COM 106 Definitive Midterm

Development of Photography

__________________________ was a sedentary accumulation of knowledge, techniques, and innovation, leading to an early 20th century breakthrough.

Thomas Wedgewood

Placed objects on silver-treated leather, created some of the first “sun pictures”, sensitized it with chemicals; he put a leaf on the leather for 9 hours and got a “sun picture”

Louis Daguerre

Frenchman, created images on silver-plated copper, coated with silver iodine; allowed for early photos, “Boulevard du Temple” was the first photo of a human (1838); patented the Daguerreotype in Paris 1939

1888

The first Kodak camera was invented in…

France, the United States, and Russia

The three countries where movies were first developed are…

Eadweard J. Muybridge

Father of Film; originally a “society” photographer; fulfilled Leland Stanford’s bet about his horse (Occident) by using 18 different cameras to see if its hooves touched the ground, and then put the photos in motion.

Thomas Alva Edison

Saw Muybridge’s work, invented cameras with more than one piece of film that could continually shoot with George Eastman; built the language of cinema with the underlying expertise of Eastman.

1878, by Muybridge

The camera shutter was invented in…

Kinetoscope

Early motion picture viewing device, invented by Edison and W.L.K. Dickinson

William Kennedy Laurie Dickinson

Worked with Edison on the Kinetoscope, recorded Fred Ott’s sneeze

Black Maria

First Motion Picture Studio; located in New Jersey

Lumiere Brothers

Figured out how to project film; in December 1895, they showed a railroad car coming toward the camera to an audience.

A Trip to the Moon

Groundbreaking 1902 silent film, used special effects, created by Georges Melies

Edwin S. Porter

The Great Train Robbery (U.S. film that developed the early language of film.)

Montage

A technique in film production in which an editor cuts
together a sequence of shorts to compress time, space, and
information...often heightens drama, focuses attention,
adds suspense ....makes visual storytelling more addictive,
more compelling, more resonant

D.W. Grffifith

Created the close-up, created movie celebrities, started cross-cutting, creator of Birth of a Nation (glorified the Confederacy, lost cause, and the Ku Klux Klan)

Nicholas II

Had a negative POV of film in Russia, “I consider that the cinema is an empty, totally useless, and even harmful form of entertainment…It is complete rubbish, and no importance whatsoever should be attached to such stupidities.”; last czar of Russia

Lenin

Believed that cinema was an important tool in spreading communism and Bolshevism ; “Of all the arts, cinema is the most important.”

Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov

Known for “the Kuleshov effect,” which is an editing exercise, shots of an actor were intercut with various meaningful images to show how editing changes viewer’s interpretations.

Alfred Hitchcock

Great filmmaker of the 20th century

Esther Ilyichina Shub

Russian; edited Griffith’s film “Intolerance” and removed pro-capitalist aspects, teaches Sergei Eisenstein

Sergei Eisenstein

Created “The Battleship Potemkin,” film about the first revolution in Odessa. Created an iconic sequence with intercutting and crosscutting.

No establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

The First Amendment protects:

Rear Viewerism

As we move forward, we look into our “rear view mirror”.

Massachusetts/Boston

Where does publishing start? It started here because the population was homogenous linguistically, meaning that most people could read English, unlike in New York.

Benjamin Harris

Issued the first newspaper, wrote a story about the French King sleeping with his daughter-in-law. Subsequently, he outrages colonial authorities by publishing the stories about the King’s loose morals.

John Campbell

Boston’s sour faced (royally appointed) postmaster, published THE FIRST CONTINUOUSLY published newspaper in America in 1704. Sees himself as an editor/official conduit of information. Steals content from abroad and retypes. Campbell did not want to upset order or offend anyone. Sold advertisements in the paper to make up for meager crown subsidy. Made most of his money advertising horses and slavery.

John Peter Zenger

Published an anonymous letter from New Jersey stating that William Cosby’s (distant relative of the king, chief of NY and NJ) ineffective rule will cause a rebellion. Immigrant from South Germany.

William Cosby

Direct relative of the king, appointed by George II as governor and captain general of New York and New Jersey. Raised taxes and refused to meet prominent merchants, debauchery, Cosby said newspapers should be silent in regard to state affairs.

Statute of Westminster 1275

No publishing slander towards the king or anything that could make discord between the people and the king/lords.

Seditious Libel

Anything printed that challenges the government’s integrity.

Stamp Act 1765

Tax on any stationary; targeted journalists due to increased printing costs associated with the tax.

Sam Adams

Printer; created the Sons of Liberty committee of correspondence (the first social network.) Embellished the truth.

John Adams

Sam Adams’ cousin, 2nd President of the United States, attributed the beginnings of revolutionary thought to Sam Adams.

Public Advertiser

Started by Sam Adams in 1748; He was interested in his puritan ancestors’ desire for religious freedom.

Tyranny

John Adams said that the Stamp Act was…

Stopping the Stamp Act was impossible

Thoughts Benjamin Franklin (a moderate) had about the Stamp Act…

Liberty Trees

Sam Adams advocated for symbolic acts of disobedience, not property destruction. He sought not to overturn colonial society but to preserve it from British intrusion. He DID NOT want to overthrow the wealthy.

Boston Massacre

Mob comprised of children and drunk people are shot at; John Adams defends the shooters. Paul Revere and co. reproduce the infamous print of the event.

