How Technological Change Influenced and Affected the Evolution of the U.S. Radio Industry

Woo hoo!! We’re finally getting into the portion of the class that I personally find most interesting: radio and music. I don’t know about any of you, but I’m pretty psyched.

Since its creation in the 1920’s, the U.S. radio industry has evolved quite a bit over the course of time. Although there being many impacts on why this statement is true, I believe that the main reason for the radio industry evolving the way that it has is in response to the TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE in our society. With a combination of recording technology, changes in programming, popular music styles and etc., the radio industry has made crucial changes in the way that it functions with society. The U.S. radio industry has really evolved since its beginning in the 1920’s, has made a huge impact, and has held many important roles in our society.

            No matter the social issue or area, technological change has made a huge impact in America history; take the industrial age of society, between 1850 and 1901, for example. It’s simple: as technology changes and improves, the more opportunity citizens will have to use the technology, and the more options citizens will actually have with using the new technology. The whole idea of continually changing technology is to better objects and ideas that we, the people of the United States, already have, giving us a broader and more enjoyable usage of these products. The American society has a characteristic of being very diverse. To ensure that all citizens, having many different view, beliefs, and opinions, all are happy and satisfied, the world of technology has really had to step up in the world. The advances in technology allow people to see, hear, and say what they want, how they want, and whenever they want to for their convenience. A good example of this would be television and the TIVO DVR. This device allows users to not only watch the television programs that they love to watch, but now they have the opportunity to record the program to watch at their later convenience.
            In the year 1896 the wireless telegraph that used radio waves was invented by an Italian inventor named Guglielmo Marconi. Marconi created and built up a business named the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company that was held in Italy, Britain, and then the United States. His company did what the telegraph wires were not capable of doing: “setting up a series of shore-based radio stations to receive and retransmit telegraph signals to oceangoing ships, where telegraph wires could not reach. His company also manufactured and operated the radio equipment and dominated radio in Europe and the United States in the early years” (Media Now, 159). A very good example of how Marconi’s wireless telegraph played a role in the world is the tragedy of the sinking of the ocean liner the Titanic. The ship struck a large iceberg in the North Atlantic. Once the captain and other important people in charge of running the ship found out the damage and knew they would be sinking, they used the Morse code to send radio help calls over the Marconi wireless system. Marconi and operators based in New York received the message and were able to save the lives of many passengers. The news of the disaster was then reported, in result, attracting the public to the technology, and beginning the regulation of the airwaves. Over time technology grew better, bringing the rise of radio networks and the selling of individual radios. These played key roles in many American family households. Families would gather around their one single radio and obtain their source of news, many types of entertainment including music, talk shows and soap operas, and other vital information. Decades passed and technology continued to grow better. Because of the American society’s diversity, radio stations began to hold not only a few different stations, but made it to where there would be several different stations for the public to choose from. People have different tastes, opinions, ideas and beliefs. Now they were able to choose what they wanted to listen to. Throughout the years the changes in technology gave society more choice and options as to what they wanted to hear, and when they wanted to hear it. This increased sales and increased the market for these new and improved technologies and the radio industry. Now days we have things like iTunes by Apple that allow us to buy any music we want, whenever we want. Also, the internet has given us the opportunity to go to several different websites to listen to all types of music of our liking and at our convenience.
            As technology evolves and grows better, this only makes things that much better and easier for its users. The growth of technology gives society more and more choices, and more simple ways of using things and obtaining important information and entertainment. Who knows what advances in technology will be invented in the next decade? One can only hope and dream of what is to come. I hope you all found this week’s blog post enjoyable. Have a great weekend!

Here is a link to a great radio station based in the Dallas, Tx area. The station is 106.1 Kiss FM. It's a top 40 hits radio station: http://www.1061kissfm.com/main.html.

Social Learning Theory in Today’s Media

Hey class! I hope everyone is having a good start to their weekend and getting ready for the UT vs. Tech game, HOOK ‘EM HORNS!! This week’s blog post is going to be about the social learning theory and how the media today influences the minds and actions of society. I have obtained all information in this blog post from my “Media Now” book, my class lectures, and the two films “Tough Guise” and “Killing Us Softly”.  I hope you all enjoy my post and the weekend as well!

People all around the world have their own views and opinions on things that make them act the way that they do. What is it exactly that makes people think and act the way they do? Do they get it from their parents, friends, school teachers, or some other influential source? There is a theory that presents an answer to this question, and this theory is: the SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY. Social Learning Theory “explains media effects in terms of imitating behavior seen in the media” (Media Now, 413). When people view things through the media, such as film and television, they begin to admire the characters that they are viewing in a way so much that they begin to pick up and possess the same characteristics as the fictional people that they watch.

On Thursday September 10, 2010, my RTF 305 class presented a screening of two documentaries: “Tough Guise”, a film showing the relationship between media imagery and the way in which society views masculinity, and “Killing Us Softly”, a film about how the feminine gender is represented in advertising, and how those advertisements are viewed by society. The film “Tough Guise” suggests that in today’s society, boys and men have an idea in their heads of what a so called “tough guy” really is. They feel as if they need to put on a disguise, or more accurately, a tough guise, to ensure that everyone views them as tough. Where do the boys and men get these ideas from? It’s a number of media related sources such as movies, television shows, radio stations, CDs or other forms of music, video games, and of course the internet. The media portrays the way that they themselves view things; in this case, the way “tough guys” should appear and behave. The media represents tough boys and men in such a way that their ideas promote strength, violence, bad attitudes, and crime. Male viewers who consistently watch violent TV shows and movies embed the media’s characters’ behaviors in their minds, making them think that this image of the person they are viewing is the image that they want and need to have. These boys and men think that the tough guy characters are guys that they would like to resemble, so they imitate the behaviors that they have come to believe are correct for their gender. One example of this is the Columbine High School Massacre. Two teenage boys committed a shooting at their high school killing students and teachers, and then themselves. These two boys were known to have problems of depression and anger management issues, but it is known that a combination of violent movies and shows, music that expressed violence, violence on the internet, and more than anything violent video games were some of the causes of these boys’ violent and lethal actions.

