American society as a whole was more informed about current events, due to easy access of newspapers and radios in the 1920s, which helped in the spread of conspiracies about Earhart’s disappearance. the 1920s the first radios were used recreationally by the average American and eventually sold 5 million sets a year by 1929 (Musser). Despite high numbers of radio sales, there were many Americans who prefered to read news from newspapers (Musser). The success of the first “talkie newsreel” of Charles Lindbergh taking off for his transatlantic flight causing many studios to create their own “talkie newsreels” (Musser). “Talkie newsreels” were simply a short film about current events (Musser). The last known communications before Earhart’s plane mysteriously disappeared over the pacific were spread throughout many different news outlets, such as the Atchison Daily Globe (Webb). …show more content…
Smith’s Weekly said that the female aviator was spying on the Japanese military and was later captured by Japanese soldiers (Gillespie). The media was able to spread information of Earhart’s disappearance across the nation quickly due to modern innovations allowing Americans to be more easily exposed to conspiracies created by various people, even conspiracies created by the media itself.
One of reasons for the rise of conspiracies associated with Amelia Earhart’s disappearance was largely due to that the average American felt powerless in being able to locate her. The U.S. Navy was sent to the Pacific ocean Southwest of Hawaii in an attempt locate Earhart’s plane (Rothman). Due to the high costs for the U.S. Navy to search for Earhart in the Pacific the U.S. government declared Earhart dead, and gave up search efforts for in January 1939 (Rothman). Due to the economic recession caused by the Great Depression and the distance between the U.S. and the possible locations for Earhart’s wreckage, the
Prior to the dispatch of September 24, the information which the Japanese sought and obtained about Pearl Harbor followed the general pattern of their interest in American Fleet movements in other localities. One might suspect this type of conventional espionage. With the dispatch of September 24, 1941, and those which followed, there was a significant and ominous change in the character of the information which the Japanese Government sought and obtained. The espionage then directed was of an unusual character outside the realm of reasonable suspicion. It was no longer merely directed to ascertaining the general whereabouts of ships of the fleet. It was directed to the presence of particular ships in particular areas; to such minute detail as what ships were double-docked at the same wharf….These Japanese instructions and reports pointed to an attack by Japan upon the ships in Pearl Harbor. The information sought and obtained, with such painstaking detail had no other conceivable usefulness from a military
...ary knew about the crash and that they were going to transport the wreckage to another military base. Many eyewitness accounts with similar details eliminate the possibility of merely a single person making up the entire event. The government’s contradictory reports demonstrate that their knowledge of the incident is dynamic and dependent on how they want the people to react. This matter is important because it raises the possibility that if the government is hiding information from the public about a spacecraft accident, there may be other incidents where the government is concealing the truth from the public. Despite the government’s best attempts to cover up the Roswell incident, eyewitness accounts from the common person validate the idea that an unidentified flying object crashed in Roswell, New Mexico and eternally changed the lives of several people.
In the 1930's radio was beginning to hit the height of its popularity. Because of the Depression people found that they were without excess in terms of money therefore cheaper forms of entertainment became very popular. Radio was wonderful because it could bring many different types of entertainment. People could follow sports through the radio, which many did. It was not uncommon for people to gather around the radio and listen to the Yankees game being broadcast. People could keep up to date with current affairs thanks to the news broadcasts that aired. This was very important at this time due to the impending problems that were taking place in Europe. "Fireside Chats" were broadcast by President Roosevelt as a way to keep the people of America informed on many things that were happening in the country. President Roosevelt discussed a number of topics including The New Deal, the economic problems, the impending war, unemployment, inflation, the coal crisis, and many other important issues. The Fireside Chats lasted for about ten years and were enormously popular. Americans could turn to the radio for drama in the form of daily soap operas; they found laughs in comedy and variety shows; and even could find tales of heroics in broadcasts such as The Lone Ranger or The Green Hornet.
There are many ways the media influences society, but in the 1920’s the main source was newspapers. The New York Times was one of the most popular and prestigious papers of this time and also one of the most influential. Many people had fait in what they read and never second gu...
Many of the inventions during the 1920s modernized America. Inventions of the 1920s include the American Hammond Organ, adhesive bandages, car radios, loudspeakers, electric shavers, and traffic signals. Household items like electric irons, toasters, refrigerators, air conditioners, radio, television, and vacuum cleaners made daily life very different from previous generations. The radio was in almost every home and provided listeners with sports, concerts, and news. Radio quickly became a national obsession. For those that could not afford a radio, the radio in public places became a gathering place and allowed people to keep up with issues and share ideas and opinions. The first movie with sound was introduced and started the movie industry. As automobiles became more affordable, movie theatres became more popular. The 1920s not only introduced sound to movies, but also Technicolor. Movies soon became America’s favorite form of entertainment. The aviation industry was also stimulated with Charles A. Lindbergh’s first flight across the Atlantic Oce...
