Radio: War of the Worlds CSP (1938)

Media Factsheet

Read Media Factsheet #176: CSP Radio - War of the Worlds. You'll need your Greenford Google login to download it. Then answer the following questions:

1) What is the history and narrative behind War of the Worlds?

1938 30th October. It is based on the book by HG wells which is about an alien invasion, the audience would be scared because they already had a fear of Hitler invading.

2) When was it first broadcast and what is the popular myth regarding the reaction from the audience?

contrary to another myth, the broadcast was not a hoax sprung on an unsuspecting audience. Rather it was a scheduled broadcast and was announced as “an episode of the Mercury Theatre on Air.”

3) How did the New York Times report the reaction the next day?

as an article with the title 'MANY FLEE HOMES TO ESCAPE ‘GAS RAID FROM MARS’ – PHONE CALLS SWAMP POLICE AT BROADCAST OF WELLES FANTASY'

4) How did author Brad Schwartz describe the broadcast and its reaction?

Author Brad Schwartz in his 2015 book ‘Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and the

Art of Fake News’ suggests that hysteria it caused was not entirely a myth. “Instead it was something decades ahead of its time: history’s first viral-media phenomenon.” He argues that “the stories of those

whom the show frightened offer a fascinating window onto how users engage with media content, spreading and reinterpreting it to suit their own world views.

5) Why did Orson Welles use hybrid genres and pastiche and what effect might it have had on the audience?

Pastiche - by borrowing conventions of real news broadcasts he's able to create real moments of shock

Hybrid genres - mixing conventional storytelling with news conventions 

6) How did world events in 1938 affect the way audiences interpreted the show?

At this time, both the radio networks, including CBS, frequently interrupted programmes to issue news bulletins with updates on the situation in Europe. As a result, audiences became familiar with such interruptions and were thus more accepting of Welles’ faux newscasts

7) Which company broadcast War of the Worlds in 1938?

CBS

8) Why might the newspaper industry have deliberately exaggerated the response to the broadcast?

In order to place themselves as the only place to get real news that will not lie to them as radio were their main competitor 

9) Does War of the Worlds provide evidence to support the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory?

Yes because it shows that some people believed what was said easily without questioning it at all however this could've been exaggerated due to the newspapers lying 

10) How might Gerbner's cultivation theory be applied to the broadcast?

Heavy viewers of TV are thought to be ‘cultivating’ attitudes that seem to believe that the world created by television is an accurate depiction of the real world. Applied to War of the Worlds it could be argued that an audience familiar with the frequent interruptions to radio shows over the weeks leading up to the broadcast did not question the faux invasion broadcasts during Welles’ production.

11) Applying Hall's Reception Theory, what could be the preferred and oppositional readings of the original broadcast?

preferred - the broadcast is fake and is warning about  the dangers of believing everything that you hear 

oppositional - it is real

12) Do media products still retain the ability to fool audiences as it is suggested War of the Worlds did in 1938? Has the digital media landscape changed this?

I think that they can have an impact however it is very easy to check facts now and double check however people still fall for it but its mainly really old people or really young people who are not use to the internet 

Media Magazine article on War of the Worlds

Read this excellent article on War of the Worlds in Media Magazine. You can find it in our Media Magazine archive - issue 69, page 10. Answer the following questions:

1) What reasons are provided for why the audience may have been scared by the broadcast in 1938? 

People had already thought that Germany was invading and the great depression had raised tensions in Europe

2) How did newspapers present the story? 

The newspapers said that they had malicious intend behind the broadcast and wanted to cause panic however newspaper wee competing with radio and therefore they would obviously try to ruin their reputation so more people would buy newspapers.  

3) How does the article describe the rise of radio? 

uncensored, unregulated radio content.

4) What does the article say about regulation of radio in the 1930s? 

that it was unregulated

5) How does the article apply media theories to the WOTW? Give examples.

Stuart Hall can be applied to War Of The Worlds as people could offer their own preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings which would explain why people reacted so differently.

6) Look at the box on page 13 of real newspaper headlines. Pick out two and write them here - you could use these in an exam answer.

Radio fake scares nation

Fake radio war stirs nation

radio content.

A/A* Extension tasks: Analysis and opinion questions

1) Why do you think the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds has become such a significant moment in media history?

I think it showed for the first time how easily fake news could be spread and how quickly it can cause panic 

2) War of the Worlds feels like a 1938 version of 'fake news'. But which is the greater example of fake news - Orson Welles's use of radio conventions to create realism or the newspapers exaggerating the audience reaction to discredit radio?

I think that it was the radio because they completely made it up even though they did tell people throughout that it was not real they must have known that some people would miss where they said that disclaimer and would have panicked whereas the newspapers spoke truthfully but exaggerated it greatly.

3) Do you agree with the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory? If not, was there a point in history audiences were more susceptible to believing anything they saw or heard in the media?

I think that they hypodermic needle theory is still relevant however I think that it is more down to the person and how educated they are.

4) Has the digital media age made the Hypodermic Needle model more or less relevant? Why?

I think that it has made it less relevant as people are able to fact check with other social media and other news outlets and there is a variety of opinion leaders.

5) Do you agree with George Gerbner's Cultivation theory - that suggests exposure to the media has a gradual but significant effect on audience's views and beliefs? Give examples to support your argument.

I think that it does because news is always negative especially in regards to race so people may overtime see certain groups of people as the "same" and group them under a certain stereotype which is dangerous to communities and can fuel things like racism. 

6) Is Gerbner's Cultivation theory more or less valid today than it would have been in 1938? Why?

I think that it is more valid as there is more people and sources to get news from so things can be drilled into an audience