He seeks to “determine the distinctive characteristics of the radio medium”
Describes radio as a source of “blind media”
J. McDougall
Created a book called Fake News vs Media Studies
Explains fake news can be seen as propaganda
Says “hard times are a breeding ground for misinformation”
War of the Worlds Radio Podcast
Maybe these aliens in War of the Worlds are a metaphor for the enemies because the War of the Worlds podcast was produced in 1930s, which was when the Great Depression, the American Dust bowl and WW2 began.
It is a radio podcast of a science fiction novel that was written by H.G Wells
War of the Worlds radio drama had left listeners into suspended disbelief and became famous because it tricked people into believing aliens were invading Earth due to the “breaking news” style of the broadcast.
“The War of the Worlds” was the 17th episode of the CBS Radio series The Mercury Theatre on Air, which was broadcast at 8 pm ET on Sunday, October 30, 1938.
H. G. Wells’ original novel tells the story of a Martian invasion of Earth. The novel was adapted for radio by Howard Koch, who changed the primary setting from 19th-century England to the contemporary United States, with the landing point of the first Martian spacecraft changed to rural Grover’s Mill, an unincorporated village in West Windsor Township, New Jersey.
The science fiction drama was broadcasted from CBS, which is the Columbia Broadcasting System
The radio science fiction drama was directed by Orson Welles and was adapted by Howard Koch
It was described as an anti-war film by Debra Sanders
It is a hybridization of the science fiction genre and the mystery genre.
Normal radio episodes were broadcasted and then there was a gap before War of the Worlds was played, which makes it seem as if these broadcasts are a metaphor for other things
War of the Worlds was a Halloween special
In 1938, radios were just being introduced,s o it can be interpreted that War of the World was fake news to try and get more people to listen to CBS and buy radios.
On it’s opening evening, it was estimated that around 30 million people were tuning into the broadcast and around 80% of Americans owned a radio then.
Folk devil is a person or group of people who are portrayed in folklore or the media as outsiders and deviant, and who are blamed for crimes or other sorts of social problems. This can also be called a scapegoat
The pursuit of folk devils frequently intensifies into a mass movement that is called a moral panic.
When a moral panic is in full swing, the folk devils are the subject of loosely organized but pervasive campaigns of hostility through gossip and the spreading of urban legends.
The mass media sometimes get in on the act or attempt to create new folk devils in an effort to promote controversy. Sometimes the campaign against the folk devil influences a nation’s politics and legislation.
An episode of a american radio drama called The Mercury Theatre on the air
It was released as the Halloween episode on 8 pm Sunday October 30 1938
Audience
12 million listeners
It was first broadcast on October 30th 1938
Performed on radio by Orson Wells
H. G. Wells was the author
Upon its first release, people who tuned in after the beginning of the radio drama believed it was a real news bulletin and began to freak out.
Home station – CBS radio
Hosted by – The Mercury Theater on the air
Fake news
Anxiety era
12 million listeners at the time
The relationship between newspapers and radio is significant
By 1935 there were double the amount of radios in houses than telephones so it was easily spread.
‘Moral Panic’
Stanley Cohen
The fact that Wells made such a benefit from the overblown coverage as well as CBS radio created an idea that the radio station amplified the stories of people over reacting to gain viewership and publicity. However, if people did overreact in this way then that would of supported Well’s belifes of the power of media.
Chomsky‘s argument that the media is used by powerful groups – ‘Manufacturing Consent‘ – is the most appropriate theory to structure an understanding of media, technology, control, manipulation and power.
Broadcast near start of WW2 and spread panic to US of invasion – More important events happening in the wrold
WofW reinforced the‘dangerous power of media’ for Welles
LANGUAGE
War of the Worlds is a good case study for students to understand the way codes and conventionsof radio drama (sound, dialogue, SFX, microphone technique, silence, words, accents, dialects etc) are put together to create meaning and construct a recognisable and familiar genre (Steve Neale). War of the Worlds also belongs to the genre of sci-fi and invasion – how are the conventions evident?
