ELECTRONIC MEDIA

SECOND EDITION

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 ELECTRONIC MEDIA
Then, Now, and Later
SECOND EDITION

Norman J. Medoff, Ph.D.

Professor, Northern Arizona University
Barbara K. Kaye, Ph.D.
Professor, University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
Assistant Director, Online Masters in Communication,
Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C.

Amsterdam • Boston • Heidelberg • London • New York • Oxford • Paris

San Diego • San Francisco • Singapore • Sydney • Tokyo

Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Medoff, Norman J.
Electronic media : then, now, and later / Norman Medoff.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-240-81256-4
1. Broadcasting—History. 2. Mass media—History. 3. Digital media—History.
4. Telecommunication—History I. Title.
HE8689.4.M44 2010
384—dc22 2010019109

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-0-240-81256-4

For information on all Focal Press publications

visit our website at www.elsevierdirect.com

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Printed in the United States of America

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 Contents

Preface vii Chapter 9 Business and Ownership 177

About the Web Site ix Norman J. Medoff and Gregory Pitts
Acknowledgments xi
Chapter 10 Operating, Producing, and
Chapter 1 Tuning in to Electronic Media 1 Distribution 193
Chapter 2 Radio 15 Chapter 11 The Feature Film and Videogame
Norman J. Medoff, Dale Hoskins, and Industries 215
Gregory D. Newton Ross Helford, Brant Guillory,
and Norman J. Medoff
Chapter 3 Television 37
Chapter 12 Regulation, Legal Issues, and
Chapter 4 Cable, Satellite, and Other Delivery Ethics 229
Systems 57
Chapter 13 Media Effects 251
Chapter 5 The Internet 73
Chapter 6 Programming 95 Chapter 14 Personal/Social Media:
The Future 269
Chapter 7 Advertising 129
References 283
Chapter 8 Audience Measurement 155 Index 297

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 Preface

Until about 15 years ago, teaching an introductory course The study of electronic media should address more than
on electronic media meant teaching the history, struc- just the delivery systems used to reach mass audiences.
ture, economics, content, and regulation of broadcasting. Personal electronic devices that deliver information and
Broadcasting and broadcasters were at the epicenter of all entertainment selected by individual consumers should
that was electronic media. In fact, the concept of a world be covered as well. Devices such as smartphones and the
of electronic media that didn’t revolve around broadcast- iPod Touch and the iPad—which are capable of surfing
ing and that wasn’t based on the traditional mass com- the Internet, recording and sending video images, playing
munication model seemed far away and abstract. music, and allowing interpersonal communication with
Much has changed in the past 15 years, however. Today, voice or text—have changed the modern lifestyle to the
students live in a nonlinear, digital world in which tradi- point that they must be included in any discussion of the
tional broadcasting plays a diminished role. For example, digital electronic media revolution. Digital video recorders
students no longer need to wait for over-the-air radio to such as TiVo have changed how audiences schedule their
hear new music or even their favorite tunes. The Internet television viewing time, making the television network
provides multiple streams of music, much of which concept of scheduled viewing somewhat anachronistic.
can be shared and downloaded for future playback on Online connections open the world to on the go, any-
computers or mobile devices. College classroom build- time entertainment.
ings and dorm rooms now provide broadband Internet, This book provides a link between the traditional world
which facilitates social and professional networking, and of broadcasting and the contemporary universe of digital
education, music, and movie file sharing. electronic media, which offers increasingly greater con-
Furthermore, entertainment and leisure activities have trol over listening, viewing, and electronic interaction. As
changed. Gone are the multicomponent stereo systems both emerging electronic media professionals and dis-
and small-screen television sets that have been popular criminating electronic media consumers, today’s students
since the 1960s. Instead, students are designing their must know about these changes and understand how
own entertainment and information systems by selecting they will affect the future of the industry and the enor-
from among a variety of compact, portable MP3 devices; mous cultural impact they continue to have upon society.
digital televisions; handheld devices; computers; and
smartphones. Students have become more adept at han- ORGANIZATION OF THE TEXT
dling, editing, and storing media content for their per-
sonal use. Finally, they’re also becoming online content With the knowledge that what comes next is based on
providers through social networks like Facebook and what came before, we would like to acknowledge Edward
Twitter. R. Murrow and his programs Hear It Now (1950–1951)
and See It Now (1951–1958) for suggesting the structure
So, given all these developments, does this mean that of this text. Each chapter of the book is organized chron-
the traditional electronic media are not worth discuss- ologically into these sections:
ing? Should teaching about electronic media begin with
the birth of the World Wide Web? Is the pre-digital world ● See It Then begins with the invention or inception of
irrelevant or obsolete? Obviously, we don’t think so. the topic (e.g., television) and traces its development
up to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and into
Electronic Media: Then, Now, and Later is rooted in the
the new millennium.
notion that studying the past not only facilitates under-
● See It Now discusses activities and developments from
standing the present, but also helps predict the future. Just
2000 to the present.
as we can show how broadcast television spawned the
● See It Later starts with the present and makes general
cable industry, we can trace how the cable industry led to
predictions about what will happen in the digital
the satellite industry and how both have led to a digital
world of tomorrow.
world—one in which convergence has blurred the lines
separating media functions and in which old-style broad- Underlying this organization is the idea that change in
casters have expanded, consolidated, and adapted to the electronic media rarely occurs without past events pro-
multiplatform system of contemporary electronic media. viding the opportunity or demand for change.

