--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started to work in television for three…" description: "\"I started to work in television for three or four years, in 1954. There was one channel of television, black and white. But it could be entertaining an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/umberto-eco-313_black_i-started-to-work-in-television-for-thre_1673053.jpg" --- # I started to work in television for three or four years… ![“I started to work in television for three or four years, in 1954. There was one channel of television, black and white. But it could be entertaining and educational. During the evening they showed important plays, opera or Shakespeare's tragedies.” quote by Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/umberto-eco-313_black_i-started-to-work-in-television-for-thre_1673053.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/umberto-eco-313_black_i-started-to-work-in-television-for-thre_1673053.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/umberto-eco-313_black_i-started-to-work-in-television-for-thre_1673053.jpg) > “I started to work in television for three or four years, in 1954. There was one channel of television, black and white. But it could be entertaining and educational. During the evening they showed important plays, opera or Shakespeare's tragedies.” [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Television once offered limited channels but still delivered educational and entertaining content, proving quality over quantity. **In simple terms:** Old TV had few channels yet offered value. Key Takeaway Seek depth in limited media sources. Themes media education entertainment history Mood nostalgic analytical Type reflective educational When to use this quote - classroom teaching - family viewing - cultural preservation - media studies Key Concepts broadcasting cultural transmission literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can we curate valuable content today? - What lessons does early TV teach about media consumption? A Different Perspective Modern media overload can dilute focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Educational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educational/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I'm trying to use euphemisms here, trying to avoid saying there was no television for black folks, which they knew was for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cornelius/i-m-trying-to-use-euphemisms-here-trying-to-avoid-saying-there-was-no/) [Don Cornelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cornelius/) > [Television had a black president long before Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocky-carroll/television-had-a-black-president-long-before-barack-obama/) [Rocky Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocky-carroll/) > [But when I see a story on welfare on television, they only show black people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/but-when-i-see-a-story-on-welfare-on-television-they-only-show-black/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [I don't think the mainstream media understands people of color are multidimensional. For some reason, there's an idea that only white people are relatable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issa-rae/i-don-t-think-the-mainstream-media-understands-people-of-color-are/) [Issa Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issa-rae/) > [There's a time when it was an event for a black person to be on television. Where black households would gather around, 'Oh, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-k-brown/there-s-a-time-when-it-was-an-event-for-a-black-person-to-be-on/) [Sterling K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-k-brown/) > [My philosophy, like color television, is all there in black and white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-philosophy-like-color-television-is-all-there-in-black-and-white/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We didn't have television until I was about eight years old, so it was either the movies or radio. A lot of radio drama.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hagedorn/we-didn-t-have-television-until-i-was-about-eight-years-old-so-it-was/) [Jessica Hagedorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hagedorn/) > [If you're a host of a video show and you're on the cleanest show on television for eight years, people want to say, 'Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-saget/if-you-re-a-host-of-a-video-show-and-you-re-on-the-cleanest-show-on/) [Bob Saget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-saget/) > [I've done a lot of television over the last years, and you know, with some television productions, if you can do with just one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-bang/i-ve-done-a-lot-of-television-over-the-last-years-and-you-know-with/) [Claes Bang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-bang/) > [I've been obsessed with television since I was 7 years old, and I've always been writing on some level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-waithe/i-ve-been-obsessed-with-television-since-i-was-7-years-old-and-i-ve/) [Lena Waithe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-waithe/) > [I haven't killed anyone on television in years and years. Must have been twenty something years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-macleod/i-haven-t-killed-anyone-on-television-in-years-and-years-must-have/) [Gavin MacLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-macleod/) > [That was probably the stamp that went into my mind, because I worked in television for many years, doing that kind of music, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skitch-henderson/that-was-probably-the-stamp-that-went-into-my-mind-because-i-worked/) [Skitch Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skitch-henderson/) > [I was a novelist first. But in the mid-'80s, I did work in television for ten years. And yes, that was frequently the reaction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/i-was-a-novelist-first-but-in-the-mid-80s-i-did-work-in-television/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Thank God for television. I've been able to consistently work in television even when people say, 'Oh my God, I haven't seen you