Directions (read fully and carefully)- i need an A on this assignment please do not offer if you are not going to Help actually.

This assignment asks you to explore the socioeconomic, political, technological and cultural conditions that explain the rise of commercial radio and TV broadcasting in the U.S. 

Watch the documentary Empire of the Air (http://silk.library.umass.edu/login?url=https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/empire-of-the-air-the-men-who-made-radio?account_id=14572&usage_group_id=95927) and, please write an essay (500-750 words) discussing: 

1) Three economic, political, regulatory or technological factors that explain the rise of radio broadcasting as a commercial enterprise in the U.S. (identify only three), and 2) provide a relevant conclusion on what you learn through this documentary about the development of radio technology as a mass media in the 20th century: what was intriguing and illuminating about this case study for you? What is the main takeaway or idea you learned?

Answers should be typewritten in 12 pts, Times New Roman fonts, and double-spaced with a minimum of 1-inch margins. Essays should be between 500 and 750 words. Use your own words in composing your essay! Do not copy and paste information from Internet sources or class materials. Turn-it-In is an app designed to detect plagiarism or content copied from the web and youll automatically miss points if you copy any text. Your essay should be saved and submitted as a PDF or word doc using Turnitin on Moodle by the deadline. Any submission in .pages format will be turned back. Rubric for the assignment is included at the end of this document.

Introduction to the Topic

 Empire of the Air is a PBS award-winning documentary that historicizes the rise of the U.S. broadcasting system in the 20th century, focusing on the trajectories of the men (i.e. inventors, developers/investors, entrepreneurs) and on the economic, policy and technological factors that shaped radio and TV networks as private, commercial enterprises. Commercial radio was a unique development of the U.S. at the time. Around the world, broadcasting services emerged as public enterprises or publicly funded services. In Europe, for instance, the BBC rose as a venture of the Royal Post Office services with Guglielmo Marconi, credited as the invertor of radio telegraphic transmissions. BBC radio as we know it today was established by Royal Charter as the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1927, completely funded with public moneys. 

In contrast, in the U.S. radio technologies developed mostly as a private enterprise, with important incentives or indirect support of the state, particularly for military and national security uses. However, radio broadcasting networks emerged in our country as 100% commercial ventures, with no direct financial support by the government, and mostly funded by sponsors and advertisers. This week we want to explore the factors that explain the unique development of commercial broadcasting in the US. What economic, technological and regulatory factors account for it? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this commercial media model and mandate for the production and distribution of culture in our country? Answering these questions and analyzing the U.S. as a case study is important because our commercial media model has been adopted in many countries around the world, and its considered the dominant media mandate at a global scale nowadays. 

The documentary is structured around the disputes between three men as they claimed to be the father of radio: Lee De Forest, Edwin Howard Armstrong, and David Sarnoff. Each of them embodies or represents different stakeholders (i.e. inventors, developers/investors, entrepreneurs) and institutions that shaped radio broadcasting. One of the takeaways of the film is that the radio broadcasting system as we know cannot be thought as the creation of one single individual but as the result of social forces and interests they represent. 

In watching the documentary, please consider the following issues presented in the documentary. You don’t need to answer the specific questions in your essay, but use the questions to guide your thinking. 

1. What were the initial social applications inventors envisioned for radio technologies?

2. How did inventors like Lee De Forest and Edwin Howard Armstrong fund their initial research and development ventures into radio technologies?

3. What is a patent, and what role do patents play in the invention of media technologies like the radio? How did legal battles for the control of patents shape the invention of radio?

4. What event led the federal government to support the adoption of the wireless telegraph? 

5. Why did the radio spectrum or radio waves start to be considered a public resource? What event triggered state intervention in the management of the radio spectrum?

6. What was the role of the government in research and development of radio technologies between World War I and World War II? How did it affect the battle for radio patents?

7. The creation of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) led to the first national broadcasting company in the country. What was the music box model for radio development, and who is credited with the idea? What was the broadcasting model of radio development?

8. What kind of programming dominated early commercial radio? What was the most popular show? According to media historians, what was controversial about it?

9. Why was the introduction of FM radio to the market delayed by RCA? What was the Yankee Network, and why did it pose a threat to RCAs dominant position in the radio market?

10. What factors explain RCAs dominant position in the radio market between the 1920s and 1950s? How did RCA use its political and economic influence to shape the development of FM radio?

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