media marketplace

The clarity bonus is an extra-credit bonus of up to 3 points given for writing that is
particularly clear, concise and easy to read. It comes matched with an opacity penalty,
though, of up to 3 points, which applies to work that is hard to follow and understand.
The majority of essays will either be entirely unaffected by either bonus or penalty, or
will earn one or two points of the bonus. The penalty will be relatively rare.
Penalty points will only be assessed based on specific things, and all of them are
mentioned below. Clarity bonus points can be added to your score for less clearly defined
reasons, since they’re intended to represent how easily I was able to glean the meaning
from your essay.
Here are some specific things that will trigger either a bonus or a penalty:
1. Good use of paragraphs — starting a new one every time you change topics
slightly — is worth at least one point all by itself. You would not believe the
difference in readability this makes. Conversely, bad paragraph handling will cost
you up to two points of opacity penalty, and if you don’t use paragraphs at all,
three.

2. Conciseness counts. If you make each point thoroughly once, not repeating stuff
and not going off on tangents, expect an x.c. spiff. If your answer is more than
three times as long as it has to be to thoroughly make the points you’re making,
expect to lose one.
3. Baffling me with BS — if it becomes clear that you are just filling the page with
vague generalizations hoping one of them will be close enough to score a point, a
point or so of opacity penalty will apply. By contrast, if you aren’t able for
whatever reason to answer a question and you simply write “ran out of time” or
something like that, you’ll probably get a clarity point as a sort of thank-you for
not wasting time.
Good use of visual elements such as graphs and bullet lists (when they’re appropriate and
enhance the clarity of your work) is worth a half-point or so as well.
1. Within 40 years of the invention of the electric telegraph, the new technology
had consolidated into a monopoly and fixed a presidential election, utterly
transformed the American newspaper industry, made commodity markets
feasible for the first time and played a key role in turning famines in Ireland
and India into humanitarian catastrophes on an unprecedented scale. Explain
how the telegraph contributed to all these outcomes.
2. Why was 1956 such an important watershed year in Bell System history?
3. Explain the difference between packet switching and central switching and
give a few reasons why the difference is important. Also, why was the phone
company so dead-set against packet switching, and why was the military so
enthusiastic about it?
4. During the break-up of AT&T, William Baxter had a specific reason for his
plan to break AT&T up. However, the “baby Bells” hated Baxter’s plan, and
persuaded Judge Greene to change the plan so that they could also have short-
hop long-distance service, Yellow Pages publishing and a couple other things.
What was the effect of these changes?
5. Computers went from a very rare and expensive artifact, which only a chosen
few people had a chance to get familiar with, to a device that any high-school
kid with a paper route and/or a generous parent could get his/her hands on and
use as a telecom tool. In your view, what were the three most important
breakthroughs in equipment and techniques that made this democratization
possible?
6. Define Net Neutrality and tell what might happen if the FCC were to repudiate
it.
7. Explain why the telecommunications market is so much more susceptible to
market failure and subsequent monopolization than other markets.
8. Why was Google worried enough to invest millions in developing the Android
platform after Apple and AT&T teamed up to introduce the iPhone?

9. How do you envision “open mesh networks” changing the wireless-telecom
market? (Note: There are several definitions of “mesh networks.” If you rely
on Google for a definition, you’ll probably pick the wrong one. Also, it will
not be possible to answer this question until xx.)

Extra credit questions
10. What are some of the dangers of having a media marketplace controlled by a
very small number of players, such as the movie studios in 1938 or
broadcasting during the Red Scare?
11. What is a microwave relay? What were the breakthroughs that it enabled?