Exam 1
2 Ways of Collecting Revenue
direct payments and indirect payments
Oligopoly and the Music Industry
1. A business situations in which a few firms control most of an industry's production and distribution resources 2. This global reach gives these firms enormous influence over what types of music gain worldwide distribution and popular acceptance
wireless telegraphy
1. A form of voiceless point-to-point communication
German inventor Paul Nipkow developed the scanning disk
1. A large flat metal disk with a series of small perforations organized in a spiral pattern 2. As the disk rotated, it separated pictures into pinpoints of light that could be transmitted as a series of electronic lines 3. As the disk spun, each small holes scanned one line of a scene to be televised
De Forest set up the Wireless Telephone Company to compete head-on with American Marconi, by then the leader in wireless communication
1. A major difference between Marconi an De Forest was the latter's interest in wireless voice and music transmissions, later known as wireless telephony and eventually radio
Serial Show
1. A program that featured continuing story lines from one day to the next 2. The format was soon copied by soap operas and other radio dramas
Hip hop
1. A term for the urban culture includes rapping, cutting by deejays, breakdancing, street clothing, poetry slams, and graffiti art
Radio act of 1912
1. Address the problem of amateur's radio operates increasingly cramming the airwaves 2. Because radio waves crossed state and national borders, legislates determined that broadcasting constituted a "natural resource" a kind if interstate commerce a. this meant that radio waves could not be owned, they were the collective property of all Americans b. transmitting on the radio waves would require licensing
The anthologies brief run as a dramatic staple on television ended for both economic and politics reasons
1. Advertisers disliked anthologies because they often presented stories containing complex human problems that were not easily resolved 2. Change in audience 3. Expensive to produce 4. Dealt seriously with the changing social landscapes were sometimes labeled "politically controversial"
Digital Cable
1. Allowing for expanded offerings such as premium channels, pay-per-view programs, and video-on-demand
However, the hour-long variety series in which these skits appeared were more expensive to produce than half-hour sitcoms
1. Also, these skits on the weekly variety shows used up new routines very quickly iv. The situation comedy, sitcom, features a recurring cast; each episode established a narrative situation, complicates it, develops increasing confusion among its characteristics and then usually resolves the complications
Digital Communication
1. An image, a text, or a sound is converted into electronic signals represented as a series of binary numbers-ones and zeroes-which are then reassembled as a precise reproduction of an image, a text, or a sound
FCC adopted an analog standard for all U.S.
1. Analog a. Based on radio waves
Social Media
1. Are new digital media platforms that engage users to create content, add comments, and interact with others a. Social media have become a new distribution system for media as well, challenging the one-to-many model of traditional mass media with the many-to-model of social media iii. The use of the intern and social media to generate collective action iv. Hashtags 1. # before a phrase which quickly communicates a larger idea, event, or cause
The development of the Internet
1. Became increasingly interactive by the 1900s allowing immediate two-way communication and one-to-many communication 2. By 2000, the internet was a multimedia source for both information and entertainment as it quickly became an integral of our daily lived
Fiber optic cable
1. Became the standard for transmitting communication data speedily a. Features thin glass bundles of fiber capable of transmitting thousands of messages simultaneously b. This development made the commercial use of computers even more viable than before i. With this increased speed, few limits exist with regard to the amount of information that digital technology can transport
Vladimir Zworykin and Philo Farnsworth
1. Began in Russia in 1907 when physicist Boris Rosing improved Nipkow's mechanical scanning device 2. Idaho teenager Farnsworth also figured out that a mechanical scanning system would not send pictures through the air over long distance
Rhythm and Blues (R&B)
1. Blues based urban blues-based urban black music began to be marketed
Anthology dramas
1. Brought live dramatic theater to that audience
E-Commerce
1. Buying and selling of products and services on the internet
Option Time
1. CBS paid affiliate stations $50 per hour for an option on a portion of their time a. The program network provided programs to the affiliates and sold ad space or sponsorships to various product companies b. Paley's efforts has netted CBS more than 90 affiliates, many of them defecting from NBC i. Paley also concentrated on developing news programs and entertainment shows, particularly soap operas a comedy-variety series
Top 40
1. Came to refer to the forty most popular hits in a given week as measured by record sale
War of the Worlds Research
1. Cantril, Gaudet, Herzog (interviews, national survey, newspaper accts) 2. 12 million heard broadcast, 28% thought it was "news", 70% were frightened (if only briefly) a. Checked internal evidence b. Checked external evidence c. Made no effect to check evidence d. Religious beliefs/personality factors
COPPA
1. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act a. Websites cannot collect information from children under the age of 13 b. Nonprofits and child advocacies are exempt from this act
Low Power FM
1. Class of 100-watt stations in order to give voice to local groups lacking to the public airwaves a. Museums, religious groups, universities
Rockabilly
1. Combined county or hillbilly music, southern gospel, and Mississippi delta blues to create a sound
Format Radio
1. Deejays controlled programming every hour
Critics have at least 5 areas of concern about low culture
1. Depreciation of fine art 2. Exploitation of high culture 3. Disposability of popular culture 4. Driving out of high culture 5. Deadening of our culture taste buds
National Science Foundation
1. Developed a high-speed communications network designed to link university research computer centers around the country and also encourage private investment in the net a. This innovation led to a dramatic increase in internet use and further opened the door to the widespread
The Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency
1. Developed a solution to enable researchers to share computer processing time starting in the late 1960s a. ARPANet (net) i. Enabled military and an academic researchers to communicate on a distributed network system 2. Packet switching a. Broke messages down into smaller pieces to more easily route them through the multiple paths on the network before reassembling them on the other end 3. E-Mail a. Roy Tomlinson i. Developed software to send electronic mail messages to any computer on ARPANet ii. @ symbol to signify the location of the computer user, thus establishing the email addresses
Practice Principles
1. Disclose their data-collection of personal data 2. Give consumers the option to choose whether their data may be collected and to provide information on how that data is collected 3. Permit individuals access to their records to ensure data accuracy 4. Secure personal data from unauthorized and use
Phonograph
1. Edison played his voice back by repositioning the needle to retrace the grooves in the foil
MP3s
1. Enables digital recordings to be compressed into smaller, more manageable files
v. Communications Act of 1934
1. FRC became the Federal Communications Commission a. Covered not only radio but also the telephone and the telegraph
Opt-in and opt-out policies
1. Favored by consumers before the sites can collect browsing history data 2. Allow for the automatic collection of browsing history data unless the consumer requests to "opt out" of the practice
Effects of Printing
1. First machine duplication replaced the tedious system in which scribes hard-copied texts 2. Second duplication could occur rapidly so large quantities of the same book could be reproduced easily 3. Third the faster production of multiple copies brought down the cost of each unit, which made books more affordable to less-affluent people 4. Print media became key tools that commercial and political leaders used to distribute information and maintain social order (Nationalism and Individualism)
Media Innovations and the 4 Stages
1. First the emergence or novelty stage in which inventors and technicians try to solve a particular problem 2. Second is the entrepreneurial stage in which inventors and investors determine a practical and marketable use for the new device 3. Third phase in a medium's development involves a breakthrough to the mass medium stage 4. Fourth stage and the newest phase in a medium's evolution is the convergence stage (Older media are configured with newer media)
Effects of the Electronic Era
1. First, it separated communication from transportation making media massages instantaneous 2. Second, the telegraph in combination with the rise of mass-marketed newspapers, transformed information into a commodity (a thing that could be bought or sold irrespective of its use or meaning) 3. Third, the telegraph made it easier for military, business, and political leaders, to coordinate commercial and military operations 4. such as wireless telegraphy (radio), the fax, machine, cell phone which ironically resulted in the telegraphs demise
Telegraph and Limitations
1. For instance, while it dispatched complicated language codes, it was unable to transmit the human voice 2. Ships at sea still had no contact with the rest if the world a. Navies could not find out that wars had ceased on land and often continued fighting for months
Data Mining
1. Gathering users' location and purchasing habits has been a boon for advertising, but these data-collecting systems also functions as consumer surveillance
National television Systems Committee (NTSC)
1. Group representing major electronic firms began outlining industry-wide manufacturing practices and compromising
Cable tv signals are processed at a computerized nerve center, or headend, which operates various large satellite dishes that receive and distribute long-distance signals from
1. Headend computers really the channels in the same way that telephone calls and electronic power reach individual households: through trunk and feeder cables attached to existing utility poles 2. Signals are then transmitted to drop or tap lines that run from the utility poles into subscribers' homes
De Forest biggest breakthrough was the development of the Audion, or triode, vacuum tube, which detected radio signals and then amplified them
1. His modifications were essential to the development of voice transmission, long-distance, long-distance radio and television a. Audion vacuum tube, which powered radios until the arrival of transistors and solid-state circuits in the 1950s is considered by many historian to be beginning go modern electronics
War of the Worlds Broadcast
1. Historical context a. Role of radio/world situation 2. Listening context a. Competing with popular program (unpopular singer) b. Contagion calls from friends/relatives 3. News reporters a. Triggered panic behavior i. Hundreds fled homes ii. Switchboards overwhelmed iii. People gathered in churches to pray
iv. Using ideas from Edison, Bell, and Tainter, Emile Berliner, a German engineer who had immigrated to America, developed a better machines that played round, flat disks, or records
1. In 1887 Emile Berliner invents the gramophone 2. Played round flat disks of zinc and coated with beeswax 3. Figures out a way to mass produce these disks 4. Music becomes the first "mass medium" 5. CBS and RCA
Superstations
1. Independent tv stations uplinked to a satellite
Cookies
1. Information profiles that are automatically collected and transferred between computer servers whenever users access Websites
Spyware
1. Information-gathering software that is often secretly bundled with free downloaded software
World wide web
1. Initially a text data-linking system that allowed computer-accessed information to associate with, or link to, other information no matter where it was on the internet
Electromagnetic Waves
1. Invisible electronic impulses similar to visible light
Sketch Comedy
1. Key element in early tv variety shows, which also included singers, dancers, acrobats, animals' acts, stand-up comics, and ventriloquists 2. According to one tv historian, variety shows "resurrected the essentials of stage variety entertainment" and played too noisy studio audiences
"Do Not Track"
1. Legislation to limit tracking of user information on websites and mobile devices and enable users to easily opt out of data collections
Radio Act of 1927
1. Licensees did not own their channels but could only license them as long as they operated to service the "public interest, convenience, or necessity"
Morse Code
1. Made by Samuel Morse 2. A series of dots and dashes that stood for letters in the alphabet, telegraph, operators transmitted news and messages simply by interruption the electrical current along wire cable
Episodic series
1. Main characters continue from week to week, sets and locales remain the same, and technical crews stay with the program
Progressive Rock
1. Merged as an alternative to conventional formats
How the internet started
1. Military government project 2. Computer time sharing as a goal 3. Defense department developed a solution to enable researchers to share computer processing time (ARPANet) 4. Created a wired network system in which users from multiple locations could log onto a computer system whenever they needed it 5. Used "packet switching" which broke down messages into smaller pieces to more easily route them through multiple paths on the network before reassembling them on the other end.
