LESSON PLAN: COMPARING THE SATELLITE AND BROADCAST RADIO LANDSCAPES
By Michael Piccorossi, a teacher of history and new media

Subjects: social studies

Estimated time of completion: one to two class periods

Overview:
In astronomy, a natural satellite is defined as an object that orbits a larger planet, asteroid or star. For example, the moon, which makes a single orbit of the earth once every 27.3 days is a satellite of the earth. Artificial communications satellites are wireless devices launched into space that orbit the earth and transmit signals back to base stations on the earth's surface.

Since the launch of the first artificial satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957, satellite technology has expanded beyond its original military uses to affect many facets of daily life. Far beyond the surveillance function that satellites provided the U.S. and Soviet Union during the Cold War, they now play a vital role in a wide-range of communication systems from cell phones to television transmission.

Recently, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio have built networks that use satellite technology to offer subscribers nationwide reception and more than a hundred channels of commercial free music, news, sports and talk programming. The diverse programming options offered by satellite radio come at a time when the programming offered by "over-the-air" broadcast radio outlets is becoming increasingly less diverse and more tightly formatted as a result of a 1996 federal law known as the Telecommunications Act.

Lesson Objectives
Students will:
1. Gain a broad understanding of the development of satellite technology over the last 50 years, and how it evolved from a technology with primarily military applications into a broader communications tool that impacts the economy and everyday life.
2. Consider the role of a diverse, free media in a democratic society.
3. Explain how the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 changed the rules for corporate ownership of multiple media outlets.

To make these lesson plans better

Materials
Access to the Internet
Procedures (in printer-friendly PDF format)

Activity
1. Print out the PROCEDURES and have students perform the three outlined activities.

Extension Idea:
1. Choose a city in the U.S., and assume the role of a Program Director for a radio station in that city. Develop a music format for the radio station, and state the reasons you chose that particular format. What type of music will you play? What age-group are you targeting? What income group are you targeting? Are you targeting males, females or both? Name some advertisers that you think would be willing to advertise on the radio station that you are programming?

Standards
National Standards based on McREL standards and benchmarks:

Civics
Standard 19. Understands what is meant by "the public agenda," how it is set, and how it is influenced by public opinion and the media-- Understands the ways in which television, radio, the press, newsletters, and emerging means of communication influence American politics; and understands the extent to which various traditional forms of political persuasion have been replaced by electronic media

United States History
Standard 27. Understands how the Cold War and conflicts in Korean and Vietnam influenced domestic and international politics Author Michael Piccorossi is Director of Information Technology Services at U.S. News & World Report, and an affiliate faculty member at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. He has taught in Arlington County public schools in Virginia, and works as a freelance Web developer and instructional designer.

About the Author Michael Piccorossi is Director of Information Technology Services at U.S. News & World Report, and an affiliate faculty member at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. He has taught in Arlington County public schools in Virginia, and works as a freelance Web developer and instructional designer.

To find out more about opportunities to contribute to this site, contact Leah Clapman at extra@newshour.org.