Week 6 Discussion Questions

Chapter 9: Survival of the Media Fit

1.    What were the years before T.V. Like for radio? What types of content was provided?

Before the T.V. the radio was the main source for entertainment and news. There were a variety of type of “shows” like news cast, dramas, and even quiz shows. You had families tuning in at night for their daily dose of shows. You had to use your imagination more from the descriptions that were given through words.

2.    Explain the economic impact of T.V. On radio.?

The T.V. brought forth not only sound but the visual aspect that was missing from radio which drew more people to the revenue of T.V.  As more people were switching to T.V. the radio lose their main source of listeners. No longer companies paid for advertising for radio which brought in most of the money. The net value of radio went down.

3.    What is the economic model for both radio and T.V.?

Radio and T.V. are both a great source for advertising. They will never not advertise because that is how they get their share of money. Companies pay them to put their ads out their and get it across to people. It’s the number one source for this kind of work that people would not want to do manually by going out there and trying to reach everybody in the world.

4.    In the brief description of film history, Levinson discusses the work of D.W. Griffith, Sergi Eisenstein, and Lev Kuleshov. What methods did they use to help develop a visual vocabulary for film?

The methods they used to create this was using images to describe what they wanted to say in words that were solely linked to each word or meaning they were trying to get across. Even using images to create a rhythm or mood to be expressed.

5.    Technology alone was not the sole savior of radio. Explain the roll of Rock and Roll in radio's transformation.

Rock and Roll brought the radio back to life. It was new in a sense that it was lively and exciting for people to hear. It really did make the nation more fun. It was even sometimes to racy for T.V. that only radio was offering the music.

6.    “Talkies”, replaced silent films entirely, but T.V. Did not replace radio, why?

Silent films could not hold peoples attention for long, people longed for more excitement. Radio is more portable for people and doesn’t need one to try to visually stare at a image to get the point like a T.V. so it could never really be taken away. Radios are more sufficient and on the go.

Chapter 10: Remedial Media

7.  In your own words describe Levinson's parable of the window shade as remedial media.

It is a concept that fixes a problem within the media itself. For example like once the T.V. was fully created and done with advancing in technology a antenna would be added on to fix the quality of the image. It is basically a add on to fix a problem within the media.

8.    Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the VCR as a remedial medium.

The advantages of the VCR is that it added on a necessity that people liked having control of recording their favorite shows to watch later on their own time, giving people more control. The disadvantage is that there would be too many types causing storage problems.