Reaction to Chapter Four
I thought that it was very interesting to read about all of the problems and deaths that could have been prevented if radio messages were sent. The opening story about the spilling of the anhydrous ammonia in Minot, ND sparked my interest. A man died by simply walking outside and breathing in the air. I was surprised to find out how powerful the radio monopolies are, and how unthoughtful those monopolies can be. I can't believe that thousands of people were treated and many hospitalized because the local police were not able to get in touch with any of six radio stations. Similarly, I am glad that wireless reports were able to get through to help pinpoint the Titanic's location after it sank, even though I think that it was a failed message that caused the ship to hit the ice berg in the first place. It amazed me that the radio was invented by a twenty-year old. I learned about Marconi in history; however, I had no idea that he was self-educated and used Hertz's and Morse's past inventions to create the radio. Italy must be very sad that they would not patent Marconi's invention.I enjoyed reading about the start of the National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to use the radio and television as educational tools. I remember growing up and loving the shows on PBS. In fact, I am proud to say that I still watch Arthur on PBS at my older age. =)
Vocabulary :
1. telegraph: invented in the 1840s, it sent electrical impulses through a cable from a transmitter to a reception point, transmitting Morse code
2. Morse code: a system of sending electrical impulses from a transmitter through a cable to a reception point; developed by the American inventor Samuel Morse
3. electromagnetic waves: invisible electronic impulses similar to visible light; electricity, magnetism, light, broadcast signals, and heat are part of such waves, which radiate in space at the speed of light
4. radio waves: a portion of the electromagnetic wave spectrum that was harnessed so that signals could be sent from a transmission point and obtained at a reception point
5. wireless telegraphy: the forerunner of radio, a form of voiceless point-to-point communication; it preceded the voice and sound transmissions of one-to-many mass communication that became known as broadcasting
6. wireless telephony: early experiments in wireless voice and music transmissions, which later developed into modern radio
7. broadcasting: the transmission of radio waves or TB signals to a broad public audience
8. narrowcasting: any specialized electronic programming or media channel aimed at a target audience
9. Radio Act of 1912: the first radio legislation passed by Congress, it addressed the problem of amateur radio operators increasingly cramming the airwaves
10. Radio Corporation of America (RCA): a company developed during WWI that was designed, with government approval, to pool radio patents; the formation of the RCA gave the US almost total control over the emerging mass medium of broadcasting
11. network: a broadcast proves that links, through special phone lines or satellite transmissions, groups of radio or TV stations that share programming produced at a central location
12. option time: now considered illegal, a procedure whereby a radio network paid an affiliate station a set fee per hour for an option to control programming and advertising on that station
13. Radio Act of 1927: the second radio legislation passed by Congress; in an attempt to restore order to the airwaves, it stated that licensees did not own their channels but could license them as long as they operated in order to serve the "public interest, convenience, or necessity"
14. Federal Communications Act of 1934: the far-reaching act that established the FCC and the federal regulatory structure for US broadcasting
15. Federal Radio Commission (FRC): established in 1927 to oversee radio licenses and negotiate channel problems
16. Federal Communications Commission (FCC): an independent US government agency charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable
17: transistors: invented by Bell Laboratories in 1947, this tiny technology, which receives and amplifies radio signals, made portable radios possible
18: FM: frequency modulation; a type of radio and sound transmission that offers a static-less reception and greater fidelity and clarity than AM radio by accentuating the pitch or distance between radio waves
19. AM: amplitude modulation; a type of radio and sound transmission that stresses the column or height of radio waves
20: format radio: the concept of radio stations developing and playing specific styles (or formats) geared to listeners' age, race, or gender; in format radio, management rather than deejays, controls programming choices
21. rotation: in format radio programming, the practice of playing the most popular or best-selling songs many times throughout the day
22. payola: the unethical (but not always illegal) practice of record promoters paying deejays or radio programmers to favor particular songs over others
23. pay-for-pay: up-front payments from record companies to radio stations to play a song a specific number of times
24. drive time: in radio programming, the periods between 6 ad 10 A.M and 4 and 7 P.M., when people are commuting to and from work or school; these periods constitute the largest listening audiences of the day
25. news/talk format: the fastest-growing radio format in the 1990s
26. adult contemporary (AC): one of the oldest and most popular radio music formats, typically featuring a mix of news, talk, oldies, and soft rock
27. contemporary hit radio (CHR): originally called Top 40 radio, this radio format encompasses everything from hip-hop to children's songs; it remained the most popular format in radio for people age eighteen to twenty-four
28. country: claiming the largest number of radio stations in the US, this radio format includes such subdivisions as old-time, progressive, country-rock, western swing, and country-gospel
29. urban: one of radio's more popular formats, primarily targeting African American listeners in urban areas with dance, R&B, and hip-hop music
30. album-oriented rock (AOR): the radio music format that features album cuts from mainstream rock bands
31. 1996 Telecommunications Act: the sweeping update of telecommunications law that led to a wave of media consolidation
32. National Public Radio (NPR): noncommercial radio established in 1967 by the US Congress to provide an alternative to commercial radio
33. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS): the noncommercial television network established in 1967 as an alternative to commercial television
34. Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: the act by the US Congress that established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio
35. Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB): a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 to funnel federal funds to nonprofit radio and public television
36. Pacifica Foundation: a radio broadcasting foundation established in Berkeley, CA, by journalist and WWII pacifist Lewis Hill; he established KPFA, the first nonprofit community radio station in 1949
37. low power FM (LPFM): a new class of noncommercial radio stations approved by the FCC in 2000 to give voice to local groups lacking access to public airwaves; the 10-watt and 100-watt stations broadcast to a small, community-based area
38. Internet radio: online radio stations that either "stream" simulcast versions of on-air radio broadcasts over the Web, or are created exclusively for the Internet
39. satellite radio: pay radio services that deliver various radio formats nationally via satellite
posted by maggie @ 8:50 PM
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