RTA 210 Study Guide - Winter 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Canada, Television In Canada, Cbs
12 Oct 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
RTA 210
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
RTA 210 - Media History
Variety and Music Programming
Major Forces in the Industry
- Technological change
- Commerce and capitalism
- Creative aspirations and ego
- Societal changes and trends
- Governmental policies
Why Broadcast History?
Provides a resource of:
- Concepts
- Ideas
- Formats
- Styles
- Potential pitfalls of a production
How do we Define a Variety Show?
- Mix of acts without a central plotline or story
- Emcee or DJ to keep the acts cohesive to one program
- Broadcasting in the purest definition of the word
- No narrowcasting until the 50’s
- Something for everyone
Does Variety still Exist?
- SNL
- Morning shows
- MuchMusic
- Youtube
Variety is still done because it is what attracted audiences in the first place. It is debatably the
easiest to produce because it uses pre-existing talent and acts.
Early Radio
- Used morse code to communicate with ships at sea
- Redone by Reginald Fessenden, who broadcasted Christmas Eve in 1906
Fessenden’s Broadcasts
- Started 9 am, with a short speech
- “Largo” played on phonograph
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- “O Holy Night” played by Fessenden on violin
- Read a Christmas story from the Bible
- Signed off
Impact on the World
- Music in remote locations was revolutionary
- Montreal’s “CFCF” went on air in 1920
- First commercial show
Typical Local Show
- Local or travelling musicians
- Phonograph records
1930’s
- Radio networking
- Stations become larger, national channels
- Great Depression helped radio boom, due to the broadcasts being endless free
entertainment
- Appearance of Vaudeville theaters
Canada, US and UK
- US had competing commercial radio channels
- UK had a radio tax, was a public service
- Canada forms CRBC in 1932, which became the CBC in 1936. It hybridized US and UK
styles
“Big Star” Variety Show
- Rudy Vallee
- The Fleischmann Yeast Hour
- First “crooneer” (used the psychological intimacy of radio)
- Did tours and movies
- Brought on stars during their five minutes of fame
- Used a Vaudeville-style lineup for the show
- Incorporated sidekick announcers and comedy writers
- Additionally, the appearance of “Big Band” shows (Swing era)
- Canadian equivalent was Don Messer and the Merry Islanders
- They did small town comedy
- East coast style music
Meanwhile, in the UK
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Mix of acts without a central plotline or story. Emcee or dj to keep the acts cohesive to one program. Broadcasting in the purest definition of the word. Variety is still done because it is what attracted audiences in the first place. It is debatably the easiest to produce because it uses pre-existing talent and acts. Used morse code to communicate with ships at sea. Redone by reginald fessenden, who broadcasted christmas eve in 1906. Started 9 am, with a short speech. O holy night played by fessenden on violin. Read a christmas story from the bible. Montreal"s cfcf went on air in 1920. Great depression helped radio boom, due to the broadcasts being endless free entertainment. Uk had a radio tax, was a public service. Canada forms crbc in 1932, which became the cbc in 1936. First crooneer (used the psychological intimacy of radio) Brought on stars during their five minutes of fame.
