Meet the Boss

Meet the Boss was an American series broadcast on the DuMont Television Network from June 10, 1952, to May 12, 1953. The series was hosted initially by Bill Cunningham.[1] Marshall McNeil replaced Cunningham[2] on October 7, 1952.[3] Robert Sullivan also hosted the show.[1]

Meet the Boss
GenreBusiness/Public Affairs
StarringBill Cunningham
Robert Sullivan
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time30 minutes
Release
Original networkDuMont
Original releaseJune 10, 1952 (1952-06-10) –
May 12, 1953 (1953-05-12)

Background and format

The program was a spinoff of the TV show Industry on Parade. DuMont executives asked the National Association of Manufacturers, which produced that program, to develop Meet the Boss, which was "[d]esigned to humanize industry and its executives."[4] DuMont's program director, James L. Caddigan, developed the show.[5]

The host of the show interviewed executives from American businesses about their own careers and about the industries in which they worked.[6] Guests on one episode were Andrew Heiskell, publisher of Life; W. Paul Jones, president of Servel Inc.; and Joseph P. Spang, president of Gillette.[7]

The show initially was broadcast on Tuesdays from 10:30 to 11 p.m. Eastern Time. On October 3, 1952, it moved to 10-10:30 p.m. E.T. on Tuesdays.[8]

Episode status

A single episode survives as part of the Peabody Award collection.[9]

Critical response

A review in The New York Times said, "The idea behind Meet the Boss is sound ... [b]ut the presentation's execution is faulty in almost every respect".[7] It cited uncertainty on the parts of Cunningham and the show itself as two "what their point of view is to be."[7] The review also noted that the program focused too much on praise of the companies represented ("straight press agentry"), while it failed to provide its own research about those companies. Another concern was time, with the reviewer commenting, "Any one of his guests last week was worth a half-hour by himself", in contrast to the three executives who appeared in the 30-minute episode.[7]

See also

References
  1. McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: the Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th ed.). New York, New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. p. 540. ISBN 0-14-02-4916-8.
  2. Frazer, Mary (December 8, 1952). "Marshall McNeil 'Meets the Boll' On Television, Humanizes Industry". El Paso Herald-Post. p. 21. Retrieved July 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Tuesday, October 7 (Cont'd)". Ross Reports. October 5, 1952. p. 10. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  4. Fones-Wolf, Elizabeth A. (2006). Waves of Opposition: Labor and the Struggle for Democratic Radio. University of Illinois Press. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-252-07364-9. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  5. Oliver, Wayne (December 28, 1952). "'Meet the Press' Keeps Things Hot By Staying Calm". Lansing State Journal. Associated Press. p. 34. Retrieved July 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1999). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (7th ed.). New York: The Ballentine Publishing Group. p. 651. ISBN 0-345-42923-0.
  7. Gould, Jack (August 3, 1952). "Industry's Story: World of Business Needs New TV Methods To Explain Itself More Effectively". The New York Times. p. X 7. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  8. "This Week -- Network Debuts, Highlights, Changes". Ross Reports. October 5, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  9. Search Peabody Award database at UGA/U. of Georgia

Bibliography
  • David Weinstein, The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2004) ISBN 1-59213-245-6


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