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Television and Radio

Note: As explained in the Introduction, above, "During the 1970s there were numerous presentations over National Public Radio, including the production of some hour-long programs, reporting on the Democratic and Republican Presidential nominating conventions and the cross-Iowa bicycle ride ("RAGBRAI"), and a series on BBC Television. During 1983-84 there was a PBS series called "The New Tech Times" for which Nicholas Johnson was contributing editor and host. There were also, from 1982 to 1986, a series of weekly radio commentaries distributed via satellite to NPR stations. The Bibliography contains some information about these latter two series.

The New Tech Times

"The New Tech Times" was a television series, produced at the facilities of public television station WHA-TV in Madison, Wisconsin, during the fall of 1983 and spring of 1984. There were two seasons, and a total of 28 programs in which Nicholas Johnson participated as contributing editor and host. The programs were numbered 101-128. Video tapes of the programs have been preserved as have transcripts of programs 112-120. An illustrative sample of such a program transcript, the one for program number 113, is available in electronic form at the World Wide Web site described in "Appendix I: Texts Online," below.

Obviously, any television program is the production of a large group of people in addition to whoever happens to be on the TV screen. Although the staff and crew changed somewhat throughout the series of programs, these were the credits on show 113 (with apologies to those who worked on other shows and are not listed here):

"SENIOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Carol Cotter; EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Jeff Clarke; SENIOR PRODUCER Barry Stoner; CONTRIBUTING EDITOR/HOST Nicholas Johnson; DIRECTOR Carl Battaglia; SEGMENT PRODUCER Gary Probst; ASSISTANT PRODUCER Alan Worman; PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Rebecca S. Lewison; UNIT MANAGER Suzanne Duroux; DIRECTOR OF NEW TECHNOLOGY Steven Vedro; SENIOR RESEARCHER Tim Haight; RESEARCHERS Stewart Goldstein, Wendy Lou Goldstein, Robert Rubinyi; VIDEOGRAPHERS/EDITORS Chuck France, Jim Erskine, Robert Reed; SOUND Tom Naunas, Brad Wray, Jon Dumont; LIGHTING DESIGN Kenneth Ferencek; SET DESIGN Shirwill; THEME MUSIC Michelle Musser; OPEN ANIMATION DESIGN Jerry Musser; VIDEO Don Bednarek; AUDIO Richard Taugher, Dave Schilz; VIDEOTAPE Ed Furstenberg, Paul Henurictson; FLOOR MANAGER Janice Kettler; SWITCHER Lisa F. Curran; ELECTRONIC GRAPHICS Renee Gusman,

Paul Grinrod; CAMERAS Peter M. Kleppin, Dave McCoy, Richara E. Tanaka; PROMPTER John Steele; THE NEW TECH TIMES TECHNOLOGY ADVISORY COMMITTEE David Brown, M.S., Patrick Dickson, Ph.D., L.H. Landweber, Ph.D., Richard Lawdon, Ph.D., University of WisconsinMadison;

Equipment for THE NEW TECH TIMES supplied by: APPLE COMPUTER CO.; Mr. Johnson's wardrobe courtesy of LAND'S END YACHT STORES, INC. of Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

THE NEW TECH Times has been brought to you through a grant from Wausau Insurance Companies. Times change. Wausau works. And by the collective voice of the consumer electronics industry. CEG the Consumer Electronics Group Electronic Industries Association."

Radio Commentaries (1982-86)

Note: From 1982 through 1986 a series of 232 radio commentaries were produced at WSUI-AM, Iowa City, Iowa, and up-linked by satellite from WOI-AM, Ames, Iowa. They were provided as a part of National Public Radio's Extended Programming Service's satellite distribution to NPR's then-400-plus radio stations. This was made possible as a result of the encouragement, support, supervision, and production skills and facilities provided by Dennis Reese, Program Manager, WSUI-AM. Although the commentaries usually drew themes and content from the columns being syndicated at that time, they were of different format, shorter, and usually ran about three minutes in length. In most cases, the dates following the commentary titles are the dates of recording, not distribution. As will be seen from the dates, the later recording sessions usually involved doing a batch of commentaries about once a month rather than recording weekly. Most of the radio scripts and tapes have been preserved.

In late 1985 and early 1986 a Washington-based program distribution service, IPI, contracted for the commentaries recorded and listed below under the sub-heading "IPI Series." Some may have been distributed, but IPI went out of business before the series developed beyond those listed.

NPR Extended Programming Service

1982

"How to Live in a Telecommunications Tornado." No. 1, June 3, 1982.

"TV and Reality." No. 2, June 3, 1982.

"Your Electronic Cottage?" No. 3, June 10, 1982.

"What You're Missing." No. 4, June 10, 1982.

