Q2

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The fears and dreams that expressed in Butsch’s public discourses about radio
There are several fears and dreams expressed in Butsch’s public discourse about radio, some of which are still prevalent to date. One of the fears was that the increases in the radio programming would have major effects on the children. The societal leaders and the middle class held misinformed beliefs that the radio programming, including thrillers on the radio, would cause anxiety and nightmares to the preadolescentsCITATION Ric00 p 232 l 1033 (Butsch 232). Most of these fears came from the elites and the middle class. A majority feared that the radio programs aired in the evening before bedtime had distorted information to the children that would make them have nightmares in their sleep. These fears may have been driven by the societal fear of losing their influence on these children. The easier way to deal with this fear was to discredit the radio programs and force the programmers to develop the program that would conform to the cultural elite’s views. The fear of radio programs affecting the children was also founded on the type of programs offered on the radio. Most of the children programs were meant to excite the children based on fairy tales to attract a large crowd of listeners. These programs may not have been fully developed to assist the preadolescents in their development.
The dream of the radio becoming a tool of cultural influence and spreading the cultural uplift in the society was widely successful.

The cultural elites in used the commercialization of the radio to spread the opera and orchestra music to the masses. The radio became a tool for showing the difference in cultural and musical classes. The radio playing the classical music was seen to be high end and therefore occupying a higher status in the society while radio stations playing jazz music were considered to be small and required reformation and eliminationCITATION Ric00 p 224 l 1033 (Butsch 224). Fear rose that the already do not fine programming favored by the cultural elites would reform the radio with the aim of eliminating the small radios stations that were viewed as being mediocre in the market. Much emphasis was placed on the importance of the large radio stations with the chance of assisting artists make huge sums than the small radio stations. As the radio gained influence, competition between the radio and orchestra arose with major publishers showing radio as the most popular.
The commercialization of the radio raised fears that the radio would cause a major reduction in the popularity of the orchestra, as the patrons would move to the radios. This fear was however dismissed when the opera adopted the radio in their plays and programCITATION Ric00 p 221 l 1033 (Butsch 221). The fear of the opera was founded on the premise that their music would now be played on the radio to the convenience of the radio listeners. Such a move would make the opera patrons from occupying the opera seats in preference of listening to the opera music from their radios from any other location. Such a move was genuine for the opera houses that solely depended on the opera patronage to raise funds for their operations. It was also shuttering the tight grip the opera houses had on the society as the only outlet for them to listening to classical and opera music.
Victor Herbert and John Philip Sousa feared the radio would reduce sales of their sheet music and recordings (Butsch 222). Alma Gluck accused the radio broadcasts of reducing the income of her recordings. The movie industry was also threatened by the radio. The Minneapolis respondents said that the radio cased a 19% reduction in movie attendance. Others believed that the radio supplanted newspapers. The introduction of the radio led to the demise of the small newspapers that depended on the metropolitan dailies for the printing for the reprinting of their stories.
Despite the fears posed by the radio, commercial interests promoted radio as a cultural tool. Some believed that the radio raised the cultural and educational level of the population. It brought people together, and many would gather in one place to listen to the radio. The radio forms “a bigger world” (Butsch 223). Radio elevated the nation’s musical taste. Adverts associated radios with high culture and elegance. The radios elevated popular tastes by improving the music. Radio magazines praised their equipment as an educational tool. The radio educated both the young and old on important and relevant topics such as women being taught on handling house chores.
Work Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Butsch, Richard. The making of American audiences: From Stage to Television, 1750-1990. Cambridge University Press, 2000.