Quiz Show Scandals

Introduction to the Quiz Show Scandals

The post Cold-War era was a time when the American public was in the desperate need of a channel through which it could release the continuously mounting pressure. Quiz shows came across as a significant part of the social structure in this regard. The American people flocked in front of their television sets to watch quiz shows that promised rewards for intellectual exertion. These quiz shows held immense relevance because the common man was able to relate to the people who participated in them and won prizes. As a result, quiz shows such as The $64,000 Question garnered popularity rapidly. However, the tides turned when one of the contestants: Herb Stempel broke through the silence and blew the whistle on the scandalous nature of these quiz shows. According to Herb Stempel, the shows were rigged by the producers and the participants were provided the answers that they had to give during the show. This led to the development of a significant volume of controversy (Bodroghkozy, 102). However, the $64,000 Question was not the only quiz show that constituted the quiz show scandals. The revelation of the $64,000 Question to be rigged began a domino effect and similar plots were revealed.

The expansive nature of the quiz show scandals

The quiz show was not a new phenomenon. It originated on radio, with simple question and answer programs, followed by more elaborate games such as “Truth or Consequences.” But the winnings were relatively small, no more than a few hundred dollars or a gift prize from the show's sponsor. That changed in 1948 when ABC Radio aired “Stop The Music.” An hour-long Sunday night program, it required listeners to be at home; those who were called had a chance at answering a musical question. It also broke new ground by offering jackpots of prizes-a home, cars, trips and money-to the lucky winner. “Stop The Music” became a outright hit, leading to the demise of Fred Allen's long-running comedy show on NBC. (Allen had this reaction to “Music” and the big money games that followed: “If I were king for one day, I would make every program a giveaway show; when the studios were filled with the people who encourage these atrocities, I would lock the door. With all the morons of America trapped, the rest of the population could go about its business.

Impact of the Quiz Show Scandals

As a result of these revelations, the public lost the enthusiasm that it had begun to find in quiz shows. It would not be incorrect to state that the quiz show scandal of the 1950s was responsible for the loss of quiz shows' credibility altogether. It is common to find people claiming that quiz shows are generally rigged and scripted to cater to the demands that producers perceived were reflected in surveys and statistics. The sensitive nature of the quiz show scandals can be observed from the fact that the government chose to intervene in the scenario (Goodman & Gring, ...