Microprocessors
1. Miniature circuits that process and store electronic signals 2. Manufacturers were eventually about to introduce the first PC (personal computer) which were smaller, cheaper, and more powerful than the bulky computer system of the 1960s
Ways We Approach Media Studies
1. Models and theories 2. Methodologies 3. Questions
Country
1. Most popular format in the nation
Gatekeepers
1. News editors, executive producers, other media managers) 2. Make decisions about what messages actually get produced for particular receivers
Time Shifting
1. Occurs when viewers record shoes and watch them at a later, more convenient time a. Have threatened the TV industry's advertising-driven business model; when viewers watch programs on DVDs and DVRs, they often aren't watching the ads that normally accompany network or cable shows
Federal Radio Commission
1. Oversee licenses and negotiate channel problems
Narrowcasting
1. Person-to-person communication
Thomas Edison had success playing back sound
1. Playing back sound (Thomas Edison) in 1877 (Phonograph) 2. Voice Recording (Chichester Bell) in 1886 using the Graphophone
Rotation
1. Playing the top songs many times during the day
Although there are many ways to define our postmodern period, we will focus on four major features
1. Populism (Tries to appeal to ordinary people by highlighting or even creating an argument or conflict between the people and elite; Other forms of postmodern style blur modern distinctions not only between art and commerce but also between fact and fiction) 2. Diversity (Includes the wild juxtaposition of old and new cultural styles) 3. Nostalgia (Small communities, traditional religion, and even mystical experiences) 4. Paradox (Stresses integrating or converging of retro beliefs and contemporary culture)
Album Oriented Rock
1. Progressive rock has been copied aimed, and absorbed by mainstream radio under this format
Taking Sides on Net Neutrality
1. Pros a. Cable and television giants have incentive to rig their services and cause net congestion in order to force customers to pay a premium for higher speech connections b. Small businesses and nonprofits would be hurt by being stuck in the "slow lane" 2. Cons a. Major telephone and cable companies (Verizon, Comcast) control 90% of broadband access in the US b. They want to offer faster connections and priority to clients willing to pay higher rates c. They want to provide preferential service for their own content or for content providers who make special deals d. Argue that profits will allow them to build expensive new networks benefitting everyone 3. Is Net Neutrality here to stay? a. 2015 i. FCC reclassified broadband internet service and approved net neutrality rules ii. Re-visited in 2017 at the request of the president-this is a partisan issue
First amendment principles and tv
1. Protects the rights of media and the press 2. Protects the rights of individuals
broadband
1. Quickly download multimedia content, became more available 2. Users moved away from the slower telephone dial-up ISP service to high-speed service from cable, telephone, or satellite companies
Adult contemporary
1. Radio's oldest and most popular formats 2. Most of them over age of 40, with an eclectic mix ox of news, talk, oldies and soft rock music
History often cites Marconi as the "Father of the radio" but another inventor unknown to hum was making parallel discoveries about wireless telegraphy in Russia
1. Really Nikola Tesla is the father of radio
Digital divide
1. Refers to the growing contrast between the "information haves" those who can afford to purchase computers and pay for internet services, and the information have-nots, those who may not be able to afford a computer or pay for internet services
instant messaging
1. Remains the easiest way to communicate over the internet in real time and has become increasingly popular as a smartphone and tablet app
Grunge
1. Represented a significant development in rock in the 1990s 2. Getting its name from its often-messy guitar sound and the anti-fashion torn jeans and flannel shirt appearance of its musicians and fans
Global communications system based on three satellites equally spaced from one another rotating with earth's orbit
1. Scientists figured out how to lock communicate satellites at geosynchronous orbit
Gangster Rap
1. Seeking to tell the truth about gang violence in American culture, has been accused of creating violence
Miniseries
1. Serialized tv shows that run over a two-day to two-week period, usually on consecutive evenings
direct broadcast satellite (DBS)
1. Services presented a big challenge to cable-especially in regions with rugged terrain and isolated homes, where the installation of cable wiring hasn't always been possible or profitable a. Instead of using wires, DBS transmits its signal directly to small satellite dishes near or on customers' homes
Transistor
1. Small electrical devices that could receive and amplify radion signals a. Used less power and produced less head and they were durable and less expensive 2. Revolutionize hearing aids, constituted the first step in replacing bulky and delicate tubes, eluding eventually to today's integrated circuits 3. The development of transistors let radio go where television could not
Indies
1. Small independent production houses 2. Record less commercially viable music or music they hope will become commercially viable
Satellite dishes were set up to receive cable programming
1. Small-town and rural residents bypassed FCC restrictions by buying receiving dishes and downlinking, for free, the same channels that cable companies were supplying to wired communities
Browsers
1. Software packages that help users navigate the Web-brought the web to mass audiences
Contemporary Hit Radio
1. Still appeals to many teens and young adults
Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the FCC
1. Substantially changed the rules concerning ownership of the public airwaves because the FCC eliminated most ownership restriction. On radio ii. The 1996 act allows individuals and companies to acquire as many radio stations as they want, with relaxes restrictions on the number of stations a single broadcaster may own in the same city 1. The larger the marker or area, the more stations a company may own within that market
A&R (artist and repertoire) agents
1. Talents scouts of the music business, who discover, develop, and sometimes manage artists 2. A&R executives scan online music sites and listen to demonstration tapes or demos, from new artists and decide whom to sign and which songs to record
Three Major historical developments in television's early years helped shape it
1. Technological innovations and patent wars 2. The wrestling of content control from advertisers 3. The sociocultural impact of the infamous quiz-show scandals
Commercials and children
1. The FTC and proposed rulemaking around advertising to children
ii. From roughly, 1897 to 1907 the development by several inventors of the cathode ray tube
1. The forerunner of the TV picture tube, combined principles of the camera and electricity
Prime time
1. The hours between 8-11pm when networks traditionally draw their largest audiences and chare their highest advertising rates
Why does it matter what media audiences are left out?
1. The implications of invisibility a. For the individual b. For the media economy c. For the electorate d. For the identity of the nation
AT&T claimed that under the RCA agreements it has the exclusive right to sell ads which AT&T called toll broadcasting
1. The initial strategy being AT&T's toll broadcasting idea was an effort to conquer radio 2. Network a. A cost-saving operation that links a group of broadcast stations that share programming produced are a central location
What widened the "net"?
