The Radio

The most powerful force in a market economy is the consumer. At the heart of any democratic government are the people. Thus, technological change, industries or institutional factors, regulation and government intervention are all trumped by the power of audience demand. In the 1920’s radio was what television was during the 1960 (the 60’s as oppose to today because TV is less significant today with all the alternatives available such as the internet, movies, netflicks, etc). It served as the primary source of news, entertainment (radio shows), and eventually music. At one point in our nations history, the radio acted as the dinner table in the sense it brought the family together on a daily/weekly schedule as seen in the film Radio Days. This love that people shared for radio was the primary force driving industry, which in turn drove technology to improve.

The devotion of a mass audience on a regular schedule was a marketers dream. This led to advertising agencies producing their own radio programs for commercial sponsors interested in selling consumer goods, and the development of integrated advertising. All of which lead to the development of radio as we know it.


Ok, so this is a perfect example of audience demand forcing technology to meet the demands of the public (whom happen to hate commercials and the repetition of the same songs). Is this the future of radio?

Social Learning and Masculinity

The textbook address the social learning theory from a violent and sexual point of view primarily aimed at the social reform of the 1960’s. During this time America experienced a rise in violence, political unrest, and a general “decline in public morality”. The masses were said to have learned this behavior through the media, be it that they were in fact the first “TV generation”. What was true then seems just as true now, but with social learning through media becoming the proprietors of the masculine guise embedded into our young men’s heads today.

We can only hope that media does not play the primary role in the exemplification of the “real” man. Ideally a young boy’s (or even girls, for they too have their own idea of what a man should be) first example of a man is his father. The danger lies in a situation where the father is either too preoccupied with work or other activities or simply not present at all in the child’s life. It is at this point the child is forced to seek out the male image, and in a day and age in which youth are more media savvy then ever, the media becomes the one to teach little Johnny what it means to be a man.

Unfortunately, the media often gets it wrong. Prosocial and antisocial behaviors are frequently intertwined and very subjective.  The power rangers exhibited bravery, teamwork, and even ingenuity; all of which can be considered prosocial qualities. However, the leader of the power rangers was always a white male that when faced with adversity used violence to settle ALL disputes. It would have been preposterous for power rangers to negotiate or solve their intergalactic issues diplomatically, because like the film Tough Guise points out, to deviate from the medias image of masculinity is to be considered a “wuss, wimp, fag, or sissy”. There are no homosexual crime fighters, no sensitive male super heros, and at least while I was growing up little to no portrayals of successful men of color. And because of this, we have an epidemic of skewed ideologies pertaining to masculinity.

Hegemony

Hegemony deals with the political economy and how media is used by people in power to reinforce ideas and beliefs. The reasoning for the use of such tactics can vary from political agendas to maintaining a corporate reputation. In the case of Disney, Michael Eisner, the chairman of the Walt Disney Co. and ultimately boss of ABC News was quoted saying, "I would prefer ABC not to cover Disney ... ABC News knows that I would prefer them not to cover [Disney]." (Irvine, 1998). And because of Michael Eisner’s position of power, he can guarantee exactly that. A story that was to air on 20/20 exposing “Disney's lax attitude toward employing pedophiles at its theme parks” was killed by David Westin by Eisner’s request (Irvine, 1998).

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p.s. use the buddy system when venturing through disney world, apparently Mickey Mouse and Michael Jackson had more in common then their white gloves... (too soon? lol)