Radio's Competition and Decline - Wikis 4-8

4. iTunes - Steve Jobs and the Apple team rolled iTunes 1 out on January 9, 2001. The first edition of iTunes was primitive, and lacked many of the commodities that we have today. You couldn't burn CD's on an external drive, and there was no iTunes Store, so buying music at $0.99 a track directly through iTunes was not possible at that point. To this point, Apple has released 10 updated versions of iTunes, with each version have small updates within each version. As of right now, Apple is at iTunes 10.4.

5. Sirius Satellite Radio - Satellite radio in the United States was born in 1992 when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated a spectrum in the "S" band (2.3 GHz) for nationwide broadcasting of satellite-based Digital Audio Radio Service (DARS). In 1997, two companies received licenses for digital satellite radio initiatives. CD Radio (Now Sirius Satellite Radio) and American Mobile Radio (now XM Satellite Radio). Sirius Radio was officially launched ,on July 1, 2002.

6. Pandora Internet Radio - Since 2004, Pandora has been one of the most popular Internet radio services for music listeners. The company launched as a publicly traded company in 2011 to raise the billions needed to keep the venture growing. Though revenues have exceed $100 million, Pandora has yet to turn a consistent profit. This is due largely to the immense costs of operating the site. Investors and music industry analysts still expect Pandora to grow exponentially in the coming years however.

7. iPods - In 2001, Apple and Steve Jobs rolled out the sidekick to their revolutionary iTunes, and that was the iPod. Primitive at first, the iPod was popular from day one, and as years went by, Apple released updated models, and more variety. Since some of the latest touch screen models have radio apps, the iPod has helped in what we can now say may be the downfall of radio as we know it.

8. Big corporations - In case you thought that inventions were the only thing stopping radio dead in it's tracks, think again. Much of the blame falls on big corporations that buy out all of the smaller radio stations (aka, the local ones) and put in less known DJ's who suck. Many of the big names are being fired weekly, and this is causing a mass shift in how we listen to our music these days.

Documentary Week Essay (Midterm)

      Throughout the last week, we viewed several documentaries in class that depicted things in the government and in society that we are unaware. Many of these things are kept secret for a reason, but then there are crazy guys like Alex Jones who decide that for the American good, to go off and try to expose them for they really are. But is doing that really worth it? Is the release of top secret information REALLY for the American good? I would like to think not. For example, when we were watching Police State 4: The Rise of FEMA, all Jones would talk about is the fact that FEMA and government were working together, building camps that people knew nothing about, and then putting citizens in those camps, forcing them to face hard labor. Now, that kind of information alone would appall anyone, especially me. But the thought that America could actually have concentration camps to some degree in unbelievable. I certainly hope that on that note, you Mr. Jones are sadly mistaken.

      The madness does not end there. In the second Alex Jones documentary we viewed entitled The Fall of the Republic, Jones continued with the conspiracy approach by talking about how President Obama is more of a dictator than a president.  He also mentioned a variety of executive orders the Obama signed, far too many for me to mention, but none of them had been mentioned the news at all. Hmmmm....I can only wonder about that. Maybe it's because that they NEVER HAPPENED?! Everyone knows that anything that the president signs is always covered by at least one person in the media, and I am not talking about Alex Jones. Sir, the fact that you would even consider Barack Obama to be a dictator is cruel and beyond low. He is a great man, and has done a lot for the nation since he took office. Sure, some of his decisions may have been questionable, but all in all, he has done a fine job in my opinion.

       The last documentary that I will mention is even worse than the two Alex Jones ones that we watched, and he isn't even in this one! The last documentary we viewed was entitled Food Incorporated. I am sorry, but after watching that, I couldn't eat a thing for a least a day or longer. That was some of the most disgusting things I have ever bared witness to. Especially the chicken story. Good grief! How could you stand to watch this? The fact that the government knows about all of this stuff going on with our food and does nothing about shocks me. It almost as if they actually want some of the population to get sick and die...truth perhaps? I hope to God that I never find out, because if that is the case, I am out of here! As of right now, knowing what I know about America, Canada doesn't sound too bad right now.

Shattered Glass Ops

New Bipartisan Law Would Make Dog Neckerchiefs Mandatory

WASHINGTON—Cutting short its Columbus Day recess, Congress held a special emergency session this weekend to push through comprehensive legislation requiring every dog in the United States to wear a neckerchief, with both parties hailing the outcome as a "major step forward for the nation" and "downright adorable."
Spurred by recent statistics indicating only one in five American dogs currently wears a bandanna around its neck, Democrats and Republicans reportedly reached across the aisle in a rare display of bipartisanship, working through long-held differences on acceptable colors, designs, and knotting styles to pass the landmark bill.
"I'm proud we have put politics aside and taken this decisive step toward putting our dogs in neckerchiefs and keeping them in neckerchiefs for generations to come," said Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), a co-sponsor of the bill and owner of two schnauzers who has long pushed for congressional action to ensure all canines can be "absolutely precious." "While it's unfortunate our country had to wait so many years for this legislation, it does not diminish the joy we all feel today knowing that American dogs will now be more lovable than at any other point in our nation's history."