1. The introduction of PC 2. Fiber optic cables which sped up transmission of data 3. The invention of the world wide web 4. The release of web browser 5. Dial up access through telephone lines 6. Broadband from cable or satellite companies 7. The deployment of search engines that "organize" the web
Telegraph
1. The precursor of radio technology was invented in the 1840s 2. The first practical system for sending electrical impulses from a transmitter through a cable to a reception point
Compared with dramas and sitcoms, quiz shoes were heap to produce, with inexpensive sets and mostly nonfactors as guests
1. The problem was that most of these shows were rigged 2. To heighten the drama, key contestants were rehearsed and given the answers
Records and Radio
1. The recording industry and radio represent the first instance of convergence 2. Radio is the first mass medium and it competes with record purchasing because it provides the same thing, but for free 3. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (founded in 1914) fight radio and establish copyright fees for music publishers and writers to collect from stations (they change between $250 and $2500 a week for the right to play recorded music)
The U.S. continued to use analog signals untold 2009 when they were replaced by digital signals
1. These translate TV images and sounds into binary codes (ones and zeroes) and allowed or increased channel capacity and improved image quality and sound
Radio groups form agreements with music labels in the digital era
1. They pay royalties for on-air play while getting reduced rates for streaming music 2. MP3 hit the markets in the 1990s, Napster developed and distributes a file sharing site (1999), and the internet begins to unravel the music industry in the 200s
Urban Contemporary
1. This format target a wide variety of African American listeners, primary in large cities
Basic Cable
1. Today included a hundred-plus channel lineup composed of local broadcast signals a. Access channels b. Regional PBS stations c. Cable channels
Broadcasting
1. Transmission of radio waves and TV signals to a broad public audience
Online Piracy
1. Unauthorized online file sharing 2. Still exists, the advent of advertising-supported music streaming services has satisfied consumer demand for free music and weakened interest in illegal file swapping
Alternative Rock
1. Vague label describes many types of experimental rock music that offered a departure from the theatrics and staged extravaganzas of 1970s glam rock
Effects of violent television on children
1. What was on tv negatively effecting children 2. Studies to see the effects of media on children 3. Some children, some of the time,
The Economics and Issues of the Internet and the Telecommunications act of 1996
1. Which overhauled the nation's communications regulations, most regional and long-distance phone companies and cable operators have competed against one more another to provide connections to the internet 2. Ownership and control of the internet are connected to three internet issues that command much public attention: the security of personal and private information, the appropriateness of online materials, and the accessibility and openness of the internet
public interest obligations and tv
1. Why do we restrict content in some arenas but not in others
With backing from Columbia, UIB launched the new Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (CPBS)
1. Wobbly sixteen affiliate network, in 1927 2. After losing $100,000 in the first month, the record company pulled out 3. Later, CPBS dropped the word Phonograph from its title creating the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
1. Written code that creates Web pages and links is a language that all computers can read so computer with different operating systems can communicate easily
Napster
2. In 2001, the supreme court rules in favor of the music industry and against Napster, declaring free music file-swapping illegal and in violation of music copyrights held by recording labels and artists a. What does napster do? i. Allows people to upload and download their music and provides the platform for sharing ii. The music industry fought this hard b. How do radio stations respond? i. They establish their own live in house orchestras ii. They develop more variety in their offerings (dramas and comedies) which later get appropriated by television iii. Eventually, to brand itself as different from TV, radio returns to the recording industry
Equating Free Markets with Democracy
Any criticism capitalism became an attack on the free marketplace
Consumer Choice Versus Consumer Control
As many economists point out, capitalism is not structured democratically but arranged vertically with powerful corporate leaders at the top and hourly wage workers at the bottom
The Impact of World War I
As wireless technology played an increasingly large role in military operations, the navy sought tight controls on information
Regulatory Challenges to Television and Cable
Cable's growth was suppressed to ensure that no harm came to local broadcasters and traditional tv networks' ad revenue streams
Blogs
Enabled people to easily post their ideas to a website
Content Communities
Exist for the sharing of all types of content
After the company's court defeat, RCA' s president David Sarnoff, had to negotiate to use Farnsworth's patents
Farnsworth later licensed these patents to RCA and AT&T for use on the commercial development of television
Virtual Game Worlds and Virtual Social Worlds
Invite users to role-play in rich 3-D environments
Applying Antitrust Laws Today
Occasionally, independent voices raise issues that aid the Justice Department and the FTC in their antitrust cases
Radio and Stages
Radio passed form the novelty state to the entrepreneurial stage, during which various practical uses would be tested before radio would launch as a mass medium
Congress passed the Wireless Ship act in 1910
Required that all major U.S. seagoing ships carrying more than fifty passengers and traveling more than two hundred miles off the coast be equipped with wireless equipment with a one-hundred-mile range
Fears of Corruption Lead to Censorship
Such rock and roll's inception, one of the uphill battles the genre faced was the perception that it was a cause of juvenile delinquency, which was statistically on the rise in the 1950s
c. From Phonographs to CDs: Analog Goes Digital
The inventions of the phonograph and the record were the key sound recording advancements until the advent of magnetic audiotape
Social Issues in Media Economics
The mergermania has accompanied stripped down regulation, which has virtually suspended most ownership limited on media industries (As a result, a number of consumer advocates and citizen groups have raised questions about deregulation and ownership consolidation)
Social Networking Sites
Users can create content, share ideas, and interact with friends and colleagues
Prior to the days of videotape, only way to preserve a live broadcast other than filming it like a movie was a technique called kinescope
a film camera recorded a live tv show off a studio monitor
a. Algorithmic search engine-controls 90% of the global search market b. google maps, Gmail, chrome, play
the 2 trends in the changing relationship with the media
a. Apple now makes more than 5 times as much money selling iPhone b. The number of Facebook users keeps increasing c. the significance of these 2 trends is that through apple devices and Facebook we now inhabit a different kind of internet-what some call a closed internet or a walled garden
Analog Recording
a. Captures the fluctuations of sound waves and stores those signals in a record's grooves or a tape's continuous stream of magnetized particles b. Biggest Advancement i. Thomas Stockham in 1970s made the first digital recording
Pay-Per-View
a. Channels came first, offering recently released movies or special one-time sporting events to subscribers who paid a designated charge to their cable company, allowing them to view the program
Apple
a. Computers, iPod, iPad, iPhone, apple watch, getting into content
HDTV or high-definition television
a. Digital signals offer the highest resolution and sharpest image b. Receiving a hi-def picture depends on two factors i. The programmer must use a high definition signal ii. Consumers must have HDTV equipment to receive and view it
Compact Discs (CDs)
a. Digitally recorded disc and player to take advantage of this new technology which could be produced at a lower cost than either vinyl records or audiocassettes b. Hit the market in 1983 and by 1987 sales are double those of LPs
Amazon
a. E-commerce, kindle, Alexa, now making shows
Core Programming
a. Education of children a significant purpose b. Must be specifically designed for children c. Regularly scheduled d. At least 30 minutes long e. Airs between 7am and 10pm f. Identified as educational and informational when it is aired
Consequences of Pastore hearings (violent tv)
a. Family hour b. Research on pro-social effects c. Research on anti-social effects d. No change in amount of violence on television e. Gerbner's violence index
Magazine program
a. Featured multiple segments b. Similar to the varied content found in a general-interest publication or newsmagazine of the day
Children's Television Act of 1990
a. Imposes limits on the number of minutes devoted to commercials shown during children's programs
Prime time access rule (PTAR)
a. Introduced in April 1970, reduced the networks' control of prime-time programming from four to three hours i. This move was an effort to encourage more local news and public affairs programs, usually slated for the 6-7pm time block b. In a second move, in 1970 the FCC created the Financial Interest and Syndication rules called fin-sync-which constituted the most damaging attack against the network TV monopoly in FCC history according to one historian c. Reacting a number of legal claims against monopolistic practices, the justice department limited the networks' production of non-news shows, requiring them to seek most of their programming from independent production companies and film studios
What would you look for in an educational show?
a. Lesson clarity b. Lesson integration c. Lesson involvement d. Lesson applicability
Audiotapes
a. Lightweight magnetized strands finally made possible sound editing a multiple track mixing, in which instrumentals or vocals could be recorded at one location and later mixed onto a master recording in another studio i. 1940s: magnetic sound recordings ii. Allowed for easier editing and multiple track mixing iii. Miniaturized reel-to-reels made into "cassettes"
The implementation of the three-hour rule
a. Majority seen as having some educational value b. 20% as coded as containing no educational content c. 75% of network programming coded as "prosocial" (When a lesson could be found)
Psychedelic Era
a. Named for the mind-altering effects of LSD and other drugs
Hybrid
a. Often mixing comic situations and grim plots, this multiple-cast show looked like an open-ended soap opera
The second kind of online radio station is online that has been created exclusively for the internet
a. Pandora 8tracks, slacker, and last.fm
Stereo
a. Permitted the recording of two separate channels, or tracks with sound i. Quadraphonic 1. Four-track sound
RCA
a. Pooled the necessary technology and patents to monopolies the wireless industry and expand American communication technology throughout the world
The three hour rule
a. Processing guideline b. Strengthens FCC's ability to enforce CTA c. Stipulates a minimum of 3 hours week of "core" educational programming for expedited renewal of licenses
How can one "dominate" or control the web?
