It’s a Paley Center Kind of Week

For about eight years now, I have been a member of the Paley Center for Media (formerly known as the Museum of Television and Radio). Back in 1975, one of the most powerful men in the television industry, William S. Paley, founded an organization to collect, preserve and interpret television and radio programming and to make these programs available to the public. That organization eventually became the Museum of Television and Radio.

The reason for Paley’s interest in preserving radio and television was because of his long-standing commitment to both mediums. As a young man, he was deeply interested in radio and while others dismissed this form of entertainment as a novelty item, Paley saw its potential and in 1928, he bought a struggling group of small radio stations, which he built into the Columbia Broadcasting System and which, ultimately, became known to the world as CBS.

In 1976, the Museum of Broadcasting opened its doors in New York, becoming the first public institution to offer the history of broadcasting to the general public. Many years later (in 1991) the name was changed to the Museum of Television and Radio and then in 1996 a branch of the museum was opened in Beverly Hills.

It was in 2007 that the MTR was renamed The Paley Center for Media to not only honor the man who started it all but to also reflect the museum’s evolution into a center that highlights the ever-growing impact of media on our lives, culture and society.

The Paley Center has nearly 150,000 programs and advertisements, covering more than 85 years of television and radio history. The collection covers comedy, drama, news, public affairs, the performing arts, children’s programming, reality, animation and documentaries. It also has an international presence with 7,000 assets from 70 different countries.

As many of you may know, every year the Paley Fest is held in Los Angeles, honoring various TV shows, their cast and crew. This is the largest of the events sponsored by The Paley Center for Media attended by hundreds of people from all over the world each night of the two-week event. Both branches of the Paley Center also hold smaller events saluting television and other media.

In fact, next week I will be attending two special events hosted by the Beverly Hills branch. The first is a salute to the USA Network series Royal Pains, which will be attended by the entire cast, including actors Mark Feuerstein, Paulo Costanzo, Jill Flint and Reshma Shetty as well as Executive Producers Michael Rauch and Andrew Lenchewski. Two days later, I will attend a special reunion of the classic 80’s series Hart to Hart, featuring appearances by Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, who played the lead roles in this series that ran for five seasons on ABC as well as spawned eight reunion movies.

There are countless other events and programs hosted by both the New York and Beverly Hills branches on a regular basis. These events are opened to members and the general public. To learn more about The Paley Center for Media, its rich history and events, how to become a member or to volunteer at one of the branches and much, much more, please visit here.

PS: Don’t forget that Psych and Burn Notice will both be back on the USA Network starting next week with Psych back at 10 PM on November 10 followed by Burn Notice on November 11 at 10 PM.