Assignment Three - Technology Changes

Technology changes though out history have shaped and molded the radio form the start into how we know radio today, from the automation of radio to satellites, to FM and everything in between. Changes in technology have been the most important driving factor in the evolution on radio, and the shape it now takes in the world today. 

Technology has always in a driving force in our history. We see it over and over, a great example of how a technology changes the world we talked about in class is Gutenberg’s printing press, the printing press lead to a wider spread of communication and much more. The radio has been shaped and changed much the same way, becoming a force that changes our society. Radio was invented by private investors who operated it with a single person on each end. It helped save many lives when the Titanic sank. During the war the radio was given to the Navy where technology improvements were forced upon the radio technology, after the war the technology enabled radio to be wireless radio and not from an operator. The FM crave came around where technology now permitted up to 20 stations in many cities. Technology of the TV had taken over many of radio’s show so they now needed a new idea. With that came the AM stations or “Talk Radio” and two channel stereos.

The force of the radio effected the evolution of the US radio system greatly and many times. One great example we talked about in class was the era of DJ’s. TV had come in and taken over many of the radio shows that people were used to putting on so the concept of DJ’s came around when people wanted to focus more on the music. The satellite technology made it easy for DJ’s to broadcast and even buy a DJ from somewhere else and have their shows broadcasted to the local area. The force worked generally in the shaping and changing of radio, introducing shock jock, Talk Radio, morning shows, music, and much more.

Assignment Two - Cultivation Theory

                                                                   Cultivation Theory

The concept of Cultivation theory helps me to understand the impacts of the images that are shown in the media, (form TV to Movies, to Magazines, etc.) have on our everyday life by showing the biased perceptions that are placed on people, places, and events. For example people of color are depicted on movies and TV as the gangsters, thieves, and all around bad guys in many different forms.

In the movies blacks and Hispanics have been shown as the “hoodlums” they rob banks, steal money, break into cars, and even kill. This is a theme that is shown in movies all around the world, even in “City of God”. Our entire lives we have watched non-whites on TV and movies be the bad guys, and over time that’s how we came to see all people of black and Hispanic descent. This is because of the Cultivation Theory is a social theory which examines the long term result of the media on humans. Studies have shown that what people see on the TV they take on in real life. People mimic the actions and thoughts shown that they see every day.

For example in the YouTube video below a group of students made a video to explain Cultivation theory, in which they showed a boy who had watched several hours of “Most Wanted Criminals”  and then showed his thoughts and reactions to the real world after.

This also relates back to "Tough Guise" because we feel that males need be big and bad to be men. Most Blacks and Hispiancs would agree with the movie and say that a real man is tough, a bad ass, gets stuff done. This shows another reason why people of color are precieved as the bad guys.

 

Assignment One-Framing

Framing in the media and the biased effect it has on certain groups of people, the example from Hurricane Katrina helps me to understand this concept. Framing is the media presents a certain type of person and how they as the media tell the public to think of them, basically defined as the media saying how to think about an issue or a person. Framing in the media leads to unfair and bias thoughts about a person or group of people which could be negative or positive. They use this concept in an attempt to get the public to believe a certain view about a person issue or group of people. Professor Straubhaar touched on an example that I think shows the positive and negative effect that results from framing in the media very well. I would like to expand on that topic and show how this concept works.

On Monday morning of August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit a Category 3 storm as it ran all over South East Louisiana destroying everything unfortunate enough to be in its raging path. The media used this event as a playground for their own needs using a concept called framing to show the world how they perceived different groups of people and making them into the kind of people they wanted to show. In Jed Morey’s Blog in titled “White Men Can’t Jump…or Loot” Jed shows two pictures with small captain one of a white woman and man, and the other of a young black man both who are wading through chest deep water and appear to be carrying food. In the caption under the white woman and man read “ Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area of New Orleans, Louisiana.” Jed highlighted words like FINDING. Where the second picture looks almost identical to the only difference being a young black man instead of a white man and woman, this caption read, “A young man walks through chest flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans on Tuesday August 30, 2005. Again Jed highlighted words like LOOTING. http://jedmorey.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/white-men-cant-jump-or-loot/ here is the link to Jed’s Blog.

What was the difference between the two? Simply how the media wanted each race to appear to the public, the white man and woman were said to have “found” the food implying that they were helping their families and making the best of this horrible tragedy. Painting a positive biased for the two. Where the media painted a negative biased on the young black man simply because he was black saying that he “looted” the store. The media used the concept of framing to make us as the public believe that the white were the victim and the blacks were taking advantage of a horrible situation. When in reality this was not entirely true, it was just put on the blacks. This example clearly states the concept of framing and helps us to understand the concept.

Here is video that touches on framing the narrator took images and tries to get the public to view it a certain way by the words he uses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIVmjP8nmzY