"Radio Listeners in Panic, Taking War Drama as Fact." New York Times 31 Oct. 1938. ProQuest. 9 Apr. 2008.

This is an original article in the New York Times from 1938 that describes the widespread panic that follows Orson Welles radio show version of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds on Halloween 1938. In the radio show, Orson Welles had done an entire show pretending that aliens had landed in New Jersey and were causing mass destruction throughout New Jersey and New York. Even though the radio station made several announcements to the effect that the show was just a performance, thousands upon thousands of people in the Northeast called their local authorities genuinely terrified and wondering what they could do to protect themselves and their families. Upon being reassured that the show was just a performance, many citizens did not know who to believe – Welles or the police. The telephone companies reported that they had never been so overrun with calls and streets all over New York and New Jersey were flooded with people running aimlessly with wet towels over their mouths trying to protect themselves from the alleged toxic gas.

This article is relevant to Citizen Kane because, aside from Citizen Kane, this stunt was perhaps Welles’ most renowned creative work and is a sort of tribute to his ability as an actor and his talents at emotionally affecting people. Even though the radio show ended up causing mass panic throughout much of New York and New Jersey, and even resulted in a number of people needing treatment for hysteria, Welles had never anticipated the effect his show would have, saying they almost didn’t do the stunt because they thought people would be too bored with something so unbelievable.

 

Kosovsky, Robert. "[Untitled]." Rev. of Citizen Kane, the Magnificent Ambersons, by Bernard Hermann. American Music: 221-227.

 

Citizen Kane was the first film project on which Academy Award winning composer Bernard Hermann worked, and the music he created played an integral role in defining the characters of the film and crafting Citizen Kane as a creative work. This article explains the role that Bernard Hermann played in making Citizen Kane a great film, the relationship between Hermann and Welles, and explains the technical side of how Hermann made the different “cues” for the film.

As is mentioned in the article, Hermann and Welles both worked on radio in their early careers, where Hermann composed and arranged upwards of 2,500 shows for CBS. This is where Welles and Hermann met, both exploring their respective arts and collaborating occasionally on shows, including Welles’ famous rendition of War of the Worlds that sent thousands of people across the United States into hysterics. When Welles got his first film deal to make Citizen Kane, he insisted upon having Hermann do the music, giving Hermann his first opportunity to compose for a film. Hermann proved to be exceptional in this and his future projects because while he understood that the primary role of a film score was to complement the visuals of the film, his extensive experience in radio ensured that his scores could act as standalone pieces, as well.

Also, the article discusses the technical side of composing for cinema, explaining how Hermann used “leitmotifs” – a kind of recurring musical motif in reference to a character, location, or theme – to strengthen the relationship between the score and the visuals, creating leitmotifs for many of the films key players, Rosebud, and the various mental states that Kane experienced throughout the film.

This article recounts the early days after the decision was announced to break Viacom into two separate companies (one cable, which would be a growth stock, and the other broadcasting, which would be a value stock). Simply put, Sumner Redstone’s acquisition strategy was not nearly as successful as he had expected it to be. Indeed, it has failed. But, that does not mean that the split is welcomed with open arms and rave reviews on the part of Wall Street analysts.
The main logic behind the split up is that sprawling conglomerates become dragged down by their own size and that expected synergies often do not occur because of management struggles or clashes of corporate cultures (see chapter 11, pages 233-235 of Media Economics, Theory and Practice for a great example of this).

This article focuses on CBS’s measures to assure investors that it is prepared for the new digital age and will remain profitable even as the ways in which consumers consume media radically change. The broadcast network is focused on creating new revenue streams from video-on-demand, internet sites/portals, and more diverse program offerings on other channels that are not dependent on advertising (except in the internet case) and are more amenable to consumers’ new tendency to watch TV when and where they desire. Part of the problem that traditional broadcast networks have been having is that their content is regarded as having a different value for cable carriers than those stations that exist exclusively on their medium. This weakens broadcast newtorks’ bargaining position, for they are not regarded as having the same economic structure. In some senses, CBS (along with all other major networks) is seeking to change that by reconstructing its business model.

Important quotes:

“The shows will cost 99 cents each, and will be available in areas where CBS owns TV stations and Comcast provides digital cable. The deal bears some similarity to recent agreements NBC and ABC have struck with DirecTV and Apple Computer. All are meant to adapt the business model of a broadcast television network to changing technologies and viewer habits, and find additional ways to be paid, beyond the advertising that has been broadcasting's sole source of revenue."

"But unlike NBC and ABC, which reside inside the conglomerates General Electric and Walt Disney and have sizable cable network siblings, CBS has an extra incentive behind its digital hustle: the split-up of Viacom. The breakup will leave the CBS Television Network as the centerpiece of a new CBS Corporation, which will include 40 television stations, the UPN network, the radio group Infinity Broadcasting, Showtime, Simon & Schuster and the Paramount Television production business. The rest of the company, which includes the fast-growing MTV Networks cable channels, BET and the Paramount Pictures film studio, will continue under the Viacom name.”