29 Matching Annotations
  1. Apr 2025
    1. ‘You are about to become the first woman ever to sing for people and continents invisible.’

      I really like this quote because it resonates so much in today's world. Everyday people post with social media to people who watch their videos all over the world who are absolute strangers. This also goes for radio and tv who has been broadcasting content decades before social media.

    1. Oprah frequently states that discrimination is the result of fear, ignorance, and misunderstanding.11 Links to an external site. In this sense, discrimination is effectively defined as an irrational process that can be remedied by supplying information that shows the “majority” (or the powerful) that the “Other” group is nothing to be feared, is really just like “us.”

      I think discrimination are pulled form two things. One is the fear of the other person, not knowing what they are so they build this wall of hatred to keep a distance. The second part is handing the hate down from generations, now the hate is taught, with no real reasoning behind it.

    2. Liberalism is often invoked through the notion of “tolerance.” Websters Dictionary offers two definitions of tolerance (“endurance” and “toleration”) and several of “toleration” (including: “allowance of that which is not wholly approved”; “recognition of the right of private judgement in religious opinions and modes of worship, differing from those of the established church”; and “freedom from bigotry”).

      I'm not that into politics but Liberalism to my knowledge is all about inclusivity. This consist of race, gender, immigration status, religion, and sexuality. Tolerance is the key term in this sentence, the liberals may tolerate someone, but do they truly like and accept them without judge or preconceived notions? To endure is to push through no matter how tough it can be, so is accepting people tough?

    3. The Oprah Winfrey Show is also of obvious interest for feminists for a number of reasons. Not only is she a powerful black woman but, perhaps more subversively, her show is often explicitly informed by a feminist sensibility that challenges the split between public and private, aims toward a kind of egalitarianism, and can be said to embody and generate a version of Black (liberal) feminism

      With Oprah being a Billionaire makes her a powerful mongol and someone for black girls to look up too. Oprah is a representation of an independent and successful black woman who has a progressive mindset, with many other woman strive to touch her success. This makes her an idol to some people but can also rubs other the wrong way depending on where they are from.

    4. A number of commentators (e.g., Bordo 1993 Links to an external site., Munson 1992 Links to an external site., Rapping 1995 Links to an external site.) have argued the importance of the chat show in particular, as a genre that epitomises this process in its negotiation of contradictory currents of populism and paternalism, “socially responsible” education and salacious spectacle, participation and orchestration in its seeming claim to be speech by, to and for The People.

      What I get form this is networks and people wanted to make Oprah responsible for controlling people socially. This is stupid in my opinion, a viewer should not be inclined to copy everything they see on television. If a child is watching, a parent/guardian should be able to control what they see.

    5. There are, of course, many imagined “Americas.” The Oprah Winfrey Show provides an important site for the negotiation of different versions of American experience as well as “America” as cultural icon. Here we see, at one and the same time: a fetishistic spectacle of American weirdness, that willingness to “let it all hang out”; a flash of American Dreaming, of rags to riches, of self-transformation, of 15 minutes of fame; an encapsulated moment of “American democracy” in which it appears that “we, the people” have an equal voice with the great and the good, the potential to shape and change “ourselves” and “our” society, to make a better America, a happier life, and even a world safe for democracy. The key narrative frame of all of these constructions/readings is that of the American Dream. However, even as the Oprah Winfrey Show provides a window on competing “Americas,” so too does it mediate a multiplicity of Dreams, often in contradictory ways.

      Oprah show was ground breaking television, and it was a cornerstone of how morning network television is used today and even while the show was running. Giving out gifts, having guest with real world problems, and having controversial conversations made Oprah's show so dynamic.

    1. During the 1990s, one of the most prominent programming strategies used to keep viewers tuned to broadcast networks was the casting of lesbian and gay characters in prime‐time shows.

      This is key, because people know a days are sick and tired of the over "wokeness" and "pandering" of hiring token gay or token racial characters just to get a couple extra dollars. Disney is going through this now with a couple of projects tanking because of them going overly woke. Back in the 90s I feel as though it was more genuine on the representation side.