Edward R. Murrow’s profound impact on the field of journalism defines much of what the modern news media industry is today. Edward R. Murrow’s career offers aspiring journalist a detailed set of standards and moral codes in how a journalist should receive and report the news. The development of CBS is largely attributed to Murrow, and derives from his ambitious attitude in utilizing the television and radio to deliver the news. Murrow gained a stellar reputation in the minds of American’s during WWII by placing himself in the heart of the war, and delivering information through radio in his famous This is London broadcasts. His battles with Senator Joseph McCarthy are largely referred to as his most prominent achievement in which Murrow exposed the unfair practices of Senator McCarthy in his wild accusations on those in the American public of being affiliated with communism. At the RTNDA conference Murrow arguably deliver his most famous speech, which included his hopes and fears of the news media industry in years to come. Although much of today’s news media industry would be held in disdain in the mind of Murrow his practices are still referred due and held in high regard by his contemporaries and fellow aspiring journalist. Edward R. Murrow set the standard of American journalism, and had the largest individual impact on the news media industry in history.
In “Wires and Lights in a Box,” the author, Edward R. Murrow, is delivering a speech on October 15, 1958, to attendees of the Radio-Television News Directors Association. In his speech, Murrow addresses how it is his desire and duty to tell his audience what is happening to radio and television. Murrow talks about how television insulates people from the realities in the world, how the television industry is focused on profits rather than delivering the news to the public, and how television and radio can teach, illuminate, and inspire.
Entertainment in the 1920s began changing after World War I. Because people had more money and were more prosperous, they were able to go to theatres, clubs, and sporting events. Although the greatest form of entertainment had been motorcars, it was a form of freedom that people had never experienced. Sports began to become more popular. “Baseball became popular with the great mass of people for the first time”(Fischer). Because of another form of entertainment gaining popularity, the radio made it easier for fans to keep up
It wasn’t just when the news was delivered but also how it was delivered. It had an influence because of the great personalities of Dick Smyth, Lee Marshall, Grant Hudson and others who dramatically and entertainingly delivered the news. They reported the news “dramatically” and with the “same energy as disk jockeys had snappy writing with alliterations, and a lot of short sound bites.” They were deejays without music. This dynamic combination of news reporting made for an amusing news report; that not only captured the audience, but also kept them tuning in.
In the 1937 newspaper, article “Amelia’s Voice Heard by Amateur Radio Operator”, The Atchison Daily Globe reports on two Los Angeles amateur radio operators who claimed they heard Earhart transmit a distress signal at 7:00 a.m. Pacific time. The article expresses doubt about these clams using the statement “[In] San Francisco, however, a coastguard station reported at noon Eastern Standard Time it had received no word whatever although radio reception was unusually good” . The article also presents evidence supporting the two Radio operators, by explaining the amateur radio operators, “interpreted radio signals as placing the plane adrift near the equator between Gilbert Islands and Howland Island” . The article also, reports, because of this possible transmission from Earhart caused action, “the navy department ordered the battleship Colorado with three planes aboard, to begin a search from Honolulu, where it arrived yesterday ”.
Normally, newspapers were the first source of news to utilize and distribute among the people, but due to tragic events in history, it influenced Americans to use their televisions more than common. Television similar to social media is quicker at delivering recent events. In the late 1960s, more than 81% of Americans owned televisions. As a result, this drastically decreased newspaper profits (Sneed). Since the late 1960s, television broadcast channels augmented their air time from half an hour to more than one hour. Television channels like CBS and ABC attracted more viewers after displaying more content for more than half an hour (Sneed). The late 1960s popularized the
The disappearance of Amelia Earhart is a mystery that has puzzled generations. In June 1937, Amelia Earhart set out on a journey to circumnavigate the globe by air at the equator. After traveling more than 22,000 miles, Amelia and her navigator lost all radio communications. She and Frederick Noonan, her navigator, vanished on July 2, 1937 (Biography of Amelia Earhart). There have been many theories on what happened to Amelia Earhart and her navigator and where they are today.
Media, in its largest sense, hypothetically is one small page in the large "book of life". However, nineteenth century society has based an entire chapter of their lives on what happens in every medium used for communication. Through the creation of radio and of television in the late 1940's, and the modernization of newspapers and magazines, specifically, American culture has devoted themselves to a mass communications lifestyle in which they base most of their well being upon.
Walker, Jesse. Rebels on the air: an alternative history of radio in America. New York: New York University Press, 2001. Print.
Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. Television – Tv news and the early cold war. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.