Media Venter

2006-12-14T12:43:00.000-08:00

"Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End"

Well today's reaches the last day of the Fall '06 semester, the end of MCOMM 72 and the end to this blog. ( *gasps* I'm still debating whether I should keep this or not) This class was interesting to say the least and of course useful. I did not know what to except at first and assumed it'll be the same old typical class filled with the never ending power point lectures. I was wrong. Sure, we had power point lectures, but at least it was engaging enough to create intellectual discussions instead of students talking notes like a mad man. What about these nifty blogs. I won't lie, at first the idea of the blog was not my cup at tea and at times during the semester I would question the point of it, but that has all changed. Now, I know more than a thing or two about HTML, shared my opinions to the whole wide web, threaten with a lawsuit case, and most importantly I am more aware of the media. Take for example my December 6 post about Bank of America. Before taking this class, I probably would have brushed it off this news and wouldn't care for it. Now, I find myself questioning like is it right for people to post videos on YouTube without their consent? Perhaps it might ruin bank's reputation. Should YouTube be charged with libel or should the person who posted the video of Bank of America should?

I am a Political Science major with a minor in Public Relations still deciding what I really want to do with it, but that's another story. Anyways, so before talking this class I wasn't really was interested or concerned about media. That's all changed after this course. Now, I find it important and perhaps even vital that people should know what's going out there not because to be aware, but to further educate yourself by researching and analyzing. Hey, isn't this what college is all? Educating yourself and voicing your opinions out. That's what I took out of this class, finding my voice and being able to share it not only the to professor, class, but the world itself.

Well, enough of that, so what kind of media consumer did I turn out to be at the end of all this. Well a more concern consumer. I actually really care about what's going on in the world, and I guess it makes me feel a little bit more intellectual I suppose. Furthermore, I am definitely more of a media consumer than the beginning of this semester.

Anyways, reading other student's blog in this class, many are doing their "Thank yous." Instead of doing my Thank yous to certain people, I would like to thank the following television show, blog, website, music and movie. Thanks for making me a media whore this semester.

Nip/Tuck

Thanks for the great season! I really enjoyed all episodes filled with violence, sex, drugs and drama!

PerezHilton.com

Thank you for keeping me updated with celebrities and their crazy lives. I really needed to know that Britney Spears was not wearing underwear when she got out of her car.

Damien Marley

Your music is an inspiration. Thank you for being so talented and lyrically gifted. Your songs got be through this crazy semester.

Facebook
Thank you for being the new MySpace. Special thanks for making me currently addicted to your web site.

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Thanks for the laughs, I never knew a reporter from Kazakhstan could be so damn entertaining.

2006-12-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

Bank of America = U2 "One?"

According to the New York Times, the two companies that recently merged together (MBNA & Bank of America) decided to celebrate their new deal with a song. Ethan Chandler, a regular Joe who works for banking center manager sang a song about Bank of America which found to be lyrically similar to U2's song "One." The video of this performance was soon later posted online. Many in the online world started to see the so called distinct similarities between the two songs. Thus far, Universal Music Publishing and along with lawyers are pressing charges for the B of A song's breaking allegedly breaking copyright laws. Although some say the video was a marketing ploy, but Ms. Weinberger denies the allegations and said it was "absolutely not" a marketing strategy.

I decided to take a look at the lyrics of B of A and U2's One and found one verse similar

B of A
It is even better
Now that we’re the same
Two great companies come together
Now, MBNA is B of A

U2's One
Is it getting better?
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now?
You got someone to blame

Well oh well, it does seem pretty damn close.

Ethan Chandler should have given U2 some credit and said I'm doing my own version of the U2 One song. At least it wouldn't look like he was "stealing" it. I really don't think Ethan Chandler did anything wrong nor do I think it was a Bank of America publicity stunt. You see so many videos posted up online especially on YouTube of people doing their own version of song or changing up some artist's song , yet they don't seem to get slam with violations of copy right laws. Probably because these big companies and lawyers don't want to waste their time and energy and won't get any profit in doing so!

