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Erik Barnouw

エリック・バーナウ

Erik Barnouw

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1908-06-23 （The Hague, Netherlands）
Died
2001-07-19 （Fair Haven, Vermont, United States） age 93
Nationality
Netherlands, United States
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
broadcasting historian, historian, author, professor, documentary filmmaker
Active Years
1930-2001
Affiliations
Columbia University, Library of Congress (Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division), Writers Guild of America (chair)
Memberships
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Board of Governors)
Influenced
Ken Burns, broadcasting historians and documentary filmmakers

Education

Horace Mann School
Country: United States
Secondary school in New York City. Barnouw attended here.
Princeton University
Country: United States
Served as an editor of the Nassau Literary Magazine and wrote for campus theatre.

Awards

Peabody Award
1944
Work: Words at War (documentary series)
Organization: Peabody Awards
Result: 受賞
George Polk Award
1971
Organization: George Polk Awards
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A Tower in Babel: A History of Broadcasting in the United States To 1933

1966 broadcasting history / scholarly

A historical study covering the early years of American broadcasting through 1933, examining institutions, technology, and cultural impact.

origins of broadcastingtechnology and institutionscultural history

The Golden Web: A History of Broadcasting in the United States 1933–1953

1968 broadcasting history / scholarly

A continuation covering 1933–1953, discussing the development and impact of radio and early television.

network formationcommercializationWorld War II and broadcasting

The Image Empire: A History of Broadcasting in the United States from 1953

1970 broadcasting history / scholarly

Final volume addressing the rise of television and its cultural and industrial significance.

television adoptionvisual cultureindustrial history

The Magician and the Cinema

1981 film history / cultural studies

A study of the relationship between magic (illusion) and cinema, reflecting Barnouw's interest in magic.

history of magicfilm and performancevisual trickery

Hiroshima Nagasaki August, 1945

1970 documentary film

A documentary compiling footage shot shortly after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; provoked strong reactions at release.

war documentationarchival footagehistorical memory

Bibliography

  • A Tower in Babel: A History of Broadcasting in the United States To 1933 (1966)
  • The Golden Web: A History of Broadcasting in the United States 1933–1953 (1968)
  • The Image Empire: A History of Broadcasting in the United States from 1953 (1970)
  • Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television (1976; revised 1992)
  • Indian Film (First edition 1962; with S. Krishnaswamy 1980)
  • The Sponsor: Notes on a Modern Potentate (1978)
  • The Magician and the Cinema (1981)
  • International Encyclopedia of Communications (editor, 1989)
  • Documentary: A History of the Non-Fiction Film (1993)
  • Media Marathon (autobiography, 1996)
  • Media Lost and Found (2001)

Adaptations

  • Hiroshima Nagasaki August, 1945 (1970)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
scholarly yet readable prosemeticulous use of archival materialanalytical and critical perspective
Recurring Motifs
social responsibility of mediabroadcasting and democracywar and media relationships

Health

  • inoperable cancer
    2001
    Died of inoperable cancer in 2001. Affected his final months of work.

Legacy

Erik Barnouw was a pioneer who helped establish broadcasting history as a scholarly field in the United States. He produced standard references on radio, television, and documentary film history, and his archival methods and accessible writing influenced documentary makers and media scholars.

Academic Societies

  • Organization of American Historians (award named for him)

In Popular Culture

  • Erik Barnouw Award (Organization of American Historians award for films about American history)
  • Influence on documentary filmmakers and media critics

Quotes

  • Barnouw is our keenest observer of the frighteningly complicated world of media. No one has seen more, no one sees more, no one understands more than Barnouw.
    Source: Ken Burns (blurb on book cover of Media Lost and Found) (2001)

Trivia

  • In high school he catalogued magician John Mulholland's books on magic.
  • At Princeton he wrote for campus theatre and helped fund the University Players summer company.
  • His 1970 documentary 'Hiroshima Nagasaki August, 1945' compiled early post-bombing footage and provoked strong reactions.