- Museum of Broadcast Communications
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The Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain through our archives, public programs, screenings, exhibits, publications and online access to our resources."[1]
Contents
Construction of Museum building
The unfinished Museum in May, 2009
The Museum is slated to open in a building on State and Kinzie Streets in downtown Chicago, Illinois, sometime in 2012.[2] The new Museum building had delays in its development due to a fiscal stalemate with the State of Illinois. It was originally scheduled to open in Spring 2005 and later in 2009, but its half-completed building was then slated to be sold due to lack of funds, which CEO Bruce DuMont blamed on lack of state funds.[3] On November 7, 2009, DuMont announced that funding for the museum from the State of Illinois had been obtained and that construction would be restarted.[4]
In June 2010, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn stated that Illinois would be giving a $6 million capital grant to help complete the Museum.[2] The new 62,000-square-foot Museum was back under construction in 2010. It will include expanded areas for collection development, two exhibit galleries and working radio and television studios.[5] As of May of 2011, according to MBC president Bruce DuMont, the museum did make a deadline by the State of Illinois to finish basic interior work and landscaping. The museum had been given a 30-day extension on an original April 30 deadline due to cold weather.[6]
Encyclopedia of Television
The Museum's online resource, the Encyclopedia of Television, includes original essays relating to historic moments and trends, major policy disputes and such topics as violence, tabloid television and the quiz show scandal. It also includes histories of major television networks, as well as broadcasting systems around the world, and is complemented by resource materials, photos and bibliographical information.[7]
The Great Debate and Beyond
Chicago hosted the first televised presidential debate, between Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy. It took place September 26, 1960, at WBBM-TV's former studios on McClurg Court. The Museum created an interactive, multimedia online exhibition celebrating this long relationship called "The Great Debate and Beyond: The History of Televised Presidential Debates".[8]
National Radio Hall of Fame
There are plans for the Museum to become the home site of the National Radio Hall of Fame.[2]
See also
- Museum of Radio and Technology
- 20th Century Technology Museum
- The Museum of Classic Chicago Television
- Museum of Radio and Technology
- Paley Center for Media
References
- ^ About Us
- ^ a b c "Illinois Governor Confirms $6 Million Capital Grant for Broadcast Museum". The Museum of Broadcast Communications. June 22, 2010. http://www.museum.tv/newssection.php?page=573. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ^ Bruce DuMont
- ^ Radio Hall of Fame
- ^ Museum of Broadcast Communications
- ^ Broadcast museum moves offices into new building
- ^ Encyclopedia of Television Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ^ The History of Televised Presidential Debates. The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
External links
Coordinates: 41°53′21.16224″N 87°37′42.43858″W / 41.8892117333°N 87.6284551611°W
Categories:- History of broadcasting
- History of radio
- History of television
- Media museums in Illinois
- Museums in Chicago, Illinois
- Telecommunications museums in the United States
- Television preservation
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
