ch 15 questioning the media

1. What are your main concerns or criticisms about the state of media studies at your college or university?

One of my main concerns about the state of media studies at Lenoir-Rhyne is how the school as a whole views greek life. The schools whole judicial system is a joke. I am critizing it because of what it chooses to accuse people for. It needs to re-evaluate its whole process because most of it is a big waste of time. Another concern about the media studies at LR is the current convocation system thats in place. Under the current system, students should not be required to attend one convo of each category, but rather say five total convos in a year because there is a limited number of convos for each category and students may not have time to fit one of a certain category into their schedules.

2. One charge that has been leveled against a lot of media research is that it has very little impact on changing our media institutions. Do you agree or disagree?

I agree with this statement because no matter what is said about our media institutions, usually nothing will change in them. Most of the time when things change, it is because the policies of these institutions need to be updated or changed to reflect the change in the society as a whole. Even with al the cultural models that are made about these institutions and how mocu better they could become by doing so, usually changes nothing. To me, media research is just another thing to do in orderto try and critize someone else.

4. In looking at media courses in a college curriculum, what do you think the relationship is between theory and practice? Do hands-on, practical-skills, courses such as news reporting, advertising copywriting, or TV production belong in a liberal arts college or in a seperate mass communication college? Explain.

Since a theory is an idea or hypothesis which aims at explaining something, practice can be correlated with theory. I think that in media courses in college curriculum, practice is supposed to make perfect since practice is an exercise/application of a theory into an idea or action. Say the theory was that one had to learn a dance perfectly within a week. This just means that the person would have to practice and practice in order to be perfect to prove the theory right. I think that hands-on, practical-skills courses belong in both liberal arts and mass communication colleges because of the diversity a college is supposed to offer its students. Especially things like TV or theater production should be in a liberal arts college because there is alo of that here at LR and it enhances the LR experience, so therefore it would at other colleges as well.

chapter 13 questioning the media

1. Are you exposed to popular culture from other countries? Why or why not? give some examples.

There are alot of different popular cultures from other countries that I am exposed to almost everyday. For example, I am exposed to food from other countries everyday, but that doesn't mean I eat it everyday. I am exposed to food like mexican such as tacos, burritos, chips & salsa, etc. Another popular culture I am exposed to everyday is the clothing people wear. In the winter, people wear scarfs that are from other countries like the Middle East. Also, I usually see some Muslim women quite often which are dressed from head to toe, except for their faces. Television allows me to be exposed to alot of other popular culture from others countries daily as well.

2. Do you read international news? Why or why not?

Sometimes I do read international news for various reasons. One of the main reasons I read international news is to keep up with the war in Iraq and its impact on other countries. For example, the war affects other countries operations in which the US heavily relies on for its citizens like clothing and petroleum. Since not only the US is in an economic crisis, several other countries are as well. I like to read about companies centralized in the US, but are severely impacted by foreign economic downturn. In my policy class, I have done papers on companies like Chevron, Honda, Johnson & Johnson, and Bank of America. It has been interesting to see how the foreign markets affect the profits of these companies.

5. Is there such a thing as a global village? What does this concept mean to you?

In my opinion, I think that there are numerous global villages out there. The term global village is used to describe the internet and the things people can access on it. There is no limit as to how people can interact with one another globally on the internet and find people with the same interests and concerns as themself. To me, a good example of a global village who be internet dating site such as eharmony, etc. This is because people can interact with others and find that someone special they have been looking for with the same interests as themselves no matter the location of each person.

Chapter 12 questioning the media

1. What do you think of when you hear the term public relations? What images come to mind? Where did these impressions come from?



When I hear the term public relations,I often times think of the government or celebrities. I think of the government because the government controls everything within a country and even what is and isnt allowed to appear in some form of advertising. I think of celebrities because they are one of the main focuses of the entertainment and television business. Pretty much anything they do will be heard about later on the news. Its like the news and television evolves around them. I developed these impressions through the years as i got older and more mature.



