Project: Mass Media Oral History

1.Interview a person age 60 or older—someone who likes to talk!—and ask questions about his/her mass media experiences during the last several decades (1930s/40s/50s/60s and on). Use the questions below as a starting point, although feel free to tackle other angles.  As an interviewer, be sure to ask at the end if there is anything else they’d like to tell you about their experiences with music, radio, TV/cable, or the movies.

a) Sound recording
• What records did you listen to?
• Who was your favorite recording star?
• What kind of record/music player did you have, and where was it in your house?
• Was there any kind of music you weren't supposed to listen to? Why?
• Were you allowed to play music whenever you wanted, or were there parental limitations in your house?
• How much did a recording cost?
• Where did you buy your records?
• How did you find out about the artists you listened to?
• What did your parents think about records and record players?

b) Radio
• What do you remember about your experiences with radio?
• What kinds of programs did you listen to? (entertainment, music, talk, etc.)
• When were they on, and why did you like them?
• What technical problems did you experience with your radio set?
• Do you have some specific memories (good or bad) about listening to the radio when you were young? What are they?
• Where and when did you listen to the radio?
• What was it like when FM radio became available (if they remember)?
• Do you think radio is better or worse today? Why?

c) Television/Cable
• What was it like when TV became available (if they remember)?
• Where did you watch your first TV programs, and what was the viewing experience like?
• How much was your family's first TV set and what factors figured into its purchase?
• What was reception like?
• What was a typical family viewing session like?
• How did TV change home life?
• What do you remember about the corporate sponsors of TV shows?
• What (if anything) do you remember about the quiz show scandals (these were in the late 1950s)?
• What do you remember about TV commercials when you grew up.  Do you remember tobacco commercials?
• What was your response to the first TV programs in color (in the 1960s)?
• How do your television experiences as a child and teenager compare with your television experiences now?
• If you have it, when did you decide to get cable or satellite TV? What factors went into this decision?
• How was the early cable or satellite TV different from regular over-the-air television (in terms of experience, programming, your desire to watch, etc.)?

d) Movies
• What were your first movie-going experiences like, and how are they different from today? How much did it cost?  Who would you go with? What kinds of food concessions (if any) would you buy?
• What were some of your favorite films growing up and why?
• What do you remember about the excitement surrounding any other movies when you were young? (for example, Gone With the Wind, Psycho, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The Exorcist, Jaws, or Star Wars?)
• Were there films your parents forbid you to see? What were they and why were you not allowed to see them?
• What films were the most influential for you?  Did a movie ever transform your life?
• Did you ever get a VCR (and later, a DVD player)? How did that change your movie-viewing experience?

2.  Please organize your interview information according to the following guidelines, trying to make your paper as readable and accessible as possible:

• Put your name, and the name and age, as well as the relationship you have with of your interview participant, at the top of the page. Also note the date and location (if in person, or via telephone) of the interview.
• Type in 12 pt. Times New Roman or comparable font.
• Group your interview subject's answers under the assignments four categories: sound recording, radio, tv/cable and movies.
• Write an opening paragraph that synthesizes the interview, and then 2-4 paragraphs for each media category.
• Paraphrase most of the interview. However, if it’s a great quote, please include it.
• Fact-check: make sure you get spellings of film titles, performers' names, and musical artists correct and approximate dates (years) of media events. Use the Media and Culture text as one source to fact check.
• Only include information that seems the most poignant or interesting. For example, if your participant didn't say anything interesting or worthwhile about radio, skip that category entirely (but make up for it in another more interesting category).
• The entire project should be 1.5-2 pages, single-spaced.
• This assignment is worth 5 percent of your grade.
• Due in class, Jan, 31 2011.  [One of the assignment’s five points is deducted each week late.]