"The whole art is so new, and so many wonderful things have
already been accomplished that many will believe
almost any claim.
To the honest misconceptions of the partially informed are added the overstatements of promoters with something
to sell. The interests of these people are best served by the greatest possible stimulation in the public of a desire to participate
in a prospective golden harvest.
This phenomenon is common to every new invention or development."
- Frank Jewett, VP ATT/Bell Labs, 1928
All text, art elements and pages copyright 2007, Museum of Broadcast Technology. All rights reserved. MBT03 2007-04-20
In
the context of today’s high tech endeavors; the internet,
digital
television, cell phones, etc. Mr. Jewett’s observations
read
as modern insight. He offered this view in 1928 at a
Harvard Business School lecture on managing high
technology.
The lecture series chairman and organizer was
none other than David Sarnoff of The RCA.
Under discussion - the nascent commercial broadcasting
industry, economic models for one-to-one and one-to-many
communications,
and the practicality of early television systems.
The telegraph, telephone, electric light, phonograph, motion pictures
and other technologies existed well before Jewett, Sarnoff and other luminaries convened
at Harvard in 1928. They
came together to explore the governing principles of
a “high technology” business in order to develop radio
and television both as a commercial enterprise and social force. Their journey forward to create the
tools of a new industry
began here. In the fullness of time their early dreams
and much more were realized.
We invite you to join us in
our journey back - to the early cameras, recorders,
and related tools and systems that brought radio and TV fully into their
own.
Welcome to MBT - The Museum of Broadcast Technology.
