Media Exam II

How did sound recording develop?

• Édouard-Léon de Martinville (1850s): First recorded sound but couldn't play it back.

• Thomas Edison (1877): Invented the phonograph, which played recorded sound.

• Chichester Bell (1886): Developed the graphophone for voice recording.

• Emile Berliner (1887): Invented the gramophone, using flat discs that could be mass-produced cheaply

What was CBS vs RCA?

They were both mass media companies competing in the recording industry
- CBS introduced LP (long-playing record) at 33 ½ RPM, approximating 20 ish mins of songs per side
- RCA introduced 45 RPM, approxing 1-2 songs per side

When were magnetic tapes introduced, and purpose?

1940s
- made editing recorded sounds easier
- allowed multitrack mixing (combining seperately recorded sounds)

What was the biggest advancement in sound recording around 1970 (who)? Analog? Digital?

Thomas Stockholm: made the first digital recording
Analog: sound wave signals were stored in record grooves or magnetic tapes
Digital: sound converted into binary codes (0s and 1s)

Why were digital recordings so important? + Timeline of Events

Important because it made storing and reproducing sound more efficient
1983: CDs were on the market
1987: Cds bypassed LP in sales by double the amount
1990: MP3s became popular

What was Napster, and what happened to it?

Napster: Peer-to-peer music-sharing platform
- allowed users to upload and download music files, but record companies sued over copyright infringement, so the original service shut down

What is convergence? Example?

Different media industries/techs would come together, like radio and recorded music: radios playing recorded music

What did ASCAP do, and how did radio stations respond? (when)

- ASCAP (1914) established copyright fees so music writers and publishers could be compensated, with all their music being illegally downloaded on sites like Napster
- Fees ranged from $250 to $ 2,500 per week

What is an oligopoly? Who were the major 3?

- When a few powerful companies control most of an industry’s production and distribution
- Universal, Sony, Warner

How does the music industry make and divide money?

1. Making - singing, developing, and recording artists

2. Selling - distributing, advertising, and promoting music

3. Dividing Profits - determining how revenue is shared among rights holders and musicians

How are musicians compensated through streaming? Equivalency Standard?

- Music rights holders receive payments from streaming services, and the artist’s earnings depend on the platform (Spotify, Apple, YouTube) and their contracts

- 1500 song streams = 1 album sale - 150 song streams = 1 single sale

Is streaming helpful or harmdful to musicians?

Streaming helped the music industry grow, not specifically the artists
- Musicians’ earnings depend on contracts and platforms
- major record labels still hold too much power

What was David Hesmondhalgh’s argument?

• Little evidence suggests streaming has increased dominance across the music industry.

• Major labels already dominated the music industry before streaming.

• Streaming expanded the market and created opportunities for more musicians.

• However, most musicians still experience financial insecurity.

Read/Write culture vs. Read-Only culture, examples?

Read/Write: audience can create, remix, and share their own media
ex. combining songs with movie clips (edits)
Read Only: audience mainly consume content bc of copyright
ex. watch videos without remixing or reusing them

What is copyright?

Copyright Act of 1790: protects creative works such as music, books, and films — gives creators or copyright owners legal control over certain uses of their work (who gets to use their music work)

Copyright Durations? Public Domain?

1790: Initially 14 years, with the option to review
1976: Extended to the author’s lifetime + 50-75 years for certain corporations
Public Domain: anyone can freely use the work

What is Fair Use? Examples? Why is it important?

• A legal exception allowing certain uses of copyrighted material without permission.

Can be used for:

• Criticism

• Commentary

• Teaching

• Scholarship

• Research

• Transformative uses such as parody

Important because: it protects opportunities for education, commentary, and creative expression

What was the Lisztomania remix controversy involving Lawrence Lessig?