    2. It combined ABC, the most profitable television network, and its enormously popular ESPN cable service

      ESPN was a huge pick up for Disney as ESPN being the largest sports media brand in the world for the most part. Some people are not happy about this pick-up especially with ESPN being more political and do not have the same popularity and content as they did decades ago. Even though Disney owns ESPN, they are starting to push the envelope more with the signing of Pat McAfee.

    3. Full House (1987–95) and Cult TV‐in‐the‐making with David Lynch’s Twin Peaks (1990–91). NBC was riding high, relatively speaking, due to the ongoing gifts of solid comedy and dramatic programming and its “Must See TV” line‐up in the late 1980s with The Cosby Show (1984–92), Cheers (1982–93) and LA Law (1986–94) and coasted through the latter part of the 1990s with Friends (1994–2004), Seinfeld (1989–98) and ER (1994–2009).

      Shows like these made the networks popular outside of News casting, these shows kept people tuned in form 5pm - 10pm at night when they get off work. With the viewership comes advertisement, and this makes the networks a bunch of money.

    4. Undoubtedly, these changes impacted the Big Three (NBC, CBS, and ABC) in terms of branding, broadcasting, and programming,

      These are the big three with ABC being owned by Disney, NBC owned by Comcast, and CBS owned by Paramount. I honestly feel like these three companies control about 90% of mainstream media especially in the United States. Not just news but also tv shows and pop culture.

    5. the top firms were AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann, News Corp., Sony, Viacom, Vivendi Universal, and Disney).

      It is nice to see what dominated television back in the 80s and 90s, also it is cool to see how long some of these companies were able to stand the test of time. Disney now owns most of television and is one of the most dominant media entities of all time. Personally I think in todays world companies like CNN and FOX are huge in politics. But now Netflix and other streaming services like HBO and Paramount control the market when it comes to media in television.

    1. The Screen Writers Guild was in the business of representing writers in negotiations and disputes against management.

      I remember the screen strike and that would put a hold on some of my favorite shows. I'm happy that the writers was able to be awarded what they felt like they deserved. After the strike was over television was back to being good.

    2. This skill was unnecessary for film writers, as aside from serial shorts or the occasional film series, film writers need only be concerned with consistency of narrative within a single 75–160 minute window.

      TV and Movies are very different. As a tv show can keep people engaged for weeks to months a movie only has about an hour and a half or two to make their mark. Movies can be incredibly hard to make when it comes to narrative and resignation with the audience.

    3. The crew that assembled was new to television—but each of them arrived with years of experience working in other media. Every one of these craftspeople brought with them knowledge and experience in entertainment, but arguably it was the mix of knowledge that led to the genius of the production.

      Having a team who is well versed in multiple different media spaces made the show even better and more resounding. Pulling people for crew that is in different media spaces are able to put together what an audience may want all into one space. The knowledge in the room made "I Love Lucy" a transcendent show.

    4. I Love Lucy was not just a hit, but also a TV milestone. Lucy was a major force for ushering in certain changes that would ultimately define American commercial television.

      "I Love Lucy" was able to break incredible barriers that we now see today. First the show used a Cuban male Desi Arnez as a cast member which led for different cultural shows in the future. Lucy also being pregnant on the show, broke walls of suggestiveness, but it was optimal for a woman to show what her life is like while pregnant.

    5. 1. Lucy and Ricky’s position as the first interracial couple on television

      Interracial couples was very taboo during this time, whether it would be racism or just the culture. With "I Love Lucy" showing what love can be like in different cultures help soften the strictness on how people felt about interracial relationships in the future especially in today's world.

  2. Mar 2025
    1. NBC adhered to a list of 80 terms that were considered “no-nos” for acceptable advertising lingo. Among them: stomach, pregnancy, blood, phlegm, hawk, infection, retch.

      1930s was a very different world, and a lot more "upstanding" and stricter so words like these are not allowed on air and radio. Nowadays the word limit is more loose as in people can say what they want depending on the platform they are own especially the radio. From the 1930s to 2020s times have definity changed.

