upgrade
Fiveable

📲Media Literacy Unit 2 Review

QR code for Media Literacy practice questions

2.3 Electronic Media: Radio and Television

📲Media Literacy
Unit 2 Review

2.3 Electronic Media: Radio and Television

Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
📲Media Literacy
Unit & Topic Study Guides
2.1 Early Forms of Media and Communication
2.2 The Printing Press and Mass Communication
2.3 Electronic Media: Radio and Television
2.4 Digital Revolution and New Media

Electronic media revolutionized communication and entertainment. Radio pioneered mass broadcasting, with iconic shows and live news shaping culture. Television followed, bringing visual storytelling into homes and influencing fashion, language, and social norms.

These media had profound societal impacts. They shaped public opinion, reinforced stereotypes, and influenced consumer behavior. Their power to set agendas, frame issues, and cultivate worldviews continues to shape our perceptions of reality today.

Development and Impact of Electronic Media

Development of radio technology

  • Guglielmo Marconi conducts wireless telegraphy experiments in the late 1890s laying the foundation for radio communication
  • Reginald Fessenden makes the first audio transmission in 1900 demonstrating the potential for broadcasting sound
  • Lee de Forest invents the Audion vacuum tube in 1906 enabling amplification and clearer sound quality for radio transmissions
  • First commercial radio broadcast by KDKA in Pittsburgh in 1920 marks the beginning of radio as a mass medium
  • Rapid growth of radio stations throughout the 1920s leads to the establishment of a thriving radio industry (over 500 stations by 1925)
  • Formation of radio networks like NBC and CBS allows for national distribution of programming and standardization of content
  • Golden Age of Radio (1930s-1940s) sees the rise of popular entertainment programs such as:
    • Comedy shows (Abbott and Costello)
    • Variety shows (The Ed Sullivan Show)
    • Dramatic series (The Shadow)
  • Radio serves as a primary source of news and information during World War II with live reports from the front lines
  • Decline of radio's dominance in the 1950s as television gains popularity and becomes the new dominant medium

Rise and impact of television

  • Philo Farnsworth develops the first electronic television system in the late 1920s laying the groundwork for modern TV
  • RCA introduces the iconoscope camera tube and kinescope receiver in the 1930s enabling practical television broadcasting
  • NBC begins the first regular television broadcasting in the United States in 1939 at the World's Fair in New York
  • Rapid adoption of television sets in American households during the 1950s (55% of homes have a TV by 1954)
  • Popular entertainment programs shift from radio to television during the medium's golden age (1950s-1960s)
  • Emergence of iconic television personalities and shows that define the era such as:
    • Lucille Ball (I Love Lucy)
    • Milton Berle (Texaco Star Theater)
    • Ed Sullivan (The Ed Sullivan Show)
  • Television becomes a shared cultural experience influencing:
    • Fashion trends (Mary Tyler Moore's capri pants)
    • Language and catchphrases ("Heeeere's Johnny!")
    • Social norms and values (Father Knows Best)
  • Rise of television celebrities leads to their influence on consumer behavior through product endorsements and sponsorships
  • Television plays a significant role in shaping public opinion and political discourse (Kennedy-Nixon debates)
  • Growth of television as the primary advertising medium with the development of new techniques:
    • Catchy jingles ("I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke")
    • Celebrity endorsements (Ronald Reagan for General Electric)
    • Emotional appeals (Hallmark greeting cards)
  • Television advertising strongly influences consumer purchasing decisions and brand loyalty

Electronic media's societal influence

  • Representation in electronic media can reinforce or challenge societal stereotypes about:
    • Gender roles (June Cleaver in Leave it to Beaver)
    • Racial and ethnic groups (Amos 'n' Andy radio show)
    • Other social categories (LGBTQ+ characters in modern TV)
  • Media representation impacts audience perceptions and attitudes toward different groups in society
  • Agenda-setting: electronic media prioritizes and emphasizes certain issues or events influencing what the public considers important
  • Framing: how news stories are presented in the media can influence public opinion and policy decisions on issues
  • Media ownership and editorial decisions shape the content and perspectives presented in electronic media
  • Cultivation theory (George Gerbner) suggests heavy television viewing can shape viewers' perceptions of reality:
    • Cultivating a homogenized worldview
    • Influencing perceptions of violence, gender roles, social norms
    • Implications for long-term effects on individuals and society (mean world syndrome)