Now looking at this situation through the eyes of the music companies and artisits, I can see why they are angry 1) Someone's artisitic work is being stolen and used without permission2) Bank of America could pontential gain some publicity or revenue for the song/video

Bank of America is huge corporation and to me, the only reason they're even being filed with copyright lawsuit is because they have money and Universal Music Publicity is simply looking for them to cough up some extra "cash money."

2006-12-04T16:10:00.000-08:00

Cough Medicine, the new drug?

Yesterday, I went to Target to purchase a bottle of Robitussin. To my surprise, I was asked by the cashier for my year of birth and identification before purchasing. I gladly gave the cashier my id, but was utterly confused. Why would I need to carded to purchase a bottle of cough medicine? I decided to ask the cashier and was informed that minors are not allowed to purchase cough medicine containing Dextromethorphan because many underage people are abusing it to get "high."

This issue has been around for some quite time dating back all the way to the 1950s. So why is it such a big deal now? Well its a huge concern due to that fact that its being used more and more especially young teens in middle school. According to the U.S. poison control centers, it logged nearly 4,000 calls related to abuse of cough medicine a year. Here's an example of one of the 4,000 who decided to take the chance of abusing it and of course posting it on YouTube. He's definitely hardcore especially because he's talking shots of Robitussin

Minors can't purchase cough medicine? Yes that's right. Currently, certain stores such as Walmart and Target have outlawed selling cough medicine to minors. Such states include, Georgia, New York, and Ohio.

I think this is an important issue and I definitely support stores such as Target and Walmart to prohibit the selling to minors. California has already outlawed selling spray paint, etching fluid, glue and dietary supplements containing ephedrine to minors and is cough medicine next? Maybe. If it is, will it really end the drug problem? Nope, because any person can open their parent's medicine cabinet and find some cough medicine. Hey, at least by banning it, we can help the situation.

2006-11-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

Asian America Unabridged

What is Asian American? According to Wikipedia it is people from East Asia, Southeast Asia an South Asia countries.

Being Asian American, (Filipino Descedent) it is rare to see many of us in the media spotlight. When I was younger, I found it difficult to be able to relate to any movie stars or models in adveristments, simply because, speaking in a culturally sense, they were not like me. Although there have been great improvements, still in my opinion there are a lack of Asians in the industry. But why? Is America not ready to see an Asian American mainstream television show? Yes, there may be not as much Asians in our country, lets say for example compared to Whites or Hispanics, but isn't the media suppose to reach out to everyone? Shouldn't viewers be able to see another side of Asians besides playing the typical roles such as ninjas or a taxi drivers? For those who feel left out, I might have the answer for you, let me introduce you to Hyphen.

This magazine is a local nonprofit magazine in San Francisco. According to Hypen, it is "a magazine about Asian America for the culturally and politically savvy." It touches various topics such as politics, art, health, and music. Unlike mainstream magazine publications, not only does it recognize mainstream Asians, but also the "underground" side of Asian Americans. The target audience is definitely Asian Americans ages 18-30, but in my opinion the magazine is so versatile that anyone can read and enjoy it. If not, at least it'll give you some insight into Asian Americans.

In that note, I'll end this post with a quote from the Hyphen website, which I feel when I was first introduced to this magazine.

"Because when we scanned the newsstand, we couldn't find ourselves. Now we can."

2006-11-27T10:18:00.000-08:00

Nobody's Perfect

Society is all about appearance. We are constantly judged based on how we present ourselves to others, - our looks, clothes, hair, etc. This is predominately evident especially in the media. If y0u flip through fashion magazines, watch television shows, or movies the celebrities or models in it have the so called "it" factor. This "it" fact usually consists of his/her beauty and most importantly their physique. What message are we really sending out? To be beautiful, you must be a size 0 or have the perfect face, nose, or breasts? How far would you go to achieve this? According to Plastic Surgery.net more than 10.2 million people in the United States had cosmetic plastic surgery in 2005. This was an 11% increase from 2004. The media, especially television are one of the factors for the high rate.

