Audience demand is the most important factor in determining how radio developed into what it is today. It formed radio into a mass communicative entertainment tool, a means of sharing stories, music, and ideas with a wide audience.
Back in the early 1900s when radio was first forming, it was being used as a means of two-way communication to relay information. After World War I when RCA took over, radios were sold as a device that was meant to be used in the home, which formed new audiences. Once companies figured out these new markets existed, programming was developed to bring in the audiences so products could be sold. In order for these advertisements to be heard, the programming had to appeal to the audiences demands, whether it was for news, music, talk-radio, or stories.
The radio industry is driven by profits so early programming "was focused on music but also included news, comedy, variety shows, soap operas, detective dramas, sports, suspense, and action adventures." These shows were created so broadcasters could bring in a bigger audience and charge higher amounts of money for advertisements. Without the audience demand, radio would never have evolved into the model it uses today. Example.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Priming
Learning about priming theory has helped me to better understand how and why people react to events in life because I now realize that media has the possibility to impact a viewers actions.
Priming theory is described as when the activation of one thought triggers related thoughts. Basically, the theory argues that by viewing something, the viewer will "store" that event in their mind and will be more likely to use that action as a response to something happening in their own life. Priming can occur semantically, through repetition, or through association.
For example, say a research study is being conducted and there are two groups. One group is primed with politeness-related words, while the second group is primed with rude, aggressive words. According to priming theory if the two groups were to be interviewed, the group primed with the aggressive/rude words would be more likely to interrupt the interviewer than the group primed with polite words.
Recent examples in the news have been relating priming with video games and violence. Some critics say that the violence in video games causes those that play them to mimic, or commit acts of violence that they otherwise would not have. On the other side of that argument though, some say that video games are a way of releasing the violence through the game, as a sort of therapeutic practice.
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/grandtheftauto3/news_6077161.html
Priming theory is described as when the activation of one thought triggers related thoughts. Basically, the theory argues that by viewing something, the viewer will "store" that event in their mind and will be more likely to use that action as a response to something happening in their own life. Priming can occur semantically, through repetition, or through association.
For example, say a research study is being conducted and there are two groups. One group is primed with politeness-related words, while the second group is primed with rude, aggressive words. According to priming theory if the two groups were to be interviewed, the group primed with the aggressive/rude words would be more likely to interrupt the interviewer than the group primed with polite words.
Recent examples in the news have been relating priming with video games and violence. Some critics say that the violence in video games causes those that play them to mimic, or commit acts of violence that they otherwise would not have. On the other side of that argument though, some say that video games are a way of releasing the violence through the game, as a sort of therapeutic practice.
http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/grandtheftauto3/news_6077161.html
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Framing
Learning about framing has helped me to better understand and digest how different cable news outlets present news to their viewers because I now know what to look for (e.g. keywords, tone, context) when viewing the broadcast.
What framing is essentially is how the media presents something to its viewers. Reporters and editors are responsible for deciding what stories should be covered, but framing comes into play when deciding how to present those stories to the audience. What you can end up with is the same story covered by many different news outlets, but very different view points on the story.
For example, say a bus crashes on the highway. Now one media outlet may cover the crash through the eyes of the victims, describing what they went through and how tragic the incident was, but another outlet could bring up an issue with how the bus company hires its employees (professionalism, experience, background checks), and try to find out the reason behind the crash. That is just a simple example of how framing works.
Framing becomes dangerous when it's used to alter context/information the viewers receive, like in this example from The Daily Show. Sean Hannity's show edited video footage of a speech given by President Obama, and in the process took a quote about taxes out of context. Assuming the average viwer doesn't take the time to go and look at the entirety of Obama's speech, they now think Obama said something that he didn't say. Basically, the viewers of Hannity's program that night were given false information due to how the news outlet chose to show Obama's speech.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-9-2010/are-you-ready-for-some-midterms----msnbc-s-political-narrative
What framing is essentially is how the media presents something to its viewers. Reporters and editors are responsible for deciding what stories should be covered, but framing comes into play when deciding how to present those stories to the audience. What you can end up with is the same story covered by many different news outlets, but very different view points on the story.
For example, say a bus crashes on the highway. Now one media outlet may cover the crash through the eyes of the victims, describing what they went through and how tragic the incident was, but another outlet could bring up an issue with how the bus company hires its employees (professionalism, experience, background checks), and try to find out the reason behind the crash. That is just a simple example of how framing works.
Framing becomes dangerous when it's used to alter context/information the viewers receive, like in this example from The Daily Show. Sean Hannity's show edited video footage of a speech given by President Obama, and in the process took a quote about taxes out of context. Assuming the average viwer doesn't take the time to go and look at the entirety of Obama's speech, they now think Obama said something that he didn't say. Basically, the viewers of Hannity's program that night were given false information due to how the news outlet chose to show Obama's speech.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-september-9-2010/are-you-ready-for-some-midterms----msnbc-s-political-narrative
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