2. What might a college or university do to improve public relations with homeowners on the edge of a campus who have to deal with noisy student parties and a shortage of parking spaces?



A college or university could offer some alternatives to the homeowners on the edge of campus such as letting them know in advance when a party is going to be near their house. They could also just tell the fratnerity that they cant have parties but even so often because of the complaints by the neighbors. The university could also provide the homeowners with designated parking spots for them only to keep them happy by doing something like putting up signs by these spots and painting the parking spots saying its the homeowners parking only, and towing is enforced.



3. What steps can reporters and editors take to monitor PR agents who manipulate the news media?


Reporters and editors can monitor PR agents for manipulating the news media by checking the resources that the story is composed from. If the article's resources are all from a liberal or all from a conservative site or politican then they can request an opinion or fact from the opposing side. They can also read the article and monitor for anything that may be based on personal opinion. An unbiased article should consist of all points of view, not just the side the person may have taken.

Chapter 11 questioning the media

1. What is your earliest reco0llection of watching a television commerical? Do you have a favorite ad? A most despised ad? What is it about these ads that you partically like or dislike?



My earliest recollection of watching a TV ad was . Typically my favorite ads are the superbowl commericals. This is because they are really funny and most of them are actually products that I purchase like Doritos and Bud Light. I really like ads like this because they make me laugh. These ads usually have more of a sexier image to them as well like hot women, and thats what I like. Usually I try not to even watch commericals because they typically don't interest me and I end changing the channel. I dont have a despised ad, but there are a few ads I dont like such as the commericals advertising the products used just for women like tampoons n stuff like that.



2. Why are so many people critical of advertising?



I think that alot of people are critical of advertising because alot of times, advertisinments can send mixed messages to people. One person can interpret an ad in a positive way when another can interpret the same ad in a positive way. Advertising is also used in ways like political advertising where commericals are used to persuade people to adopt a particular viewpoint altough it may be somewhat of a negative viewpoint. People are also critical of advertising because it makes the competition look bad even though it all may not be entirely true.



5. Should tobacco advertising be prohibited? Why or why not? How would you deal with first admendment issues reguarding controversial ads?



I think that advertising of tobacco products should be prohibited everywhere. These producrts are absolutely disgusting and they kill people. What kind of people would want to advertise products that kill people everyday. Its just morally wrong. Not to mention that these products smell awful as well. I am personally glad that North Carolina passed the law to where people are not allowed to smoke in bars and resturants anymore. I used to hate when I would go out and come back later that night and have my clothes smelling like cigaretts. Yes people do have the right to free speech in the first admendment, but why would people even want to put controversial ads out in the first place. If I worked for the government, I would ban these ads and just tell people to deal with it and get over it because its not the end of the world.

Chapter 10 questioning the media

1. What are your earliest recollections of books? Do you read for pleasure? If yes, what kinds of books do you enjoy? Why?



My earliest recollections of books as a kid were a short stories series called Goosebumps. I remember everytime I went over to my Grandma's house on the weekend, I would try and read a whole Goosebumps book in a day. These books were so interesting to me at the time because a lot of them were scary books that had alot of twists and kept me interested to read further. I would read 2 or 3 of these books every week and it would make my Grandma so proud that she promised as long as I kept reading them, that she would keep buying me new ones. Nowadays, I do not read for pleasure. Most of the time I read is for schoolwork or for a job. The only pleasure I get out of reading nowadays, is reading the sports page in the newspaper to find out scores of games.

4. Imagine that you are on a committee that oversees book choices for a high school library in your town. What policies do you think should guide the committee's selection of controversial books?

I think that there are both pros and cons about selecting controversial books for a high school library. Some people may argue that the material would be inappropiate for kids of their age, but I would argue that eventually they are all going to be exposed to it at one point or another. I think with contriversial books, that the committee should only offer these types of books to the seniors and not the under classmen. The geographics of the school could also have some bearing on what the committee decides to do with these books.