Does anyone remember the Fox show, The Swan? That show offered so called "ugly ducklings" a chance to fulfill their dream - to become beautiful. Each girl went undergone plastic surgery. Each girl experienced physically and mental transformation over a three month period. Lastly, a beauty contest was held for all the contestants where one was ultimately crown "The Ultimate Swan." Wow, how sick. Oh yeah what about MTV's short lived show, I Want A Famous Face where young people went through various makeovers and achieved their goals of looking like their favorite celebrity. Geez, whatever happen to individuality?

Let's take a look at the two twins on the show who received plastic surgery to look more like Brad Pitt I Want A Famous Face. Did anyone see that episode? I liked how everyone hated the twins new look! Haha!

=

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I'm definitely not saying plastic surgery is wrong. If it makes you happy do whatever you want. My only concern is the media presenting shows such as The Swan and I Want A Famous Face sending out a message to viewers that plastic surgery is the answer to your all problems and that it'll give total satisfaction with your appearance. This can influence many people especially viewers with low self esteem. These shows are depicting plastic surgery as the easy way out to be good looking or beautiful. The message being sent out is by physically changing yourself, it will give you a chance to gain acceptance, fame, happiness, but in reality, it won't. So please FOX do me a favor and not create a The Swan 3.

2006-11-25T11:28:00.001-08:00

Attention: Non Blogger Betas

For anyone who had regular Blogger you can now finally switch over to Blogger Beta! Finally, it was only a matter of time. I must say, it would helped out a great deal if it was available in the beginning of the semester. Oh well, at least some Html. All you Non Blogger Betas make the switch! You won't regret it

2006-11-20T18:19:00.000-08:00

(Product) Red

The Gaps's Public Relation employee paid a visit at SJSU during my PR 99 class today. Her presentation consisted of one thing, which was to promote and educate students Gap's Product Red. Product Red was founded by U2's lead singer, Bono. According to the guest speaker, Bono approach Gap at their headquarters in San Francisco during U2's stay in the Bay Area last year. Bono's objective was to simply team up with a clothing company (Gap) have the actual clothes made in Africa and sell it, gain profit for South Africa citizens to help the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Gap is not the only company participating. American Express, Apple, Converse, Motorola, as well as Georgio Armani are helping out with the cause. Out of the 6 companies contributing, Gap is providing the most by giving 50% of their net profit.

Product Red has been a huge success as far as advertising. When the red line come out this October, the Gap bought one full page in the New York Times with a Red advertisement. There were also various pieces that discussed the red line in magazines, newspapers and television news. Bono promoted Product Red to various media, but the most memorable was his visit on the Oprah show. Now, we all know Oprah has lots of power, which is to me is really scary, but thats a whole different topic. Back to Bono on the Oprah show, Oprah and him went to an actual Gap store in Los Angeles, where Bono spent informing and promoting the red cause. The aftermath of the show was amazing. Many people bought the product, thus causing Gap shows to sell out many of their items. No worries though, Product Red is a 5 year project, so Gap will definitely release more products in the years to come.

As far as a marketing point of view IF I was a marketing consultant for Gap, I think the campaign is great because 1) We are helping those in a need 2) Gap is making a great reputation therefore increasing their sells. (Hey I should know, I bought one of the shirts)

I truly believe Product Red will change promotion strategies for the face of marketing and advertising simply because they are gaining a name, profit, while helping the less fortunate.

