Privacy was in sufficient danger before TV appeared, and TV has given it its death blow.

In this quote, Louis Kronenberger, an American critic and essayist, argues that privacy was already at risk before the advent of television, but that TV ultimately destroyed it. Kronenberger suggests that even before television became a widespread part of daily life, the growing public nature of society was already encroaching on personal privacy. However, the arrival of TV, which broadcasts information into millions of homes, marked a significant turning point where privacy became even more difficult to maintain, as it opened up lives to constant surveillance and public scrutiny.

Kronenberger's statement implies that television, as a mass medium, has dramatically reduced the barriers between private and public life. With the introduction of television, ordinary individuals were exposed to an unprecedented level of visibility, both through public figures being constantly broadcast and through the content that began to explore private lives in greater depth. The medium's ability to document and share information to such a vast audience created an environment where personal space and privacy were no longer seen as inviolable.

The quote also reflects concerns about the rise of mass media and its influence on society. As television became a central part of people's lives, it contributed to a culture where the private and the public spheres were increasingly blurred. Kronenberger's use of the phrase "death blow" suggests that, for all intents and purposes, privacy became nearly impossible to preserve once television made it so easy to expose personal information to the world.

Ultimately, Louis Kronenberger's quote critiques the growing intrusion of mass media on individual privacy. It suggests that, in the age of television, the concept of privacy became irreversibly changed, and the ability to maintain personal boundaries in a public, media-driven world was greatly diminished.