In this module, we will explore the history of film, radio, and sound recording, its cultural values, and the impact of new and converging technologies on consumers and the culture. We will discuss how residual media has impacted culture and how culture has impacted residual media. We also complete an analysis worksheet to narrow down resources for your final presentation. At the end of this module, you should be able to do the following: Describe history and trends in audio-based media Summarize scholarly and popular resources in support of thesis statement Identify two quotes from popular or scholarly resources to support thesis statement One of the most recognizable radio speech deliveries is of President Roosevelt’s speaking to a joint session of Congress announcing the attacks by the Japanese armed forces on Pearl Harbor. As we begin this module, let us first take a step back in time and relive the event, experiencing the full impact of the  announcement (the captioned video is available at announcement-captioned ) that was made. Even now, the impact is quite powerful. Among some of the precursors to radio are the invention and use of the telegraph, development of the Morse code, wireless telegraphy, and wireless telephony. Since its official emergence in 1920s as a full-blown mass medium, radio has been our nation’s place for breaking news. While newspapers offered next day reports of the current events and happenings within and outside the country, audiences turned to radio for immediate information. This was also where families gathered, receiving the latest updates on anything from entertainment, news, and sports. Since the first official broadcast of KDKA station in 1920, radio has attracted loyal audiences and rapidly expanded under influences of both demand for programming and realization of advertisers of the potential this medium held. As you can imagine, the government was not too far behind with its regulation of radio broadcasting. Blanket Licensing Agreement permitted radio stations to use recorded music by paying fees to cover artists’ royalties, which led to the establishment of commercial sponsorship. Radio stations needed money to cover these fees, and selling advertising spots to sponsors was their way to do it. Finally, the Radio Act of 1927 formed the Federal Radio Commission under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, requiring stations to operate “as a public convenience, interest, or necessity requires” and making it clear to licensees that they did not own their radio channels, but could license them as long as they fit within these broadcasting intentions. Throughout time, radio has created a new cultural experience, giving people access to affordable sources of information and entertainment, and, in many ways, helping unite America by taking out the regional and bringing in the national programs. For example, when Charles Lindbergh returned from his first transatlantic solo flight in 1927, ...

1. In this module, we will explore the history of film, radio, and
sound recording, its cultural values, and the impact of new and
converging technologies on consumers and the culture. We will
discuss how residual media has impacted culture and how
culture has impacted residual media. We also complete an
analysis worksheet to narrow down resources for your final
presentation.
At the end of this module, you should be able to do the
following:
Describe history and trends in audio-based media
Summarize scholarly and popular resources in support of thesis
statement
Identify two quotes from popular or scholarly resources to
support thesis statement
One of the most recognizable radio speech deliveries is of
President Roosevelt’s speaking to a joint session of Congress
announcing the attacks by the Japanese armed forces on Pearl
Harbor. As we begin this module, let us first take a step back in
time and relive the event, experiencing the full impact of the
announcement
(the captioned video is available at
announcement-captioned
) that was made.
Even now, the impact is quite powerful. Among some of the
precursors to radio are the invention and use of the telegraph,
development of the Morse code, wireless telegraphy, and
wireless telephony. Since its official emergence in 1920s as a

2. full-blown mass medium, radio has been our nation’s place for
breaking news. While newspapers offered next day reports of
the current events and happenings within and outside the
country, audiences turned to radio for immediate information.
This was also where families gathered, receiving the latest
updates on anything from entertainment, news, and sports. Since
the first official broadcast of KDKA station in 1920, radio has
attracted loyal audiences and rapidly expanded under influences
of both demand for programming and realization of advertisers
of the potential this medium held.
As you can imagine, the government was not too far behind with
its regulation of radio broadcasting. Blanket Licensing
Agreement permitted radio stations to use recorded music by
paying fees to cover artists’ royalties, which led to the
establishment of commercial sponsorship. Radio stations needed
money to cover these fees, and selling advertising spots to
sponsors was their way to do it. Finally, the Radio Act of 1927
formed the Federal Radio Commission under the jurisdiction of
the Department of Commerce, requiring stations to operate “as a
public convenience, interest, or necessity requires” and making
it clear to licensees that they did not own their radio channels,
but could license them as long as they fit within these
broadcasting intentions.
Throughout time, radio has created a new cultural experience,
giving people access to affordable sources of information and
entertainment, and, in many ways, helping unite America by
taking out the regional and bringing in the national programs.
For example, when Charles Lindbergh returned from his first
transatlantic solo flight in 1927, an estimated 25 to 30 million
people listened on the six million radio sets to his welcome-
home party (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2013).
The fact that all these listeners were a captivated audience did
not, of course, come without challenges. On the evening of

