What is media? The American Heritage Dictionary defines media as “A means of mass communication, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, or television.” In today’s society, the media influences are daily lives, to the clothes we wear, the music we listen to and even the food we eat. One example of this is television. MTV is one of the most watched channels for young adults. Commercials shown on MTV definitely have influence myself and my fellow peers with their snazzy Verison cell phone promotions and beautiful models endorsing the new and improved mascara for Covergirl. Items I don’t care too much for, but will probably give in.

Media is intriguing, especially magazines such as US Weekly. I love celebrity gossip and this magazine covers my needs for it. US Weekly take a glimpse of the celebrity life we all want - wealth, fame and glamour, but also their personal life. If you flip open a page of this magazine, you’re bound to see pictures of celebrities intoxicated or with a new significant other. Obviously, this sells because normal, everyday people want to take a peek of someone else’s life, instead of their own. In the recent US Weekly, I read the article on actress Kate Hudson and how she supposedly cheated on her ex- husband. Obviously this causes a damper on her “good girl” reputation. This article alone probably changed her perfect sweet innocent image, to a cold-hearted woman. Kate Husdon is not the only celebrity affected; famous actor Tom Cruise is another victim of the media. For the past two years, his reputation went down the slopes with his infamous jumping on couch on the Oprah show and his constant PDA with Katie Holmes. Since these incidents, Cruise was recently dropped by Paramount due to his ratings.



In a nutshell, to me, the media is persuading and influential. It is up to us to buy into it or not.