War of the Worlds Flashcards
Industries Audiences
Who wrote WOTW?
H.G Welles
How was WOTW a hybrid radio form?
used news and documentary conventions to tell a story
What was its historical significance?
earliest documented example of mass media having a direct effect on an audience’s behaviour
1930s and 1940s
‘golden age’ of radio
it was the only form of domestic media
Who broadcast WOTW
Columbia Broadcasting Company
still in existence today
Relation to newspapers?
direct competition (previously newspapers were the only form of receiving news)
Who regulated WOTW
Federal Communications Commission
Link to Cultivation Theory (Gerbner)
mean world syndrome
audience became scared as they believed the invasion was real
Hall Reception Theory
Hegemonic reader
entertaining and understood the piece was fictional
Hall Reception Theory
Negotiated reader
it was entertaining, and fictional, but disclaimer at the beginning wasn’t clear
Hall Reception Theory
Oppositional reader
disgusting trick, playing on fears, manipulation
Why were people concerned?
radio had too much power to cause distress
Why was there a fear of invasion?
already a threat of WW2, which came true in 1939
Broadcast date
1938
Newspapers affect on panic
potentially exaggerated reaction to demonise radio (competition)- it was difficult to assess impact
