Manhattan (1961 "Vast Wasteland" Speech by Newton Minow‪)‬

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? There is a remarkable difference between television in 1961, when Newton Minow delivered his great "Vast Wasteland" speech, (1) and television in the current era. The difference is the increase in the number of channels. When Minow spoke, most Americans only had access to three or four stations. The big networks monopolized the system. In the modern era, most Americans have cable television, and this means that most Americans have access to about 100 or more stations. Indeed, many Americans have access to DIRECTV, which means that they have access to more than 500 stations. No one knows what innovations the future will bring, but it is clear that scarcity is a decreasing problem. Let us suppose, plausibly, that for the overwhelming majority of Americans, television will contain an extraordinarily wide range of options in the near future.