• Fans remixed Listzomania song with some movie clips, and Lawrence Lessing was a Harvard Copyright scholar who supported remix culture, and he used the remix in an educational lecture and faced a copyright charge, BUT used Fair Use Law to defend himself and got charge disputed

What are 3 ways music is distributed/monetized on YouTube? + how do they work

YouTube Premium: Paid subscription
Artist Channels: Official music uploads from artists
Content ID: detects copyrighted music in uploaded videos — scans video for copyirght material then the copyright owners can monetize (earn money), block, or track the videos instead of js removing them

Why do music labels criticize YouTube?

YouTube accounts for 51% of streams but only 6.4% of revenue for the artists

What was the telegraph, who invented it (when), and what were its limitations?

• Sent electrical impulses through wires to transmit messages over long distances (morse code)

• Creator: Samuel Morse in the 1840s

• Couldn’t transmit human voices; required wires, meaning people at sea couldn’t communicate

James Clerk Maxwell (when)

Theorized the existence of electromagnetic waves that could carry signals through space (1860s)

Heinrich Hertz

• Proved Maxwell's theory by producing and detecting electromagnetic waves using electrical sparks.

Guglielmo Marconi (when)

• Developed practical wireless telegraphy by transmitting Morse code without wires (1894)

Nikola Tesla

Developed and patented important wireless communication tech, Tesla and Marconi has disputes about who invented wireless first

Who developed wireless voice communication?

• Lee de Forest: Developed vacuum-tube technology that could detect and amplify radio signals.

• Reginald Fessenden (1906): Successfully transmitted voice and music wirelessly to ships.

What problems led to radio regulation? What did they lead to?

1. Ship safety: Ships needed reliable communication during emergencies.

2. Signal interference: Multiple radio transmissions overlapped, making communication difficult.

• These problems led to the Wireless Ship Act of 1910 and the Radio Act of 1912.

What was the Wireless Ship Act of 1910? Purpose? Problems remaining?

Act required major U.S. ships carrying more than 50 passengers + travelleling 200+ miles offshore to have wireless equipment
Purpose: to improve communication and safety at sea
Problems: signals were still interfering, ships could only have 1 operator making continuous monitorin difficult

What did the sinking of the Titanic prove?

The wireless messages helped rescuers locate ships, proving how reliable wireless communication is

Radio Act of 1912

• Required radio operators to obtain government licenses.

• Required two radio operators on qualifying ships to improve monitoring.

• Assigned specific frequencies for different purposes.

• Helped reduce interference.

• Reinforced the use of SOS as an emergency distress signal.

Who owns the airwaves? What did it do?

The Public, supported educational and noncommercial broadcasting

Who and how did national radio networks develop?

• David Sarnoff: RCA leader who established NBC (1926).

• William Paley: Helped CBS become NBC's major competitor.

• Networks connected local stations to broadcast national programs

What are owned-and-operated stations vs. affiliates? Why affiliates?

• Owned-and-operated: Stations owned directly by the network.

• Affiliates: Independent local stations that broadcast network programs.

Affilaites because local stations have more advertising revenue and its networks reached larger audiences

How did networks change radio programming?

National networks made radio programming more standardized and less focused

Radio Act of 1927

• Act was passed because radio stations were overcrowding frequencies and causing interference

• Also created FRC, strenghening federal control over radio licensing

Communications Act of 1934

• Replaced FRC with FCC, expanding federal regulation of communications, regulating entertainment on radio and TV

Golden Age of Radio

• radio was a major source of news and entertainment, also gained authority as trusted news source

• enabled the president to talk directly to Americans (Frank D Rose Fireside Chats)

War of the Worlds (1938): What happened? Why was it understandable?

• October 30, 1938: Orson Welles broadcast a fictional alien-invasion story, and it was presented in between breaking-news announcements, so some people believed the invasion was real.

• Understandable because Americans were recovering from the Great Depression and Hitler, some people fled

What was an early example of social-scientitc media effects research?

Researchers studied reactions of War of the Worlds

What were the 3 ways listeners responded to War of Worlds?

