Course Description
An historical survey of US radio and television through an examination of their technologies, their institutions, and their programming forms: a study of their impacts on American culture and society. The course begins with the advent of broadcasting in the post–World War I era, the introduction of television in the post–World War II years, and the evolution of broadcasting in the post-network era at the turn of the twenty-first century.
Remote Online Course
This course will be conducted remotely over the Internet.
All course material is available on the course website at https://juanmonroy.com/broadcasting. Assignments are available on Google Classroom. We will not be using Blackboard.
All learning activities will be asynchronous, meaning that you will complete learning activities on your own time by the deadlines noted on this course website.
This course consists of twelve modules. For each module, there will be:
- assigned readings from the textbook, listed in the course schedule on the course website,
- relevant radio or television programs, listed in the course scheduled on the course website and on Google Classroom,
- a pre-recorded video lecture, available on Google Classroom, that you will watch at the time of your choosing,
- a quiz, available on Google Classroom, about the material you just covered.
In addition to the modules, there will be three exams on the modules you covered since the last exam.
Although the course is asynchronous, you must complete each module, each quiz, and each exam by the deadlines specified on this syllabus and on Google Classroom.
Because this is a three (3) unit course, you’re expected to spend an average of nine (9) hours per week working on this course.
Google Classroom
You should use this course website as your primary reference for this course, although you will be accessing the lectures, the quizzes and exams on Google Classroom. I will also be posting announcements about the course on Google Classroom. You can also estimate your overall grade in Google Classroom.
Unlike Blackboard, you must first join our course in Google Classroom. You must also must have an active QC Google account.
There are two ways of joining our course on Google Classroom:
- Using an Invite Link
- Go to https://classroom.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu/c/MTczMjYzNDMxNTAz?cjc=zrmjsua
- Using an Invite Code
- Go to Google Classroom: https://classroom.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu
- If this is your first time using Google Classroom, be sure to identify yourself as a student.
- Click on the “+” icon in Google Classroom to Join
- Enter the following code:
zrmjsua
- Due to the particular setup at Queens College, I am unable to invite you using an email invitation.
You should download and install the Google Classroom app for your mobile device: available for Apple iOS devices and for Android devices. I recommend turning on notifications for the Google Classroom app to ensure you receive announcements and notifications about this class and your classwork
Having trouble? Review this document: “How to Join a Queens College Google Classroom?.”
Instructor
Juan Monroy
You can reach me by email at juan.monroy@qc.cuny.edu. To maintain professional standards, please only use your CUNY email account to contact me. I usually respond within a day.
Office Hours
Office Hours will be held remotely on Google Meet, by appointment only.
To make an appointment:
- Log into your QC Google account at https://google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu
- Go to https://juanmonroy.com/qcofficehours and sign up for an appointment, at least one day in advance.
- Go to https://calendar.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu and find the appointment you just made to find the Google Meet link you will need to join the meeting.
If you cannot keep the appointment, please delete the appointment from your calendar to cancel the appointment. You can access your Google Calendar at https://calendar.google.com/a/qc.cuny.edu. Remember that it is unprofessional to miss an appointment without cancelling it with reasonable notice.
Ask-Me-Anything Review Sessions
I will be holding live review sessions in advance of the exams to answer any questions you may have.
The sessions will be on Zoom at the following times:
- Thursday, March 11, 2:00 PM: Register in advance
- Thursday, April 22, 2:00 PM: Cancelled due to no enrollment
Sign up for each session using your CUNY Zoom account.
Welcome Survey
Please complete the Welcome Survey for this course on Google Classroom.
The survey serves to ensure that you can access Google Classroom and that you agree to be bound by the course policies.
Please complete the Welcome Survey by Wednesday, September 17, 11:59 PM. If you cannot complete this by the deadline, please contact me. Otherwise, I will have to report you as not attending the class and you will be dropped from the course.
Modules
This course is broken up into twelve modules. Each module consists of:
- assigned readings from the textbook, listed in the course schedule on the course website,
- relevant radio or television programs, listed in the course scheduled on the course website and on Google Classroom,
- a pre-recorded video lecture, available on Google Classroom, that you will watch at the time of your choosing,
- a quiz, available on Google Classroom, about the material you just covered.
