Newton Minow, the then-chairman of the FCC said this in 1961:
When television is good, nothing - not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers - nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your station goes on the air and stay there without a book, magazine, newspaper, profit-and-loss sheet or rating book to distract you - and keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that you will observe a vast wasteland." How have we improved since 1961? I daresay not a lot. More networks, but more jiggle. Girls Gone Wild would have been censored in 1961 except maybe at bachelor parties.
Charles of Schaumburg