Friday / Weekend Open Lines


Friday, July 1st.  “America runs on Bulova time.” That declaration was the entire audio portion of the first advertisement appearing on a commercial television station. The rather subdued ad was broadcast on New York station WBNT on this date in 1941, the first TV ad with the sanction of the Federal Communications Commission. The 10-second spot appeared in a Brooklyn Dodgers game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Consisting of nothing more than the image of a ticking clock, the ad cost Bulova just $9. TV commercials have grown vastly more sophisticated since the 1941 experiment. Creating new commercials contributes to the $60 billion in annual revenue earned by the nation’s 14,000 video and motion picture production outlets. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Saturday, July 2nd. On this date in 1788, the U.S. Congress learned that the Constitution had been ratified by the ninth of the 13 states to which it was submitted for approval. With the Constitution thus in effect, the loose organization of the states under the Articles of Confederation became a more perfect union. The Constitution calls for a census every 10 years to ensure that seats in the House of Representatives reflect the distribution of the U.S. population. The 1790 Census found 3.9 million resident Americans, and when the first Congress convened, the House had 65 members. Today, California by itself has 53 of the 435 seats in the House, and the 2010 Census found the population of Los Angeles alone is around 3.8 million. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.

Sunday, July 3rd. Befitting the run up to the nation’s celebration of freedom, one of the most important pieces of legislation in our history came just before Independence Day in 1964. The Civil Rights Act swept away Jim Crow laws by prohibiting discrimination based on race in all accommodations and facilities open to the public, as well as employment, union membership, and voter registration. Shortly after the Civil Rights Act became law, nearly 42 percent of the black population lived in poverty. Today, that figure is just over 27 percent. In 1964, less than 20 percent of black adults had a high school diploma. Now, over 84 percent of the black population over the age of 25 have at least a high school diploma, and nearly 20 percent have a bachelor’s or advanced degree. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.