"Video Tape Recorders I." No. 5, June 17, 1982.

"Video Tape Recorders II." No. 6, June 24, 1982.

"Electronics Anonymous." No. 7, July 1, 1982.

"Portable Communications." No. 8, July 8, 1982.

"Reach Out and Crush Someone." No. 9, July 15, 1982.

"Reforming Television." No. 10, July 22, 1982.

"Ham Radio I." No. 11, July 29, 1982.

"Ham Radio II." No. 12, August 5, 1982.

"Innovation in Perspective." No. 13, August 12, 1982.

"Radio Marti." No. 14, August 19, 1982.

"The Pusher." No. 15, August 26, 1982.

"Politics and Broadcasting I." No. 16, September 2, 1982.

"Politics and Broadcasting II." No. 17, September 9, 1982.

"The State of Television." No. 18, September 16, 1982.

"Scanners." No. 19, September 23, 1982.

"Information Overload I." No. 20, September 30, 1982.

"Information Overload II." No. 21, October 7, 1982.

"Whose First Amendment?" No. 22, October 14, 1982.

"Portable Telephones." No. 23, October 21, 1982.

"Home Earth Stations." No. 24, October 28, 1982.

"BehaviorScan." No. 25, November 4, 1982.

"Video Games." No. 26, November 11, 1982.

"Answering Machines." No. 27, November 18, 1982.

"Portable Stereos." No. 28, November 25, 1982.

"The Information Poor." No. 29, December 2, 1982.

"Consumers and Cable Television." No. 30, December 9, 1982.

"Mastering the Manuals." No. 31, December 16, 1982.

"Telephone Rates." No. 32, December 22, 1982.

"Men and Machines." No. 33, December 30, 1982.

1983

"The Bicycle Solution." No. 34, January 6, 1983.

"Communications Competition." No. 35, January 13, 1983.

"The Robots Are Coming." No. 36, January 20, 1983.

"C-SPAN." No. 37, January 27, 1983.

"Communications and the Cities." No. 38, February 3, 1983.

"Analog People in a Digital World." No. 39, February 10, 1983.

"Cable Politics." No. 40, February 17, 1983.

"Computers and Consumers." No. 41, February 24, 1983.

"Pocket Computers." No. 42, March 3, 1983.

"Electronic Budget Busters." No. 43, March 10, 1983.

"Video Recorder Boom." No. 44, March 17, 1983.

"Special Purpose Computers." No. 45, March 24, 1983.

"Concentrated TV." No. 46, March 31, 1983.

"Teletext." No. 47, April 7, 1983.

"Communications Change." No. 48, April 14, 1983.

"Computer Conferencing I." No. 49, April 21, 1983.

"Computer Conferencing II." No. 50, April 28, 1983.

"Community Television I." No. 51, May 5, 1983.

"Community Television II." No. 52, May 12, 1983.

"Nick's Vic's Tricks I." No. 53, May 19, 1983.

"Nick's Vic's Tricks II." No. 54, May 26, 1983.

"Teleconferencing." No. 55, June 2, 1983.

"Consumer Electronics Show." No. 56, June 9, 1983.

"AT&T Call Home." No. 57, June 16, 1983.

"1984." No. 58, June 23, 1983.

"Censorship." No. 59, June 30, 1983.

"TV Regulation." No. 60, July 7, 1983.

"National Public Radio." No. 61, July 14, 1983.

"Computer Crime." No. 62, July 21, 1983.

"Spanish TV." No. 63, July 28, 1983.

"Computer Magazines I." No. 64, August 4, 1983.

"Computer Magazines II." No. 65, August 11, 1983.

"Computer Bulletin Boards." No. 66, August 18, 1983.

"Cable Rates." No. 67, August 25, 1983.

"Redefining "Labor." No. 68, September 1, 1983.

"Cable Co-ops." No. 69, September 8, 1983.

"Integrated Circuits." No. 70, September 15, 1983.

"Using the Phone I." No. 71, September 22, 1983.

"Using the Phone II." No. 72, September 29, 1983.

"Computer Business." No. 73, October 6, 1983.

"Computer Health I." No. 74, October 13, 1983.

"Computer Health II." No. 75, October 20, 1983.

"Electronic Cottages." No. 76, October 27, 1983.

"Call Waiting." No. 77, November 3, 1983.

"Word Processing I." No. 78, November 10, 1983.

"Word Processing II." No. 79, November 17, 1983.

"Databases." No. 80, November 24, 1983.

"Computers and Children." No. 81, December 1, 1983.

"Cabbage Patch Computers." No. 82, December 8, 1983.

"Computer Shopping I." No. 83, December 15, 1983.

"Computer Shopping II." No. 84, December 22, 1983.

