3rd Blog Assignment

Technology as an Influencing Factor of Radio

I think that one of the main influences shaping the radio industry during the 1920's was technological change because without the technological developments of the century, radio would not of been used for various purposes such as broadcasting.


Technology has been a major force in the radio industry since the beginning. It has played a major role in turning radio into a broadcasting outlet and has even saved lives. In 1906, the vacuum tube was invented which permitted the sound of voice, music, and sound and thus began the broadcasting age. The wireless telegraph also played a major role by saving many passengers and spreading the news during the Titanic tragedy in 1912. Soon, radio became a household utility and played a major role in families' entertainment and source of information thanks to improved technologies.


The force of technology effected radio in the 1920's when Frank Conrad began the first regularly scheduled radio broadcasts in the United States in 1920. This soon began to change attitudes and attract interest and newspaper coverage. Soon, a department store in Pittsburg decided to sell radios to pick up Conrad's broadcasts. This caused ideas to circulate and Westinghouse opened station KDKA in Pittsburgh in order to help sell more radios. Stores soon started radio stations simply to promote their products, churches and schools used it as an educational outlet, and newspapers utilized it for news. This broadcasting evolution was made possible by the technological advance of the vacuum tube.


-Jacy Schleier   

2nd Blog Assignment

Hello!


This week, I will be focusing on ideas linked with media and its effects, particularly related to the role that media plays on women. Media has many effects on individuals including changes in "cognitions, attitudes, emotions, (and) behavior that result from exposure to the mass media." (Straubhaar, 2010)


One of the main concepts dealing with media effects is the social learning theory. The idea stated that viewers imitate what they watch on T.V. and what they observe in advertisements through a process called observational learning. Most characters on television receive no penalties for their antisocial behavior and their actions are often glamorized. Television is overflowing with ideas of sex, violence, and prejudices that young adults generally imitate.


After watching commercials, advertisements, and shows dealing with the role of femininity in society, many young women begin to think and act similar to how the media encourages them to. Media images of femininity tells us that women are primarily seen as sexual objects or that women must be thin or they are not considered beautiful. Many ads are focused on pornography and most TV shows glamorize sexual behavior. The CW's hit show Gossip Girl has been linked to the sexual promiscuity of their viewers. This is a prime example of social learning because, as mentioned in Killing Us Softly, young women imitate the ads they are surrounded by and the behavior in the television shows they watch. 

Gossip Girl's "OMFG" campaign shows explicit advertisements which promote sexual behavior through the social learning theory. 


Image from: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nypost.com/r/nypost/blogs/popwrap/200807/Images/200807_New-gossip-girl-ads.jpg
Quote from: Media Now by Joseph Straubhaar 

1st Blog Assignment!

Hello everyone! 


The main focus of this prompt includes the idea of hegemony and how it helps me understand advertisements for controversial ideas such as child obesity. The concept of hegemony, in advertisements such as this one, utilizes framing because it tells us how to think about a certain issue. 

The idea of hegemony is that mass media uses this tool in order to maintain power. It links various concepts of culture, ideology, and power. Hegemony also works on the basis of common sense and deals with the general assumptions that we make on a day to day basis. It reminds us that the things that we except in the social world are not always logical. 


One way that hegemony works is through framing, which controls how to think about an issue or person and what is associated with them. This example from SIRE is an ideal advertisement which addresses the important issue of child obesity. Although we all know that child obesity is a problem, we take it for granted and assume that "everyone knows" the harmful effects. Seeing this ad of an infant with a giant obese body is shocking and it frames the disturbing issue of child obesity to make us think negatively and open our eyes about it. Overall, the concept of hegemony helps me to understand the compelling advertisement. 




-Jacy Schleier