The Myth of The War of the Worlds Panic

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.

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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 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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The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A: 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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Part B: What detail from the selection best supports the answer to Part A?

• The night the program aired, the C. E. Hooper ratings service telephoned 5,000 households for its national ratings survey.

• “To what program are you listening?” the service asked respondents…. None said “news broadcast,” according to a summary published in Broadcasting.

• Welles’s program was scheduled against one of the most popular national programs at the time ….

• No scholar, however, has ever isolated or extrapolated an actual number of dial twirlers.

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The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A: 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 than 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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Part B: What excerpt from “The Myth of the War of the Worlds Panic” best

supports the answer to Part A?

• As weeks, months, and years passed, the audience’s size swelled to such an extent that you might actually believe most of America was tuned to

  CBS that night.

• Welles’s program was scheduled against one of the most popular national

  programs at the time—ventriloquist Edgar Bergen’s Chase and Sanborn Hour, a comedy-variety show.

• [S]everal important CBS affiliates (including Boston’s WEEI) pre-empted Welles’s broadcast in favor of local commercial programming ….

• [CBS] network executives were relieved to discover just how few people

  actually tuned in…. “[T]hose who did hear it, looked at it as a prank and accepted it that way.”

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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 each other?

• 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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