"Every single citizen—dog owners and non-dog-owners alike—will reap the benefits of this law," Whitfield continued. "It's so cute, you don't even know."
Officially known as the American Canine Collar Enhancement Act of 2011, the 214-page bill was held up in committee for days as members hammered out its finer points. Congressional staffers confirmed the bill was nearly derailed Saturday following an argument between Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) over the permissibility of tropical-patterned neckerchiefs, a contentious exchange that led to Boehner defiantly walking out of negotiations.
Republican leaders were brought back to the bargaining table hours later, sources said, when Democrats agreed to an amendment mandating that all dogs be required to wear an American flag bandanna on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
"I was initially hesitant to support legislation this extensive," Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. "But when [Sen. Bob] Corker [R-TN] brought that golden retriever onto the floor with the red paisley scarf tied around its neck, I knew we needed to move swiftly and decisively."
"Aw, just look at the guy," added Schumer, holding up a photograph.
Under the language of the bill, acceptable dog-bandanna combinations would include a beagle with a plaid bandanna, a Boston terrier with a hot pink bandanna, a pug wearing a yellow bandanna fastened by a decorative pin, a dachshund with a bandanna tied around its neck like a cape, an Old English sheepdog wearing a bandanna embroidered with its name, and a pair of bulldogs sporting matching Detroit Red Wings bandannas.
According to the Congressional Record, a competing bill put forth by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) calling for all dogs to be dressed in little doggy sweaters was immediately rejected by a unanimous chorus of nays.
Despite passing both houses with comfortable margins, the neckerchief law has been strongly condemned by its detractors, among them a coalition of novelty dog collar manufacturers that opposes any version of the legislation that does not provide tax incentives to the industry, and Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), a noted cat lover.
"It's completely ludicrous," Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), who voted against the bill, said on Meet The Press Sunday. "This law, if you can believe it, specifically mandates that the point of all triangularly folded neckerchiefs face directly downward along a dog's chest at all times. What is Washington thinking? Where I'm from, we know that a bandanna that's askew to one side is the most darling look of all."
While opponents have vowed to seek the legislation's repeal in court, a Zogby poll conducted Sunday found that 83 percent of Americans supported the law and that the congressional approval rating had received a notable bump from its passage.
"It's gratifying to know we have done right by our constituents," Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) said. "We all may look back on this one day as the moment when we really started to turn things around in this country."
As of press time, an estimated 800,000 dogs had been euthanized for failing to comply with the new law.

Early music video!

MTV launched on August 1, 1981. But, WHO was doing music videos at the time??? Well, I managed to find one from 1983, which should give you an idea of what MTV was like back in the day...in my opinion, it was waaaaaayyyyy better than it is today.

Earliest Forms of Media Essay

Media began when God created the heavens and the earth, and started with word of mouth, the first form of communication. The first humans to speak were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Speech continued to be the only form of communication for some time, until in 3,000 BC, when the Egyptians began using what is now known as hieroglyphics. Using this system, they were able to write messages and stories using symbols and pictures. Many other civilizations around this time began to use similar systems when establishing a writting system. The use of hieroglyphics then is what led to the development of the first alphabet by the Greeks in 1000 BC. With the development of the alphabet, people could now write using letters, and because of this could actually write quicker than ever. Today, we still use an alphabet, but it has been redeveloped since the original Greek one. But, without the Greeks, we would still be using pictures to write with.

Once a system of writing had been established, there was now a need for ways of getting messages to and forth in a quicker, more efficient way than by walking or horseback, and so around the time of the Greek empire, carrier pigeons were used, making this very first mail delivery service in history. The pigeon would a have a message tied to their leg, and would then fly it to its destination, often times having to make a return trip. They were used to deliver the results of the Olympics during the time of the Greeks, and were used up through World War II as a way to deliver battle plans and enemy locations. However, the use of carrier pigeons to deliver mail led to the creation of the postal service today.

We are going to fast forward a little. By 100 AD, the Chinese had invented paper as we know it today, and now allowed the free world to write messages clearly and quickly on paper, rather than rocks or clay tablets. With the invention of paper came ideas as to how to speed up the delivery of news in towns, since they were usually having to use word of mouth to spread important news and information. But this was proven to be unreliable, and many times rumors would be inadvertanly started as a result. Many ideas were tried, but not many worked. However, settlements began to publish things called newspapers, which allowed news to written in one place, and were posted in the center of town on a large board ot somesort. This was a breakthrough indeed, but again, not very efficient, until 1440 AD.

It was in this year the Johannes Gutenburg began working on a revolutionary invention, and by 1447 had perfected it: the printing press. Invented originally as a way to print Bibles translated into German, the printing press became an instant hit not just in Germany, but around the world. By 1500, there more than 200 units all over Europe, with 77 alone in Italy, making Italy the printing center of the world. Today, the printing press has been perfected by having become motorized, printing faster than ever. As a result of this, books were made available to poorer people, and newspapers were now printed for individual purchase and use. News was able to be spread faster than ever, but not fast enough for some evidently, because by the 1800's, people were still looking for faster ways of communication...however, THAT my friends is another essay.