Technological and TV innovations tour of Batten Hall with Henry Becton | Pt. 5 of 5 | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

WGBH, a media organization, has been a hub for creative content creation and technological innovations, including Zoom, closed captioning, and long-form documentaries.

Key Insights

• 🤣 WGBH's first floor served as the hub for important operations such as radio, television Master Control, and engineering and editing rooms.
• 🤣 Zoom, a program created by kids, became a long-running series produced by WGBH with a cast rehearsing on the first floor.
• 🚾 WGBH pioneered closed captioning with live programs and introduced closed-captioned television sets, becoming the industry standard.
• 🤙 WGBH contributed to various technological innovations, including Stereo simulcast broadcasting and a special system for movie theaters called rear screen captioning.
• 🖐️ The organization played a significant role in coverage of events like tennis and the Boston Marathon, as well as the development of long-form documentaries, including those produced by Ken Burns.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: What was the purpose of the program Zoom?

Zoom aimed to give voice to the creative life of kids by creating a program produced by kids, leading to a series created in the WGBH building. It featured a cast of six or seven children every year.

Q: How did WGBH contribute to closed captioning?

WGBH received a grant to caption live programs and became the first to do so by inserting a special chip into television sets. They later introduced closed captioning with a button option for viewing, and this method became a standard for television and movies.

Q: What were some of WGBH's other notable innovations?

WGBH was the first to broadcast in Stereo simulcast, covered events like tennis and the Boston Marathon, and played a crucial role in the development of long-form documentaries, with productions like the Civil War, baseball, and jazz documentaries.

Q: How does the iLab connect to WGBH's legacy?

The iLab, now housed in WGBH's former building, continues the tradition of incubating ideas and bringing people together across disciplines to create something new and innovative, aligning with WGBH's genetic heritage.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• WGBH's first floor housed radio stations, television Master Control, engineering and editing rooms, and the rehearsal room for Zoom, a program created by and for kids.

• Zoom, a crowdsourced program, received approximately 15,000 letters from kids per day. WGBH also pioneered closed captioning and created new hardware innovations.

• WGBH was the first to broadcast in Stereo simulcast, covered tennis and the Boston Marathon, and played a significant role in developing the long-form documentary format.