TV in the antenna age

While doing some holiday travel, I was pleasantly surprised by an classic television exhibit in Terminal 3 of SFO, Television in the Antenna Age.  Check it out if you're there!

 Although the exhibit was almost exclusively about scripted television and technology, I was happy to find this little shout out to Reality Television...

Reality Television:  Unscripted television featuring "ordinary" people dates to television's earliest years.  Allen Funt, the host and producer of radio show Candid Microphone, introduced Candid Camera on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in 1948.  The premise involved presenting unsuspecting people with unusual or alarming situations and capturing their reactions with hidden cameras.  The pranks ranged from elaborate set-ups, sometimes involving the subject's friends or relatives, to simple reaction shots of pedestrians surprised by a talking mailbox, or an over-enthusiastic traffic cop.  Television viewers were captivated by the actions of people with whom they identified, and the program aired for more than fifty years.