The Importance of Broadcasting in American History

July 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold

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Broadcasting has played an important role in American history, helping to shape out entertainment experiences and knowledge of the world around us. From the radio to the Internet, it has been a vital part of shaping our society.

Broadcasting first played a truly important role during the era of World War II. People could now listen in their homes to news of battles along the front, hear politicians give speeches live and to listen to a variety of shows. It was a critical part of helping to keep the country’s morale high during hard times and keeping them informed. Radio at this time also began to broadcast play-by-play announcing of popular sporting events, such as baseball and football. Music was also a popular thing to listen to.

When television came onto the scene, broadcasting took on a whole new appearance. Now Americans are to black and white, then color broadcasts of news, sports and popular shows. Children’s programming became a new genre for the major broadcasting companies to take advantage of with shows such as Howdy Doody and The Lone Ranger.

Vietnam was one of the first conflicts to be broadcasted in detail on the news in color, bringing the horrors of war into American homes. In the present day broadcasting has fully embraced the world and technology of the Internet, with blogs, websites and more for people to explore. Broadcasting will continue to make its mark on American history as events and technology continue to change.

Filed Under: Entertainment, History, Radio Tagged With: , ,

Staying Connected With Your Family

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In this day and age, everybody has their own things to take care of. Nobody really has time to just sit around and hang out like they did in the old days. There are too many things to do and not enough hours in the day to accomplish as much as we all want to cram in there. Unfortunately, sometimes technology is the best we can do for togetherness.

While there might be psychological problems associated with being apart too much, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Being apart allows people to earn their livings and gain independent knowledge, which helps them move onward in the world. When a family spends a lot of time apart, it can be tough. But that doesn’t mean they have to be apart in every way. For instance, with a Blackberry smartphone a family can keep in touch no matter where they may all have run off to.

If you find that you and your family are spending more time working, eating and playing apart than you spend doing these things together, you need to bring your family together in any way you can. If that means playing games on the same team through your smartphones, that can be a great way to encourage your family to feel like a team. While talking in person is the best way to keep connected, talking on the phone and texting frequently is the next best thing. Never underestimate the power of technology to keep your family remembering your connection to one another.

Filed Under: History, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Researching Your Family Tree Online

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
An Antebellum era (pre-civil war) family Bible... 

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Genealogy is a term that refers to studying the lineage of a family. If you want to know more about your family’s history, the Internet can be a wonderful resource. One popular source of information for amateur and professional genealogists alike is Ancestry.com. The site is home to numerous resources. You can access U.S. Census Records dating back to 1790, as well as census records for England and Canada. Additional records available on the website include military, immigration, and birth and death records. Prospective users can try the site free for 14 days before subscribing.

Before you start a search for your family’s history online, it can be helpful to gather information by talking to your relatives. If you can compile a list of your parent’s parents and grandparents, you can plug those names in on a site like FamilySearch.org to see what online records are available. FamilySearch.org contains records for several countries, including the U.S., Europe and Australia.

If you know some general information about your grandparents and great-grandparents, that can be a great starting point when using online genealogy resources. For example, if your grandfather was a WWII veteran, you can go directly to the military records section on a site like Ancestry.com and see if there are photos available of him from his time in the military.

In the event that you want to learn more about genealogy, a great resource available on FamilySearch.org are the free online courses that show you how to start researching your family’s history in a variety of countries.

 

Filed Under: History, Internet Tagged With: , ,

History of Broadcast News and Media Outlets

February 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Michael Bunsen-FRS Radio

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History of Broadcast News and Media Outlets

One of the most interesting aspects of broadcast media is the diverse history that it has. No other form of communications and media outlet has as diverse background as broadcast news. Here’s a brief overview of the history of broadcast news.

Broadcast news and journalism started out in the earliest forms with the radio. Radio was a great way to get people the world news as it was happening. While many people assume that radio was originally designed for the local media outlet the first original broadcast news was focused on the radio covered world events or nationwide stories. Very rarely did the radio cover any type of local event. It wasn’t for a number of years to localized radio stations start to pop up all over the nation which allowed radio stations to broadcast local events and stories.

While the radio lasted for a number of decades it was quickly replaced with that of national TV news. Once the invention of television came out many people were to be able to view nationwide TV news broadcasts. Just like with the radio and the television started out with national news and stories and then move to a brief East Coast or West Coast news channel and eventually transform the local TV news that people are used to today.