a. Provide access to it b. Control the search engines c. Sell the essential devices
Opportunities to teach through television
a. Public broadcasting act og 1967 b. Established the corporation for public broadcasting (1967) c. Development of public broadcasting service (1969) d. Congress meant for PBS to provide programming for underserved audiences e. Becomes an incubator for children's television i. 1968-Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ii. 1969-Sesame Street
v-chip technology
a. Ratings for age b. Ratings for content c. Device for blocking based on age and content
Television spectacular
a. Recognized by a more modest term, television special
a. Social media is its biggest resource b. Data processor-collecting every tidbit of information about its users and selling it to advertisers for exceptionally tailored ads c. Own: Instagram, WhatsApp, oculus VR
Microsoft
a. Software for computes and mobile devices, search engine, videogame platforms
Culture encompasses a society's modes of communication
a. The creation and use of symbol systems that convey information and meaning b. It is a process of mutual creation of meaning c. It is dynamic d. It is interdependent e. It is transactional (Each new message, decoded into meaning by an interpreter, changes the interpreter;The constitutive view sees communication as creating (constituting) something that did not exist before) f. Complex g. May be unintentional h. Message may be shaped (Diminished, enhanced) by the medium i. Received meaning may be different from intended meaning j. Process is in no way linear
Communications Decency Act of 1996 and the Child Online Protection act of 2000 was passed and upheld in 2003
a. This act required schools and libraries that receive federal funding for internet access to use software disabled at the request of adult users (Child Online Protection Act) ii. Both laws were judged to be unconstitutional on the basis of the first amendment
Video on Demand
a. This service enables customers to choose among hundreds of titles and watch their selection whenever they want in the same way as a video, pausing and fast-forwarding when desired
Digital Recording
a. Translates sound waves into binary on-off pulses and stores that information as numerical code b. When a digital recording is played back, a microprocessor translates those numerical codes back into sounds and sends them to loudspeakers
CIPA (The Children's Internet Protection act)
a. Why the E-Rate Made this Relevant i. Address issues of the digital divide ii. Some people were being left behind because of their lack in their technological skills iii. If the government gave you federal funding, your material must be filtered
CBS and RCA
a. With records now being made on vinyl, they are able to adjust to various lengths b. CBS introduces the LP (33 ½ rpm) which plays for 20 minutes c. RCA develops the 45 rpm that plays 2 songs d. Incompatible but in the end both were produced
Social Media
allow people from all over the world to have ongoing online conversations, share stories, and interests, and generate their own media content (This turn in the digital media form has fundamentally overturned traditional media business models, the ways we engage with and consume media products, and the ways we organize our daily lives around various media choices)
Culture
always changing; Includes society's arts, beliefs, customs, games, technologies, traditions, institutions May be defined as the symbols of expression that individuals, groups, and societies use to make sense to daily life and to articulate their values ("Parallel to our physical environment, it can be said that we live in a cultural, or symbolic environment." -Larry Gross) A process that delivers the values of society through products or other meaning making forms
The credit for the first voice broadcast
belongs to Canadian engineer Reginald Fessenden, chief chemist for Thomas Edison
Signal scrambling spawned companies that provided both receiving dishes and satellite program services
for a monthly fee
Bechdel Test
i. A measure of the representation of women in fiction ii. It asks whether a work 1. Features at least two women with names 2. Who talk to each other about something other than a man iii. Fewer than half of the 89 films that have won academy awards for the best picture have passed the Bechdel test
Satellite
i. A series of satellites launched to cover the continental Unites states created subscription national satellite radio service
Local and National Advertising
i. About 10 percent of all U.S. spending on media advertising goes to radio stations 1. Like newspapers, radio generate ate its largest profits by selling local and regional ads
Targeted Advertising and Data Mining
i. Advertising took form of traditional display ads placed pages 1. The display ads were no more effective than newspaper or magazine advertisements, and because they reached small, general audiences, they weren't very profitable ii. For advertisers, who for years struggled with how to measure people's attention to ads these activators make advertising easy to track, effective in reaching the desired niche audience and relatively inexpensive, because ads get washed less often on the uninterested
The Digital Age Favors Small, Flexible Start-Up Companies
i. All the leading digital companies of today were once small start-ups that emerged at important junctures of the digital age ii. Today, the juncture in the digital era is the growing importance of social media and mobile devices (Like I the earliest periods, the strategy for start-up companies is to find a niche market, connect with consumers, and get big fast, swallowing up or overwhelming competitors)
The Sacred and the Secular
i. Although many mainstream adults in the 1950s complained that rock and roll's sexuality and questioning of moral norms constituted of offense against God in fact many early rock figures had close ties to religion
Radio Reinvents Itself
i. Although radio threatened sound recording in the 1920s, the recording industry adjusted to the economical and social challenges posed by the radio's arrival Ii. Remarkedly the arrival of television in the 2950s marked the only time in media history when a new medium stole virtually every national programming and advertising strategy from an older medium
Cultural Imperialism and Americans
i. American styles in fashion food, as well as media fare, dominate the global market b. Perhaps the greatest concern regarding a global village is the cultural disconnection for people whose standards of living are not routinely portrayed in contemporary media
Collaborative project
i. Another internet development involves collaborative projects in which user build something together, often using wiki ii. Wiki Websites 1. Enable anyone to edit and contribute to them
A Changing Industry: Reformations in Popular Music
i. As the 1960s began rock and roll was tamer and safer as reflected in the surf and road music on the beach boys and Jan & dean but it was also beginning to branch out
Search Engines Organize the Web
i. As the number of web sites on the internet quickly expanded, companies seized the opportunity to provide ways to navigate this vast amount of information by providing directories and search engines ii. Search Engines 1. Offer a more automated route to finding content by allowing users to enter key words or queries to locate related Web Pages
What media audiences are left out?
i. Audiences who are small, unprofitable, hard to measure ii. Racial/ethnic minority groups iii. Children and adults with disability iv. Those who live in hard to access places 1. Homeless 2. Foster care
White Cover Music Undermines Black Artists
i. By the mid-1960s black and white artists routinely recorded and performed one another's original tunes ii. During this period, black R&B artists working for small record labels, saw many of their popular songs covered by white artists working for major labels
Sarnoff and NBC: Building the "Blue" and "Red" Networks
i. David Sarnoff was among the first to envision wireless telegraphy as a modern mass medium 1. Leadership at RCA was capped by two other negotiations the solidified his stature as the driving force behind radio's development as a modern medium: cutting a deal with general motors for the manufacture of car radios in 1929, and merging RCA with Victor Talking Machine Company
Benefits of a critical perspective
i. Developing an informed critical perspective and becoming media literate allow us to participate in a debate about media culture as a force for both democracy and consumerism ii. Competing against these democratic tendencies is a powerful commercial culture that reinforces a world economic order controlled by relatively few multinational corporations iii. Changes challenge us to reassess and rebuild the standards by which we judge our culture (The search for answers lies recognizing the links between cultural expression and daily life)
HD Radio
i. Digital technology that enables AM and FM radio broadcasts to multicast up to three additional compressed digital signals within their traditional analog frequency
The Fallout from a Free Market
i. Economists and media critics have traced the causes and history of this void to two major issues 1. A reluctance to criticize capitalism 2. the debate over how much control consumers have in the marketplace
From Cylinders to Disks: Sound Recording Becomes a Mass Medium
i. Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinsville conducted the first experiments with sound recording 1. Recording sound (Edouard-Leon de Martinsville) in 1850s
Internet Radio
i. Emerged in the 1990s with the popularity of the Web ii. Internet radio stations come in 2 types 1. Existing FM, AM, satellite, or HD station "streaming" a simulcast version of its on-air signal over the web
What needs to happen to reach saturation
i. Enough audience ii. Enough sponsorship iii. Enough content
The Rise of Pop Music
i. Existed prior to these media ii. In the late 19th century, the sale of sheet music for piano and other instruments sprang from a section of Broadway in Manhattan as Tin Pan Alley 1. A derisive term used to describe the sound of these quickly produced tunes which supposedly resembled cheap pans clanging together iii. Jazz 1. Developed in New Orleans a. Mostly instrumental music iv. Cover music 1. A song recorded or performed by another artist
The Authority of Radio
i. FCC called for stricter warnings both before and during programs that imitated the style of radio news ii. FDR holds his fireside chats and offers press conference
Cultural Model for Understanding Mass Communication
i. Focuses on behavior of persons rather than things ii. Study of the processes of media and that which influences them iii. Consider different outcomes that result from media creation and exposure iv. Selective exposure (People typically seek messages and produce meanings that correspond to their own cultural beliefs, values, and interests) v. Media (Intervening substance through which something is conveyed or transmitted)
Folk Inspires Protest
i. Folk music 1. Refers to songs performed by untrained musicians and passed down mainly through oral traditions
The Early Years
i. For much of the 20th century, the Disney company set the standard for popular cartoons and children's culture ii. In 1953, Disney started Buena vista, a distribution company 1. This was the first step in making the studio into major player 2. The economy also began exploiting the power of its early cartoon features
The internet and Convergence Change the Game
i. For much of their history, media companies have been part of usually discrete or separate industries ii. Today, newspapers, magazines, book publishers, etc., all have websites that offer online versions of their product of web services that enhance their original media form
Selling the Music
i. For years, the primary sales outlets for music with direct-retail record stores
Apple History
i. Founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniack in 1976 as a home computer
Netflix
i. Founded in 1997 as an online movie rental company ii. Developed streaming in 2007 iii. Expanded into global market in 2013 iv. 2018 1. Generated 6.8 billion in annual revenue with over 130 million streaming members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 140 million hours of TV shows and movies per day
Bringing Order to Chaos with the Radio Act of 1927
i. From narrowcasting to broadcasting, the battle for more frequency space and less channel interferences intensified 1. Simple licensing's function granted under the Radio act of 1912, which gave the Commerce Department little power to deny a license or to unclog the airwaves
Rock Muddies the Waters
i. Genre also blurred other long standing distinctions between high and low culture, masculinity and femininity, the country and the city, the north and the south, and the scared the secular
Broadcast Indecency: FCC v Pacifica
i. George Carlin's comedy routine entitled "filthy words" broadcast on an NYC radio programs as part of a program about societal attitudes toward language ii. John Douglass files an FCC complaint saying it was on while he was in the car with his 15 year old son iii. FCC sends Pacifica a letter of reprimand iv. Goes to the Supreme Court