Silence Dogood

Proponent of Mass Communication, the name that Benjamin Franklin used at his brother’s publication, The New England Courant.

Benjamin Franklin

Often called the “first American”; one of the first advocates for uniting the 13 colonies. Created the patent and copyright clause in the constitution.

Copyright

Lasts for the individual author’s lifespan + 70 years.

Patent

Protects technical inventions, for example a product, a process or an apparatus, in all fields of technology. An exclusive right, meaning the owner can decide who can use the invention and how, and prevent third parties from exploiting it commercially. Design ________- last for a term of only 15 years after the date of grant, but other patents have a standard term of 20 years from filing.

Constitutional Republic

America is not a democracy, but a ______________.

The New England Courant

First totally independent newspaper in the colonies; first U.S. paper to have a staff of reporters; run by Benjamin Franklin’s brother.

Penny Press

Caused society to be more affluent, well-informed, and responsible; invented by Richard March Hoe; made printing CHEAP and QUICK

No establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

The First Amendment protects:

New York Tribune

Created by Horace Greeley; Interviewed Brigham Young (Mormons!)

New York Herald

Created by James Gordon Bennet; Covered the murder of Helen Jewett (Prostitute), conducted the first-ever interview with the Madame, Rosina Townsend

News Literacy

The ability to analyze and assess the reliability of news and information and to differentiate among facts, opinions, and assertions.

Helen Jewett

Her murder was covered by Bennet, who recognized in it the “classic elements of a mystery”; shocked readers with front-page coverage of the murder of a prostitute; Benett conducted the first ever interview with Rosina Townsend, the madame of the prostitution business Jewett was a part of. Played heavily on SENSATIONALISM.

Sensationalism

Hallmark of U.S. storytelling; is out of the ordinary, meant to provoke public excitement, often used in crime news, read as a kind of guilty pleasure.

The Three Elements of Sensationalist Media

1. 1. Emphasis on Personalities

2. 2. Preference for trivial or colorful news over significance

3. 3. Private life becomes public

Economies of Scale

Larger = more efficient - cheap

-Free expression is the
foundation-the cornerstone-
of democracy. -Discerning fact from opinion is
a basic skill—and obligation. -When the process of gathering
and reporting is transparent,
news and information are more
meaningful, trusted, and
credible. -Effective communication of news
and information requires
synthesis of multiple sources
into meaningful context and
comprehension of its impact. -Information requires verification
to be effective. -The news must generate and
empower public conversations to
give voice to citizens and
to monitor the free flow of
information.

Six Principles of New Literacy

“Trust, but verify”

-Ronald Reagan

Gordon Moore

Electronic engineer, Professor Sanders calls him “nerdy Moses”;

Moore’s Law

An observation that the number of transistors on a microchip roughly doubles every two years (18-20 months), whereas its cost is halved over that same timeframe.

Harper’s and Atlantic Monthly

Other Early Successful Magazines

Who popularized the Penny Press?

Benjamin Day

Benjamin H. Day

Created the first illuminated journal “Brother Jonathan”, pioneered the Penny Press in New York, invented the idea of a Bureau, sold papers to newsboys (therefore revolutionizing how they were distributed), also known for the GREAT MOON HOAX (sensationalism, published in his newspaper The Sun)

Penny Press

Caused society to be more affluent, well-informed, and responsible; invented by Richard March Hoe; made printing CHEAP and QUICK

Samuel Morse

Professor at NYU; spearheaded the spread of photography; created the hardware and software for telegraphic communication

Commercial Revolution (1830s)

Caused by urbanization, rising literacy rates = socio-economic changes = consumerism = ads in the paper; also caused by transportation revolutions, rising immigration rates (Irish Immigrants)

Five Points of NY

Immigration drove change in the country; large number of Irish immigrants; many of them lived in the Five Points slums

No establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

The First Amendment protects:

“To say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.”

According to Winston, freedom is:

New York Tribune

Created by Horace Greeley; Interviewed Brigham Young (Mormons!)

New York Herald

Created by James Gordon Bennet; Covered the murder of Helen Jewett (Prostitute), conducted the first-ever interview with the Madame, Rosina Townsend

Proles

Lower class in 1984, mostly unmonitored, “Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.”

News Literacy

The ability to analyze and assess the reliability of news and information and to differentiate among facts, opinions, and assertions.

Benjamin Rush

Doctor, “forgotten” founding father, insisted post offices must be spread throughout the country to circulate newspapers and subsidize how they operate.

Post Office Act of 1792

Bars the gov./gov. officials from opening personal letters. Post offices were able to ship newspapers with extremely low rates.

Congress…

Controls post office creation, and dictates that there must be more post offices.

Rats

What is Winston’s greatest fear?

Vertical Integration

Studios produced their own films, distributed them through their own outlets, and exhibited them in their own theaters. Big studios controlled a movie from shooting to screening, guaranteeing distribution and an audience regardless of quality.

Paramount Decision (1948)

In 1938, the Justice Department challenged vertical integration, suing the big five studios (Warner, MGM, Paramount, RKO, and Fox), accusing them of illegal monopolistic practices. In 1948, the Supreme Court issued this decision, effectively destroying movie studios’ hold over moviemaking. Vertical Integration was ruled illegal, as was block booking. Studios were forced to sell of their exhibition businesses (the theaters). Created more competition for big studios. Reversed in 2020.

Block Booking

The practice of requiring exhibitors to rent groups of movies, often inferior, to secure a better one.