"Electronic Mail." No. 85, December 29, 1983.

1984

"1984: It's Here." No. 86, January 5, 1984.

"Can Computers Think?" No. 87, January 12, 1984.

"Electronic Columns." No. 88, January 19, 1984.

"Consumer Electronics Show." No. 89, January 26, 1984.

"Macintosh." No. 90, February 2, 1984.

"Video Camera-Recorders." No. 91, February 9, 1984.

"Communication and Consumer Protection." No. 92, February 16, 1984.

"Phone Service." No. 93, February 23, 1984.

"There're No Home Computers." No. 94, March 1, 1984.

"Computers and Politics I." No. 95, March 8, 1984.

"Computers and Politics II." No. 96, March 15, 1984.

"The Joy of Computers." No. 97, March 22, 1984.

"Wire the Handicapped." No. 98, March 29, 1984.

"The Paperless Office." No. 99, April 12, 1984.

"Computer Laundromats." No. 100, April 19, 1984.

"Shirt Pocket Electronics." No. 101, April 26, 1984.

"Automotive Electronics." No. 102, May 3, 1984.

"Electronic Gadgets." No. 103, May 10, 1984.

"Computers and Creativity." No. 104, June 27, 1984.

"Information Overload." No. 105, July 31, 1984.

"Alternative Phone Companies." No. 106, July 31, 1984.

"Electronic Censors." No. 107, July 31, 1984.

"Portable Communications." No. 108, July 31, 1984.

"The Sky is Falling." No. 109, July 31, 1984.

"Labor Day." No. 110, August 28, 1984.

"Deregulation." No. 111, August 28, 1984.

"Robots." No. 112, August 28, 1984.

"Fading Videotape." No. 113, August 28, 1984.

"Minding Computers." No. 114, August 28, 1984.

"Zapping Commercials." No. 115, September 26, 1984.

"Telephone Computers." No. 116, September 26, 1984.

"Computers and Education I." No. 117, September 26, 1984.

"Computers and Education II." No. 118, September 26, 1984.

"Politics and Electronics I." No. 119, October 31, 1984.

"Politics and Electronics II." No. 120, October 31, 1984.

"Midget Radios." No. 121, October 31, 1984.

"Electronic Education?" No. 122, October 31, 1984.

"Split Screen Commercials." No. 123, October 31, 1984.

"Fuzzy Computers." No. 124, November 27, 1984.

"Christmas Computers." No. 125, December 19, 1984.

"An Electronic Christmas." No. 126, December 19, 1984.

"The Best Things in Life I." No. 127, December 19, 1984.

"The Best Things in Life II." No. 128, December 19, 1984.

1985

"Congressional Communications." No. 129, January 22, 1985.

"Pirate Radio Stations." No. 130, January 22, 1985.

"Human Computers." No. 131, January 22, 1985.

"Omnibot Meets Weight Talker." No. 132, January 22, 1985.

"Bigger Computers." No. 133, March 1, 1985.

"Videotex." No. 134, March 1, 1985.

"Guidebooks." No. 135, March 1, 1985.

"Cottage Industry." No. 136, March 1, 1985.

"Western Union Comes Home." No. 137, March 1, 1985.

"Computer Gremlins." No. 138, March 26, 1985.

"Believing is Seeing." No. 139, March 26, 1985.

"Russian Computers." No. 140, March 26, 1985.

"Fairness Doctrine I." No. 141, March 26, 1985.

"Fairness Doctrine II." No. 142, March 26, 1985.

"Friend Finders." No. 143, May 1, 1985.

"Blow Up Your TV." No. 144, May 1, 1985.

"Electronic Libraries." No. 145, May 1, 1985.

"Computer Repairs." No. 146, May 1, 1985.

"Summer Electronics." No. 147, May 1, 1985.

"Home Banking." No. 148, May 29, 1985.

"Electronic Interference I." No. 149, May 29, 1985.

"Electronic Interference II." No. 150, May 29, 1985.

"Amateur Radio I." No. 151, May 29, 1985.

"Amateur Radio II." No. 152, July 9, 1985.

"Epcot." No. 153, July 9, 1985.

"Broadcast Ownership I." No. 154, July 9, 1985.

"Broadcast Ownership II." No. 155, July 9, 1985.

"Phone Bills." No. 156, August 13, 1985.

"Satellite Dishes I." No. 157, August 13, 1985.

"Satellite Dishes II." No. 158, August 13, 1985.

"Silent Screen." No. 159, August 13, 1985.

"Mason Williams." No. 160, August 13, 1985.

"Lost History." No. 161, September 18, 1985.

"The Ears Have It." No. 162, September 18, 1985.

"Electronic Labor Day." No. 163, September 18, 1985.

"Long Distance Charges." No. 164, September 18, 1985.