The Rise of Specialization and Synergy
i. Globalism coincided with the rise of specialization ii. Beyond specialization, what really distinguishes current media economics is the extension of synergy to international levels
Security: The Challenge to keep Personal Information Private
i. Government surveillance, online fraud, and unethical data-gathering methods have been common, making the Internet a potentially treacherous place
Google History
i. Had instant success with its algorithmic search engine and now controls about 70% of the search market, generating billions of dollars of revenue yearly through the pay-per-clicker advertisements the company
Facebook History
i. Immense, socially dynamic audience is its biggest resource, and Facebook like Google has become a data processor as much as social media service, controlling every tidbit of information to advertisers
The Evolution of Radio
i. In 1921, the U.S. commerce department officially licensed five radio stations for operation by early 1923, more than 600 commercial and noncommercial stations were operating
The Introduction of Color Television
i. In 1952, the FCC tentatively approved an experimental CBS color system 1. However, because black-and-white TV sets could not receive its signal, the system was incompatible with the sets most Americans owns 2. In 1954, RCA's color system which sent TV images in color but allowed older sets to receive the color images as black-and white usurped CBS's systems to become the color standard
Network News
i. In 1965, the program became the first news show to be videotaped for rebroadcast on affiliate stations 1. Stations that contort with a network to carry its programs
Home Video
i. In 1975-76 the introduction of videocassettes recorders (VCRs) enabled viewers to tape-record TV programs and play them back later ii. Overtime, the VHS format gave away to DVDs 1. But today the standard DVD is threatened by both the Internet and a consumer market move toward high-definition DVDs iii. By 2012, more than 50% of U.S. had DVRs (digital video recorders) which enabled users to download specific programs onto the DVRs computer memory and watch at a later time
Building the First Networks
i. In a major power grab in 1922, AT&T, which already has a government sanctioned monopoly in a telephone business, decided to break its RCA agreements in an attempt to monopolies radio as well ii. Identifying the new medium as the "wireless telephone", AT&T argued that broadcasting was merely an extension of its control over the telephone iii. Ultimately the corporate giant complained that RCA has gained too much monopoly power 1. In violations of its early agreements with RCA, AT&T began making and selling its own radio receivers
Early Innovations in TV Technology
i. In its novelty stage, television's earliest pioneers were trying to isolate TV waves from the electromagnetic spectrum 1. As radio's pioneers had done with radio waves
Social Media and Democracy
i. In just a decade, social media have changed the way we consume and relate to media and the way communicate with others 1. Social media tools have put unprecedented power in our hands to produce and distribute our own media ii. The flexible and decentralized nature of the internet and social media is in large part what makes them such powerful tools for subverting control
Nonprofit Radio and NPR
i. In the 1930s, the Wagner-Hatfield Amendment to the 1934 Communications act intended to set aside 25% of radio for a wide variety of nonprofit stations 1. When the amendment was defeat in 1935, the future of educational and noncommercial radio looked bleak
The Next Big Thing: Streaming Music
i. In the language of the music industry, we are shifting from ownership of music to access to music 1. The access model has been driven by the availability of streaming services such as the Sweden-based Spotify
The Media Marketplace and Democracy
i. In the midst of today's major global transformations of economies, cultures, societies, the best way to monitor the impact of transnational economies is through vigorous new attention and lively public discussion ii. We live in a society in which often superficial or surface consumer concerns, stock market quotes, and profit aspirations, rather than broader social issues, increasingly dominate the media agenda
The Internet
i. Information superhighway 1. Description implied that the goal of the internet is to build new media network, a new superhighway to replace traditional media ii. The vast network of telephone and cable lines, wireless connections, and satellite systems designed to link and carry digital information worldwide 1. Initially described as an information superhighway iii. Ownership vs. Control
Convergence and Mobile Media
i. Innovation of digital communication-central to the development of the first computers in the 1940s-enables all media content to be created in the same basic way, which makes media convergence.... 1. The technological merging of content in different mass media, possible ii. The internet is the hub for convergence iii. Mobile devices propel convergence
The Sounds of Commercial Radio
i. Instead, radio has become a secondary, or background medium that follows the rhythms of daily life ii. Drive time 1. Rush hours iii. Customizing their sounds to reach niche audiences through format specializations and alternative programming
Motor City Music: Detroit gives American Soul
i. Ironically the British Invasion which drew much of its inspiration from black influences, drew many white listeners away from a new generation of black performers ii. Soul 1. Transforming the rhythms and melodies of older R&B, pop, and early rock and roll 2. They countered the British invaders with powerful vocal performances
The Next Era: The Semantic Web
i. Is about creating a more meaningful-or more organized- Web 1. To do that, the future promises a layered, connected database of information that software agents will sift through and process automatically for us
Wireless Telegraphy: De Forest and Fessenden
i. Lee De Forest (who, in defiance of other inventors liked to call himself the "father of the radio") write the first PhD dissertation on wireless technology, building on others' innovations
Making, Selling, and Profiting from Music
i. Like most mass media the music business is divided into several areas, each working in a different capacity ii. In the music industry, those areas are making the music (signing, developing and recording the artist), selling the music (selling, distributing, advertising, and promoting the music), and dividing the profits
Program Format Changes Inhibit Sponsorship
i. Like radio in the 1930s and 1940s, early tv programs were often developed, produced, and supported by a single sponsor ii. In addition, the introduction of two new types of programs-the magazine format and the tv spectacular-greatly helped the networks gains control over content
o. Premium Cable Services
i. Lure customers with the promise of no advertising ii. Premium services also include pay-per-view programs, videos on demand, and interactive services that enable consumers to use their televisions to bank, ship, play, game, and access the internet
Early Radio Programming
i. Many large stations employed their own inhouse orchestras and aired live music daily i. Listeners had favorite evening programs, usually 15 minutes long, to which they would tune in each night iii. Dramatic programs, mostly radio plays that were broadcast live from theaters, developed as early as 2933 iv. Most radio programs had a single sponsor that created tend produced the show 1. The networks distributed these programs live around the country, charging the sponsors advertising fees
Serial Programs
i. Many story lines continue from episode to episode ii. Cheaper to produce than chapter shows, employing just a few indoor sets, and running five days, daytime soap operas are among the longest-running serial programs in. the history of television
Marconi and the Inventors of Wireless Telegraphy
i. Marconi attached Hertz's spark-gap transmitter to a Morse telegraph key, which could send out dot-dash signals ii. The electrical impulses traveled ingot a Morse inker, the machine that telegraph operators used to record the dots and dashes onto narrow strips of paper iii. Marconi discovered that grounding-connecting the transmitter and receiver to the earth-greatly increased the distance over which he could send signals
The Impact of Media Convergence and Mobile Media
i. Media consumption is mobile and flexible ii. In order to satisfy those demands and to stay relevant in such a converged world, traditional media companies have had to dramatically change their approach to media content and their business models
The Effects of Media Consolidation on Democracy
i. Merged and multinational media corporations will continue to control more aspects of production and distribution ii. Because of the growing consolidation of mass media, it has become increasingly difficult to sustain a public debate on economic issues 1. From a democratic perspective, the relationship of our mass media system to politics has been highly dysfunctional iii. As unfettered corporate political contributions count as "political speech" some corporations are experiencing backlash or praise once their customers discover their political positions iv. Politicians have often turned to local television stations, spending record amounts during each election period to get their political ads on air
Our Changing Relationship with the Internet
i. Mobile devices and social media have altered our relationship with the internet 1. Two trends ii. on the one hand the appeal of the internet is its openness its free-for-all nature 1. but of course, the trade-off is that the open internet can be chaotic and unruly and apps and other walled garden services have streamlined the cacophony of the internet considerably
Dulling our Cultural Taste Buds
i. More visual forms undermines democratic ideals and reasoned argument (Popular media may inhibit not only rational thought but also social progress by transforming audiences into cultural dupes lured by the promise of products) ii. Big-Mac Theory (Suggests that people are people are so addicted to mass-produced media menus that they lose their discriminating taste for finer fare and much worse, their ability to see and challenge social inequities)
Diversification
i. Most media companies diversify among media product, never fully dominating a particular media industry ii. Promotes oligopolies in which few behemoth companies control most media production and distribution 1. This kind of economic arrangement makes it difficult for products offered outside an oligopoly to compete in the marketplace
Creation of the First Noncommercial Networks
i. National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) 1. Created as first noncommercial networks ii. Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) 1. Handed NPR and PBS to provide alternatives to commercial broadcasting
t. Major Programming Trends
i. Network news operations, however, remained in New York 1. Ever since, loss angels and New York came to represent the two major branches of tv programming a. Entertainment and information 2. Although there is considerable blurring between these categories today, the two-were once more distinct
The Development of Sound Recording
i. New mass media have often been defined in terms of the communication technologies that preceded them ii. Motion pictures 1. A term that derived photography iii. Radio 1. Wireless telegraphy
The North and the South
i. Not only did rock and roll muddy the urban and rural terrain but it also combined northern and southern influences 1. In fact, with so much blues, R&B, and rock and roll rising from the south in the 1950s this region regained some of its cultural flavor which migrated to the North after the civil war and during the early 20th century
Dividing the Profits
i. Now there are multiple digital venues for selling music and an equally high number of methods for dividing the profits
Open-Source Software
i. On the principle that it was a collective effort 1. Programmers openly shared program source codes and their ideas to upgrade and improve programs
The Media Reform Movement
i. One key paradox of the information age is that for such economic discussions to be meaningful and democratic, they must be carried out in the popular media as well as in educational settings ii. Yet public debates and disclosures about the structure and ownership of the media are often not in the best economic interests of media owners iii. Still in some places, local groups and consumer movements are trying to address media that affect individual and community life
News, Talk, and Information Radio
i. Only 170 radio stations operated formats dominated by either news programs or talk shows, which tend to appeal to adults over 35
The Early Years of Nonprofit Radio
i. Pacifica Foundation 1. To run experimental public stations a. Pacifica stations, like Hill, have often challenged the status quo in radio as well as in government
What do scholars know about audiences?
