Readers can get an insider's perspective on the behind-the-scenes banter of 1950s television network executives and the culture of television in a new book published by the director of the University of Wisconsin Journalism School.

"Same Time, Same Station," now available to the public, is one of several books UW professor James Baughman has published, according to Sharon Dunwoody, the graduate level associate dean of the College of Letters and Science.

"He was trained as a historian of recent journalism history," Dunwoody said. "His books are about a whole variety of topics, but television is his primary focus."

The book, according to a press release, focuses primarily on the corporate decisions made by network executives between the period of 1948 and 1961, which have influenced television in the 21st century.

In the book, Baughman analyzed the specific events and decisions that steered the direction of television development into the commercial entity it is today.

Baughman believes some network executives in that time saw television as a medium for the transference of cultural values and the fine arts.

"There was a subset of advertising and film people who realized that television would be what it eventually became, relying on the weekly series and the daily soap opera," Baughman said in a statement released by UW. "But there was another body of cultural democrats in the industry who thought television would be different. It's an alternative that gets pooh-poohed, because it has an elitist tinge."

In that statement, Baughman, who did not return phone calls Thursday, also said some of the existing cultural aspirations from the 1950s "disappeared."

According to Dunwoody, the publication of another book by Baughman is likely to excite scholars around the nation.

"He is certainly one of the top journalism historians in the United States and is quite well respected around the country," Dunwoody said. "When he publishes something, a lot of people sit up and take notice."

Dunwoody said Baughman's experience as a journalism historian has also positively contributed to students' education at UW, as he teaches journalism history.

"He is able to bring all of this fresh research right into the classroom and as a result, his courses are very current; they're very topical," Dunwoody said.

Journalism School announces alumni banquet

In addition to Baughman's book release, the Journalism School announced Thursday it would celebrate some of its successful alumni in an annual banquet.

The careers of five graduates of the School of Journalism and Mass Communications will be recognized at a dinner April 13 at the Alumni Lounge of the Pyle Center.

The alumni who will be recognized are Herman Baumann, principal and founder of Green Line Strategies; Robert Miller, COO of Discover Media Works; Adam Albrecht, creative director of TenUnited; Donald Shaw, a journalism professor at the University of North Carolina and Cliff Behnke, a retired senior managing editor for the Wisconsin State Journal.

Behnke said he was honored to be in such fine company included in the banquet, and praised his education at the university.

"The most useful course I ever took in college was copy editing at the Journalism School," Behnke said.