The material from each module will be posted on the course schedule below and on Google Classroom on Thursday afternoons, as noted on the course schedule below.
You must complete the material for each module by the following Wednesday. A subsequent module will be available on the following Thursday.
Assigned Readings
Each module requires you to read a chapter or two from the following textbook:
- Michelle Hilmes, Only Connect: A Cultural History of Broadcasting in the United States, 4th ed. (Boston: Cengage, 2014).
Complete these readings first. Take notes and pay attention to the headings to help you understand how the chapter is organized.
The links on the course website and on Google Classroom are for the Vitalsource ebook.
Readings will be listed on Google Classroom each Thursday at 8:00 AM, but they are already listed in the course schedule below.
Lectures
Each module requires you to watch a recorded lecture and answer the comprehension question based on that material. The recorded lecture is split into a series of videos, between three and five videos, and each video is between five and twelve minutes in length.
The videos move through the course material quicker than an in-person lecture. As you watch each video, pause and rewind the video as necessary to take notes on the material. This will help ensure you’re ingesting the course material.
Each video will be linked on the course schedule below and on Google Classroom on Thursdays at 1:40 PM.
Your scores on the lecture comprehension questions count for 20% of your final grade. I will drop the combined lecture comprehension quiz scores from your two lowest performing modules.
Radio and Television Programs
Each module requires you to listen to a series of radio programs or to watch a series of television programs that are relevant to the course material for that module.
The programs are linked in the course schedule below and available on Google Classroom each Thursday at 8:00 AM.
Reading Quizzes
Each module requires you to take a quiz on the readings from the textbook. Each quiz consists of a mix of true-false and multiple-choice questions. The quiz will be available on Google Classroom as a Google Form.
Quizzes are assigned on Thursdays at 12:00 PM, and are due the following on Wednesday at 11:59 PM.
Note the quiz deadlines on the course schedule and on Google Classroom. No late quizzes will be accepted.
There will be a total of twelve quizzes. I will drop your two lowest quiz scores.
The remaining ten quizzes are collectively worth 20% of your final grade.
Exams
You are required to complete three exams. Each exam will consist of subjective questions, requiring answers in the form of explanations. Your answers to the exam questions should synthesize what you learned in the recorded lectures and the textbook readings.
Exams are available on Google Classroom, according to the following schedule:
- Exam 1, available March 11, due March 17, 11:59 PM
- Exam 2, available April 22, due May 2, 11:59 PM
- Exam 3, available May 19, due May 26, 11:59 PM.
All exams must be submitted by the deadline, otherwise they will be penalized by reduction in a grade, according to the course policies.
All three exams are required and collectively constitute 60% of your final grade.
Course Schedule
As this course is asynchronous, you may complete each module as your schedule permits. However, the due dates for each assignment—including quizzes and exams—are firm and must be completed on-time in order to receive credit. Please plan accordingly.
Getting Started
- Get the textbook: Only Connect, 4th ed.
- Read the policies governing this course, paying special attention to:
- CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity
- Reasonable Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
- Activate your G Suite at QC account: Students New to Queens College, Recently Transferred to QC, or Enrolled in another CUNY Campus: You must activate your email and Active Directory accounts before you can activate your G Suite for Education account. The process takes about three (3) business days so please start this process as soon as possible.
- Join the class on Google Classroom
- Download and install the Google Classroom app for your mobile device
- Turn on notifications for the Google Classroom app to ensure you receive announcements and notifications about this class and your classwork
- Complete the Welcome Survey on Google Classroom as soon as possible but no later than Thursday, February 17, 11:59 PM.
Before starting the class, you might find it helpful to orient yourself with some terms and concepts about the development of radio and of television. The following lectures are from my Media Technologies course and available on Google Classroom.
Think of these lectures as a prelude to this course: these lectures cover a broad overview of some of the material we will cover in more detail throughout the semester.
