Radio & Music(2)

Question 1

What is Narrowcasting?

Answer 1

it’s person-to-person communication, which disseminates(spreads) information to a narrow audience, rather than to the broader public

Question 2

What is the FCC?

Answer 2

(formally the FRC) stands for the Federal Communications Commission, and is an independent U.S. government agency charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, cable, and the Internet

Question 3

What is Payola?

Answer 3

the unethical(but not always illegal) practice of record promoters’ paying DJ’s or radio programmers to play particular records

Question 4

What is A&R?

Answer 4

Artists&Repertoire Agents–talent scouts of the music business who discover, develop, and sometimes manage artists

Question 5

What are Radio Waves?

Answer 5

a portion of the electromagnetic wave spectrum that was harnessed so that signals could be sent from a transmission point to a reception point

Question 6

What is Broadcasting?

Answer 6

distribution of content to a dispersed audience via a mass communications medium, usually one using electromagnetic radiation(e.g. radio waves, TV signals)

Question 7

What are the 3 standards radio established?

Answer 7

1. The technology used to broadcast(broadly speaking)
2. Patterns of ownership(were ported to TV and other media)
3. Regulation of broadcasts by FCC and government

Question 8

When/where was the first commercial broadcast?

Answer 8

1920 in KDKA in Pittsburgh

Question 9

What are two ways radio adapted to the introduction of television into society?

Answer 9

1. it became a local medium–>covered local news with local sponsors
2. Became music centered–>developed close ties with the recording industry and was the first instance of convergence

Question 10

What was the 1996 Telecommunications Act?

Answer 10

the first major change to media regulation since 1934
-yet minor changes had occurred
-Landmark changes with massive effects

Question 11

What were the 2 results of the 1996 Telecommunications Act?

Answer 11

1. there was deregulation of the industry as a whole
2. media companies were now allowed to act in their own self-interest

Question 12

What is deregulation?

Answer 12

fewer rules, less government oversight, Laissez Faire approach

Question 13

What were the 2 main effects of deregulation?

Answer 13

1. Allowed for cross-medium ownership–>1 company allowed significant holding in diverse media across T.V., Radio and newspapers, in the same market and internationally
2. Increased ownership limits

Question 14

How many stations(in a market) could a radio company own in 1996?

Answer 14

8 per market

Question 15

What 3 effects have consolidation of ownership of radio had for local radio?

Answer 15

1. radio is no longer a truly local medium
2. greater self censorship from corporate of local talent and playlists
3. greater ability to explicitly censor local playlists because of an artist and their views

Question 16

What was the Clear Channel Memo and what did it illustrate?

Answer 16

it was when Clear Channel sent out a guide for its channels post 9/11 because they were worried some songs may evoke negative emotions, so they banned/discouraged over 158 songs
-it illustrated self-censorship from corporate, and marked the beginning of songs being selected at a national HQ for stations

Question 17

What was it and what does the Minot, North Dakota example demonstrate?

Answer 17

it was when the power was out due to an incident, so people turned to handheld radios and car radio to seek updates of the incident, but instead, local channels were not broadcasting local news, and were broadcasting other things from Clear Channel
–showed that radio is no longer a local medium

Question 18

What does the Dixie Chicks example demonstrate?

Answer 18

demonstrated one of the first times of censorship of explicit artists/playlists over local stations

Question 19

What kinds of things did people listen to on the radio in the 1920’s?

Answer 19

the world series, an address by the president, “War of the World”

Question 20

How did the internet impact radio?

Answer 20

created diversity, especially in terms of music, that consumers could now hear–>more personalized for the listener

Question 21

What are the 3 forms for music listening?

Answer 21

1. radio
2. owning the music(ex. walkman, Ipod)
3. subscription services(ex. Pandora One)/music you rent