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Television in America Recordings

An inventory of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: IRP
Date: 10 Jun 2025

Biographical History

Television in America: First Person Singular was an interview series, produced by Steven H. Scheuer, along with Morton Silverstein, and CUNY TV in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2002, the show's title became Television in America: An Autobiography with 13-episodes series for public television. Many recordings in this collection appear to be pilot interviews, and most were never aired. Only the interviews with Mike Wallace, Andy Rooney, and Richard Hottelet were broadcast from this collection.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Television in America Recordings collection features sixteen video interviews with prominent figures in television broadcasting who have significantly influenced the medium in the United States. In these oral history interviews, the participants discuss their personal growth and careers in television, as well as the evolution of the media over several decades. The panelists share their various television-related roles and experiences, ranging from executives in the news industry, to reporters, to war correspondents during World War II who witnessed the German concentration camps. Others reported from the battlefield during the Vietnam War, and they reflect on how their reporting changed America's perspective on the war. Influential individuals in this collection include Bernard Birnbaum, Edward Bleier, Heywood Broun, Andy Rooney, Richard Hottelet, Morley Safer, Mike Wallace, and others.

Arrangement of the Collection

This collection is arranged alphabetically by the interviewee's last name.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advance notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Access to audiovisual material requires advance notice to produce a use copy.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has extensive collections relating to radio, television, and film history. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

Additional Television in America interviews are held by CUNY TV.

Subject Headings

Persons

Birnbaum, Bernard.
Bleier, Edward.
Broun, Heywood Hale, 1918-2001.
Dessart, George.
Hottelet, Richard C.
Morgan, Robin, 1941-
Rooney, Andy.
Safer, Morley.
Scheffler, Philip.
Scheuer, Steven H.
Sharnik, John.
Silverstein, Morton.
Utley, Garrick, 1939-2014.
Wallace, Mike, 1918-2012.
Wolff, Perry.

Corporate Bodies

CUNY-TV (Television station : New York, N.Y.)

Subjects

Journalism.
Television -- History.
Television -- Social aspects.
Television and politics.
Television broadcasting -- United States.
Television broadcasting of news -- United States.
Television journalists -- Interviews.
Television producers -- Interviews.

Genres and Forms

Interviews.
VHS.
Video recordings (physical artifacts)
Videocassettes.
Videotapes.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Television in America Recordings,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

The Television in America Recordings were originally donated by Steven Scheuer as part of the All About TV Recordings. In 2025, the tapes were made into their own collection based on the fact that they represented a separate and distinct show program.

Table of Contents

Recordings

Inventory