War of the worlds
Institution:
The broadcast tapped into the anxiety of the time. Just ahead of World War II, much of the world was nearly — or already — at war when the program aired.
“The War of the Worlds” was the 17th episode of the CBS Radio series The Mercury Theater on the Air, which was broadcast at 8 pm ET on Sunday, October 30, 1938.
it could be assumed that any reading that took the product as literal truth
is oppositional (though this could be challenged if it is considered that the
ultimate goal of the producers was to create publicity).
All in all CBS radio’s ultimate goal was to create publicity. CBS were able to create publicity by being headlined on multiple newspaper articles. For example, The new York Times headlined a quote that stated ‘Radio listeners in panic, taking war drama as fact’. This shows how CBS were able to promote publicity through how vulnerable listeners were due to the commotion caused by WW2.
Argument for essay structure: How audiences are more media literate now.
Life Hacks is an example of a transitional media product which reflects changes in the contemporary media landscape (it is the replacement for a previous, similar programme, The Surgery). Life Hacks is both a traditional radio programme with a regular, scheduled broadcast time, but is also available online after broadcast for streaming and downloading. The broadcast itself and the accompanying website provides opportunities for audience interaction, which is central to the programme’s address to its audience. Life Hacks also exemplifies the challenges facing the institution as a public service broadcaster that needs to appeal to a youth audience within a competitive media landscape.
Shirky – end of audience theory. … Audience behaviour has changed due to the internet and the ability for audiences to create their own content at home thanks to the lower cost of technology. This new audience doesn’t just consume media, but also produces it – creating the term ‘prosumer’.
Lasswell’s model of communication (also known as Lasswell’s communication model) describes an act of communication by defining who said it, what was said, in what channel it was said, to whom it was said, and with what effect it was said.
George Gerbner, cultivation is a way of thinking about media effects. Cultivation theory suggests that exposure to media over time subtly cultivates viewers’ perceptions of reality.
Reception theory as developed by Stuart Hall asserts that media texts are encoded and decoded. The producer encodes messages and values into their media which are then decoded by the audience. However, different audience members will decode the media in different ways and possibly not in the way the producer originally intended.
Dominant, or Preferred Reading – how the producer wants the audience to view the media text. Audience members will take this position if the messages are clear and if the audience member is the same age and culture; if it has an easy to follow narrative and if it deals with themes that are relevant to the audience.
Oppositional Reading – when the audience rejects the preferred reading, and creates their own meaning for the text. This can happen if the media contains controversial themes that the audience member disagrees with. It can also arise when the media has a complex narrative structure perhaps not dealing with themes in modern society. Oppositional reading can also occur if the audience member has different beliefs or is of a different age or a different culture.
Negotiated Reading – a compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, where the audience accepts parts of the producer’s views, but has their own views on parts as well. This can occur if there is a combination of some of the above e.g. audience member likes the media, is of the same age as you and understands some of the messages, but the narrative is complex and this inhibits full understanding.
