Language Development: The Myth of the War of the Worlds Pani

According to “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic,” why did newspaper reporters exaggerate the effects of the War of the Worlds broadcast?

• They hoped to impress audiences by telling a gripping but untrue story.

• They wanted people to distrust radio as a valid, reliable source of news.

• They forgot to check their sources before the newspaper went to print.

• They wanted to punish Welles for making fun of reporters in his play.

According to “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic,” how did the newspaper industry feel about the radio industry after the Depression?

• curious about the new technology

• impressed by the variety of programs

• uncaring, because it posed no threat

• resentful, because it took their advertisers

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According to “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic,” why was Welles’s broadcast heard by far fewer listeners than people believe today? Choose two options.

• Very few households owned radios during the early to middle twentieth century.

• Newspapers had no way to estimate how many people were listening to the broadcast.

• One of the most popular national programs was airing on another station at the same time.

• Only a small percentage of people surveyed that night said they were listening to the play.

• The broadcast was only aired to select counties in certain states due to broadcasting restrictions.

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According to “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic,” why would many people now believe that most of America heard the radio play?

• CBS and the show's producers have exaggerated the number of listeners over the years.

• More and more people claimed to have listened to the show as it became more famous.

• People who were embarrassed to admit they had heard the show later admitted they had.

• The newspapers increased the number of people listening every time they reported the story.

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According to “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic,” how do PBS and Radiolab account for the huge numbers of people they believe were listening to Welles’s broadcast, despite evidence to the contrary?

• They claim that journalists did not have a good reason to file false reports.

• They claim that stories from listeners were more reliable than the CBS survey.

• They claim that many listeners switched to Welles's play after it had started.

• They claim that more affiliates were playing the show than CBS originally reported.

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Based on “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic,” what can readers determine about the survey conducted the night Welles’s broadcast aired?

• Everyone who responded to the survey knew who Orson Welles was.

• No one who responded mistook the War of the Worlds play for news.

• The people who were interviewed did not represent most radio listeners.

• The people who were surveyed did not know what they were listening to.

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Based on “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic,” what most likely prompted CBS to commission a survey the day after the broadcast?

• They were happy to hear that they had beaten a popular national show in the ratings.

• They were excited that Welles's play may have been heard by many more people that they'd thought.

• They were worried about reports that many people had listened to the play and thought it was news.

• They wanted to find out if listeners would be interested in additional radio plays like Welles's broadcast.

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Which of the following belongs to the word family derived from the base word help?

• unhelpful

• helium

• yelp

• assist

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What idea did both Radiolab: War of the Worlds and “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic” provide evidence to support?

• Many people would have been familiar with the War of the Worlds story.

• Newspapers were not a reliable source of information about the panic.

• A large audience for the War of the Worlds would not have been expected.

• Some listeners sought help after the play because they thought it was news.

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How are the clip from Radiolab: War of the Worlds and the article “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic” different from one another?

• Only Radiolab provided ratings information for the night of the play.

• Only Radiolab included transcripts of responses from actual listeners.

• Only the article included statements made by the producers of the play.

• Only the article mentioned newspaper reports of the play causing panic.

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