"Electronic Love." No. 165, September 18, 1985.

"Pagers." No. 166, October 15, 1985.

"Self Help." No. 167, October 15, 1985.

"Artificial Intelligence." No. 168, October 15, 1985.

"Whatever Happened to Computers?" No. 169, October 15, 1985.

"Information Radio." No. 170, November 12, 1985.

"Electronic Libraries." No. 171, November 12, 1985.

"Information Life." No. 172, November 12, 1985.

"Lap Computers." No. 173, November 12, 1985.

"Computer Crime." No. 174, November 12, 1985.

1986

"Take It With You." No. 175, January 3, 1986.

"TV's Impact." No. 176, January 3, 1986.

"Monitoring." No 177, January 3, 1986.

"Shocking Stockings." No. 178, January 3, 1986.

"Jesus' Publicist." No. 179, January 3, 1986.

"Electronic Toddlers." No. 180, February 4, 1986.

"Electronic Greetings." No. 181, February 6, 1986.

"Attention Span." No. 182, February 6, 1986.

"Russian Eavesdroppers." No. 183, February 6, 1986.

"1988." No. 184, February 6, 1986.

"Electronic Newspapers." No. 185, March 11, 1986.

"Electronic Valentines." No. 186, March 11, 1986.

"Electronic Money." No. 187, March 11, 1986.

"Human Networks." No. 188, March 11, 1986.

"Electronic Cars." No. 189, March 11, 1986.

"C-SPAN." No. 190, April 8, 1986.

"Community Radio." No. 191, April 8, 1986.

"Making Change." No. 192, April 8, 1986.

"Where Am I?" No. 193, April 8, 1986.

"Computer Components." No. 194, May 5, 1986.

"Stuffing Envelopes." No. 195, May 5, 1986.

"Eskimos' Computers." No. 196, May 5, 1986.

"Video War Games." No. 197, May 5, 1986.

"Electronic Flying." No. 198, May 5, 1986.

"Computer Dieting." No. 199, May 5, 1986.

"Captain Midnight." No. 200, June 24, 1986.

"Answering Machines." No. 201, June 24, 1986.

"Expo 86." No. 202, June 24, 1986.

"Japanese Traffic." No. 203, June 24, 1986.

"Getting Informed." No. 204, June 24, 1986.

"Multipliers." No. 205, July 28, 1986.

"The Fourth Channel." No. 206, July 28, 1986.

"Robotic Jobs." No. 207, July 28, 1986.

"Project Censored." No. 208, July 28, 1986.

"File Management." No. 209, July 28, 1986.

"School Days." No. 210, August 19, 1986.

"Scrambling." No. 211, August 19, 1986.

"Talking Computers." No. 212, August 19, 1986.

"Picture Phones." No. 213, August 19, 1986.

"High Tech Hobos." No. 214, August 19, 1986.

"Music Videos." No. 215, August 19, 1986.

"Telecommuting." No. 216, August 19, 1986.

"Closet Computers." No. 217, August 19, 1986.

"Eliza." No. 218, August 19, 1986.

"Electronic Cities." No. 219, August 19, 1986.

"Computerized Weather." No. 220, October 7, 1986.

"Human Capacity." No. 221, November 7, 1986.

"Entertaining News." No. 222, November 7, 1986.

"Star Wars." No. 223, November 7, 1986.

"Electronic Disinformation." No. 224, November 7, 1986.

"Holiday Electronics." No. 225, December 23, 1986.

"Educational MTV." No. 226, December 23, 1986.

"Electronic Parks." No. 227, December 23, 1986.

"Hollywood Lobbyists." No. 228, December 23, 1986.

"Electronic Elections." No. 229, December 23, 1986.

"Cellular Telephones." No. 230, December 23, 1986.

"Media and Values." No. 231, December 23, 1986.

"Information Age." No. 232, December 23, 1986.

IPI Series

"Bigger Computers." No. 1, November 12, 1985.

"Omnibot Meets Weight Talker." No. 2, November 12, 1985.

"Computer Courtship." No. 3, March 17, 1986.

"Electronic Gifts." No. 4, March 17, 1986.

"Attention Span." No. 5, March 17, 1986.

"Video War Games." No. 6, April 14, 1986 (revised May 12, 1986).

"Who Am I." No. 7, April 14, 1986.

"Stuffing Envelopes." No. 8, May 12, 1986.

"Eskimos' Computers." No. 9, May 12, 1986.

"Electronic Flying." No. 10, May 12, 1986.

"Expo 86." No. 11, June 9, 1986.

"Answering Machines." No. 12, June 9, 1986.

"Japanese Traffic." No. 13, June 24, 1986.

"Getting Informed." No. 14, June 9, 1986.

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