1. Checked internal evidence: Looked for clues within the broadcast that it was fictional.

2. Checked external evidence: Compared it with other information, such as another station.

3. Did not check evidence: Accepted the broadcast without verifying it.

How did Radio survive television?

Radio adapted (1940s-1950s) with stuff specifically catered to the interests of people (FM radio - offering clearer sound than AM, Top 40 - playing hit songs on repeat)

Todd Storz

• helped develop format radios (channels) such as Top 40

FCC vs Pacifica Foundation

• John Douglas filed an FCC complaint after heading the broadcast with offesnive language with son

• Supreme Court allowed FCC to regulate and restrict broadcast content because radio is easily accessible to children

Howard Stern and Statellite Radio

• Howard Stern was known for sexually explicit broadcasts and FCC imposed fines on him, then he moved his broadcast ti another statellite radio which is subscription based so FCC couldn’t put their restriction on him = greater content freedom

Telecommunications Act of 1996, Led to? Consequence?

Eliminated most national radio ownership restrictions, led to corporate consolidation where fewer companies were controlling radio stations and large corporations were controlling it instead, leading to less local radio

What ignited government findung for computer technology? What came out of it?

• The Space Race (1960s) between the United States and the Soviet Union.

• Ed Catmull developed early 3D compouter graphics, beginning computer animation

What challenges did Pixar face as an independent filmmaker?

Pixar struggled financially as tech needed for animating was very expensive and Disney controlled/dominated movie distribution and marketing — they wanted creative freedom

How and why did Pixar become part of Disney?

• Steve Jobs purchased Pixar in 1986, invested a bunch, Disney initially controlled most profits from Toy Story, then Pixar went public and negotiated a better partnership with Disney

• Disney bought PIxar to strengthen its animation business, and Pixar gained fiananical stablity and access to Disney’s tech and marketing

Vertical integration vs horizontal integration

Vertical: a company controls multiple stages (Disney produces, distributes, streams)

Horizontal: a company acquires another company (Disney purchasing Pixar, makes them do it)

What did the 2026 box-office list show?

How Hollywood relies heavily on sequels, franchises, and recognizable characters because they already have an established audience

What are box-office receipts? How is it distributed?

total money earned from movie ticket sales, revenue divided between the movie theater and the film distributor

What is the post-theatrical window?

period after a movie’s theatrical release where it’s available on other streaming platforms

How did the original Hollywood studio system work?

• Major studios did vertical integration

• Controlled actors through long-term contracts

• Used block booking where theaters were forced to purchase packages of films

What was the 1948 Paramount Decree?

Supreme Court ruled against Hollywood’s major studios’ monopolistic practices, ending block booking, and the studios were required to give up theater ownership

What happened to the Paramount Decree in 2020?

the old restrictions preventing studios from having control of theaters ended, allowing them to own theaters again

How does Skydance acquiring Paramount relate to media consolidation?

Horizontal Integration, buying another company (conjoining) they combined to gain more content audience = more power

What challenges did the Skydance/Paramount/Warner acquisitions face?

money, competition, and government approval

How do movies make money besides ticket sales?

licensing - allowing another company to use their movie characters and images, for money

merchandising - selling products connected to movie

product placement - products appearing in movie (advertisement)

What was the Hays Code? Why was it developed?

• Hollywood’s system of industry self-censorship — restricted portrayals of sex, violence, etc. (things considered immoral)

• Developed to avoid government censorship and in response to public criticism

What replaced the Hay’s Code?

1968: The MPAA movie rating system
(G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17)

What was the turning point shown in the movie Quiz Show? Who was involved?

A scandal revealing the games were rigged, Herb Stempel was pressured to lose so Charles Van Doren could become the new star, damaging public trust in TV shows

How did the quiz-show scandal change television's sponsorship model?

• Originally, one company sponsored an entire TV program; after this, TV shifted towards magazine-style advertising, where multiple advertisers purchased short commercial spots (5- second ads)

• Networks controlled programming

What were the four eras of television?