2006-11-15T16:19:00.000-08:00

"Hypothetically," this is how I'd murder by wife by OJ Simpson

If you don't know OJ Simpson, well chances are you were too young to remember the infamous trial or living under a rock. OJ Simpson was a professional football star and actor, but many remember him as the guy on trial for allegedly murdering his wife, Nicole Simpson. This trial took place in 1995. OJ Simpson was not convicted for any charges against him and was not guilty.

Simpson was later found liable for deaths and was filed a civil lawsuit against him by the Goldman family. He has failed to pay $33.5 million dollars he owes, according to CNN.com. Since then, he has been struggling to pay off the suit.

Currently, Simpson will have a book out called "If I Did It, Here's How It Happened" along with a television interview regarding how hypothetically he would have killed his late wife, Nicole Simpson. Many are criticizing HarperCollins Publishers the publishers of the book for even allowing it to publicize. Denise Brown, sister of Nicole Simpson criticized the publishers and says they are promoting the wrongdoing of criminals. According to CNN.com, Sara Nelson, editor in chief of Publishers Weekly says Simpson "is about trying to cash in, in a pathetic way, on some notoriety." For any of those who care, the television interview will aired on Fox on November 27 and 28.

I found this pretty strange, especially because OJ Simpson denies killing his late wife. Really, why the would you publicize a book on how you would have killed her if you didn't? This makes me wonder if he is trying to send a message out to the public that he killed his wife? I can not understand the logic in this expect for the fact he just wants money. It comes to show that some people would do anything morally wrong to earn some extra cash. I find this all sickening, pathetic and weird because 1) Simpson is using his wife's death for money and 2) Simpson is publishing a book regarding how he would kill someone. Am I the only one who thinks that rather odd? As for my opinions on Simpson I believe he is not the smartest cookie in the cookie jar because the public will definitely raise their eyebrows and think, "Is Simspson trying to drop some hints or something? Is he trying to tell us, hey everyone this is how I killed my wife?"

2006-11-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

Does anyone hate the new NBA zero-tolerance policy as much as I do?

The title should say it all. I really despise the new NBA rule "zero-tolerance policy." This was just recently added for the 2006-2007 NBA season. If you don't know much about sports, there are usually referees during the games. Yes, there are referees in the NBA. Now we all know the NBA was completely embarrassed during the infamous game against the Indianapolis Pacers and Detroit Pistons two years ago. If you don't know what happen, check this video out.

I believe this game above had to do a lot with the new rule and simply because NBA commissioner, David Stern was tired of NBA players complaining to refs when calls were made. Sterns says complaining to the refs ruins the "flow of the game." Now, the new policy basically threatens to hit players with technical fouls for those who curse, throw their hands up, or make other gestures that show any emotions towards the call made by the refs or complain. The same goes to the coaches of the team. Wow technical fouls rate have not increased this season.

Now, I've played on a basketball team since 5th grade and this policy is just ludicrous! From experience, when a ref throws a bad call, you usually react. This is because you are so emotionally into the game that you you can't help but argue the call made. Well the reason for this is simple, its called human nature. Now David Stern says NBA players have a duty to be role models and yes I agree with that, but apparently complaining to the refs or shaking your head when a call is made is not setting a good example to others. I understand if an NBA punches a ref or spits at their face, but by complaining or throwing your hands up - really, who gives. Fans of all sports love to see players show emotions because that aspect really makes the game. The 360 dunks are just an added bonus. No one wants to watch basketball players or any other sports for that matter play without emotions. You mind as well just watch a bunch of robots play. How about that for entertainment!

I will end this this post with a quote said by Rasheed Wallace as known to me as "The Technical Foul King."

"I know they're going to have to do something about this crazy zero tolerance law. That's retarded. In my mind, it's kind of like a slave and master or father and son. You've got your little son and you say don't say nothing back to me -- and to me, that's totally wrong. It ain't like that in any other sport."

Amen.

Oh yeah, go GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS!

2006-11-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

Suffering Press Release Writer's Block?

