COM 208: Media & Culture – chapters 2 through 8

Chapter 2: The Internet and New Technologies (see notes on Chapter 1 here)

• Internet began as attack-proof military communications network in the 1960s
• By 2009, about 80 percent of Americans used the Internet
• Web 3.0 – the next era of the Web. It will likely include greater bandwidth and faster, more graphically rich 3-D applications
• Example of mass customization: iGoogle tells you, “Create your own homepage in under 30 seconds.”

Chapter 3: Sound Recording and Popular Music
Chapter 4: Popular Radio and the Origins of Broadcasting

Chapter 5: Television and the Power of Visual Culture

• Traditional sitcom declining in popularity.
• Television networks are resorting to cheaper reality series. Examples: Dancing with the Stars. American Idol.
• Television is a shared experience for many.
• Quote: “For better or worse, television has woven itself into the cultural fabric of our daily lives”

Chapter 6: Cable: A Wired versus Wireless World

Chapter 7: Movies and the Impact of Images

• Feature-length film, The Jazz Singer, starred Al Jolson, a vaudeville singer who wore black face make-up
• First words spoken in the movie: “Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”

Chapter 8: Newspapers: The Rise and Decline of Modern Journalism