Broadcast journalism and news media outlets have really expanded over the years. Today, people have dozens of ways to receive their news through broadcast media outlets. People are not only restricted to hearing about the national news but they have an option to get is internationally, nationally and local. People also have the option of choosing which form a broadcast media outlet they use. Broadcast media outlets are still available through radio, television and now to the invention of the latest form of broadcast media the Internet.

Filed Under: History, Radio Tagged With: , ,

The Benefit of Museums in Education

January 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Most low level classes take a barrage of field trips over the course of the school year to get children out of the class and allow them to experience what they are learning in real time. Whether it is a trip to the zoo to allow them the visually appealing opportunity to see the animals up close and personal they are learning about in class, or a trip to a factory to see how a specific item that they might use on a regular basis is created; field trips and real time exposure to lessons are pivotal in a child’s understanding. In terms of the less desirable subjects, such as mathematics or history, most children, short of a select view, are going to be bored out of their minds due to the less appealing and stimulating content in which they are being taught. However, one way to help solve this problem might be to incorporate a field trip.

Museums in particular are among one of the more widely visited places in the world of field trips. The reason for this is due to the fact that museums themselves are educational institutions. Clearly, places like the zoo are educational as well, but they focus more so on the entertainment aspect and flashy appeal. Museums on the other hand provide an educational outlet in which students can actually see the seemingly boring material they are reading about in their textbooks and realize it is something more. Whether they are studying pre-historic civilizations and visit a corresponding museum that allows them to see firsthand the unique tools that were used by these civilizations in their survival, or they are studying specific events in an dominating culture of the past and are able to get a guided tour around a museum that specializes in that area of history; museums are prized tools that can be utilized for ease of learning in the more difficult subjects.

Filed Under: General, History Tagged With: ,

What can you learn from broadcast communications history?

December 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The one constant in our society is that people want more and more access to communications with other people. As history has progressed, people have found new and innovative ways to connect with each other. In the 1800s, people still had to wait weeks for news to reach some remote areas in the United States because people had to wait for that information to leak slowly through newspapers. Eventually people developed the Pony Express as a way to have dedicated routes for passing along this information.

Both the car and the radio increased the ability of people to connect with others for communication purposes. The Museum of Broadcast Communications is a demonstration of this issue. The radio allowed people around the nation to listen in to shows to find out what was going on. Franklin Roosevelt’s weekly presidential address, the Fireside Chats, became a staple of life during the Great Depression as people listened to this broadcast to get information about the country’s recovery.

Cars also benefit society by allowing for faster transport of information. Newspapers could be sent by cars, rather than trains or horses, to help get them to cities faster. As soon as people had this ability to communicate more quickly, people in most towns and cities started weekly, or even daily, papers to give people more information.

Throughout most of the twentieth century, radio, and then television, gave people daily updates about news. The advent of the Internet, made widely available to the public in the mid 1990s, added a new layer to broadcast communications, however. Now people can get their information as quickly as something happens. It is possible to get alerts sent to one’s laptop or cell phone to find out about news as soon as it happens. As technology progresses, so does people’s insatiable desire for communications.

Filed Under: Communications, History Tagged With: , ,

Television is Quickly Becoming a Living Thing

December 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Television has been an ever present resource for news, entertainment and information for almost a century now and it is advancing in leaps and bounds each year. You can find a television in just about every home and most people use them every single day. You can even go in stores, bars and restaurants and find televisions used for sports, advertising and news. It’s amazing to think that your grandparents probably only saw a few televisions during their entire childhood.

It is almost impossible to imagine a life without television. People have taken for granted that they will always be there. When people are bored, often times they turn to television because of the many options that it offers. There are hundreds of channels available where you can watch movies, sitcoms, game shows, sports and concerts. Services like on demand give people the opportunity to watch basically anything they want, whenever they want. Now, that is convenience.

Another aspect of television that makes it so attraction to the masses is the high picture quality. With the introduction of high definition, the television market took off. You can watch broadcasts in crystal clear quality, sometimes making it look almost too real. Movies and TV shows are brought to life with vibrant colors and smooth movements, keeping viewers glued to their sets for hours on end. Recently, 3D televisions have come out and further raised the bar for a quality television watching experience.

Television has taken the world by storm, giving people a real life experience right from their own homes. Looking back on television from only a short time ago, anyone can see that they have advanced in giant steps each year. Picture quality and sheer volume of programs to watch have been a key factor is the success of television. Can you imagine what kind of world we would live in without the invention and evolution of television?

