Videoage International April 2019

14 April 2019 V I D E O A G E T he Television Critics Association’s Winter 2019 Press Tour, which ended February 13, in effect marked the opening of the 2019- 2020 U.S. TV season. Over the years, the TCA has developed into a crystal ball of sorts that studios and networks alike can turn to find out what TV shows are in the works or what trends are emerging for the new TV season to come. Since the very beginning of television broad- casting in the 1950s, the three main U.S. TV networks (ABC, NBC, and CBS) have spon- sored press tours. At these lavish junkets (which brought together television critics from across the nation), reporters were wined and dined by network executives and talent eager to show- case their new programming line-ups (and who expected to receive favorable reviews). Hosted at some of the poshest hotels in the Los Angeles area, the networks covered flights, rooms, and meals for the multi-week tours. Some of the reporters even received “cab mon- ey” — envelopes of cash on top of their room and board expenses. In the summer of 1978, that comfortable but compromised world began to change. The new generation of television critics, schooled pri- marily in journalism rather than the arts, and coming of age in a post-Watergate America, in- sisted on having their role as reporters of news taken more seriously. They resented the efforts of the networks to win their favor by paying all their expenses. On June 28, 1978, the attending critics voted unani- mously to create the Television Critics of Ameri- ca (TCA) to assert their independence. The first officers were Lee Winfrey ( Philadelphia Inquir- er ) as president, Barbara Holsopple ( Pittsburgh Press ) as vice president, Steve Hoffman ( Cincin- nati Enquirer ) as secretary, and William Henry II ( Boston Globe ) as treasurer. The first change the critics made to the tour was the creation of a TCA Day, one day out of the normally packed schedule of press conferences and banquets where the critics could gather to discuss the state of the television medium. This event served as a chance to hash out is- sues beyond the fall line-up. Among the topics addressed at the first TCA Day were how to curb advertising aimed at children and how to foster more independent television production. To further the second topic, the critics invited Larry Grossman, president of public TV network PBS, to give a speech at the following years’ TCA Day, a year before PBS and its programming would become regular parts of the tour. In 1980, the TCAmade its first major statement of independence from the networks. The mem- bers passed a unanimous resolution supporting the right of any print journalist writing about television to attend any media-related event in their field, and condemning any attempt to limit that right. This decision was made to address the networks’ common practice of ‘freezing out’ critics who gave their programs unfavorable re- views. Without access to the press tour, critics’ ability to do their job was severely compromised. In 1984-1985, in a further move to establish their independence and boost their credentials as critics, the TCA held its first annual TCA awards, By Michael Flood The History of TCA: How Critics Helped Shape the New U.S. TV Season Television Cri t ics Associat ion Barry Garron, Barbara Holsopple, and Ann Hodges celebrate Bob Hope’s career award in 1992 Grant Tinker, first TCA lifetime achievent winner, is honored by former TCA presidents Tom Jicha ( Fort Lauderdale Sun- Sentinel ), Dusty Saunders ( Rocky Mountain News ), Lee Winfrey ( Philadelphia Inquirer ), Barbara Holsopple ( Pittsburgh Press ) and Ed Bark ( Dallas Morning News ), in 1985. (Continued on Page 16) The TCA has made remarkable progress at asserting its members’ rights as journalists... They have transformed an industry-controlled promotional event, one that treated them like associate publicity agents, into a journalistic opportunity.