i. Pew Research Center 1. Wording of question 2. Demographic of people 3. Age ranges
U.S Popular Music and the Formation of Rock
i. Pop music 1. Popular music 2. Music that appeals either to a wide cross section of the public or to sizable subdivisions within the larger public based on age, region, or ethnic background
Ownership: Controlling the Internet
i. Portal 1. Entry point ii. In today's converged world, in which mobile access to digital content prevails Microsoft and Google still remain powerful 1. Facebook also operates proprietary cloud services and encourage their customers to store all their files in their "walled garden" for easy access across all devices
The Formation of RCA
i. Private sector monopoly 1. A private company that would have the government's approval to dominate the radio industry 2. First, GE broke off negations to sell key technologies to European-owned companies thereby limning those companies' global reach 3. Second, GE took the lead in the founding a new company, Radio Corporation of America (RCA) which soon acquired American Macroni and radio patents of other U.S. Companies
Net Neutrality: Marinating on Open Internet
i. Refers to the principle that every Web site and every user- whether a multinational corporation or you-jabs the right to the same internet network speed and access 1. The idea of an open and neutral network has existed since the origins of the internet, but there had never been a formal policy until 2010, when Federal Communications Commission approved a limited set of net neutrality rules
Podcasting and Portable listening
i. Refers to the proactive of making audio files available on the internet so listener can download them onto their computers and either transfer them not their computers or listen to the files on the computer ii. This distribution method quickly became mainstream as mass media companies created commercial podcasts to promoted and extend existing content such as news and reality tv while independent producers developed new programs, such as public radio's Serial
Must Carry Rules
i. Required all cable operators to assign channels to and carry all local tv broadcasts on their systems 1. This rule ensured that local network affiliates, independent stations, and public television channels would benefit from cable's clearer reception
Access-Channel Mandates
i. Required cable systems to provide and fund a tier of no broadcast channels dedicated to local education, government, and the public ii. Leased channels 1. Free public-access channels
FTC and GDPR
i. Requires informed consent before data is collected from any user ii. Standard default for global internet companies
High and Low Culture
i. Rock and rollers also challenged music decorum and the rules governing how musician should behave or misbehave
Punk Revives Rock's Rebelliousness
i. Rose in the late 1970s to challenge the orthodoxy and commercialism of the record business 1. By this time, the glory days of rock's competitive independent labels had ended and rock music was controlled by just a half-dozen major companies
Chapter Shows
i. Self-contained stories with a recurring set of main characters who confront a problem, face a series of conflicts, and find a resolution
Linear Model
i. Sender > message > medium > receiver > sender > etc. ii. Beaumont ("Communication is this mutual creation of meaning"; Constantly, Automatically, Tirelessly)
Appropriateness: What should be online?
i. So, it should not be surprising that public objection to indecent and obscene internet content (Communications Decency Act) has led to various legislative efforts to tame the web
Power of Media Stories
i. Socrates believed art should uplift us from the ordinary routines in our lives ii. Shows exploit personal problems for commercial gain, reality shows often glamorize outlandish behavior and dangerous stunts, and television research continues to document a connection between aggression in children and violent entertainment programs or video games iii. To increase their revenues, media outlets try to influence everything from how people to shop to how they vote
The early economic structure of tv
i. Sponsorship of 15 minute segments ii. Introducing of advertising iii. 1 minute, 30 seconds, 15 seconds, iv. Today, $200K for a 30 second commercial
Amazon History
i. Started its business in 1995 in Seattle, selling the world's oldest mass medium online 1. Since that time, amazon has developed into the world's largest e-commerce store
s. Fourth Screens: Smartphones and Mobile Video
i. Such multitasking has further accelerated with new fourth-screen technologies like smartphones, iPod, iPhone, and mobile tv devices 1. For the past few years, these devices have forced major changes in consumer viewing habits and media content creation ii. The multifunctionality and portability of third and fourth devices means that consumers may no longer need television sets
FCC Rule
i. Supreme Court rules in favor of the FCC saying: 1. The "uniquely pervasive" nature of these broadcasts allows them to seep into the "privacy of the home" 2. Broadcasts are "uniquely accessible to children" whose "vocabulary can be enlarged in an instant" by hearing indecent or profane language ii. Supreme Court rules in favor of the FCC, saying it is allowed to fine broadcasters when children may be among the audience
The Origins and Development of Television
i. Television's rise through the 1950s created fears that radio would become irrelevant and unnecessary, but both radio and print media adapted 1. In fact, today more radio stations are operating and more books and magazine are being published than ever before 2. Only ticket sales for movies have declined slightly since the 1960s
The Rocky Relationship between Records and Radios
i. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) founded in 1914 to collect copyright fees for music publishers and writers, charged that radio was contributing to plummeting sales of records and sheet music
Sound Recording, Free Expression, and Democracy
i. The battle over rock's controversial aspects speak to the heart of democratic expression ii. Nevertheless, rock and other popular recordings like other art forms also have a history of reproducing old stereotypes: limiting women's access as performers, fostering racist or homophobic attitudes, and celebrating violence and misogyny iii. Dynamic between popular music's clever innovations and capitalism's various appetite is crucial to sound recording's constant innovation and mass appeal
The Internet and Democracy
i. The biggest threat to the internet's democratic potential may well be its increasing commercialization ii. About ¾ of households in the U.S. are now linked to the internet, thus greatly increasing its democratic possibilities but also tempting commercial interests to gain even greater control over it and intensifying problems for agencies trying to regulate it
Battles in Rock and Roll
i. The blurring of racial lines and the breakdown of other conventional boundaries meant that performers and producers were forced to play a tricky game to get rock and roll accepted by the masses 1. Two prominent white disc jockeys used different methods
Cable Threatens Broadcasting
i. The cable industry's rapid rise to prominence was partly due to the shortcomings of broadcast television ii. Beyond improving signal reception in most communities, the cable era introduced narrowcasting 1. The providing of specialized programming for diverse and fragmented groups iii. As cable channels have become more and more like specialized magazines or radio formats, they have siphoned off network viewers, and the networks' role as the chief programmers of our shared culture has eroded
The Changing Economics of Media and the Internet
i. The digital turn in the mass media has profoundly changed the economics of the Internet 1. Media industry has struggled to rethink how to distribute its content for the digital age
The Rise of the New Digital Media Conglomerates
i. The digital turn marks a shift in the media environment, from the legacy media powerhouses like Time Warner and Disney to the new digital conglomerates ii. Given how technologically adept certain corporations have proven to be, they still need to provide compelling narratives to attract people
Reemergence of Pop
i. The era of digital downloads has again made the single the dominant unit of music, with digital single download sales more than ten times as popular as digital album download sales
Transition to an Information Economy
i. The first half of the century emphasized mass production, assembly lines, the rise of manufacturing plants, and the intense rivalry between U.S.-based businesses and businesses from other nations that produced competing products ii. As part of the shift to an information based economy, various mass media industries began marketing music, movies, television programs, and computer software on a global level (The emphasis on mass production slowly shifted to the cultivation of specialized niche media markets)
CATV-Community Antenna Television
i. The first small cable systems called CATV originated in the late 1940s in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and New York City, where mountains or tall buildings blocked tv signals ii. By routing and reamplifying each channel in a separate wire, cable eliminated over-the-air interference iii. Running signals thought coaxial cable increased channel capacity
The British Are Coming
i. The globe trade of pop music is evident in the exchanges and melding of rhythms, beats, vocal styles, and musical instruments 1. The origin of this global impact can be traced to England in the late 1950s when the young rolling stones listened to the blues of Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters and young Beatles tried to imitate Chuck Berry and Little Richard
Government Scrutiny Ends RCA-NBC Monopoly
i. The government has originally sanctioned a closely supervised monopoly for wireless communication, but following the collapse of the stock market in 1929, the public became increasingly distrustful of big business
Quiz-show scandal Hurts the Promise to TV
i. The impact of the quiz-show scandals was enormous 1. First, the sponsors' pressure on tv executives to right the programs and the subsequent fraud put an end to any role that major sponsors had in creating tv content 2. Second, the fraud undermined Americans' expectation of the democratic promise of television-to bring inexpensive information and entertainment into every household 3. The third and most important, impact of the quiz-show scandals was that they magnified the divisions between high and low culture attitudes toward television
Alternative Voices
i. The indie industry nonetheless continues to thrive, providing music fans access to all styles of music, including some of the world's most respected artists
Cultural Imperialism
i. The influence of American popular culture has created considerable debate in international circles 1. On the one hand the notion of freedom that is associated with innovation and rebellion in American culture has been embraced internationally 2. On the other hand, American media are shaping the cultures and identities of other nations a. Cultural imperialism
Digital Archiving
i. The internet archive aims to ensure that researchers, historians, scholars, and all citizens have universal access to human knowledge
Online Fraud
i. The internet is increasingly a conduit for online robbery and identity theft 1. Illegal obtaining of personal credit and identity information in order fraudulently spend others people's money ii. Phishing 1. This scam involves phony e-mail messages that appear to be from official web sites asking customers to update their credit cards numbers, account passwords, and other personal information
Maxwell and Hertz Discover Radio Waves
i. The key development in wireless transmissions came from James Maxwell, a Scottish physicist who in the mid 1860s theorizes iii. Maxwell further theorized that a portion of these phenomena later knows as radio waves could be harnessed so that signals could be sent from a transmission point to a reception point iv. Hertz created a crude device that permitted an electrical sparked to leap across a small gap between two steel balls
So, What Exactly are the responsibilities of newspapers and media in general?
