Radio – War of the Worlds
Context
An early example of a hybrid radio form, adapting the H.G Welles story using news and documentary
conventions
The broadcast and the initial response to it has historical significance as an early, documented,
example of the mass media apparently having a direct effect on an audience’s behaviour
The product is multi-layered and multi authored: H.G Welles adapted by Howard Koch, directed
and narrated by Orson Welles
Main genre
Science fiction
- Aliens landing on the planet
- Frequent references to Mars in the opening of the programme
The final instalment being as a CB radio transmission is now an established technique in setting a
post-apocalyptic scene
The audience are now left without a voice of the establishment to comfort or instruct them, just the
sole voice of a relatable individual, cast adrift
How the broadcast use different elements of genres
Stylised as a live radio broadcast with a light entertainment/music programme being interrupted by
a continuity announcer
The continued to-ing and fro-ing between the ‘live’ news announcement and the ‘intended
schedule’ with the suspension of advertising gives credence to the idea that these events are factual
What signifiers of different groups and social classes are used?
The style of language between the ‘experts’ and the ‘eyewitnesses’ shows a clear class/educational
divide with the former being much more formal and the latter much more colloquial in their speech.
This reflects the authority of radio as a broadcast medium in which those who present are well
spoken and without strong regional accent = to make them seem more authoritative
The country was also on the verge of war at this time so the narrative plays into the fear if invasion
, Representation of the alien invaders
For much of the broadcast the aliens are an enigmatic force - we have no idea about who they are or
their intentions
This is built upon by the fragmented delivery of the narrative through the various bulletins
- This is common within the genre and has been seen since in films such as Arrival (2016)
During the invasion they are shown as a large force, powerful and deadly
A news reporter, broadcasting from atop the Broadcasting Building, describes the Martian invasion
of New York City – "five great machines" wading the Hudson "like [men] wading through a brook",
black smoke drifting over the city
Their effect is seen in the people diving into the river to escape from the invasion
They are ultimately flawed – at the end the Martians have died – as with the novel, they fell victim to
earthly pathogenic germs, to which they had no immunity
Columbia Broadcasting
Broadcast as part of the CBS Radio Series The Mercury Theatre on the Air, at 8 pm ET on Sunday,
October 30, 1938
CBS has since grown to include over 1000 US stations as well as:
- Movie/TV production
- Cable television
- Record label
Media that radio was in competition with
- The most prominent form of media at this time was print media, however radio was becoming
more and more popular
-
- The news media did not respond well to the broadcast, but this can be seen as a form of self-
preservation
- It can be seen that this moral panic over radio and its ‘immoral’ programming was a way for
print media to fight its growing popularity and try to ensure its dominance in the media market
Regulator in charge of investigating the broadcast (FCC)
Federal Communications Commission, their report included:
"the anecdotal nature of such reporting makes it difficult to objectively assess the true extent and
intensity of the panic.”
Context
An early example of a hybrid radio form, adapting the H.G Welles story using news and documentary
conventions
The broadcast and the initial response to it has historical significance as an early, documented,
example of the mass media apparently having a direct effect on an audience’s behaviour
The product is multi-layered and multi authored: H.G Welles adapted by Howard Koch, directed
and narrated by Orson Welles
Main genre
Science fiction
- Aliens landing on the planet
- Frequent references to Mars in the opening of the programme
The final instalment being as a CB radio transmission is now an established technique in setting a
post-apocalyptic scene
The audience are now left without a voice of the establishment to comfort or instruct them, just the
sole voice of a relatable individual, cast adrift
How the broadcast use different elements of genres
Stylised as a live radio broadcast with a light entertainment/music programme being interrupted by
a continuity announcer
The continued to-ing and fro-ing between the ‘live’ news announcement and the ‘intended
schedule’ with the suspension of advertising gives credence to the idea that these events are factual
What signifiers of different groups and social classes are used?
The style of language between the ‘experts’ and the ‘eyewitnesses’ shows a clear class/educational
divide with the former being much more formal and the latter much more colloquial in their speech.
This reflects the authority of radio as a broadcast medium in which those who present are well
spoken and without strong regional accent = to make them seem more authoritative
The country was also on the verge of war at this time so the narrative plays into the fear if invasion
, Representation of the alien invaders
For much of the broadcast the aliens are an enigmatic force - we have no idea about who they are or
their intentions
This is built upon by the fragmented delivery of the narrative through the various bulletins
- This is common within the genre and has been seen since in films such as Arrival (2016)
During the invasion they are shown as a large force, powerful and deadly
A news reporter, broadcasting from atop the Broadcasting Building, describes the Martian invasion
of New York City – "five great machines" wading the Hudson "like [men] wading through a brook",
black smoke drifting over the city
Their effect is seen in the people diving into the river to escape from the invasion
They are ultimately flawed – at the end the Martians have died – as with the novel, they fell victim to
earthly pathogenic germs, to which they had no immunity
Columbia Broadcasting
Broadcast as part of the CBS Radio Series The Mercury Theatre on the Air, at 8 pm ET on Sunday,
October 30, 1938
CBS has since grown to include over 1000 US stations as well as:
- Movie/TV production
- Cable television
- Record label
Media that radio was in competition with
- The most prominent form of media at this time was print media, however radio was becoming
more and more popular
-
- The news media did not respond well to the broadcast, but this can be seen as a form of self-
preservation
- It can be seen that this moral panic over radio and its ‘immoral’ programming was a way for
print media to fight its growing popularity and try to ensure its dominance in the media market
Regulator in charge of investigating the broadcast (FCC)
Federal Communications Commission, their report included:
"the anecdotal nature of such reporting makes it difficult to objectively assess the true extent and
intensity of the panic.”
