--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Television and radio are what I call…" description: "\"Television and radio are what I call sequential media; they're not simultaneous media. With simultaneous media, you can scan your eye down an electroni..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/harold-evans-15687_baghdad_television-and-radio-are-what-i-call-seq_967530.jpg" --- # Television and radio are what I call sequential media… ![“Television and radio are what I call sequential media; they're not simultaneous media. With simultaneous media, you can scan your eye down an electronic or print page and pick among six or seven stories you might like and want to read. With television and radio, you have to wait until the guy's…” quote by Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/harold-evans-15687_baghdad_television-and-radio-are-what-i-call-seq_967530.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/harold-evans-15687_baghdad_television-and-radio-are-what-i-call-seq_967530.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35b/harold-evans-15687_baghdad_television-and-radio-are-what-i-call-seq_967530.jpg) > “Television and radio are what I call sequential media; they're not simultaneous media. With simultaneous media, you can scan your eye down an electronic or print page and pick among six or seven stories you might like and want to read. With television and radio, you have to wait until the guy's finished talking about the balloon boy, which I don't have the slightest interest in, to find out that all hell's broken loose in Baghdad. Because they've chosen that day to start with the balloon boy.” [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sequential media like TV and radio deliver one story at a time, limiting choice compared to print or digital where multiple stories are visible simultaneously. **In simple terms:** TV and radio give one story at a time, unlike print or web which show many options. Key Takeaway Seek media that offers multiple concurrent stories for broader perspective. Themes media choice attention information overload Mood frustrated critical thoughtful Type analytical observational When to use this quote - news watching - radio listening - online browsing - media planning - content curation Key Concepts sequential vs simultaneous media consumption cognitive load Questions to Reflect On - How does single‑story media shape your perception of events? - What alternatives can you use to get broader coverage? A Different Perspective Limited to one narrative at a time, reducing user agency and relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Baghdad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baghdad/) [Balloons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balloons/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Chosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chosen/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Finished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finished/) [Guy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guy/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Media Simultaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media-simultaneous-1835994/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Picks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picks/) [Print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/print/) [Radio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radio/) [Radio Sequential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radio-sequential-1835997/) [Sequential Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sequential-media-1835996/) [Seven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seven/) [Simultaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simultaneous/) [Simultaneous Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simultaneous-media-1835995/) [Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Television and radio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television-and-radio/) [Television Radio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television-radio-1214013/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [The New York Times does an unbelievable amount of damage because every day television and radio stations along with the rest of media take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-mason/the-new-york-times-does-an-unbelievable-amount-of-damage-because/) [Jackie Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-mason/) > [It is largely on television and radio that real probing of what politicians are up to has to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-humphrys/it-is-largely-on-television-and-radio-that-real-probing-of-what/) [John Humphrys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-humphrys/) > [When television came roaring in after the war (World War II) they did a little school survey asking children which they preferred and why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/when-television-came-roaring-in-after-the-war-world-war-ii-they-did-a/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [Old ladies photographed by CBS who announced that they would die of malnutrition if Reagan's bill were passed could probably have saved themselves their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/old-ladies-photographed-by-cbs-who-announced-that-they-would-die-of/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [television and radio violence was considered by most experts of minimal importance as a contributory cause of youthful killing. ... there were always enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/television-and-radio-violence-was-considered-by-most-experts-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [When I got my first TV set, I stopped caring so much about having close relationships with other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/when-i-got-my-first-tv-set-i-stopped-caring-so-much-about-having/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Imagine what it would be like if TV actually were good. It would be the end of everything we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/imagine-what-it-would-be-like-if-tv-actually-were-good-it-would-be/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) > [Recreational