Module 1: Radio, 1880–1919: Wireless and Point-to-Point, Feb 4
Assignments
Module 2: Radio, 1919–1926: Broadcasting, Feb 11
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 3, “Broadcasting Begins, 1919 to 1926”
- Watch Empire of the Air: the Men Who Made Radio (Ken Burns, PBS, 1992)
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom
- Complete Reading Quiz 2 available on Google Classroom, due February 17, 11:59 PM
Module 3: Radio, 1926–1933: Network Broadcasting, Feb 18
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 4, “The Network Age, 1926–1940”
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom:
- The Great Depression Begins (10 min.)
- New Technology (5 min.)
- Federal Radio Commission (8 min.)
- Network Broadcasting (16 min.)
- Programming (12 min.)
- Listen to the radio programs:
- Amos and Andy, “A Law Book to Help Amos,” July 3, 1929
- Franklin Roosevelt, First Fireside Chat: Bank Holiday, March 12, 1933
- The Eddie Cantor Hour, Chase and Sanborn Hour, December 20, 1931
- Oxydol’s Own Ma Perkins, August 14, 1933
- Complete Reading Quiz 3 available on Google Classroom, due February 24, 11:59 PM
Module 4: Radio,1933–1940: The Invited Guest, Golden Age of Radio, Feb 25
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 5, “Radio for Everyone, 1926–1940”
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom:
- Technological Developments, 1933–1940 (13 min.)
- Commercial and Network Broadcasting (13 min.)
- National Association of Broadcasters (6 min.)
- Federal Communications Commission (11 min.)
- Programming, 1933–1940 (18 min.)
- Listen to radio programs:
- Mercury Radio Theater of the Air, War of the Worlds, October 30, 1938
- Gangbusters, “Carnival Caper,” date unknown
- Information Please, Carl Van Doren and Gloria Stewart, Jan 2, 1940
- Edward R. Murrow, Trafalgar Square, from London After Dark, August 24, 1940
- Complete Reading Quiz 4 available on Google Classroom, due March 3, 11:59 PM
Module 5: Radio, 1940–1945: Wartime Radio, Mar 4
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 6, “War at Home and Abroad, 1940 to 1945”
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom:
- World War II (11 min.)
- Wartime Broadcast Regulation (18 min.)
- Wartime Radio Industry (10 min.)
- Wartime Radio Programming (13 min.)
- Listen to radio programs:
- KGU Honolulu and NBC, News Flash Describing the Japanese Attack On Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.
- President Roosevelt, Fireside Chat to Nation following Declaration of War with Japan, December 9, 1941.
- We Hold These Truths, December 15, 1941
- Complete Reading Quiz 5 available on Google Classroom, due March 10, 11:59 PM
Exam 1, March 11
Exam 1 covers the material for the Modules 1–5 and is available on Google Classroom.
- Available: Thursday, March 11
- Due: Wednesday, March 17, 11:59 PM
The review session is today, Thursday, March 11, 2:00 PM on Zoom. Register in advance
Module 6: Television, 1945–1955: “Radio with Pictures,” Mar 18
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 7, “At Last Television, 1945 to 1955”
- Available on Vitalsource
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom
- Decline of Network Radio (9 min.)
- Development of Television (16 min.)
- Commercial TV Broadcasting (15 min.)
- The Freeze, the Blue Book, and the Red Scare (13 min.)
- Early TV Programming (12 min.)
- Watch the television programs:
- RCA Presents The Story of Television, 1939
- The Philco Television Playhouse, “Marty,” May 24, 1953
- Opening from Disneyland USA, October 27, 1954
- “Clear Picture,” an excerpt from Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (Frank Tashlin, 1957)
- Complete Reading Quiz 6 available on Google Classroom, due March 24, 11:59 PM
Module 7: Television, 1955–1965: The Golden Age and the “Vast Wasteland,” Mar 25
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 8, “The Domesticated Medium, 1955 to 1965”
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom
- Radio and Top 40 (9 min.)
- TV Network Age (16 min.)
- TV Programming, 1955–1965 (17 min.)
- Regulation and Self-Regulation, 1955–1965 (10 min.)
