Government Regulation in the Radio Age

One of the most important forces influencing the formation of the radio industry would be government regulation and intervention in radio matters, because the government's control over the industry and the passage of several major acts concerning the radio would shape the radio to be what it is in our world today. Government regulation acts as a major force because given the government's power, they can have a lot control over an industry (like radio). If the government does not like the way things are happening, they have the power to step in and make changes. They can do this by passing laws which regulate what happens and how. The government had a major influence over the evolution of the radio system with their passing of the Radio Act of 1912 which required licensing to operate a radio station. This set up the radio system that would be in place in the 1920s. The government continued to pass regulations in the 20s, like the Radio Act of 1927, which established standard broadcast bands, that essentially formed the radio system that would last in our country to for decades to come.

Social Learning and the Media

I believe that the concept of social learning helps me understand the media's influence over the general public, because it is through social learning that the public begins to imitate that which is shown in the media. Social learning is when people begin to follow or model themselves after things they have seen in the media. People will learn new behaviors based off of things they have observed in the media. This can especially have an effect on younger children and is the reason why some people are so hesitant to allow things like violent video games in today's society. After being exposed so often to certain behaviors on television or in video games, etc., people may begin to imitate these behaviors. The concept of social learning is directly shown in the films we viewed in class:  "Killing Us Softly" and "Tough Guise." In "Killing Us Softly," many advertisements featuring nearly unnaturally thin women were shown. In today's society, many women feel that they need to model themselves after the way these incredibly thin/digitally enhanced women (that we see so often in advertisements) look. "Tough Guise" showed the concept of social learning coming into effect in the way that men are often portrayed in films or on television:  as ultra-masculine, tough, sometimes to the point of violent, guys. Through social learning, this has led imitation by many boys or men who feel they need to be as tough as the men they see so often in the media, which unfortunately, can ultimately lead to violence.

Agenda Setting: The Power of the Media

In a time when the media has begun to play an increasingly significant role in our daily lives, it is important to understand the ways in which the media attempts to influence our opinions. One of these ways is through the process of agenda setting, which the media uses to directly influence the news we hear or see. Agenda setting theory is a concept that allows for the media to affect public opinion by essentially picking and choosing which news stories to give the most coverage to. By giving certain issues or stories more coverage than others, the media causes the public to focus on these issues. Agenda setting plays an especially important role when it comes to political news, and certain media outlets use agenda setting to push certain political opinions on the public. Examples of agenda setting can be seen everyday in major news sources, such as Fox News. With one visit to the Fox News website (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/index.html), viewers can immediately see a number of articles with titles like "U.S. Poverty on Track to Post Record Gain Under Obama's Watch." As a notoriously conservative news source, many of Fox News's articles focus on the downfalls of the Democratic party, which is their way of setting people's focus on certain issues to push their own political agenda. The title of this article alone is an example of agenda setting, because rather than just mentioning that the poverty rate is high, they add in the phrase "Under Obama's Watch" to place blame on Obama, focusing people's attention on the idea that Obama is the reason for this problem.

My First Blog Post

                                                http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/UT-Tower-in-Orange.jpg

Hello! My name is Taylor Andrews, and I’m currently a sophomore here at UT. This year, I’ve enrolled in RTF 305 for two reasons: partially because it satisfies the visual/performing arts credit I need and partially because I am considering becoming an RTF major. I thought taking this class would give me a better idea of what exactly being an RTF major entails. I am highly interested in the media/films and have so far enjoyed the class lectures. I am really looking forward to the rest of the semester in this class!

Here is a link to a blog I read regularly--The Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/