
21L.015
INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA STUDIES
- 20 February 1997
-
- PAPER 2: SUGGESTED TOPICS
Due in section Thursday 27 February
- Discuss the radio recordings heard at last week's lab session in relation
to one of the sets of questions about the recordings listed on the page for the lab.
- Write a report on the current state of either AM or FM waveband radio
in the Boston area. Produce a list of the stations currently available,
briefly identifying the station name and type of programming. Then discuss
what you've found in relation to some of the following questions: national
vs. local broadcasting; station/program audience(s); college radio stations
and differences between them; forms of advertising and sponsorship; minority,
foreign-language, or other non-American programmig; continuities with the
historical development of radio in the US (e.g. program formats, scheduling).
Are your overall conclusions positive or negative, and why?
- If you have a SW radio, do a scan on the SW radio band at a particular
time of day (morning/afternoon/evening/night--choose a time when you find
plenty of stations) and write a report on what you find. Try to identify
as many stations as you can, and produce a list of those you identify.
What kind of stations and programming are available? What aspects of these
stations/programs do you find most interesting/surprising/disturbing, and
why?
- If you're familiar with net-radio, discuss the current state of net-radio
in relation either to this week's readings (Covert, Boddy) or the lecture.
What possibilities for innovative radio programming are currently offered
by the web? Are web-broadcasters making the most of the medium's potential
for radio, or could more be done, and if so, what?
- Write an in-depth analysis of one particular radio show broadcast locally
in the Boston area which you listen to regularly, paying attention to some
of the following areas: range (local/national/global), scheduling (time-slot,
regularity, duration), format (music, phone-in, etc.), content, audience.
Why do you listen to this program? Why should we?
- If you're a DJ or amateur radio hobbyist, discuss your experience in
relation either to this week's readings (Covert, Boddy) or the lecture.
Martin Roberts
mroberts@mit.edu