i. The media tries to help us understand the events that affect us. ii. Media's appetite for telling and selling stories leads them not only to document tragedy but also to misrepresent or exploit it
Our Changing Relationship with the Media
i. The merging of all media onto one device blurs the distinction of what we used to be separate media
Microsoft History
i. The oldest of the dominate digital firms is an enormously wealthy software company the struggled for year to develop an Internet strategy
Manipulating Playlists with Payola
i. The practice by which record promotes pay deejays to play particular records ii. Was rampant in the 1950s as recode companies sought to guarantee record sales
Cable News Changes the Game
i. The success of CNN revealed a need and a lucrative market for twenty-four-hour news
The Business of Sound Recording
i. The truth, in most cases, is that the business needs artists who are provocative, original, and appealing to the public and the artists need the expertise of the industry's marketers, promoters, and producers to hone their sound and reach the public
The Third Screen: Tv converges with the internet
i. These new online viewing experiences are often labeled third screens 1. Usually meaning that computer screens are the third major way we view content 2. In most cases these third screen sites operate as catch-up services rather than as replacements for broadcast or cable tv, allowing viewers and fan to "Catch up" on movies and programs that played earlier in theaters or on television
The FM Revolution and Edwin Armstrong
i. To fund television's development and to protect his radio holdings, Sarnoff had even delayed a dramatic breakthrough in broadcast sound what he himself called a "revolution"-FM radio ii. Armstrong also worked on the major problem of radio reception-electrical interference 1. Inventor filed 5 patents on FM (frequency modulation) a. Supplied greater fidelity and clarity than AM 2. AM a. Amplitude modulation stressed the volume, or height, of radio waves
Assigning Frequencies and Freezing TV Licenses
i. Today a frequency that once carried one analog TV signal can vary eight or nine compressed digital channels ii. By the 1948 the FCC had issued nearly one hundred TV licenses, and there was growing concern about the finite number of channels and the frequency-interference problems 1. The FCC declared a freeze on new licenses from 1948n to 1952 2. Those accepting the licenses must agree to serve "public interest, convenience, and necessity" in return
Government Surveillance
i. USA Patriot Act 1. Grants sweeping powers to law-enforcement agencies to intercept individuals' online communications, including e-mail messages and browsing records 2. The act was intending to allow the government to more easily uncover and track potential terrorists and terrorist organizations, but many now argue that it is too vaguely worded, allowing the government to unconstitutionally probe the personal records of citizens without probably cause and for reasons other than preventing terrorism
Public Television Struggles to Find Its Place
i. Under president Lyndon Johnson, and in response to a report from the Carnegie Commission on Educational Television Congress passed the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and later in 1969, the PBS ii. The original Carnegie Commission report also recommended that Congress create a financial plan to provide long-term support for public television, in part to protect it from political interference iii. Also troubling to at public television is that the audience for PBS has declined
Fewer Major Labels and Falling Market Share
i. Universal music group, sony music entertainment and warner music group 1. Together these companies control about 65% of the recording industry market in the US
Reality TV and Other Enduring Genres
i. Up to this point, we focused on long-standing tv programing trends, but many other genres have played major roles in tv's history, both inside and outside prime time ii. Reality-based programs are the newest significant trend 1. One reason for their popularity is that these shows introduce us to characters and people who seem more "like us" and less like celebrities 2. Additionally, these programs have helped the networks and cable providers deal with the high cost of programming iii. Another growing trend is Spanish-language television
Rock and Roll is Here to stay
i. Was a blues slang for sex lending it to instant controversy ii. Early rock and roll was considered the first integrationist music 1. Merging the black sounds of rhythm and blues, gospel, and Robert Johnson's screeching blues guitar with the white influences of country, folk and pop vocals
Critiquing Media and Culture
i. We are witnessing media convergence (For a fee everything from magazine to movies is channeled into homes through the internet and cable or satellite TV) ii. Considering the diversity of mass media, to paint them all with the same broad brush would be inaccurate and unfair (To deal with these shifts in how we experience media and culture and their impact, we need to develop a profound understanding of the mass media focused on what they offer or produce and what they downplay or ignore)
Masculinity and Feminity
i. Wearing a pompadour hairdo and assaulting his Steinway piano, little Richard was considered rock and roll's first drag queen, blurring the boundary between masculinity and femininity
Payola
i. Were another cloud over rock and roll music and its artists a. Practice of record promoters paying deejays or radio programmers to play particular songs 2. As recorded rock and roll became central to commercial radio's success in the 1950s and the demand for airplay grew enormous, independent promoters hired by record labels used payola to pressure deejays into playing songs by the artists they represented 3 . The payola scandals threatened, ended, or damaged the careers of a number of rock and roll deejays and undermined rock and roll's credibility for a number of years
The Development of Cable
i. When the networked gained control over tv content, to the end of the 1970s as the network era
Punk, Grunge, and Alternative Respond to Mainstream Rock
i. With major music acts earning huge profits, rock soon became another product line for manufacturers and retailers to promote, package, and sell primarily to middle class white male teens
Rock Turns Psychedelic
i. With the increasing role of drugs in youth culture and availability of LSD more and more rock musicians experimented with and sand about drugs in what were frequently labeled rock's psychedelic years
Scholars and the internet
ii. As scholars, we are now studying topics that didn't exist prior to the widespread use of certain platforms and devices
Hertz's Crude Device
iv. Hertz created a crude device that permitted an electrical sparked to leap across a small gap between two steel balls 1. As the electricity jumped the gap, it emitted waves a. this was the first recorded transmissions and reception of an electromagnetic wave b. Hertz's experiments significantly advanced the development of wireless communication
American MEdia
shaping the cultures and identities of other nations Americans styles in fashion and food, as well as media fare, dominate the global market
What does the industry know about audiences?
television, netflix, internet users
Limits of Antitrust Laws
the resulting consolidation of media owners has limited the number of independent voices in the market and reduced the number of owners who might be able to innovate and challenge established economic powers, leading to renewed interest in enforcing antitrust laws
technological affordances of social media
what audiences know about audiences likes and engagment
(A digital reinvention of oral culture) has assumed some of the functions of the postal service and is outpacing attempts to control communications beyond national borders
Socrates
1. Socrates made his argument through public conversations and debates a. Socratic Method (The dialogue style of communication and inquiry is still used in college classrooms and university law schools)
Feedback
1. Citizens and consumers, return messages to senders or gatekeepers through phone calls, e-mail, web postings, talk shows, or letters to the editor 2. Source > Message > Receiver > Feedback > Source (Still source dominated model)
Synergy
1. Synergy typically refers to the promotion and sale of different versions of a media product across the various subsidiaries of a media conglomerate 2. Today, synergy is an important goal for large media corporations and is often the reason given for expensive mergers and acquisitions a. Historically half of all mergers and acquisitions are failures, and synergies are never realized
Critical Process
1. That takes us through the steps of description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagement (Perhaps strip culture of such adjectives as high, low, popular, and mass; May artificially force media forms and products into predetermined categories) 2. To begin this process of critical assessment, we must imagine culture phenomena as richer and more complicated than the high-low model allows
Progressive Era
A period of political and social reform that lasted roughly from 1890s to the 1920s
Hegemony
Acceptance of the dominant values in a culture by those who are subordinate to those who hold economic and political power To argue that a particular view or value is common sense is often an effective strategy for stopping conversation and debate Yet common sense is socially and symbolically constructed and shifts over time
Backdrop of Encoding and Decoding
All encoding and decoding takes place against the backdrop of communicators' fields of experience
Analyzing the Media Economy
Answers to certain questions span the economic and social spectrums On the one hand, critics express concerns about the increasing power and reach of large media conglomerates On the other hand, many free-market advocates maintain that as long as these structures ensure efficient operation and generous profits, they measure up as quality media organizations
Global Audiences Expand Media Markets
As Disney stories show, international expansion has allowed media conglomerates some advantages, including secondary markets in which to earn profits and advance technological innovations First, as media technologies get cheaper and more portable, American media proliferate both inside and outside national boundaries In addition, satellite transmission has made north American and European TV available at the global level
Modern Period
As beginning with the industrial revolution of the 19th century and extending until about the mid-20th century
Media Literacy
Attaining an understanding of mass media and how they construct meaning
Senders
Authors, producers, organizations
Specialization, Global Markets, Convergence
Bolstered by the passage of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) in 1947, the signing of NAFTA in 1994, and the formation of WTO in 1995, global cooperation fostered
Global Expansion of Disney
Building on the international appeal of its cartoon features, Disney extended its global reach by opening Tokyo Disney resort and Disneyland parks
Cultural Blending in Stories
Cultural blending of old and new ways of telling stories is just another form of convergence that has disrupted and altered the media landscape in the digital era
American ideal of "Rugged Individualism"
Depicting heroic characters overcoming villains or corruption
Performance of Media Organizations
Economists pay attention to a number of elements-from how media make money to how they set prices and live up to society's expectations
A Tendency to Exploit High Culture
Exploits classic works of literature and art
Electronic Era and the Telegraph
Featuring dot-dash electronic signals, the telegraph made 4 key contributions to communication
