Technology: how it has affected the radio industry

Technology change has had a very significant impact on the radio industry as a whole. It is the biggest factor that has taken radio from the simple clicks of the telegraph machine to being able to listen to any radio station all over the world via internet. Technological change is constantly shaping how the idea of radio effects people. In general, new technology works by increasing the ways people are able to listen to the radio. In the early 50's the new technology of FM channels completely revolutionized how people could listen to programs. Music came out clearer and people farther away from broadcast stations could listen in to what was going on in the world. These technologies opened radio to a whole new audience of listeners, creating new demands and more reasons to keep innovating the industry. More recently the development of internet radio has taken a somewhat faded industry and re-invigorated it by letting people listen to their favorite stations all across the world.
In the 1920's, with the increase of the popularity of the radio, more and more stations were being created and thus the radio act of 1927 was passed. This created the ability for the government to allocate frequencies to companies who would support ideas that the government saw fit for society. This was a direct effect of the fact that technology was becoming too easily accessible and so almost anyone could broadcast what they wanted through the radio waves. The government saw this as a problem and needed a way to control this new transfer of information. Overall, new technology has completely changed the industry of radio in almost every decade and its sure to not go away now.

Social Learning: Can violent video games cause children to be violent?

Social Learning is a concept that many use to explain the different kinds of effects all types of media have on people on an everyday basis. Many media critics believe that society makes certain life decisions based on the things they hear and see everyday, like the media outlets are conditioning people based on how these companies see fit. One of the most scrutinized aspects of media is violence, especially in video games. Many parents and concerned politicians believe that video games are one of the main causes for violent behavior in teens, but is it really the game causing kids to be violent or is it a combination of bad parenting and a predisposition to violent activity?

Politicians in Fayette, Alabama believe that video games are directly linked to violent teens.
60 Minutes Story
(cbsnews.com)
This is a story about how an 18 year old shot and killed 2 police officers and a dispatcher after being arrested and booked for attempting to steal a car. He managed to surprise the officer while grabbing his gun and then shooting him twice. Another officer heard the shots and went to investigate and then got shot by the teen who then preceded down the hall and killed the dispatcher. The game that supposedly caused this violence spree is none other than Grand Theft Auto, a game which has caused civil unrest ever since the series began in 1997. In this case the teen was gamer who played Grand Theft Auto for hours upon hours everyday. He was quoted when he was finally arrested saying, "Life is like a video game. Everybody’s got to die sometime." Teens saying things like this has caused many anti-violence advocates to bring lawsuits against the game makers and distributors, but none have been successful.

So, do the things members of society learn from this game cause violent streaks in teens? I don't think so. As an owner of 3 games of this series I can say that I have never committed a crime because of what I have experienced in the game. I will agree that the game is very violent but as a parent I feel that you must make sure the teen playing the game is aware that real life is very different from the game world and that real life has very severe consequences for actions like those in the game. If one wants to solely blame video games for violent behavior in teens you must look at all other forms of media. You can't say that any teen that supposedly committed a crime because of Grand Theft Auto hasn't seen a violent crime story on the news. TV and movies also tend to have violent plots that draw a lot of attention from teenage kids. Any one of these things could cause a kid to snap into a violent episode and video games shouldn't have to take all the blame, especially if they don't affect 97% of the gaming population.

Hegemony and Framing in Ad Campaigns

In class we have been talking about how hegemony and framing of advertisements can shape peoples minds around the ideals of those in charge of the giant media corporations. One of the topics that has been presented the most is about how many companies are objectifying women to sell products. Is the problem truly the hegemony of the "ruling class" or have societal ideals become to easily offended because of the perpetuation of the idea that all men care about is making women seem like objects?

In this ad a scantly clad Eva Mendez rolls around to promote Calvin Klein's Secret Obsession fragrance. It has been banned from television in the United States because it was deemed to racy by the FCC. Now, was that necessary? Take a look for yourself...


Eva Mendes- Secret Obsession Banned Commercial
Uploaded by CelebriNet2. - Watch feature films and entire TV shows.

Maybe it was a little too "exposed" but is this really a problem of objectifying women? Even the subject of the commercial, Eva Mendez feels that this was a good statement to girls. She was quoted saying, "To me, Calvin Klein has always represented sexiness and a freedom to express yourself. That was especially important for me, because I felt very awkward during my teen years. When I was approached by Calvin Klein, I thought that it would be so satisfying for me to be part of a campaign where I could show women and girls that it’s okay to be different." (trendhunter.com) She doesn't think she's only showing girls to be sex objects, she advocates freedom to express herself. I believe in this case she may be right. The hegemony is, apparently , not trying to objectify women but promote beliefs that women can indeed express themselves and don't have to be controlled by anyone. I believe that it is the easily offended nature of society that aids in continuing the idea that companies are poorly influencing girls and is not necessarily the fault of mass media framing.