Question
On October 30, 1938, actor and director Orson Welles secured fame when he directed and narrated a radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’s novel The War of the Worlds. The broadcast became famous for scaring people (how many is not really known, as the program, The Mercury Theatre on the Air, had few listeners) who thought the Martian invasion of New Jersey was really happening, even though the program had announced that it was a dramatization of fiction. The next day, the headline of a New York newspaper read, “FAKE RADIO ‘WAR’ STIRS TERROR THROUGH U.S.”
Which of the following statements best describes the effectiveness of mass communication in spreading a message in this example?
A The radio dramatization, the original medium of delivery, spurred newspaper reporting as another medium of delivery, which extended the reach and effectiveness of the program
B The people who listened to the radio dramatization and panicked were probably more susceptible to suggestion, and so the program was very effective for them.
C Because the radio broadcast had few listeners, mass dissemination relied mainly on shared relationships between listeners who received the message.
D Because radio is a medium of mass communication, any programming using this method should be considered effective.
This question is taken from BSCom 100 – Introduction to Communication » Summer 2023 » Week 1 Summative Assessment