Media Convergence
Has two different meanings One referring to technology (The merging of content across different media channels) Other refers to business (Both describe changes that have a great impact on how media companies are charting a course for the future)
Indirect Payments
Involves media products supported primarily by advertisers, who pay for the quantity or quality of audience members that a particular medium delivers
Digital Era and Digital Communication
Images, texts, sounds are converted (encoded) into electronic signals (represented as varied combinations of binary numbers-ones and zeroes) that are then reassembled (Decoded) as a precise reproduction
Industrialization and Printing
Industrialization required more educated workforce, but printed literature and textbooks also encouraged compulsory education, thus promoting literacy and extending learning beyond the world of wealthy upper-class citizens
Downsizing and the Wage Gap
Inequality in the U.S. between the richest and everyone else has been growing since the 1970s This is apparent in the skyrocketing rate of executive compensation and the growing ratio between executive pay and the typical pay of workers in corresponding industries Corporate downsizing, which Is supposed to make companies more flexible and more profitable, has served CEOs well but has not served workers well This trend spurred by government deregulation and a decline in worker protections, means that many employees today scramble for jobs, often working two or three part-time positions Increasingly the available positions have substandard pay
The Constitutive Model and Decoding
Interpreting those signs and symbols
Muckrakers
Journalists who exposed corruption, waste, and scandal in business and politics, represented media's significant contribution
Printing Press and Societal Structure
Just as the printing press fostered nationalism, it also nourished the ideal of individualism (The democratic impulse of individualism became a fundamental value in American society in the 19th/20th century)
Media Events
Live broadcasts of historic events have become world rituals which have the potential for transforming societies
Commercial Strategies
Media industry executive look to the most advantageous balance in the commercial process, including program or products costs, price setting, marketing strategies, and regulatory practices 1. Price 2. Length, frequency, and tolerance 3. Data Mining and Privacy 4. Regulation Some key expectations of media organizations include 1. Introducing new technologies to the marketplace 2. Making media products and services available to people of all economic classes 3. Facilitating free expression robust political discussion 4. Monitoring society in times of crisis 5. Playing a positive role in education 6. Maintaining the quality of culture
Direct Payments
Media products supported primarily by consumers, who pay directly for a book, a movie, a music download, or an internet or cable tv service
Modernization
Modernization involved with captains of industry using new technology to create efficient manufacturing centers, produce inexpensive products to make everyday life better, and make commerce more profitable (Lean and efficient modern news de-emphasized complex and analysis and historical context and elevated the new and now)
Media Powerhouses: Consolidation, partnerships, and Mergers
Most media companies have skirted monopoly charges by purchasing diverse types of mass media rather than trying to control just one medium
Flexible Markets and the Decline of Labor Unions
The new elastic economy features the expansion of the service sector and the need to serve individual consumer preferences (This type of economy has relied on cheap labor-sometimes exploiting poor workers in a sweatshops-and on quick, high-volume sales to offset the costs of making so many niche products for specialized markets) The era of flexible markets coincided with the decline in the number of workers who belong to labor unions
Story Telling Business
Our varied media institutions and outlets are basically in the narrative
shifting values in postmodern culture
Postmodern period (Music videos, remote controls, etc.; Roughly from the mid-20th century to today)
Media Business is a Converged World
The next challenge ahead in the new, converged world is to resolve who will pain for quality content and how that system will emerge
A Throwaway Ethic
Short life span
Media Business is a Cultural World
Some critics and educators feel that media multitasking means that we often pay closer attention to the media we are using than to people immediately in our presence
inability to appreciate fine art
Some critics claim that popular culture distracts students from serious literature and philosophy, thus stunting their imagination and undermining their ability to recognize great art
Challenging the Nostalgia for a Better Past
Some critics of popular culture assert that society was better off before the latest developments in mass media (These critics resist the idea of reimagining an established cultural hierarchy as a multidirectional map)
Diminished Audience for High
Some observers also warn that popular culture has inundated the culture environment, driving out higher forms of culture and cheapening public life
Disney: A Postmodern Media Conglomerate
The Walt Disney Company is one of the most successful companies in leveraging its many properties to create synergies
Comfort of Familiar Stories
The appeal of culture is often its familiar stories, pulling stories toward the security of repetition and common landmarks on the cultural map
Disney Today
The cartoon pioneer experienced the multiple shocks of a recession, failed films and internet ventures, and declining theme park attendance
The Dual Roles of Media Convergence
The eras of communication are themselves reinvented in this "age of convergence" Cross platform (Describes a business model that involves consolidating various media holdings; The goal is to offer consumers a better way to manage resources and maximize profits)
Historical Development of Media
The historical development of media and communication can be traced through several overlapping passes or eras in which newer forms of technology disrupted and modified older forms-a process that many academics, critics, and media professionals began calling convergence
Stories The Foundation of Media
The stories that circulate in the media can shape a society's perceptions and attitudes (Stories told through a variety of media outlets played a key role in changing individual awareness, cultural attitudes, and public perception)
The Constitutive Model and Encoding
Transforming a message into an understandable sign and symbol system
Messages
Transmitted (programs, texts, images, sounds, internet)
Surveying the Cultural Landscape
Two metaphors offer contrasting views about the way culture operates in the way culture operates in our daily lives: culture as a hierarchy, represented by a skyscraper model, and culture as a process, represented by a map model
Wide Range of Messages
We know that people have complex cultural tastes, needs, and interests based on different backgrounds and dispositions (Cultural products and their meanings are "all over the map" spreading out in diverse directions)
Innovation and the attraction of "What's New"
We like cultural adventure (We seek new stories and new places to go those aspects of culture that demonstrate originality and complexity)
The Print Revolution History
What we recognize as modern printing did not emerge until the middle of the 15th century (paper and block printing developed in China centuries before the invention of the printing press)
Modernization and the Premodern Period
While the values of the premodern period (before the industrial revolution) were guided by a strong belief in a natural or divine order, modernization elevated individual self-expression to a more central position (To be modern also meant valuing the ability of logical and scientific minds to solve problems by working in organized groups and expert teams)
The Linear Model (Tranmissional View)
Who? Says what? Through which channel? To whom? With what effect? 1. Source > Message > Receiver 2. Problem: no guarantee the receiver will receive the message, singularity, interpretation of message, noise, feedback
Words and Images and Meaning
Words and images are more likely to spill into another crisscrossing in the daily media of ads, shows, news reports, social media, smartphone apps, conversations
Different Definitions of Communication
a. An act (expressing ideas, thoughts, feelings to someone) b. A message (letter, text) c. A system (for transmitting or exchanging information d. Communication in Latin means to share
4 aspects that resonate best with changes across media
a. Efficiency b. Individualism c. Rationalism d. Progress
Eras
a. First two refer to the communication of tribal or feudal communities and agricultural economies b. Last three feature the development of mass communication (The process of designing cultural messages and stories and delivering them to large and diverse audiences through media channels as old and distinctive as the printed book and as new and converged as the Internet)
9/11
a. The first global catastrophe experienced in real time by hundreds of millions of people around the world b. What would be different now? (Facebook safety check, twitter rumors, partisan television coverage, people posting their own videos and photos )
Telecommunications Act of 1996
brought unprecedented deregulation to a broadcast industry that had been closely regulated for more than sixty years 1. A single company could now own an almost unlimited number of radio and TV stations 2. Telephone companies could now own TV and radio stations 3. Cable companies could now compete in the local telephone business 4. Cable companies could freely raise rates
New Technologies
can isolate people or encourage them to chase their personal agendas (Can also draw people together to advance causes, to solve community problems)
Celler-Kefauver Act
further strengthened antitrust laws by limiting any corporate mergers and joint ventures that reduced competition
Oral and Written Methods of Communication
i. As alphabets and the written word emerged, culture began to develop and eventually overshadowed oral communication ii. Early tensions between oral and written communication played out among ancient Greek philosophers and writers
Culture as a Map
i. Culture is an ongoing and complicated process that allows us to be better account for our diverse and individual tastes (We judge forms of culture as good or bas based on a combination of personal taste and the aesthetic judgements a society makes at particular historical times)
Culture as a Skyscraper
i. High culture (wealthy) (Ballet, the arts) ii. Low Culture (Soap operas, rock music, radio shock jocks)
Structure of the Media Industry
monopoly, oligopoly, limited competition
Monopoly
one company dominates production and distribution
Sherman Antitrust Act
outlawed monopoly practices and corporate trusts that often fixed prices to force competitors out of business
Clayton Antitrust Act
prohibits manufacturers from selling only to dealers and contractors who agree to reject the products of business rivals
Receivers
readers, viewers, and consumers
Job of FTC and antitrust divisions
responsible for enforcing these laws
Plato
sought to banish poets, whom he saw as purveyors of ideas less rigorous than those generated in oral, face-to-face, question and answer discussions
The Boom of the Electronic Phase
the electronic phase of the Information Age really boomed in the 1950s-1960s with the arrival of television and its dramatic impact on daily life
Oligopoly
the most common structure A few firms dominate an industry
Limited Competition
typical of the radio and newspaper industries