talking is, along with private singing, one of our saddest recent losses. Like singing, talking has become a job for trained professionals, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-holland/recreational-talking-is-along-with-private-singing-one-of-our-saddest/) [Barbara Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-holland/) > [When you're on the bus or subway or in your car, why busy your mind with all the garbage of advertisements? Why fill your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/when-you-re-on-the-bus-or-subway-or-in-your-car-why-busy-your-mind/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [There is danger in the concentration of control in the television and radio networks, especially in the large television and radio stations; danger in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-mccarthy/there-is-danger-in-the-concentration-of-control-in-the-television-and/) [Eugene McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-mccarthy/) > [Children, as well as grown-ups, in their individual, glorified, drudgery-proof homes of Labrador, the tropics, the Orient, or where you will, to which they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/children-as-well-as-grown-ups-in-their-individual-glorified-drudgery/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [There was no television, so the radio provided you with everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-blades/there-was-no-television-so-the-radio-provided-you-with-everything/) [Ruben Blades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-blades/) > [I'm not fussy about the medium I work in. I'll do television radio, you know. I have to, because that's the only way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-sewell/i-m-not-fussy-about-the-medium-i-work-in-i-ll-do-television-radio-you/) [Rufus Sewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-sewell/) > [There's something inherently life-denying in television and radio and stuff that's canned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-lancie/there-s-something-inherently-life-denying-in-television-and-radio-and/) [John de Lancie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-lancie/) > [Television and radio do a wonderful job in focusing attention on the problems of our society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-daley/television-and-radio-do-a-wonderful-job-in-focusing-attention-on-the/) [Richard J. Daley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-daley/) ## More by Harold Evans > [ \[The web\] is going to end up being a tremendous advantage, providing we can work out the financial structure. I think we’ll see newspapers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-web-is-going-to-end-up-being-a-tremendous-advantage-providing-we/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [“Here’s a sampling I made from the usual suspects (print, TV, radio, magazines). Zombies on the left, purgatives on the right, word counts in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/here-s-a-sampling-i-made-from-the-usual-suspects-print-tv-radio/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [The democratization of news is fine and splendid, but it's not reporting. It's based on a fragment of information picked up from television or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-democratization-of-news-is-fine-and-splendid-but-it-s-not/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [If I want to spend the rest of my life reading one day's output of information, which is about what it would take, OK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/if-i-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-reading-one-day-s-output-of/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [“The grossest offenders are in the field of, in connection with, in order to, in respect of, so far as… is concerned. All sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-grossest-offenders-are-in-the-field-of-in-connection-with-in/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [People were murdered for the camera; and some photographers and a television camera crew departed without taking a picture in the hope that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/people-were-murdered-for-the-camera-and-some-photographers-and-a/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [“The proliferation of nominalizations in a discursive formation may be an indication of a tendency toward pomposity and abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-proliferation-of-nominalizations-in-a-discursive-formation-may-be/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [I often see cases of Internet news where there's no reconciliation for what's gone before and what's newly arrived. That training for me -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/i-often-see-cases-of-internet-news-where-there-s-no-reconciliation/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [Propaganda is persuading people to make up their minds while withholding some of the facts from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/propaganda-is-persuading-people-to-make-up-their-minds-while/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [The camera cannot lie, but it can be an accessory to untruth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-camera-cannot-lie-but-it-can-be-an-accessory-to-untruth/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [Actions are always more complex and nuanced than they seem. We have to be willing to wrestle with paradox in pursuing understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/actions-are-always-more-complex-and-nuanced-than-they-seem-we-have-to/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [“Prepositional verbs grow like toadstools. Once there was credit in facing a problem. Now problems have to be faced up to. The prepositions add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/prepositional-verbs-grow-like-toadstools-once-there-was-credit-in/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [We always talk about how everyone is unifocal. You can't possibly be interested in jazz and Beethoven. Of course you can. You can't