Although the press release for the Chevy contest has past, I was curious what a press release needs to be successful as far as publicity. Now, we all know the story about how the Spartan Daily put the Chevy contest story on page 3, so I decided to research what would it take for a press release to make the news and most of all top news. For those who do not know what a press release is, according to 1st World Library it means, "A public relations announcement issued to the news media and other targeted publications for the purpose of letting the public know of company developments."

According to Press Release Writing's website, a press release should,

1. Make sure the information is newsworthy.

2. Tell the audience that the information is intended for them and why they should continue to read it.

3. Start with a brief description of the news, then distinguish who announced it, and not the other way around.

4. Ask yourself, "How are people going to relate to this and will they be able to connect?"

5. Make sure the first 10 words of your release are effective, as they are the most important.

6. Avoid excessive use of adjectives and fancy language.

7. Deal with the facts.

8. Provide as much Contact information as possible: Individual to Contact, address, phone, fax, email, Web site address.

9. Make sure you wait until you have something with enough substance to issue a release.

10. Make it as easy as possible for media representatives to do their jobs.

Even though these tips are simple, they seem very effected. My favorite tip is tip #5 "Make sure the first 10 words of your release are effective, as they are the most important." This tip is important because if you do not catch your reader's attention from the start, most likely they will not read the rest.

Press releases are the best way to get news out the public and is a useful tool for anyone who are involed in media.

2006-11-06T18:04:00.000-08:00

Borat sucks... NOT!

Last Saturday night I watched the movie, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. I knew before watching the movie it was definitely going to be a comedy, especially because Sacha Baron Cohen as known as "Ali G" was going to be the main character. Cohen is known for the "Da Ali G Show." The show is filled with comedic skits similar to Dave Chapelle. The character Borat originated from the Da Ali G Show where he plays a Kazaki television journalist. The people that Borat interview are unaware that he is just a character, not a real Kazakhn journalist.

Before watching the movie, Cohen was interviewed on the Today show, not as himself but as his fictional character, Borat. It was hilarious considering the fact that he played Borat. I was rather surprise it decided to promote his movie as his actual character than himself.

In Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Borat travels around America to not only learn about the American culture, but to report it back to his country Kazakhstan (and yes, Kazakhstan is a real country) During the movie, Borat was, well lets say controversial. He poked fun of Jews, homosexuals, women, the war in Iraq and minorities. Now, I'm sure many people found this movie offensive and yes some parts made my jaw dropped at some the jokes made. The movie kept me on my toes - it was funny and I definitely had a good round of laughs. Even though the movie had some highly offensive jokes, I thought it set a good a message to the public which was to make poke fun of stereotypes. There is a thin line of what is appropriate or not, but I believe by being controversial will send the message louder and clearer. I recommend this movie to everyone, but if your easily offended, chances are, its probably not for you.

2006-11-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

Who said bloggers aren't respected?

Before I start discussing the recent news on blogging, I'd like to congratulate our fellow SJSU students for being the finalistS for the Chevy ad contest. I'm more than sure these 3 students represented their school well in Detroit! I hope they go all the way and take the win! Who wouldn't want to brag to their family and friends that a group of SJSU students created a Super Bowl Ad? This win could put our school on the map!

Back on the topic of blogging, the Los Angeles Times posted an article about CNN trying to incorporate bloggers to next weeks elections. CNN will be hosting an "E-lection Nite Blog Party." This event will be held at a Washington Internet lounge along with two dozen bloggers from all from political ranges. These bloggers, such as RedState and Daily Kos will all be in one place to provide instant reactions to the election results next week. (Don't forget to vote on November 7!) Each person will have their own monitor, which can be turned into any channel. The event will also include free wireless access, food and beverages. I guess you can consider this the P Diddy party for bloggers.

