Book Review - Edward Jay Whetmore - American Electric

About the author Edward Jay Whetmore

Edward Jay Whetmore (Ph. D., University of Oregon) writes and lives in southern California where his feature film scripts have been sold to Warner Brothers and LtL Entertainment. Edd and his wife, Rachelle currently own and operate Green Light Entertainment, an independent film production company. He occasionally teaches screenwriting at California State University, Fullerton, and works as a script consultant.

Working in the office of Academic Programs, the Undergraduate Dean is responsible for the quality and depth of undergraduate education. In addition, seven separate coordinators and directors report to the Dean including those in charge of; honors, community and service learning, the graduate writing exam, the Women’s Center, CLASS, university advisement and the Early Assessment Program. Principle investigators of grants dealing primarily with undergraduate education also report directly to the Dean.

Responsible for directing all seniors through a year-long research experience. Dominguez Hills’ Communications Department is the only program in the 23 member CSU system to require this level of commitment to research at the undergraduate level.

Head writer for the eight episode television production project "Science Helper." Produced through Tradewinds Video, funded by the National Science Foundation and housed at Stanford University.

Books

From Script to Screen - Follows the path of the feature script from the time of its sale to its arrival on the screen. Features interviews with Oliver Stone, Lawrence Kansan, Ron Howard, Barry Levinson, John Singleton and Robin Williams. The original version went through five printings. The second edition included extensive interviews with the creative team that was responsible for A Beautiful Mind.

Mediamerica, Mediaworld, Wadsworth - Initially published in 1979, this introductory text covers all domestic and international media and is currently in its fifth revised edition. During the last 17 years, it has been adopted at over 350 colleges and universities and has now been read by an estimated 350,000 students.

American Electric - A comprehensive overview of electronic communications. Focuses on the new technologies, international media practices, and social implications.

The Magic Medium - Introductory radio text includes chapters on advertising, writing, production and promotion with an emphasis on employment patterns and practices.

Some information about every part of the book

In part I (Chapter 2-8) you’ll discover how electronic media have influenced our past as well as our future. This part talks also about the history of radio and television. This history involves the efforts of people who make discovers and contributed to the evolution of radio and TV. The radio looks like a nonstop service frantically pumping out new, information, and song every day. The commercial television is seen as the “electric fireplace”, a fascinating hodgepodge of soap operas, dramas, situation comedies, and late-night talk shows. The first section of the book comes to a close by asking you to entertain some alternative notions about the electronic media in your life.

In part II of American Electric you’ll learn that the development of the electronic media reflects a great deal of historical friction between the broadcast industry and the government. Almost from the beginning, the government moved to control the many-headed giant of broadcasting, and as often as not, it failed to accomplish that goal. TV programs not only reflect our societal concerns, but also direct us to action and influences our perception of ourselves. At first glance, most TV programs may seem trivial or insignificant.

An examination of the realities of the marketplace forms the theme for Part III: The Business of the American Electric. We discover that the economic realities of economic media, past and present. These include advertising, ratings, sales, and other considerations. For better or worse, America’s mass media’s concerns are primarily commercial, linked to the capitalist system. As a result, a large number of contributors to the media’s development were, and still are, primarily interested in making a profit. The search for great profit is largely the story of the American electric. But along the way there were idealist, those who worked, often unsuccessfully, to alter the evolution of the media. One such person was Edwin Amstrong, whose dream for FM radio was not realized in his lifetime. Another was Frieda b. Hennock, the first woman FCC commissioner, whose views about women and their role in the media blazed the trail for more involvement by women at every level of the industry.

Part IV offers a glimpse into some of the potential forms and futures of the American electric. You find there an overview of the so-called new technologies. As you will see, not all the “new” technologies are really new. Yet cable television, satellite communication, computers, and home video/audio system have forever altered the electronic media landscape.

American electric

Introduction to telecommunications and electronic media

American electric is more than a mere political upheaval in some distant land. Instead, it is a global communication revolution pioneered and promulgated in America.