Communcation Notes #2
...This show was suspenseful like a soap opera and very popular and well-known even today. b) Burns and Allen: popular comedy radio show done by George Burns and his wife Gracie Allen. This show was considered one of the most successful comedy acts in history lasting on the radio from 1936-1950. 11. The function of radio in the pre-television days was similar to that of the function of television in modern days. Radio was nationally oriented, broadcasting many entertainment programs with many stars, and was listened to at home with people huddled around it. Now it is local, personalized, and mobile. 12. The penetration rate for radio is very high, especially in cars. Characteristics of Radio: a) Local: advertising costs less and makes more sense to do locally on the radio. b) Fragmented: many stations serve many areas and are all over the country. c) Specialized: specific type of station (formats). This meant accepting that some people would not listen to your station, but it didn’t matter because it left opportunity for subject-specific advertising. d) Personal: we listen to the radio alone now, not in groups. e) Mobile: we can listen to the radio anywhere. 13. Senator Joseph McCarthy started an anti-communist campaign that was ended by Edward R. Murrow’s on-screen challenge of his practices. 14. Words/concepts to know: a) Ratings vs. shares: ratings compare the amount of people watching a certain program to the overall population while shares compare the amount of people watching a certain program to the amount of people tuned into that medium. b) A. C. Nielsen ratings: “overnights” are instant ratings from several major urban centers, “pocketpieces” are ratings based on national samples and computed every 2 weeks, and “MNA reports” are ratings based on the 70 largest markets. c) Audiometer: recorded when the television is turned on, the channel it is tuned into, and time of day. d) Peoplemeter: device requiring people to press buttons to record his or her individual viewing. e) Portable Peoplemeters: pager-like devices that collect audio signals in electronically delivered media content anywhere person may be (radio, television, web, etc.). At the end of the day, the person would connect and submit all their information to ratings companies. This is still experimental. f) Sweep periods: four times a year (February, May, July, November) diaries are distributed to thousands of sample households where people are asked to record their television watching habits. • Information collected in sweep periods are then combined with the information collected from the peoplemeters and submitted to stations to help determine their advertising rates for the next three months. 15. Time-shifting: taping of a show for later viewing. About 65% of programs taped are from network-affiliated stations…however people can skip commercials with VCRs. 16. Lucille Ball was the first to propose the idea of filming television shows and editing them as opposed to airing a show live. This made it possible to have reruns and also to produce a series rather quickly at low cost. She also was responsible for moving the television industry to Hollywood from New York. 17. The television freeze of 1948 was instilled in order to prevent the spread of new stations and so that the FCC could study problems with existing stations. Stations with licenses could continue to operate, but the many stations in planning were put on hold. The FCC claimed it would last six months, but instead it lasted four years and large areas of the country were left without television. 18. At first, each television program was endorsed by a product. In 1959, a scandal developed where a quiz show was rigged by its advertisers to ensure that favored contestants would win. The reputation of television was all but ruined and the advertising process of spot commercial sales (selling 60-second spots to many advertisers) was born. 19. Digital television reduces the size of the video signal so that more information can be transmitted (more channels for example). However, this comes at the expense of a high-definition picture quality. Com240 Exam #2 Notes - Part 2 1. There are many books responsible for bringing about social change. Some important books and their related effect are as follows: • Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin - slave life. • Horatio Alger’s “rags-to-riches” stories -...