Thoughts on TV vs. Radio

When thinking about television vs. radio when it comes to some of the things we've learned about this week in MCS 271, it strikes me once I really think about it that these are two very different forms of media. Hegemony, as it's usually portrayed in TV is not portrayed the same in radio, except when it comes to radio commercials. Being a radio disc jockey at Radio DePaul and hosting a weekly two-hour show every Saturday, I've noticed that the show that I portray is very anti-hegemonic. I play a lot of punk music, and music that's very much against normal "white picket fence" life situations, which I feel is a lot of what television does represent. I believe that radio is different from TV in regards to the fact that the radio is much more factual. Although television does provide factual information to the public, such as news and weather and documentaries, the majority of radio doesn't include fiction, non-fiction biographies and documentaries, or stories. It's very interesting, however to realize that both mediums have similar effects on the general public. Just a thought. I learned in my Media Literacy class that I'm also taking at DePaul that at the lowest levels of television watching, Children are succeeding better in school than children who don't watch television at all. However, on the other hand, children who excessive amounts of TV, to the point where it cuts into school or sleep time, also have academic difficulties. I thought that was also interesting!