radio: war of the worlds

War of the Worlds: Blog tasks

1) What is the history and narrative behind War of the Worlds?

• War of the Worlds(WotW) was originally a novel written by H.G wells that was published in 1898
• The text was then adapted by the famous director Orson Wells in 1938
• The narrative of WotW is that of an extra-terrestrial invasion from mars to earth that left thousands devastated 

2) When was it first broadcast and what is the popular myth regarding the reaction from the audience?

• The first broadcast was 30th October 1938, and the popular myth was that thousands of New Yorkers fled their homes in panic as well as America  and many people ran into the streets to witness the  battle between humans and aliens 

3) How did the New York Times report the reaction the next day?

• The New York Times reported the reaction through the headline 'Radio Listeners in Panic' and throughout their article suggesting that the radio industry caused an immense amount of disruption and havoc

4) How did author Brad Schwartz describe the the broadcast and its reaction?

• Author Brad Schwartz described the reaction as not of a myth but “instead it was something decades ahead of its time" as well as suggesting its was "history’s first viral-media phenomenon.” 

5) Why did Orson Welles use hybrid genres and pastiche and what effect might it have had on the audience?

• due to the director saying that the concept of WotW was "boring" wells decided to adapt the novel into an exciting radio show that used radio conventions as a pastiche to create realism, the hybrid genre of news broadcasting and science fiction also created realism as Wells blurred the lines between the two genres.

6) How did world events in 1938 affect the way audiences interpreted the show?

• world events during 1938 affected the way audiences interpreted the show because of the threat of WW2 which thus meant the idea of "breaking news" was introduced and so audiences though that it was the Nazis finally invading America and war had broken out 

7) Which company broadcast War of the Worlds in 1938?

• CBS Radio network.

8) Why might the newspaper industry have deliberately exaggerated the response to the broadcast?

• the newspaper industry had deliberately exaggerated the response of the broadcast because of the fact that radio was a new media outlet which therefore print newspapers felt competition thus deliberately portraying radio as a dangerous outlet

9) Does War of the Worlds provide evidence to support the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory?

• the theory of the hypodermic needle model suggests that audiences minds are passive which then means the media "injects" information and content into audiences minds making us susceptible to anything the media put out.
•  WotW does act as evidence for this theory as audiences did very mcuh believe an actual alien invasion took place.

10) How might Gerbner's cultivation theory be applied to the broadcast?

• Gerbner's cultivation theory can be applied to WotW because 'breaking news' was a new idea and was getting used progressively more which meant that audiences were used to the breaking news concept.

11) Applying Hall's Reception Theory, what could be the preferred and oppositional readings of the original broadcast?

• preferred: audiences believe there is an actual alien invasion on earth
• oppositional: to realise it is a radio show and realise it is just fiction

12) Do media products still retain the ability to fool audiences as it is suggested War of the Worlds did in 1938? Has the digital media landscape changed this?

• The media still has the ability to trick audiences due to the digital age and social media 
• terms such as "fake news" have surfaced because of the media being able to fool audiences 

Analysis and opinion

1) Why do you think the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds has become such a significant moment in media history?

• WotW has been a significant moment in media history because of its worldwide impact and how it shows audiences reliability and dependency on the media 

2) War of the Worlds feels like a 1938 version of 'fake news'. But which is the greater example of fake news - Orson Welles's use of radio conventions to create realism or the newspapers exaggerating
 the audience reaction to discredit radio?

• i think that the newspapers exaggerating the audience reaction to discredit radio as they took it one step further by pushing the facts to the point where it sounded too fake 

3) Do you agree with the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory? If not, was there a point in history audiences were more susceptible to believing anything they saw or heard in the media?

• i agree ,to an extent,that the hypodermic needle model as it does support how audiences react to the media but only because of the fact that there were opinion leaders(two step flow)like professors who seemed reliable 

4) Has the digital media age made the Hypodermic Needle model more or less relevant? Why?

• yes as the idea of opinion leaders have taken power and people like social media influencers have more power than traditional media does as they are seen as 'normal yet influential people'

5) Do you agree with George Gerbner's Cultivation theory - that suggests exposure to the media has a gradual but significant effect on audience's views and beliefs? Give examples to support your argument.

• i do agree with gerbeners cultivation theory as media ,specially social media, more powerful than ever which means more people that spend time on social media and media in general have become more  susceptible   and as a result have changed beliefs and views 
• An example would be the “momo internet scare” 

6) Is Gerbner's Cultivation theory more or less valid today than it would have been in 1938? Why?

 I think cultivation theory is more valid today as majority of people use the media a lot more thus over time creating more and more people being easily susceptible to media stories videos photos that aren’t always true