David Bohrman, CNN's Washington bureau chief said "Bloggers are leading the conversation. You could argue that most of the political dialogue in this country is happening online, so if you don't incorporate that into your coverage, you're missing a major element." I definitely agree with Bohram. Our society is moving into a different direction as far as media coverage for the election. It is not just newspapers, television, and radio, but it is the Internet, Forums, Websites and yes Blogs. I never knew blogs have such a huge impact on society.I never realize until I experienced it first hand. Who remembers the threat comment I received? I'm sure you all know that exciting story! (if not, refer please to my October 4 post) Before taking this class, I thought blogs were just a basic "online diary" meaning posting a post how your day went, how much you partied last weekend, etc. Its way more than that, its about posting your opinions such as your political views and advertising I mean just check out what CNN is now doing. With that said do you still think blogs are nothing? Think again.

2006-10-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

What Do We Have To Lose?

For all you OC fans, this post might be some important news for you. If you have not heard it yet, the show The OC will be premiering their new season on MySpace tomorrow. That's right, the first episode will not be premiering not on FOX network, but on MySpace. According to Daily News Daily Dish, the highly anticipated season will give fans a sneak peak of their first episode tomorrow at 3:01 a.m. until November 2. The first televised season premiere will be broadcasted on November 2 at 9 p.m. This season, The OC is under some stiff competition, going against CBS's CSI and ABC's Grey's Anatomy. Executive producer of the OC, Josh Schwartz, says by exposing the show earlier on the Internet will give viewers and fan a chance to see the upcoming season and hopefully draw more people to watch it on their Thursday n9 p.m. time slot. Since the show’s day and time change, Schwartz along with his writers, decided to take it back to the good old days and make this season more like the first. This includes more humor and the characters driving the story.

I've only seen one season of the OC, and if this season is similar to the first, I will definitely give it a chance. Although I might be confuse since I have not been watching the past three. Schwartz's move is quite smart because 1) fans of the OC are usually High school and/or College students and 2) most high school and college students have MySpace. Like the saying goes, "kill two birds with one stone,” those who go on MySpace regularly and are not fans will have the chance to watch the show. This is a great tactic to build more viewers and fans. The concern I have with Schwartz's tactic is if they’re premiering the season opener earlier, isn’t that preventing the season opener from high ratings? I’m really interested to see if the OC's rating will increase. I have a funny hunch that it will.

2006-10-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

"Nick Lachey is a total gold digger!"

In our celebrity crazed world, celebrity magazines are a huge American culture, even more than before. Why is it that many are intrigued by celebrities? Seriously who really cares if Paris Hilton's dog was missing or Nicole Richie has an "so-called" eating disorder. I found most of these facts pointless, but sadly find myself interested in the lives of celebrities. In a recent conversation with my best friend, we talked about Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey's failed married. Now, you'd think we'd have a five minute dicussion maxium about it, but that was not the case. We ended up having an half and hour conversation about it. Looking back on it, it really wasn't nessary to talk about such an unimportant topic for that amount of time. What I'm trying to bring up is, America at least in the year 2006, simply cares about celebrties than important news such as current numerous global problems.

Intouch, UsWeekly, Star, and Life&Style Weekly magazines are popping the champange bottles. These four magazines, according to Media Daily News, have tremendously increaed sells and subscriptions. The Publishers' Information Bureau (PIB) found that in January-September, InTouch's rosed 38.6% compared to 2005 and revenue jumped 84.6%. UsWeekly, (one of my personal favorite magazines) newsstand sales rose 1.7% to 1,006,191 and subscriptions jumped 15.1% to 788,670. As far for the godfather of celebrity magazines, Star, their subscriptions rose 39%. As for Life&Style Weekly, their newsstand sales increased 48.3%.

What I'm confuse about is, why such an interest now? Celebrity news have been around for ages, but what makes this year special. I guess theres too much tragedy going on the world that people choose to ignore the problems and focus on a life they wish they could have, celebrities.