3. October 30, 1938, the
Mercury Theater on the Air
broadcast a version of H. G. Wells’s
War of the Worlds
. This was intended to be a simple reading of the book, but
because the disclaimer of the reading was so short, many
listeners simply missed it. After a brief opening and some
music, an announcer interrupted the programming with a
“breaking news bulletin,” reporting that several unexplained
explosions were recorded on Mars, followed by sightings of
meteors in New Jersey. This announcement of “the war of the
worlds” triggered a panic in unsuspecting listeners who missed
the disclaimer that this was just a reading. Here is the
link
to the original announcement, the music, and the
“announcement.” Listen to the first four minutes to experience
the full impact, and if you would like, listen further to
experience the “reports” that continued to ensue panic that
lasted for hours. This incident is a great example of just how
much audiences were enthralled with the radio, and how much
they relied and trusted in it.
Although commercial radio has dominated radio waves,
nonprofit radio is not without its own impact. In 1970, National
Public Radio launched its national program on FM as an
alternative to the commercial networks. Even with public
funding, the existence of NPR continues to depend primarily on
private donations, but with a devoted audience of over 26
million listeners per week, it continues to survive.
As time went by, radio continued to experience changes through
involvement of the government. The Telecommunications Act of
1996 deregulated radio, removing restrictions on the business
operations of an industry and allowing cross-ownership. Such a
change gave companies power to own radio and TV stations, as
well as broadcast and cable outlets in the same market. As a

4. result, large national and regional station groups began to form,
drastically changing both the sound and localism of radio in the
United States (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2013).
New and converging technologies further increased the
possibilities of radio, making it not only capable of targeting
specific audiences, just as magazines did, but providing
distribution opportunities beyond the bounds of local and
regional reach. On the internet, people can easily listen to radio
stations from around the world, and Satellite Digital Radio and
XM, launched in 2001, offer more than 100 channels of various
talk, music, and sports broadcasting with limited to no
advertising for a monthly subscription fee. Shortly after
Satellite Radio launched, General Motors began offering
satellite radios as a factory installed option on the automobiles,
bringing satellite radio to even more subscribers in new places.
While radio has evolved through the years, it remains the
medium it was intended to be. What once was located in a
family’s living room has since moved into bedrooms, the office,
the car, and even cell phones. Internet radio (emerging in the
1990s) allowed listeners to simultaneously stream their favorite
radio stations, as well as introduced new stations that give
listeners control over their listening preferences (e.g., Pandora
and AOL Radio), and podcasting (iPod + broadcasting =
podcasting) allowed people to listen to radio on their mobile
devices. What is notable here is the impact of younger
audiences on the culture of radio. Traditional radio stations are
mindful of the need to reach and retain younger consumers, and
they realize that new media technologies help them accomplish
these goals.
Interestingly, these new possibilities bring new challenges.
While in the 1950s radio had to learn how to compete with
television for audiences, today it has to learn how to compete
with itself (Biagi, 2011). How does to continue to attract new

5. audience and retain existing ones? How does it compete with
the rise of new media? How does it adapt with the rise of
converging technologies? And what happens to our individual
voices? While the early debates of radio’s intentions were
centered on operating in the “public interest, convenience, or
necessity,” heavy corporate investments bring to question the
rules of limiting corporate ownership of the radio waves. With
that comes the question of how much restriction is placed on
our individual voices, which may not be heard over the
dominated corporate influences of large broadcasting companies
that own radio waves.
As we move through this week, think about your own
relationship with radio. What are your earliest memories of
listening to the radio? Why do you listen and what types of
radio stations attract your attention? If you could own and
manage your own radio station, what format would you choose
and why? How would your own radio station contribute or
further reinforce elements of your culture? What opportunities
would you give your listeners to freely express their individual
opinions?
References
Biagi, S. (2011).
Media impact: An introduction to mass media
. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Campbell, R., Martin, C. R., & Fabos, B. (2013).
Media and culture: An introduction to mass communication
. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
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6. COM 126 Final Project Part One Milestone Two
Overview:
The purpose of this milestone is help you organize your
resources for support of your final project. Whereas in the
previous Resource List activity you were simply gathering
resources, for this assignment you will be reading each one of
these resources and summarizing the content. This is the next
step in preparing your final project justification paper and
gathering quotes and usable information for your final
presentation.
Prompt: Use the analysis worksheet and fill out each of the
boxes in each table. You must complete this activity for at least
five resources, but feel free to include more as necessary for
your final project. Be sure to include the following critical
elements:
Cite the source in APA style.
What is the author’s main point? Summarize it in one to
three sentences.
How does this resource support your final project?
Are there any quotes you would like to use within your final
project? Include them in your worksheet. Remember, you need
two to four quotes in your

7. final justification paper and presentation.
Guidelines for Submission: Submit your filled-out analysis
worksheet as a Word document. Be sure to include your name
within the document and the document name (e.g.,
“LastName_COM126_Analysis_Worksheet.docx”).