Technological Changes.

As times change, I believe technology is one of the biggest factors that have influenced the radio industry in the 1920's.

According to dictionary.com, radio is defined as, 'transmitting a message, music, etc. by radio'. So, if we look to some of the earlier forms of technology used to do such things, we would begin with music boxes, nickelodeons, & jukeboxes. After those devices had there time we moved onto phonographs and record players, eventually we started having portable devices that we simply called radios that were moved into homes.  Now in the year 2010 we have much smaller and even more portable musical players that play radio as well as storing peoples personal favorites that are in mp3 format.  As 'radio' has been changed and improved, it has possibly in my opinion attracted more user by new designs along with what was being produced through the speakers!

From the lecture on music and radio, I remember being told that radios had initially dropped sales for the music industry, but eventually it helped in the long run. It has boosted sales because exposure of certain artists cause consumers to 'want more'.  This piece of technology was used for advertising and promotional purposes.  The radio could provide information/music to large audiences and was offered in such a way to please most people.

Socially Learning.

During this past Monday's lecture, Professor Straubhaar discussed the social learning theory.  This theory focuses on how tv impacts people.  The social learning theory is how people learn behaviors based on what they see through the television. 

I think the social learning theory has defiantly impacted our youth tremendously, especially when I see that my little cousins are no longer allowed to watch certain shows like ‘Tom & Jerry’ because they end up chasing each other around their house.

This concept is easily seen through children.  An example of children imitating what they see on tv can be seen in the film 'Mean Girls' starring Lindsay Lohan. There is a scene in which one of the main characters, Regina (Rachel McAdams), is talking to her mother (Amy Poehler) and you see her much younger sister watching an MTV show and imitating the dancing.  That shows how tv has captured the attention of a person and changed their behavior.

Click here to watch the ‘Mean Girls’ trailer.

Framing.

When I take a look around at all the media I take in on a daily basis, I've realized that companies deliver shows I enjoy in certain ways that don't show all the facts.  For example reality shows seem to show whatever it takes just for ratings.  One of my current favorites, Jersey Shore, has high ratings for MTV because they present the show in a way to keep its viewers wanting more!  The process of having an audience think a certain way is known as framing.  Jersey Shore has been framed to show the viewers drama, drama, and even more drama.

If you've ever seen an episode of Jersey Shore, you have seen partying, drinking and arguing.  While the cast has good times they also have some rocky times.  If we were to focus on the arguing for right now, a lot of their fighting and bickering is often one sided.  By one sided I mean, the producers show us scenes that lead to the climax but doesn't always show up everything that causes the action.  If you were to watch the reunion or the after shows, you'd hear the cast say sometimes say "that's not what happened" or "they didn't show it all" or they'll reveal things that happened once the cameras stopped rolling.  I've realized that if reality shows film constantly, they can only squeeze so much into an hour long show, so of course they aren't going to show everything.  Again, they show us exactly what's going to keep us wanting more, and I would say they are very successful in keeping me hooked.

If we take a look at this after show we see Ronnie and Sammi telling us about their relationship once the show ended.  We learn things that were not filmed, like Sammi flying out without Ronnie knowing.  If MTV had continued filming then the viewers would have be 'caught up' and not fallen into the drama and wanting to know what's going on.  The producers used framing in a way to boost their ratings for their after shows.  Once you're into a show, some people want to know more and more so of course they'd watch anything with their favorite characters involved!

-Kayla