1. Birth of Broadcast TV (1941–1957): Television developed, and broadcast networks grew.

2. Network Era (1958–1985): NBC, CBS, and ABC dominated television.

3. Post-Network Era (1986–2008): Cable and other alternatives increased competition.

4. Digital Era (2009–today): Streaming, smartphones, and on-demand viewing transformed television.

How did radio shape television?

• TV borrowed radio’s entertainment, and popular performers moved to TV

• TV adopted advertising system

• FCC regulated broadcasting

Why was David Sarnoff important?

• He was a major executive at RCA and NBC

• He helped build the radio network business and supported television's development.

• RCA invested in television technology and helped establish technical standards.

• NBC became one of television's dominant networks.

What 4 things had to happen for television to become successful?

Technology + FCC regulation + Mass adoption + Investment

Who called television a "vast wasteland" in 1961? Why?

Newton Minow, chairman of FCC, said it was too shallow, repetitive, and commercially driven, should be more educational

What was the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967?

• Established CPB (Corp for Public Broadcasting)

• Helped fund programs that weren’t supported by commercials (educational ones)

How is public television doing in 2026 kids wise?

As of 2025, Congress eliminated fed funds for CPB, and PBS kids and other educational shows face major financial issues

What was the Children's Television Act of 1990? Was it effective?

• Required broadcasters to serve children’s educational and informational needs

• Limited advertising

• Established a guideline of 3 hours per week

• Not that effective; critics said it had little educational value, quality was inconsistent

How was Dr. Jordan involved in evaluating this policy?

She met with Sesame Street and I guess talked about educational value

How do broadcasters meet the children's programming requirement today?

• Educational programs are labeled at E/I

• FCC mandates 156 hours, and stations report their educational programing to FCC

What are the television content ratings meanings? (TV-Y, TV-Y7, TV-Y7-FV, TV-G, TV-PG,, TV-14, TV-MA)

• TV-Y: Appropriate for all children.

• TV-Y7: Intended for children ages 7 and older.

• TV-Y7-FV: Ages 7 and older; includes fantasy violence.

• TV-G: General audiences.

• TV-PG: Parental guidance suggested.

• TV-14: Parents strongly cautioned; may be unsuitable for children under 14.

• TV-MA: Mature audiences only; may be unsuitable for children under 17

Why were television ratings introduced?

Parental guidance on content information

How did video games evolve from public to private to virtual spaces?

• Public Space: the ones played in Arcades — shared public experience

• Private Space, home consoles — gaming is starting to be more individualized

• Third Space: Roblox, fortnite — virtual online communities

What negative effects of video games have people worried about?

Violence, addiction, isolation, sexism, and harassment.

What does research say about violent video games?

violent games do not automatically make people violent

What was said about the research connecting to video games to violence?

• Correlation does not equal causation

• Feeling irritated and angry isn’t the same as committing a crime

What positive effects can video games have?

well-being, attention, vision

How was the research on video games and well-being conducted?

Oxford Video Game Study (2020):

• Used gameplay data and surveys to measure participants’ well-being

How was the research on vision conducted?

Daphne Bavelier - action game players vs non ag players, measured for attention and visual abilities and action players performed better on certain visual tasks = better visual attention

What is the ESRB? E, E10+, T, M, AO, RP?

Entertainment Software Rating Board: Established in 1994 by the video game industry rating system to help parents decide what gaems to get for children

What was Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association?

California attempted to restrict sales of violent video games to minors, but the Court ruled that video games are protected by the First Amendment

How have video games been regulated? (3)

ESRB (video game industry’s self-regulation), gov efforts, Brown Vs. EMA

What does it mean that video game audiences are "active"?

Players actively design their media experience, like control characters, GTA 6, players make deicsions and influence outcomes

What does "meaning making" mean?

players actively interpret a game’s messages

What is "mechanics as metaphor"?

A game’s rules and actions can communicate a larger message or idea