6. Would you read a book on an IPod or a Kindle? Why or why not?

If I actually enjoyed reading books in my spare time, then I would definitely read a book on my IPod. The reason would be because it would conserve space in my bag, or it would take away me having to carry the book around in my hand. This would be another good advantage because some people might not want others to see what they are reading so they dont get made fun of. Whenever I go on a long trip and have to fly, then i would read a book on my IPod during the flight because I always bring my IPod with me for flights.

Chapter 9 questioning the media

1. What are your earliest recollections of magazines? Which magazines do you read regularly today? Why?

My earliest recollections of magazines as a kid were magazines named Highlights. I really enjoyed these magazines because they were made for kids. The majority of the time that I see these magazines, are in doctors offices. It seems like that kids don't want to sit still while waiting on the doctors, so they look at these Highlight magazines and do the crossword puzzles and hidden picture searches to keep them busy. The hidden picture searches were by far my favorite. Today I'm not much of a reader, so when I do pick up a magazine its usually something sports related like a Sports Illustrated. Another magazine I like to read from time to time are Playboys because of all the interesting stories and the jokes are really funny.

4. If you were the marketing director of you favorite magazine, how would you increase circulation?

If I were the marketing director of my favorite magazine, I would first look at the methods used to market/advertise my magazine, then make some alternative solutions as to how to better circulate it. I don't specifically have a favorite magazine, but as I mentioned above, I do like Sports Illustrated. If I were to try and better circulate Sports Illustrated, then I would have more commercials for the magazine during sports events like football and basketball games. Another tactic I would use would be to advertise Sports Illustrated in other top selling magazines hoping for a better exposure to not only just the sports fanattics.

7. Do you think that internet will eventually displace magazines? Why or why not?

I think that in the long run, Internet will ultimately the magazine industry. This is because the Internet is continuing to become faster and faster and people can find exactly what they want to find faster on the Internet, instead of skimming through magazine articles to find what they want. There are already large magazine distributors that have online sites of all the articles that are in the magazines, so why would people pay for magazines anymore if they could find the few articles they really want to read in the click of a button. With the slowed economy, magazines are just another expense that people have to pay, for something they may read twice then throw out.

chapter 8 questioning the media

1. What kinds of stories, topics, or issues are not being covered well by mainstream papers?

Mainstreams papers, in my opinion, do not cover things like the war in Iraq well. Their main concerns seem to be things like celebrity status' and sports related events. I know sports are a big thing with people all the time because they love to watch them, but people need to be more informed about the world as a whole and all the devestating things that are going on in it. So what if the news covers some topics like these on television the day they happen, but it is ok to write articles about them and publish them the next day because not everyone gets an opportunity watch the news every night.

2. Why do you think people aren't reading U.S. daily newspapers as frequently as they once did? Why is newpaper readership going up in other countries?

I think that people in the U.S aren't reading daily newspapers as frequently because most people have turned to the internet as their main source for news. This is also cheaper for people to use the internet instead of paying for a newspaper subscription. People can also access news stories faster on the internet instead of having to wait a day to hear yesterdays news today. People may not have as much time to read the newspaper nowadays as before and turn to the internet in order to find what they are looking for faster instead of scanning the newspaper. Newspaper readership is going up in other countries because some countries don't have freeedom of the press and therefore it may be a recent development for them.

5. Will blogs and other internet news services eventually replace newspapers? Explain your response.

Ultimately in the long run I think that blogs and internet news services will replace newspapers. This is because newspapers are expensive to print and less and less people are buying them nowadays because of the downward economy. Also eventually everyone will have access to the internet somehow whether it's in their home or going to the library to get on the computer there. Another trend I have noticed is that more people are starting to blog and more companies are trying to connect with people through internet sources such as facebook or twitter.