since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rochelle-aytes/thank-god-for-television-i-ve-been-able-to-consistently-work-in/) [Rochelle Aytes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rochelle-aytes/) > [When you work in television you're in the writer's room all the time. You can't take 10 days or a week to go watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wilmore/when-you-work-in-television-you-re-in-the-writer-s-room-all-the-time/) [Larry Wilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wilmore/) ## More by Umberto Eco > [I think that at a certain age, say fifteen or sixteen, poetry is like masturbation. But later in life good poets burn their early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-think-that-at-a-certain-age-say-fifteen-or-sixteen-poetry-is-like/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Followers of the occult believe in only what they already know, and in those things that confirm what they have already learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/followers-of-the-occult-believe-in-only-what-they-already-know-and-in/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“This has nothing to do with realism (even if it explains also realism). A completely real world can be constructed, in which asses fly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/this-has-nothing-to-do-with-realism-even-if-it-explains-also-realism/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“…there’s nothing in this world that demands more caution than the truth. To tell the truth is like leeching one’s own heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-that-demands-more-caution-than-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The book is like the spoon, scissors, the hammer, the wheel. Once invented, it cannot be improved. You cannot make a spoon that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-book-is-like-the-spoon-scissors-the-hammer-the-wheel-once/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“No algorithm exists for the metaphor, nor can a metaphor be produced by means of a computer’s precise instructions, no matter what the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/no-algorithm-exists-for-the-metaphor-nor-can-a-metaphor-be-produced/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [With all of its defects, the global market makes war less likely, even between the USA and China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/with-all-of-its-defects-the-global-market-makes-war-less-likely-even/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The Fundamental Principle that governs - or ought to govern -human affairs if we wish to avoid misunderstandings, conflicts, or pointless utopias, is negotiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-fundamental-principle-that-governs-or-ought-to-govern-human/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Any fact becomes important when it's connected to another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/any-fact-becomes-important-when-it-s-connected-to-another/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [American coffee can be a pale solution served at a temperature of 100 degrees centigrade in plastic thermos cups, usually obligatory in railroad stations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/american-coffee-can-be-a-pale-solution-served-at-a-temperature-of-100/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Listening doesn't mean trying to understand. Anything, however trifling, may be of use one day. What matters is to know something that others don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/listening-doesn-t-mean-trying-to-understand-anything-however-trifling/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [They say that a cat, if it falls from a window and hits its nose, can lose its sense of smell and then, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/they-say-that-a-cat-if-it-falls-from-a-window-and-hits-its-nose-can/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are magic moments, involving great physical fatigue and intense motor excitement, that produce visions of people known in the past. As I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-magic-moments-involving-great-physical-fatigue-and-intense/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [All poets write bad poetry. Bad poets publish them, good poets burn them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/all-poets-write-bad-poetry-bad-poets-publish-them-good-poets-burn-them/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are four kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-four-kinds-of-people-in-this-world-cretins-fools-morons-and/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) [Explore all 600 Umberto Eco quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I started to work in television for three or four years, in 1954. There was one channel of television, black and white. But it could be entertaining and educational. During the evening they showed important plays, opera or Shakespeare's tragedies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Umberto Eco" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-started-to-work-in-television-for-three-or-four-years-in-1954-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Black" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-started-to-work-in-television-for-three-or-four-years-in-1954-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/umberto-eco-313_black_i-started-to-work-in-television-for-thre_1673053.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/umberto-eco-313_black_i-started-to-work-in-television-for-thre_1673053.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/880/umberto-eco-313_black_i-started-to-work-in-television-for-thre_1673053.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I started to work in television for three or four years, in 1954. There was one channel of television, black…” — Umberto Eco", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Umberto Eco", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I started to work in television...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-started-to-work-in-television-for-three-or-four-years-in-1954-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/i-started-to-work-in-television-for-three-or-four-years-in-1954-there/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```