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The ads pictured above show the improvement of mass media from the 1920s to present day.
Arjun Rajesh
1/7/2010 06:17:43 am

Mass media did a lot to unify America. After World War I many Americans were in doubt. They must have wondered about the future of American government. That is what I would have wondered. I think that several factors united America and Americans. For one mass media showed how everyone hates African-Americans. I think that this is a mean but clever tactic. Everyone remembered that they all hate African-Americans. The media took advantage of their power (not necessarily in the bad way). They used it to sell things. They made mass media mass marketing which also unified Americans together. I think that the media believed that as long as Americans trust America everything will be alright. They also used mass media on women in telling them that they can join the workforce and do not have to settle for lousy jobs. Although this irritated many people it unified the women. Personally I think that mass media is such a powerful force you can do anything with it.

http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/roaring-twenties/economy-of-the-1920s.html
http://home.earthlink.net/~rdmadden/webdocs/Media_Effects_and_Politics.html

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Jessica Reed
1/7/2010 11:33:55 am

During the 1920s, mass media expanded throughout the US. Radios, newspapers, and tabloids were all examples of popular mass media. These new sources of information were so popular because they were easily accessible. Americans could walk to the local grocery store and grab a tabloid, or the daily newspaper would be delivered to their house. Also, anyone could easily buy a radio at the general store. Once they received a type of mass media, their knowledge about the events in the community, state, and nation could easily be found by a flip of a page, or a turn of a dial. As a result, when women went to the grocery store to get their weekly food, they could chat with their friends about what they heard on the radio, or saw in the tabloids. This is how Americans were united. Furthermore, if someone saw an advertisement for a household product in the newspaper, they would most likely buy it and incorporate it into their daily lives. So, if everyone buys this product then everyone is connected in that way, and soon everyone's lives are affected. Yet, everyone is still united in the sense that they all have the same products. Mass media was a great influence in the 1920s, and therefore it united most Americans.

Personally, I think whoever created the first source of mass media was a genius. Whoever could think of something to influence everyday people and their lives was truly brilliant. I also think it is amazing how the mass media that was created almost ninety years ago is still a big part of our lives in 2010.

Sources:
Class notes
My dad
http://library.thinkquest.org/27629/themes/media/mdtimeline.html

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Jessica Reed
1/13/2010 09:20:23 am

The 1920s were a time of new inventions. Advertisements were one of the products of new ways of printing. Though the ads from the 1920s were fairly basic, they led the way to the types of ads we have today.

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Arjun Rajesh
1/13/2010 09:37:20 am

I agree that the various new inventions were a turning point on American society. They played their part in uniting our society. I also agree that even now mass media is a very effective tactic. With mass media we can be convinced to do anything. Radio was especially helpful. All groups were united. Young, old, rich, poor, all found from this media that they had something in common. Even with all the problems in the country (Treepot Dome scandal, death of Harding) they all were united this way. Also mass media influenced the public opinion in many ways. Exposing so-called "culprits" was one way that they reunited the country. Another was presidential campagins which too had impact.

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Arjun Rajesh
1/13/2010 09:38:38 am

This was my source for the second post
http://hubpages.com/hub/Mass-Media-Influence-on-Society

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