2006-10-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

SJSU On ABC

If you have not heard the news, our very own football team will be televised on ABC at 4 p.m I believe they were televsied last year, but for some reason, I'm more interested to watch the game this time around. Well,kudos to the SJSU football team for being 4-1 so far! Lets make it 5-1! Here's a little preview and stats for those are interested to see a little taste for what's in store.

2006-10-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

Who Needs Television When You Have The Internet!

Technology is rapidly changing and is constantly replacing something else. Let me provide you with an example, an eight track. If you grew up after the 1980s, you’re probably thinking what the hell is that? Now, let me mention something your probably more familiar with, Ipods and mp3 players.

According to Internet Daily, people who are on the Internet daily are watching television less and less. A research study, by Nielsen/NetRatings Inc. found that people who go on Yahoo and MySpace on a daily basis are watching 20% less television. Since this fall out, networks are now putting their shows online, such as NBC, ABC, Bravo and Comedy Central. This is a smart tactic of television networks because in a sense, they are gaining back viewers. The Nielsen analyst said Bravo and Comedy Central’s Internet viewer ratings are more than actual their television viewers. This does not come to a surprise to the analyst who states “those two shows are lifestyle channels.” Now what do I think about this. Well I am a MySpace and Yahoo user, but I feel as though, I have been watching less television, not because I’m watching television shows on the Internet, but simply I just don’t have as much time to watch shows. Call me old fashion, but I much prefer watching television shows on an actual T.V. Is it wrong that I like sitting on my couch like lazy slug in front of a 30-inch monitor. Sorry to say, but I found it way more enjoyable than sitting in front of Nip/Tuck my 12 inch Mac PowerBook. Moreover, many, especially college students have hectic lives and more than likely miss their favorite show. Not unless they have Tivo that is.

The Internet can give people who miss television shows an opportunity to watch it. On my laptop, I have seen movies, but not shows. That experience was okay but like I said before watching it in front of the television is more enjoyable for me. I guess it all depends on the person. I’m sure there’s someone still out there in world listening to music on eight tracks.

Oh a little FYI before I end this post, Id like to also point that according to the Lycos, Howard Stern for the sixth year in a row, is the most searched talk radio personality by Web users. By the way for all your Stern fans who don’t have Sirius Satellite Radio, you can listen to him for free from October 25-26. I suggest you all take advantage of this opportunity. Come on, its free!

2006-10-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

Flava Flavvvvvv along with three important television shows?

Before discussing the three important television shows, I decided to do a little experiment and watch television commercials during s season finale of Flava Flav on VH1 (Yes, isn’t anyone else happy that New York got the boot?) Before conducting this experiment, I knew that the target audiences for this show are high school, college students and mid-twenty adults. I assumed the commercials would cater to this audience. I was shocked that there were many repeated commercials played. These commercials consisted of cars, places to shop for cars and car insurance, KFC, Popeye, and Helio. My synopsis for the car commercials is the target audiences are probably interested to buy cars and insurances at a cheap price especially they are young and are probably looking for the lowest prices. I could not figure out why the KFC and Popeye commercials were showed consistently. As the show went on, before the commercials started, “Flava Flav sponsored by Popeye’s.” As far as the KFC commercials, I remember Flava Flav saying it is his favorite restaurant is KFC during a past episode. I’m assuming KFC wants to run their commercials during this show because if Flava Flav likes KFC, so might his audience. I also found it strange that both commercials were right after each other because they are rival fast food restaurants. Lastly, Helio, a cell phone company’s commercial was played about five times! As I did further research, I found out that Helio is a sponsored company of VH1. In conclusion, commercials played on certain shows not only try to reach target audiences, but many have relationships with the actual show or television network.

… So what about three important televisions shows?