The Language of Radio is used creatively to structure a text that could be taken as fact, but is clearly fiction
But can War of the Worlds be considered as an intertextual product? Or pastiches of other genres.
In 1938, radio was still a relatively new mass media technology, the broadcast could experiment with the form in a way not possible later on.
At the time of the broadcast the idea of hybrid genres was unfamiliar, with clear boundaries between fact and fiction, making this a significant development in the form.
REPRESENTATION
How does the use of media language construct the representation of the real?
Is this programme an early example of fake news?
What signifiers of different groups and social classes are used?
The representation of the alien invaders in sci-fi genre.
As a broadcast in October 1938, can War of the Worlds be interpreted as representing particular political concerns to US – and international – society?
INDUSTRY
War of the Worlds was broadcast by Columbia Broadcasting Company – an institution still in existence (in a very different form) today – CBS
Radio broadcasting was seen as direct competition to newspapers which had previously been the only way of receiving news.
The broadcast is typical of the way institutions are always looking for new styles in order to attract audiences.
Regulation – radio broadcasting was regulated by the Federal Communications Commission and it investigated the broadcast to see if it had broken any laws.
The broadcast provides an excellent example to consider the effect of individual producers on media industries (known as ‘auteur theory’) as this is the work of Orson Welles.
Link between radio and newspapers are significant – stealing audiences from newspapers
AUDIENCE
What techniques (ie Media Language) does the broadcast use to convince the audience that what they’re hearing is really happening?
Consider the way that external factors – global political context, gender, religion, education etc. – are likely to also affect audience response
The ways in which audiences interpret the same media product differently – at the time of broadcast and now (Reception theory including Hall )
Cultivation theory including Gerbner
12 million listeners – only 2% of 5000 house were listening to CBS
Facts
FDR’s approved the broadcast
In 1935, there were twice as many radios in American households as telephones
Created fake news being old as used in WotW – links to changes in tech
Section C (teen vogue, i, WotW) – 2Q both 20 marks
Language of radio, audience and technology likely (+representation)
Andrew Crissel quote some bs
Fake News is old
broadcast on eve of WW2 and spread panic to US of invasion
Overview: Ray Ferrier, a dockworker, and his children are all set to spend a weekend together. However, an alien tripod descends on Earth, threatening to wipe out humanity.
By 1935, there were two times more radios in the home then telephones
“Moral Panic” Stanley Cohen – “Folk devils and moral panics” (worries in the public that media causes)
Andrew Crissel – “Radio is a blind media”
cbs produced world of wars
War of the Worlds was broadcast by Columbia Broadcasting Company – an institution still in existence (in a very different form) today.
Radio broadcasting was seen as direct competition to newspapers which had previously been the only way of receiving news.
The broadcast is typical of the way institutions are always looking for new styles in order to attract audiences.
Regulation – radio broadcasting was regulated by the Federal Communications Commission and it investigated the broadcast to see if it had broken any laws.
The broadcast provides an excellent example to consider the effect of individual producers on media industries as this is the work of Orson Welles.
War of the Worlds can be considered in a historical context as it provides an interesting study of the power and influence of radio as a form during its early days of broadcasting. It is also useful to consider the product in a social, cultural and political context when considering audience responses to the programme. It was first broadcast on the eve of World War II and reflected fears of invasion in the US and concerns about international relations.
Andrew Crissel – distinctive characteristics of radio as media
Orson Welles delivered the radio broadcast
It was an adaptation of H.G Welles novel
The novel was published in 1898 but the radio broadcast was released in 1938.