both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/we-always-talk-about-how-everyone-is-unifocal-you-can-t-possibly-be/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [What I'm driving at is let's not lose sight in our excitement of the democratization of the media that some things are bad, false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/what-i-m-driving-at-is-let-s-not-lose-sight-in-our-excitement-of-the/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [Some blogs have become the best check on monopoly mainstream journalism, and they provide a surprisingly frequent source of initiative reporting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/some-blogs-have-become-the-best-check-on-monopoly-mainstream/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) [Explore all 42 Harold Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) ## More Baghdad quotes > [“I know a feeling like that only comes once in a lifetime, and I think you should follow your heart’s desires. I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-ardalan/i-know-a-feeling-like-that-only-comes-once-in-a-lifetime-and-i-think/) [Ahmad Ardalan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmad-ardalan/) > [My dad's Israeli. He was born in Baghdad to Iraqi Jews. Then, at age two, his parents wanted to move to their homeland and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-yamin/my-dad-s-israeli-he-was-born-in-baghdad-to-iraqi-jews-then-at-age-two/) [Elliott Yamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-yamin/) > [Almost immediately, I remember right when Tikrit even fell, a few days after Baghdad fell, there was talks of insurgency, there was talks of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farnaz-fassihi/almost-immediately-i-remember-right-when-tikrit-even-fell-a-few-days/) [Farnaz Fassihi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farnaz-fassihi/) > [What is at stake is how to answer the potential threat Iraq represents with the risk of proliferation of WMD. Baghdad's regime did use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-chirac/what-is-at-stake-is-how-to-answer-the-potential-threat-iraq/) [Jacques Chirac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-chirac/) > [Our military superiority is so great - it's far greater than it was in the Gulf War, and the Gulf War was over in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/our-military-superiority-is-so-great-it-s-far-greater-than-it-was-in/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [The authority of the civil defense ... issued a warning to the civilian population not to pick up any of those pencils because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-authority-of-the-civil-defense-issued-a-warning-to-the-civilian/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [The mission statement was ordered, and it sent the 800th MP Brigade, effective the first of July, up to Baghdad. I joined my brigade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janis-karpinski/the-mission-statement-was-ordered-and-it-sent-the-800th-mp-brigade/) [Janis Karpinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janis-karpinski/) > [The senior officer who met with reporters in Baghdad said there had been 21 car bombings in the capital in May, and 126 in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-lowry/the-senior-officer-who-met-with-reporters-in-baghdad-said-there-had/) [Rich Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-lowry/) > [There are people who haven't faced the reality of what has gone on in Iraq. They still think that the old central state is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-w-galbraith/there-are-people-who-haven-t-faced-the-reality-of-what-has-gone-on-in/) [Peter W. Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-w-galbraith/) > [If the U.N. secretary-general withdraws the inspectors from Baghdad ... this means that the secretary-general has abandoned its own responsibility in maintaining peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naji-sabri/if-the-u-n-secretary-general-withdraws-the-inspectors-from-baghdad/) [Naji Sabri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naji-sabri/) > [I think that were I in the middle of an obsession to write about, say, sudden oak death in California or my grandchildren or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hass/i-think-that-were-i-in-the-middle-of-an-obsession-to-write-about-say/) [Robert Hass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hass/) > [They are going to surrender or be burned in their tanks. They will surrender, it is they who will surrender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/they-are-going-to-surrender-or-be-burned-in-their-tanks-they-will/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [I firmly believed we should not march into Baghdad ...To occupy Iraq would instantly shatter our coalition, turning the whole Arab world against us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/i-firmly-believed-we-should-not-march-into-baghdad-to-occupy-iraq/) [George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/) > [We're giving them a real lesson today. Heavy doesn't accurately describe the level of casualties we have inflicted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/we-re-giving-them-a-real-lesson-today-heavy-doesn-t-accurately/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [I think that we live in a remarkably networked world. The problem with that, of course, is that tensions can travel in nanoseconds across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eboo-patel/i-think-that-we-live-in-a-remarkably-networked-world-the-problem-with/) [Eboo Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eboo-patel/) [Browse all 191 Baghdad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baghdad/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Television and radio are what I call sequential media; they're not simultaneous media. With simultaneous media, you can scan your eye down an electronic or print page and pick among six or seven stories you might like and want to read. With television and radio, you have to wait until the guy's finished talking about the balloon boy, which I don't have the slightest interest in, to find out that all hell's broken loose in Baghdad. 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