    2. While a New York City outlet—which will be explored in depth momentarily—is usually hyped for providing the earliest paid radio commercial, there is evidence that such a momentous occurrence was preceded by yet other marketers on the ether.

      New York City has mastered the art of marketing. It plays the role of big city so well and the way it is able to promote from tourism in todays world. Time Square is like the marketing hub of the United States where the bright lights automatically attracts attention. With radio in New York City very much prevalent on the air ways.

    3. doubled within five years, topping $1,409,000,000 by 1919. It more than doubled again by 1929, realizing $2,987,000,000 in revenues.1 Advertising had proven its validity as a viable, constructive commercial trade.

      Advertisement doubled in within 5 years in 1919 than again in 1929, people sees what advertisement can do at that moment in time. In the later decades the value went up with the rise of television and commercials. In todays world advertisement value in the U.S is at 363 Billion in 2023 and slated to be 455.93 billion in 2025. This can because of the rise of social media and podcast where the regular person can advertise businesses to their audience.

    4. In 1914, the annual volume of U.S. advertising reached $682 million.

      I think this is a good volume amount during this time especially with advertisement being mainly radio and print. Advertisement could be used to promote local stores and businesses at the time. People could also advertise different events at that moment in time.

    5. By the twenties, consumer spending—fueled partially by increased availability of individual credit—paced a by and large prosperous economy as middle class purchasers sought automobiles, radios, household appliances and channeled their funds into leisure-time activities.

      In the twenties radio was really a huge time for radio and communication. The economy in the twenties allowed people to buy a bunch of things such as cars, radios, and household needs all at once. With the economy now it would be a little bit harder to buy all of these things at once.

    1. that radio might become either a dangerous competitor or a profitable subsidiary;

      This can be taken in many different ways, because radio can flush out print. At the same time if the pressman was able to adapt their business can expand due to radio. Being able to adapt at that time could of set many companies up for major success.

    2. A large part of the first British ‘listening audience’ consisted, therefore, of sailors miles away from their homes.

      In today's time this would equate to truckers, or people who making commutes to work or things similar. The people who are far away from home look be entertained while their working or driving. It makes the day easier and the day goes faster.

    3. It caught people's imagination.

      That's what radio is. The audio has to be entertaining and catch the viewer's imagination in order for it to be successful. Having radio success is hard because it's just your voice.

    4. The goods and the advertisements were being specially prepared for ‘the ordinary man’, as he was beginning to be called.

      Advertisements are all about the ordinary person. This is who they sell too, the average people. Whether its selling them a dream, making them feel better about themselves, or trying to relate to them. Companies make the most money buy catching the eye of the average person.

    5. national importance, concerts, lectures, and baseball scores.

      This sets the tone for now entertainment radio. Talk shows, such as the Steve Harvey Morning Show. Sports talk shows. Also, listening to commentators during live sports events. Lastly attaining real time news such as the weather and traffic.

  3. Jan 2025
    1. History also provides a terrain for moral contemplation. Studying the stories of individuals and situations in the past allows a student of history to test his or her own moral sense, to hone it against some of the real complexities individuals have faced in difficult settings. People who have weathered adversity not just in some work of fiction, but in real, historical circumstances can provide inspiration.

      I really like these sentences. Learning from other people and civilizations' set backs and triumphs can help you understand life and grow even more as a person.

    2. This, fundamentally, is why we cannot stay away from history: it offers the only extensive evidential base for the contemplation and analysis of how societies function, and people need to have some sense of how societies function simply to run their own lives.

      History does tell us how society functions, how other rulers made their governments and how past civilizations thrived and/or fallen. We all learn these things form history.

    3. For instance, one of the reasons history holds its place in current education is because earlier leaders believed that a knowledge of certain historical facts helped distinguish the educated from the uneducated

      I like this sentence. I've always heard the quote "People who don't learn history are bound to repeat it." History is full of learning from other people and times because as humans we usually have the same habits and make the same mistakes as others.