Can be classed as “Fake News”
The first broadcast caused panic widely which led to the producer being forced to announce that it was fictional
Easily spread as there were double the amount of radios in homes than telephones
“Moral Panic” Stanley Cohen – “Folk devils and moral panics” (worries in the public that media causes)
Andrew Crissel – “Radio is a blind media”
CBS produced War of the Worlds
An explanation for the tenacious grip of the War of the Worlds “panic” myth is that the public then and now have a deep-rooted anxiety about the power of the media.
the Language of Radio is used creatively to structure a text that could be taken as fact, but is clearly fiction
Section C- part of one of the three, teen vogue, the “i” then finally the war of the worlds
language, Representation, industries and audience
Radio language: consist of words, sound effects, music and silence. These are shared to some extent with television and film, but radio uses them in rather different ways. on collections of these word signs as symbolic codes to communicate meaning. Words on radio are spoken.
Radio is a Blind media: is a sightless or a view less medium. In radio, either the performer or listener cannot see each other. Therefore it is called blind medium. Since it is a blind or sightless medium, the performer as well as listener has to creatively imagine each other. “Andrew Crisell”
“Andrew Crisell”: He lectures in communication and media studies at the University of Sunderland. He has written widely on radio and co-founded Wear FM, winner of the 1992 Sony ‘Radio Station of the Year’ award.
War of the Worlds can be considered in a historical context as it provides an interesting study of the power and influence of radio as a form during its early days of broadcasting. It was first broadcast on the eve of World War II and reflected fears of invasion in the US and concerns about international relations.
Overview: Ray Ferrier, a dockworker, and his children are all set to spend a weekend together. However, an alien tripod descends on Earth, threatening to wipe out humanity.
Budget: 132 million USD
During the time it was based it was during The Great Depression
During the Anxiety Era
Fake News is not new
The relationship between radio and newspapers is significant
1938 October 31
by 1935 there was the double amount of radio at home compared to telephones
Moral Panic”: A moral panic is a feeling of fear spread among many people that some evil threatens the well-being of society. It is “the process of arousing social concern over an issue – usually the work of moral entrepreneurs and the mass media”.
Some other thoughts regarding this text center around contemporary ideas of Fake News. In other words, do we / can we trust the media? Where do you get knowledge and information? It also a text that shows the power of the media, to influence vulnerable audiences. Although I wonder if the stories around audiences reacting passively as if it were a true story were exaggerated almost as a marketing exercise, that in itself is a form of made up information? Indeed, isn’t all information made up? How do we know what is truth? What is clear is that the distinction between fact and fiction is often blurred and relies upon audience members recognising and understanding specific codesand conventions that relate to each Media Language. In this instance, the Language of Radio is used creatively to structure a text that could be taken as fact, but is clearly fiction. Recognising the particular social and historical moment that this media text was produced is significant, so was this a comment on the ability of the mass media to create propaganda and manipulate a compliant and vulnerable mass audience? Is that still relevant today? Think about twitter, Trump, Brexit etc. If so, then Chomsky‘s argument that the media is used by powerful groups – ‘Manufacturing Consent‘ – is the most appropriate theory to structure an understanding of media, technology, control, manipulation and power.
This is a Targeted Close Study product for which you will need to focus on the following areas of the Theoretical Framework: > Media Industries > Media Audiences You will need to listen to excerpts from the broadcast but the main focus will be the technological development of radio as an institution.
War of the Worlds is an early example of a hybrid radio form, adapting the H.G Welles story using news and documentary conventions. The broadcast and the initial response to it has historical significance as an early, documented, example of the mass media apparently having a direct effect on an audience’s behavior. The academic research carried out into the broadcast (and the ongoing dispute about the extent of the effect) provided some of the early media audience research and the findings have been extremely influential in the media, advertising and political campaigning. A useful overview and discussion of the context can be found here (not part of the CSP for assessment): https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/war-worlds
Media Institutions
War of the Worlds provides an historical context for broadcasting, being produced at a period when radio was the only form of domestic media; the 1930s and 1940s became known as the ‘golden age’ of radio.
War of the Worlds was broadcast by Columbia Broadcasting Company – an institution still in existence (in a very different form) today.