- Watch the television programs:
- Twenty-One, “Herb Stempel Loses to Charles van Doren,” December 5, 1956
- Herbert Stempel discusses his loss years after the fact
- Bewitched, “I, Darrin, Take This Witch Samantha,” September 17, 1964
- NBC White Paper, “Sit-In,” December 20, 1960
- Complete Reading Quiz 7 available on Google Classroom, due April 7, 11:59 PM
Module 8: Television, 1965–1975: Consolidation and the Network Era, Apr 8
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 9, “The Classic Network System, 1965 to 1975”
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom
- Ascendance of FM Radio (6 min.)
- Network TV Programming, 1975–1985 (21 min.)
- Cable Television (8 min.)
- Satellite Cable (12 min.)
- Public Television (8 min.)
- Watch the television programs:
- Public Broadcast Laboratory, November 12, 1967
- Dragnet 1967, “The LSD Show,” January 12, 1967
- The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, “Harry Belafonte, Cass Elliott, Rosie Grier,” September 29, 1969
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Love is All Around,” September 19, 1970
- All in the Family, “Meet the Bunkers,” January 12, 1971
- Complete Reading Quiz 8 available on Google Classroom, due April 25, 11:59 PM
Module 9: Television, 1975–1985: Competition and the End of the Big Three Networks, Apr 15
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 10, “Rising Discontent, 1975 to 1985”
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom
- Regulation and Deregulation (18 min.)
- Competition at Home (12 min.)
- TV Programming, 1975–1985 (19 min.)
- The End of the Big Three (10 min.)
- Watch the television programs:
- Dallas, “A House Divided,” March 21, 1980
- Hill Street Blues, “Hill Street Station,” January 15, 1981
- *M*A*SH, “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen,” February 28, 1983
- The Cosby Show, “Pilot Presentation,” September 20, 1984
- Complete Reading Quiz 9 available on Google Classroom, due April 28, 11:59 PM
Exam 2, April 22
Exam 2 covers the material for the Modules 6–9 and is available on Google Classroom.
- Available: Thursday, April 22
- Due: Sunday, May 2, 11:59 PM
The review session for today has been cancelled due to no enrollment.
Module 10: Television, 1985–1995: Multichannel TV, Apr 29
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 11, “The Big Change, 1985 to 1995”
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom
- Regulation and More Deregulation (9 min.)
- Multichannel Television (11 min.)
- The Fourth Network (12 min.)
- New Broadcast Networks (8 min.)
- Big Three Synergy (7 min.)
- TV Programming, 1985–1995 (10 min.)
- Watch the television program:
- Married…with Children, “The Camping Show [A Period Piece],” December 11, 1988
- Law & Order, “Subterranean Homeboy Blues,” September 20, 1990
- Seinfeld, “Opposite,” May 19, 1994
- Roseanne, “We’re Going to Disney World, Part 1” and “Disney World War II,” February 20 and 27, 1996
- Anatomy of a “Homicide: Life on the Street”, November 4, 1998
- Complete Reading Quiz 10 available on Google Classroom, due May 5, 11:59 PM
Module 11: Television, 1995–2005: TV and Digital Convergence, May 6
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 12, “Entering the Digital Age, 1995–2005”
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom
- Telecommunications Act 1996 (11 min.)
- What is Digital? (8 min.)
- Digital Radio (5 min.)
- Digital Television (11 min.)
- TV Programming, 1995–2005 (7 min.)
- Watch the television programs
- Lost, “Walkabout,” October 13, 2004
- The Sopranos, “The Sopranos,” January 10, 1999
- Complete Reading Quiz 11 available on Google Classroom, due May 12, 11:59 PM
Module 12: Television, 2005-Present: TV3 and Beyond, May 13
Assignments
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 13, “Baby, It’s You: Web 2.0, 2005 – Present”
- Read Hilmes, Chapter 14, “Conclusion: TV after TV”
- Watch the recorded lectures and answer the comprehension questions on Google Classroom
- Complete Reading Quiz 12 available on Google Classroom, due May 25, 11:59 PM
Exam 3, May 13, due May 20
Exam 3 covers the material for the Modules 10–11 and is available on Google Classroom.
- Available: Wednesday, May 19
- Due: Wednesday, May 26, 11:59 PM