Filed Under: Communications, History, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

NPR Gives the Public a Voice

December 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
2010 11 13 - 0507 - Washington DC - NPR
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In an age when everything seems to be commercialized through advertising and marketing, there are few radio stations that have stuck to an independent public-oriented structure. NPR, formerly National Public Radio, has thrived as a non-profit media outlet that champions free speech and free-form radio. They are not affiliated with any religious or political sect, but rather try to appeal to a wide variety of listeners.

The media organization has had its ups and downs since it began in the early 1970′s but has weathered the storm to the tune of millions of listeners daily. Many different types of programs are available to be broadcast on the various stations across the United States of America. They offer news from around the world and commentaries from people in all different walks of life. As a radio station, they strive to inform, as well as entertain, as many listeners as possible.

The company has had its share of accusations of leaning too far to one side or the other on certain issues, but they have persevered through it all. To their credit, you can always expect hard news and information from educated individuals during their programming. Adversity has shown how willing this media outlet is to stick with their guns and not be swayed by political or commercial pressures.

It is sometimes difficult during this era we live in to believe everything you hear, but NPR has a way of presenting information in a very respectful manner. They also have a highly relatable quality, offering callers many opportunities to voice their opinions and debate whatever issues they are discussing. Having a media outlet that is willing to interact with the public is always a refreshing experience. NPR is a company that stands for what the United States was founded upon, free speech and giving people a platform to voice what they believe.

Filed Under: Communications, History Tagged With: , ,

Great Love Stories of History

November 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

History has always been stranger and more fascinating than fiction and that is nowhere more true than one of the most enduring is the love story of all time — Marc Anthony of Rome and Queen Cleopatra of Egypt.  Prior to meeting Marc Anthony Cleopatra was the lover of Julius Cesar. After his death 44 B.C. she tried to regain her illegitimate son’s rightful place in Rome by forming an alliance with Marc Anthony to defeat Gaius Octavius.

In 41 B.C. the two met to form a military alliance against Octavian.  The meeting would be recounted in countless books and films for over 2000 years. Contrary to popular belief Cleopatra was thought to be quite plain but was known for her wit, charm, charisma and intelligence.  But many say it was her ambition that actually drew Marc Anthony to her.  After the fateful meeting he followed her to Egypt to plan their attack on Octavius. To add insult to injury Marc Anthony was married to Octavius’s sister Octavia.
The Battle of Actium in 31 B.C. was the culmination of the turmoil surrounding the succession.  At Actium Octavius’s navy defeated the naval fleet of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra. The pair made it out of the battle alive and returned to Egypt only to find that because Octavius wanted to total control over the Roman Empire he invaded Egypt and forced Marc Anthony and Cleopatra to surrender to him.

During the ending turmoil of the war Marc Anthony was told that Cleopatra committed suicide. Although the report turned out to be false but not before Marc Anthony tried to kill himself with a dagger into his abdomen. Since he remained alive his men took him to where Cleopatra was hiding where he finally died. After that Cleopatra was found and taken prisoner. It is said she had a poisonous snake smuggled in to her by a servant so she could die to be with the great love of her life Marc Anthony.

Filed Under: History

Communications and its Impact on Society

September 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Gadu-gadu client / instant messaging software
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Historically the way a society communicates has been a gauge of how advanced they were. In today’s society there is an unceasing need for information that fuels and ever-changing world of technology- especially as it applies to communication. There are three major areas that have been dramatically impacted by the new wave of modes of communications- news outlets, personal communications, and the legal arena.

News Outlets

Long gone are the days when news took days to reach the general public. In fact with the hyper speed of communication that takes place on social medial outlets. There have been plenty of instances where news channels picked up their breaking stories from social media sites. Newspapers too have had to morph. Long were they the magnates of disseminating information, a number of them are struggling to survive and all of them offer digital versions of their publications.

Personal Communications

Members of society have steadily been able to draw closer. Communication with family and friends is now instantaneous. Staying in close contact with past friends and acquaintances is now a matter of a quick name search. Cell phones, digital cameras, email, and instant messaging make it possible to communicated with anyone, anywhere. Even the job market has changed; people can now work for companies all over the world from the comfort of their own home.

Legal Arena

Criminals and those that engage in criminal enterprises have also felt the impact that communication has on society. Law enforcement agencies can quickly transmit information to each other to assist in the capture and detainment of criminals. Criminal records and histories are easily searchable and social networking sites are being used to successfully apprehend an ever-growing number of criminals.

Communication has brought us closer as a society, changed our marketplace, and even increased our efficiency in bringing individuals to justice.

Filed Under: Communications, History Tagged With: , , , ,
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