FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
March 22, 2017
THE MBC@35 CELEBRATES BROADCAST MUSEUM’S HISTORY WITH EXHIBITION AND ALL STAR GALA
What started as a premise 35 years ago—that television history should be preserved and shared—has evolved into one of the country’s most respected media museums.
In 1982, TV producer Bruce DuMont proposed the idea and received $250 from the Chicago Chapter of the Television Academy to set in motion what has become the Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC).
This special anniversary celebration beginsWednesday, March 22 with the opening of a new exhibit, The MBC@35, marking 35 years since the inception of the Museum.
In video, artifact displays, and narrative history, The MBC@35 traces the original idea through three physical sites, an expanding education mission, and decades of programs, events, and high profile special guests.
Over the years, DuMont’s initialvision expanded from preserving historical recordings and broadcast industry milestones into an institution that connected with members of the public in a personal way, using media to capture history and to reflect their lives.
Exhibit highlights on display include rare artifacts from Children’s television program history (Puppets, Pies and Prizes), video of the final public appearances of film critic Gene Siskel and actress Audrey Meadows, and the 2007 portrayal by Robert Vaughn of Franklin D. Roosevelt in a moving induction of the president into the National Radio Hall of Fame staged at the Auditorium Theatre.
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The exhibit draws on the Museum’s archives to share images from more than 180 programs and events, with scores of local radio and television personalities as well as such respected national figures in media history as Milton Berle, Steve Allen, Dick Clark, Don Cornelius, Larry King, Edie Adams, Bob Saget, and Betty White.
The importance of the Museum’s archivesis prominently featured. (85,000 hours of video and audio content are included in the more than 20,000 catalogued items.)At the beginning, in a pre-YouTube world, visitors found the MBC offering the rare opportunity to see glimpses of past history in personal screening suites.
As the archives have grown in content and scope, its mission and education goals have shifted in emphasis to more focused researcher pursuit, drawing on such unique assets as the Museum’s ongoing preservation of nightly 10 p.m. local news coverage for each day since 1987. The dual mission of the MBC remains preservation and education, reflecting new twenty-first century opportunities in its current home.
The MBC@35, now showing in the Paul M. Lisnek Gallery, was written by television historian Walter Podrazik, the longtime curator of the museum. Exhibition Committee Chairman Jarrett Nathan along with exhibition director Peter Rangel, graphic designer Dylan Klauke, and video producer Steve Jajkowski created the exhibit.
MBC Founder Bruce DuMont has announced he is stepping down as president at the end of 2017. Larry Wert, President of Tribune Media, was elected chairman of the MBC Board of Directors in late 2016 and is now preparing the path ahead.
The MBC@35 retrospective will culminate in a black-tie All Star 35th Anniversary gala on Saturday, September 16, 2017. Tickets are now available online at Museum.TV
The Museumat 360 N. State Street is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm, but is closed on all Federal Holidays. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors (65 +) and $6 for children (ages 4-12). Group rates for 20 or more guests. Admission is free to MBC Members.
Contact:
Justin Kulovsek -
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