Industries and Institutions Instrumental in Radio Content

While the development of radio was heavily influenced by technological change, government intervention, and audience demand, the largest force in the shaping of radio was industries and institutions; industries were the major financers of radio, then and now, thus they had the most say in the content on the radio. 

Industries and institutions influenced radio through the advertising-based model of radio. Using this new technology, they realized they could make advertisers invest in some air time to give their products exposure in exchange for the advertisers’ money.  Since the advertisers had the money, the development of integrated advertising also took a part in shaping radio. The majority of the entertainment on the radio was heavily sponsored by advertisers.  For example, game shows were usually sponsored by advertisers, such as Tums (as seen in our text) or Sunbeam (as seen in the picture below).  The influence of advertising and the actions of large networks such as AT&T in the ‘20s and Clear Channel are very vital in shaping the content on radio since they have the money, which is essentially synonymous with power.

Starting in 1922, AT&T began shaping the radio with their own vision, which was entertainment supported by advertising – something that is all too familiar nowadays.  The AT&T station soon broadcasted their first commercial that advertisers responded to immediately.  This rise of network radio led to a large impact on culture. Advertising on radios began to shape American culture by glamorizing consumerism and the need for excess, hence our current culture. This culture is defined by items rather than ideas. People started to identify with others through what they consumed rather than what they thought. In addition to this (on a more positive note…) it allowed people in the United States to have more insight in how Americans in different regions lived, and it increased the experience of being more of a nation.   In Radio Days, this was very apparent – more people began to listen to music which they probably would not have heard before radio (such as Aunt Bea listening to a variety of popular music as she tended to her garden), industries began to have national exposure which allowed them to sponsor certain radio shows and programs that advertised their products (this is apparent in Joe’s want of the Masked Avenger toy), and Joe’s mother’s infatuation with rich celebrities, who advertised the ‘good life’.

Nowadays, radio is still running on this same advertising-based model, although it is more focused on music rather than shows or other entertainment.  Advertising is now also integrated into this music, thus the popular music that is played (and over-played) on the radio is further perpetuating the culture of excess through its songs by hip-hop artists rapping about the good life (compare this to the glamorous older white couple talking about their luxurious lifestyle), and popularizing political and cultural ideas through outspoken talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern (who are also most likely being paid through sponsors as well) .  All in all, industries and institutions have the greatest power in the content of the radio since they have the money to do so.  

the lifetime movie network is on its way in making women paranoid schizophrenics

Cultivation theory basically argues that exposure to mass media fosters a view of the world that corresponds with the mediated “reality.” Many people who watch heavy doses of sensationalized local news (usually people who are inside most of the day) are more likely to be more frightened than others since they believe that these things on the television are consistent depictions of the real world, and when just a few real life incidents confirm what they have seen on television, they believe it is true.  What is “normal” in the real world is also distorted – based on typical local news, it is more “normal” for an African American to be the perpetrator of a crime, it is more “normal” for a teenager to shoplift, it is more “normal” for a woman to be victimized, and it is “normal” for such incidents to happen so frequently.

The epitome of a Lifetime Movie Network movie.

In my experience, the best way to explain cultivation theory is through the dramatized women’s television network, Lifetime.  I always found it ironic that this network was named this since the incidents are occur in every movie they show happen to few to no people in the world and are definitely not things that occur in an ordinary lifetime.  In a typical Lifetime movie, an above-average looking woman is always the protagonist, one who either gets raped, is lured into an unhappy, abusive marriage, is being stalked, has a torrid affair, witnesses a murder or commits a murder, or all of the above (including the occasional haunting).  According to a TIME magazine article (click here) , in the early 2000s about 1.9 million households watched this network and in 2001 it was the number one cable-network based on ratings: this means over 2 million women were exposed to at least one of these unrealistic movies in a year.  The network even attempts to make the viewer think that these incidents happen regularly in real life by creating “True-Movie Thursday,” in which they air movies which are based on actual stories, such as the Natalee Holloway case.  These movies create paranoia in the viewers, typically female audiences above 20, altering their perceptions on who to trust and instilling a sense of misandry (since men are usually the antagonists in these films).

For example, in this Lifetime Original movie above, “The Tenth Circle,” a girl gets raped by her ex-boyfriend, there are fatal twists and turns in the plot, and an extreme range of emotions (almost to the point of parody). Such movies induce a sense of mistrust of people one considers close and ultimately paranoia. In many cases, people accept what these mass-mediated movies tell them as if they were actual first-hand accounts.  The constant tragedies which occur in these films make it seem as if it is a certain reality that a girl, without doubt, will get raped if she takes a walk alone outside or that a woman will be murdered if she trusts a man without an extreme amount of caution. These irrational fears are played with by the network and increase the more and more one watches such things.  

raymond, raymond, raymond

Hegemony is the dominant group enforcing its ideas on what is normal and what is right. The best example of hegemony I can think of is a television program that "everybody loves."  In fact, even I enjoy this show despite the fact that I believe it perpetuates stereotypes and reinforces gender roles.  In the award-winning television show Everybody Loves Raymond, the protagonist of the story is a middle-aged, middle-class male with a nagging housewife and children in the middle of suburbia (Sounds like 80% of sitcoms, right?) However, the twist is that his intrusive mother and crude father live across the street from them. While the show is known for its quirky characters, it still maintains the essence of normalcy.

Ray, in the center, being charmingly stupid.

What does it mean to be normal in the United States? In the show’s case, normalcy is the husband is the “man of the house” meaning he is the breadwinner and obviously the most important aspect of the show, hence the name.  Furthermore, Raymond is meant to be the funniest of all the characters. While the others, namely Debra, are funny themselves, they are usually being laughed at rather than laughed with.  Raymond is also a sports writer – the “ideal” job of all heterosexual men since of course, all men are infatuated with sports; and by ‘sports,’ it is basically common-sense that it means male-dominated sports. 

Debra is the ideal wife in the situation, besides the fact that she speaks her mind (which the men often joke it would be better if wives did not ‘talk so much’).  She is the cook, the maid, the one who takes care of the children – essentially, the complete package when it comes to being a housewife.  It is mentioned in the show that Debra had earned a business degree, yet she stays at home and “supports her husband” just like a good wife should do. Rather than following her own dreams, she remains in the background behind her husband in an apron (just as the picture above portrays).  Most often she is in the kitchen cooking, being constantly criticized by her mother-in-law (also a housewife) for being a bad cook, or in the bedroom being the gatekeeper for marital activities.  While Marie, the mother-in-law, and Debra are both strong female characters, their strength is often used in order to manipulate or prove a point to the males in the family.

In this clip below, the family berates Robert, the 40+ year old single brother of Raymond.

The question of why Robert needs to find a woman at all is not ever asked.  It is just “common sense” that Robert needs to settle down, have a wife and 2.5 children - just as Ray has.  If he doesn’t, he will “die alone” despite the fact that he has a close family.  In this clip, Marie inquires whether Robert is a homosexual (which subsequently gets a lot of laughs since homosexuality is looked down upon in our culture).  Thus the assumption is that if you are single and older, it must mean you are too afraid to admit that you’re gay. 

All in all, the show reflects how Americans think in terms of the American dream, how each gender behaves or should behave, and portraying what is “normal” in our culture. Does it create these stereotypes? In my opinion, it doesn't; it just reinforces what our society and culture believe is right. However, you can argue that teaching a group of people is done through redundancy, and that is exactly what the show does - it can be said that such shows essentially teach us how to be normal.