vii

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 viii P R E FA C E

Chapter 1 summarizes the history of electronic media, among the numbers of viewers, listeners, and users; the
introduces industry terms, and discusses current media popularity of programming; and the cost of advertising
trends. Chapters 2 through 5 give overviews of the vari- to reach desired consumers.
ous delivery systems: radio; television; cable, satellite,
and microwave; and the Internet, respectively. In these Chapters 9 and 10 investigate ownership and operation
chapters, topics include the history and characteristics of the various types of delivery systems. Chapter 11 looks
of each and its place in the world of electronic media— at two industries that have strong ties to electronic media
now and in the future. and its content: film and video games. Chapter 12 covers
regulation of the electronic media industry along with
Chapters 6 through 8 look behind the scenes of elec- the legal and ethical issues faced by its professionals.
tronic media. Chapter 6 considers how programming
is developed for the various delivery systems. We watch The last two chapters of the book consider electronic
television to see a program, we listen to the radio to hear media from a consumer standpoint. Much has been writ-
music, and we use the Internet to connect us to infor- ten in academic journals and the popular press about
mation. Clearly, content is essential to the existence of the social and cultural effects of mass media. Chapter 13
electronic media. Chapter 7 is about advertising. The condenses available research and presents several theo-
electronic media industry couldn’t survive if it provided retical perspectives, tying them to contemporary issues
its content for free, so it sells its viewers, listeners, and and concerns. Moving away from theory to application,
users to advertisers, who pay the content providers for Chapter 14 is a guide to consumer use of new electronic
the opportunity to advertise their goods and services to media devices. It discusses new technologies, how they
the media audience. Chapter 8 looks at audience mea- are used or will be used, and how they are changing peo-
surement and sales, considering the complex relationship ple’s lifestyles today and perhaps tomorrow.

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 About the Web Site

The companion web site for Electronic Media: Then, Now, For your initial visit to the site, you will need to register
and Later features additional information not found your access using the following pass code:
in the book. You will find chapter objectives and sum-
maries, flashcards, trivia questions, animations show-
BROADCASTING
ing how communication technologies work, useful web
links, and more. You will also be prompted to create your own user name
and password during the registration process; these will
The web site may be found here:
give you access to the web site for all subsequent visits,
http://booksite.focalpress.com/companion/medoff so please save this information in a safe place.

ix

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 Acknowledgments

First we would like to thank Michele Cronin (Associate Paul Helford, Larry Patrick, Greg Stene, Mickey Gardner,
Acquisitions Editor) and Elinor Actipis of Focal Press Esq., Matt McElfresh, Lea Parker, and Paul Helford.
for the tremendous amount of help and support they
Our special thanks to these people who contributed
gave us throughout this project. Laura Aberle, Associate
content: Greg Pitts, Ross Helford, Grant Guillory, Dale
Project Manager: thanks for putting it all together.
Hoskins, and Greg Newton.
We would like to thank those individuals who reviewed
Thanks for outstanding research assistance to Northern
an early draft of this book for Focal Press and provided
Arizona University students Ngoc Ho and Wade McMillin.
useful comments and suggestions:
Thanks for the special assistance we received for work
Manuscript reviews: John Cooper, Eastern Michigan
on the Instructor’s Manual and Test Bank: Andrew
University; Anandam Kavoori, University of Georgia; Janet
Utterback.
Ripberger, Pima Community College; Semaj Robinson,
Clark Atlanta University; Jesse Schroeder, Northwestern We also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Michael
Oklahoma State University. Adams and Carolyn Stewart at the MZTV Museum of
Television in Toronto. Thanks for the wonderful images.
Proposal reviews: Stephen Adams, Cameron University;
Becky Gainey, Ohio Northern University; Matt Jenkins,
Cameron University; Anthony J. Micheli, Gannon As always thanks to my wife, Lynn Medoff, for her
University; David Ostroff, University of Florida; Anthony patience with me while I paced around trying to find the
F. Piazza, New York Institute of Technology; Christopher best way of writing phrases without repeating myself.
R. Sweerus, Ramapo College of New Jersey/William Norman J. Medoff
Paterson University/Montclair State University; Janet
Ripberger, Pima Community College; Vern Wirka, Dana Lots of hugs and kisses to my husband, Jim McOmber,
College. for buying me a Starbucks “grande, skim, no water, no
foam, extra hot chai” whenever I needed a jolt to keep
A number of individuals were willing to provide per- me going on the book, and for not saying, “. . .but I
sonal information for the Career Tracks features. Our thought you weren’t going to write any more books.” To
thanks go to: Nicole Beyer, Ryan Kloberdanz, John Dille, my mom, Janina Kowalewski, thanks for your upbeat
Doug Drew, Jay Renfroe, Trey Fabacher, Reggie Murphy, phone calls of support and for always telling me, “you
Dan Hellie, Norm Pattiz, and John Montuori. can do it.” And thanks to my funny cat, Jackie Paper,
Thanks to the following people for their reviews, thought- who kept me laughing at her antics.
ful comments, and help: Alan Albarran, Patrick Parsons, Barbara K. Kaye

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