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.

Questioning the media Chapter 7

1. Describe your earliest memory of going to a movie. Do some research and compare this with a parents or grandparents earliest memory. Compare the different experiences.



I would have to say the earliest memory I have of going to the movies was when I was in eight grade. I had my first girlfriend and I didn't know where to go so I took her to the movies. I cant remember what movie we went to see, but I do remember that we both enjoyed ourselves. I asked my mom about her earliest experience of going to the movies and she said that she remembers going when she was around 6 or 7 years old. She said that she was so excited to go and couldnt wait to get there. She could not remember what movie she went to see, but she said she had popcorn and that it was a new adventure for her.


2. Do you remember seeing a movie you were not allowed to see? Discuss the experience.



There were quite a few movies that I saw as a kid that I was not supposed to see. In order to see a rated R movie, you have to be 17, but I saw a couple of these movies in theaters when I was 15 and 16. One time I remember having a freind buy me and my girlfriend tickets to see this scary movie that was rated R. I was hoping we wouldn't get caught when we walked in, but we didn't and we both enjoyed the movie even my girlfriend was scared throughout most of the movie. Most of the rated R movies I had seen when I was under 17 were scary movies like SAW or the Omen.



3. How often do you go to movie theaters today? How often do you play DVD's on a television, or watch movies on a computer? Which experience do you prefer and why?



These days I don't go to see movies in the theater that often because they are so expensive. Plus I usually don't have much time to go there anyway because I'm always busy with other plans. The last time I went to the movies was to see Sherlock Holmes and Avartar shortly after, both of which were at the end of December. I play DVD's on tv every coupl of weeks when I feel like having a movie night, but at my house I have DVR and so we have like 40 movies recorded so usually I watch one of them. I prefer to watch a movie on DVD at the comfort of my own home because I can relax and get comfortable which allows me to enjoy the movie better.

Chapter 6 Questioning the Media

1. How many cable channels do you watch regularly? What programs do you watch? What attracts you to a certain channel?


Usually I dont watch many cable channels regularly because there are certain stations I like to watch what little bit of time I do watch television. I have direct TV at my house also, so there are certain channels I watch that arent on regular cable TV. There are probably about 6 or 7 stations that I try and watch regularly. They are ESPN, Comedy Central, USA, Fox, MTV and ESPN2. The shows these channels play is what attracts me to them. I like to watch funny shows like Family Guy and the Simpsons on Fox and funny movies on Comedy Central as well as Scrubs. I like to watch action movies on USA sometimes.


4. CNN and MTV have our changed our society as well as the global culture. Have these changes been positive or negative? Explain

These stations have really modernized our society and the way we think because of the influential things that play on these stations. On MTV, there used to be alot of music videos that the country loved to watch all the time. It used to be the way to listen to music until the invention of all the new technology like Youtube and Ipods. CNN has always been more of a news channel that lets people in on real time situations that going on in the economy now. The changes these stations have brought about in our society, I feel, are positive because people know what to expect from certain parts of society because of the up to date information they receive fro CNN and the relaxing music from MTV so people can take a break from there world and just listen to music to get away.

5. Do you think DBS is an equal competitor to cable? Why or why not?

I Think that digital broadcast satellite and cable are definitely not on the same playing field because of how much more advanced the digital broadcast satelitte is than cable. DBS is more advantageous than cable in areas that are hard to put the underground wires in and also areas that arent profitable for them. DBS can also be viewed from peoples cell phones, so therefore its like having a mobile TV as to where cable, you can't take it anywhere but the place you are watching a TV. DBS high definition images are alot better than cables HDTV as well because of the quality of the picture.

Chapter 5 Dicussions questions

2. How much television do you watch today? Which programs do you try to watch regularly? What attracts you to your favorite programs?



Nowadays, I don't have much time to watch television unless it is a weekend. I am so busy with my schoolwork and job during the week that there are some nights my tv is never even turned on. I probably watch anywhere from 8 to 12 hours of tv during the weekends and maybe 3 to 5 during the week. The prograns I try and watch regularly are programs like Family Guy, The Simpsons, and South Park. I dont get to watch these shows all the time, but I like them because they are just so funny and make me laugh constantly.



3. If you were a network television executive, what changes would you try to make in the programs that America watches?



If I was a network television executive, then I would push to have certain programs taken off the air. I would push for things like all the reality love shows to be taken off air because most of the people on these shows are just on it to be on tv and could care less about the other people they are competing for or against. Most people I know, don't even watch shows like these, therefore they are just taking up airtime. I would try and push America to try and watch more shows that are funnier and not so serious especially since times are so rough. I think it would help make Americans loosen up and not be so uptight.



1. Describe your earliest memories of watching television. What was your favorite show? Which, if any, shows did your family watch together? Were there shows that you were not allowed to watch? Which ones and why?


I don't remember how young I was when I first started watching televison, but I do remember some shows me and my brother liked to watch. I think the name of the show was called Alvin. It was about this little brown creature living with some family. I can't remember all the details but I still remember his character because he was funny and he is what made the show good. When I was little, me and my family never really watched any shows together that we all like. I remember that we had cinemax and HBO and I was not allowed to even watch these stations because of nudity.

Chapter 4 questioning the media

1. Describe your earliest memories of listening to radio. do you remember a favorite song? how old were you? do you remember the stations call letters? why did you listen?


I can't say that I remember my first time listeneing to the radio, but I do remember I liked a certain type of music as a little boy. I'm embarrassed to say, but Ilistened to music like the backstreet boys and Nsync as a kid. I was into the boy bands at the time because I guess I thought it was the cool thing to do. To the best of my memory I don't think I had a particular favorite song, but I was also probably around ten ot eleven years old then. I have no idea what radio stations I was hearing these songs from back then, but it was probabl something like G105.1. I usually just listened to the stations my parents did in the car.


3. If you could own and manage a commerical radio station, what format would you choose, and why?



If I could own and manage a commerical radio station then I would probably choose the top 40 format. I would choose this format because more people would be attracted to the songs that were top of the charts each week instead of listening to older songs that used to be popular. This format would also allow for listeners to hear a song later in the day that they didnt hear when it was playing earlier because of the rotation idea that would be used with this top 40 format. Each week the songs would change so people wouldn't have to listen to the same songs week after week.



5. How might radio be used to improve social and political discussions in the United States?


Radio can be used to improve social and political dicussions in the United States in several ways. This can improve the social aspect of radio by allowing listeners to call in and give their opinions based on what the host was talking about. Radio can help political discussions in the U.S by allowing the listeners to hear the news over the radio of whats happening now, instead of having to wait til they get home to watch the news. This allows people to stay updated on current events and therefore they could voice their opinions over the radio about the political issues as well.