Radio broadcasting was seen as direct competition to newspapers which had previously been the only way of receiving news.
The broadcast is typical of the way institutions are always looking for new styles in order to attract audiences.
Regulation – radio broadcasting was regulated by the Federal Communications Commission and it investigated the broadcast to see if it had broken any laws.
The broadcast provides an excellent example to consider the effect of individual producers on media industries (known as ‘auteur theory’) as this is the work of Orson Welles.
Media Audiences
War of the Worlds has become a real-world test case for a variety of audience theories, although the exact nature of the audience response is still disputed.
What techniques (ie Media Language) does the broadcast use to convince the audience that what they’re hearing is really happening?
Consider the way that external factors – global political context, gender, religion, education etc. – are likely to also affect audience response
The ways in which audiences interpret the same media product differently – at the time of broadcast and now (Reception theory including Hall)
Cultivation theory including Gerbner
Historical, political, social and cultural contexts
For many, the wider social, political, historical and cultural contexts are not just clearly connected to media studies but they are in some ways more important.
“I’ve always said you can’t understand the world without the medianor the media without the world” (Professor Natalie Fenton, quoted in Fake news vs Media Studies J. McDougall p.17 2019, Palgrave)
“I do spend long periods of time with my gaze turned away from the media, because I’m seeking to understand what’s going on out there, and then the role of the media in that context. I’m always putting the social, the political and the economic (contexts) first.” (ibid)
War of the Worlds can be considered in a historical context as it provides an interesting study of the power and influence of radio as a form during its early days of broadcasting. It is also useful to consider the product in a social, cultural and political context when considering audience responses to the programme. It was first broadcast on the eve of World War II and reflected fears of invasion in the US and concerns about international relations.
Some other thoughts regarding this text center around contemporary ideas of Fake News. In other words, do we / can we trust the media? Where do you get knowledge and information? It also a text that shows the power of the media, to influence vulnerable audiences. Although I wonder if the stories around audiences reacting passively as if it were a true story were exaggerated almost as a marketing exercise, that in itself is a form of made up information? Indeed, isn’t all information made up? How do we know what is truth? What is clear is that the distinction between fact and fiction is often blurred and relies upon audience members recognising and understanding specific codesand conventions that relate to each Media Language. In this instance, the Language of Radio is used creatively to structure a text that could be taken as fact, but is clearly fiction. Recognising the particular social and historical moment that this media text was produced is significant, so was this a comment on the ability of the mass media to create propaganda and manipulate a compliant and vulnerable mass audience? Is that still relevant today? Think about twitter, Trump, Brexit etc. If so, then Chomsky‘s argument that the media is used by powerful groups – ‘Manufacturing Consent‘ – is the most appropriate theory to structure an understanding of media, technology, control, manipulation and power.
Other areas to think about (but unlikely to form part of your assessment)
Media Language
War of the Worlds is a good case study for students to understand the way codes and conventionsof radio drama (sound, dialogue, SFX, microphone technique, silence, words, accents, dialects etc) are put together to create meaning and construct a recognisable and familiar genre (Steve Neale). War of the Worlds also belongs to the genre of sci-fi and invasion – how are the conventions evident?
But can War of the Worlds be considered as an intertextual product? Or pastiches of other genres.
Consider how developing technologies affect media language: in 1938 radio was still a relatively new mass media technology, the broadcast could experiment with the form in a way not possible later on.
At the time of the broadcast the idea of hybrid genres was unfamiliar, with clear boundaries between fact and fiction, making this a significant development in the form.
While there are representations of social and cultural groups in War of the Worlds, this broadcast is particularly significant for studying how a media product constructs a representation of reality, drawing on issues in society to convince the audience of its reality.
How does the use of media language construct the representation of the real?
Is this programme an early example of fake news?
What signifiers of different groups and social classes are used?
The representation of the alien invaders in sci-fi genre.
As a broadcast in October 1938, can War of the Worlds be interpreted as representing particular political concerns to US – and international – society?
