Introduction

The television industry in the United States was born of the early military-corporate alliance that resulted in the formation of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1917. A quasi-private entity created at the behest of the US Navy as a means of centralizing control over the emerging medium of radio, RCA was also a major player in the development of television technologies and forms. Until its demise in 1982, RCA was a regular defense contractor and seated a representative from the US Navy on its Board of Directors. ¹ RCA’s broadcast wing, NBC, was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the American entry into World War II, and, along with the other commercial networks, it routinely made space in its broadcast schedule available for military messengers. ² To this day, the major networks and cable channels provide programming (at a fraction of the market rate) to the military’s own globe-girdling broadcast operation, The American Forces Radio and Television Service. Thus, the connections between the US military and the otherwise privatized television industry are both long and deep.