters and Dinah Shore * Battling from Within: Johnny Carson and NBC (1974-1980) * Close-up: Johnny Carson's Tonight: "The Execution Game," A Censored Monologue Routine, January 18, 1977, NBC * Conclusion: The End of the Network Era *7. The Fourth Cycle (1980-1990): The Post-Network Era * Introduction * David Letterman and the Reinvention of the Late-Night Talk Show * Close-up: Late Night with David Letterman * "America Held Hostage": The Genesis of ABC's Nightline with Ted Koppel * Close-up: News Talk, Entertainment Talk, and the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor Disaster of 1986 * New Hosts, New Audiences * Joan Rivers and the Late-Night Talk-Show Wars of 1986-1987 * Oprah Winfrey * Geraldo Rivera * Arsenio Hall * New Consciousness of the Power of TV Talk *8. The Fifth Cycle (1990-1995): News as Entertainment * Introduction * Leno, Letterman, and the Late-Night Talk-Show Wars (1990-1995) * News Talk as Entertainment and Politics: McLaughlin and King (1992-1995) * The O. J. Simpson Verdict as a National Talk Event (1995) *9. The Fifth Cycle (1996-2000): Trash Talk, Nice Talk, and Blended Talk * Ricki Lake and the National "Trash Talk" Debate * When Words Break Down: Jerry Springer (1991-) * Rosie O'Donnell's "Nice Talk" (1996-) * New Blends * Bill Maher and Politically Incorrect * Garry Shandling and The Larry Sanders Show (1992-1998) * Conclusion *10. Conclusion * Appendix * A Taxonomy of Television Talk by Robert J. Erler and Bernard M. Timberg * A Guide to Television Talk by Robert J. Erler * Notes * Sources * Index