Violence in the media, along with other behaviors portrayed by the media, has an enormous effect on the views and actions of society. Although we, the people of this world, will occasionally enjoy violence in film and television, but are we really understanding the effects it has on our society? I hope you enjoyed this week’s blog post. I have included a link to a video of a great film titled “The Godfather”. Although being an AMAZING movie, it may have influenced violence in the behavior of some people in our society. Is the SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY true? You be the judge…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZNCh474Q54&feature=related (youtube).

Framing and Its Involvement in the Drilling Moratorium Story

Hey everybody... My blog post for today will be focusing on how people and reporters use FRAMING in stories and reports. I have read and learned many things about framing from my “Media Now” textbook that I am reading for my RTF 305 class, which is awesome by the way. I now have the knowledge and understand the connection between framing and issues presented by the media, such as the story I will be discussing about what experts say how the White House ‘misrepresented’ views to justify drilling moratorium.


In the media, reports and stories of all kinds are presented for viewers all across the world to see and hear. The news on television shows us (the viewers) issues that they believe are important for us to be aware of; but what is it that tells us exactly how to think about these issues and topics and everything associated with them? The answer is… Drum roll please… Framing. The theory of framing is that reporters have the ability to alter a story on an issue. The reporter is able to choose everything that he or she wishes to include, and also what he or she doesn’t want to include in the report. For anything that is included in the report, the reporter chooses the facts, tone and words of the story, and also the interpretation of the facts. The contents of the report are fully in the hands of the reporter.

Fox News presented a story on the topic of the safety of offshore drilling that was published on June 11, 2010 by FOXNews.com. There were seven experts recommended by the National Academy of Engineering who, after the Deepwater Horizon Explosion occurred, advised the President on the issue of offshore drilling safety. Although the seven experts opposed a six-month drilling moratorium, President Obama’s administration said differently. The experts then accused the administration of “misrepresenting their views” to make it seem as if they really did support and back up the drilling operation (LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). The experts claimed that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar altered their report a month before, after they had already signed it. According to the seven experts, Salazar also included a couple of false statements that comprised of “calling for a moratorium on existing drilling and new permits” (LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). Salazar issued a report to President Obama stating that the seven experts ‘peer reviewed’ his suggestions, that consisted of “a six-month moratorium on permits for new wells being drilled using floating rigs and an immediate halt to drilling operations” (LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). Here is what the experts had to say to Fox News in response to Salazar’s false testimony: “None of us actually reviewed the memorandum as it is in the report. What was in the report at the time it was reviewed was quite a bit different in its impact to what there is now. So we wanted to distance ourselves from that recommendation” (Arnold, LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). Salazar later apologized and made the point that he appreciated the experts’ proposal, but it was ultimately the President and his decision on the moratorium, and not the seven experts. A letter was then sent to Salazar from the experts saying that “they said his primary recommendation ‘misrepresents’ their position and that halting the drilling is actually a bad idea” (LaJeunesse, FOXNews.com). This is an excellent example of how reporters or people of higher authority have the ability to revise reports in any form they choose to do so. Salazar used framing to modify the report and recommendations of the seven experts to appear as if they supported the drilling moratorium, when in fact, they actually opposed it. Salazar wanted the public to view the situation HOW HE viewed it. Framing is what tells us exactly how to think about issues and topics and everything associated with them, right? Well… Salazar did just that, making the public view the report and situation how he wanted us to view it. Framing is an incredibly important part of the media and how we, the viewing people, view it.

Here is the link to where I received my information on my framing example: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06/10/experts-say-obama-misrepresented-views-justify-offshore-drilling-ban/. I hope you all enjoyed this blog post and learned a little something as well!!

Why I Am Taking RTF 305...

First off I'll start by telling all of you that my name is Eric Hill. I was born in Dallas and raised in a town just south of Dallas. Why am I taking RTF 305 you ask? Well in order to find that answer out, you must follow me and read my next blog. I'm totally just kidding with you. Ever since I can remember I've been obsessed with great films and all types of music; I mean c'mon, who isn't? The whole idea of a having a career is to make a good paycheck to provide for yourself and, if you have one, your family, and also to ENJOY and LOVE what you do while you're making money. A career in media is just what I am looking for. I'm not quite sure what it is exactly that I want to do, but I do know that I either want to be in the film or music industry. After taking this course I hope to have learned all of the essential information that I will need in order to take and pass my future RTF courses and also to succeed in my career. I'm looking forward to learning in this class, and also to meet and make some good friends in the process. Good luck to everyone in the course!!

I don't necessarily have a favorite blog, but here is a link to one that I found interesting: http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/texas-rangers

Like I was saying, music is a big part of my life. I love and respect different types of music and I always try to surround myself with it. It makes me happy. Here is a video that I took at a John Mayer concert I attended last year here in Austin at the Frank Erwin Center. It was definitely a good time.