In my opinion, the three important television programs created are
1) Larry King Live
2)20/20
3)Oprah

Larry King Live: CNN is an important television network, but it has also shows an important show called Larry King Live. As far as interviewing, Larry King is simple, but informative, He has interviewed many actresses, politicians, allege criminals etc. Viewers are able to view King when he asks his guests difficult questions. I believe Larry King Live is influential because of his simple yet effecting way of interviewing. This must have influence many shows such as Bill O’ Riley would not have exist without King. I truly believe media, as far as talk shows would not be where they are if it weren’t for Larry King.

20/20: This show is on ABC and has been running for quite awhile now. The show’s concept is basically telling a story with interviews, images, videos, etc. Every week there's something new. Whether it is about controversial issues such as the teacher and student underage relationship, airline safety or the 9/11 attacks, it is informative. In my opinion, shows today are not as informative anymore. Media is a form of entertainment, but it also needs to transfer informative issues to the public. This is what this shows does. Most of the time, the show depicts a story and transforms it in a way for the viewer to form his or her opinion. This tactic is influential to its viewers and also the media.

Oprah: Oprah is a famous daytime host, which has influence, not only the media, but society as well. The show started off as your typical daytime show, but evolved to an empire. I believe if Larry King Live and 20/20 combine, it would create the Oprah show, (Sadly, I’m probably the only who can see that!) Everyday (Monday-Friday) millions tune in to see Oprah interview guests and give her daily tips of the day. Oprah has some sort of charisma that is appealing to audiences, even though according to some, she might be comparable to Lonesome from A Face in the Crowd. The show has been running for so long, yet it is still successful. Along with her television show, Oprah has also built an enterprise with her book club and magazine. She has taught other talk show hosts that they can expand their careers, media wise. All and all Oprah has influenced many lives and television for the long run.

2006-10-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

Howard Stern, the bad boy of radio

Howard Stern. What pops in your head when you hear his name? His views on censorship? Crude jokes? His usual porn star radio guests? Love him or hate him, Howard Stern has influenced talk show radio tremendously. He has been in the radio industry for many years starting with his first radio job in 1978 for a Hartfort, Connecticut radio mourning show. His career blossom and worked at stations in Detroit and Washington D.C., where his show straight to number one. He also worked for The David Letterman Show, but was fired for an inappropriate sketch. In February 1986, he had a permanent mourning slot for WYSP in Philadelphia, which eventually went nation wide. Besides a radio show, he was given the opportunity to star in his own movie called Private Parts, which to my surprise had great reviews.

I believe Howard Stern's show was one of the earliest form of "reality" radio broadcasting. The Howard Stern show was filled with comedy (prank calls), news, (celebrities and "real" news) celebrity guests, and his opinions Stern did have a serious side and times would discuss politics. During the late 1990s, the tragic Columbine shooting occurred, but this time Stern really angered many people. He made a comment he regarding the shooting, which offended many.

"There were some really good-looking girls running out with their hands over their heads. Did those kids try to have sex with any of the good-looking girls? They didn't even do that? At least if you're going to kill yourself and kill all the kids, why wouldn't you have some sex? If I was going to kill some people, I'd take them out with sex."

In my opinion, the comment was a bit uncalled for, especially because the event was so tragic. To be blunt, it was a asshole comment, but he's entitled with the right of freedom of speech. Fast forward to February 25, 2004 the Clear Channel Communications suspended him from six markets because of alleged sexual and racist comments during his show. Moreover, Stern was fed up with the CCC's suspensions and fines that he decided to move to satellite radio.

Howard Stern did not have the greatest reputation, because to many he was "real" maybe even the people's voice. The media a deceiving industry, so its difficult to distinguish who's "real" or not in the media industry. For all we know Stern might be saying outrageous statements to increase his ratings, but thats another story.

I have to appreciate Stern for not sugar coating anything. Yes, many found him offensive at times, but Stern will go down in media history. Many listeners tuned to his show and Stern was able to communicate his opinions, views, etc. to millions. Talk about impact! To have that much power and influence is huge. Howard Stern may be a little too offensive for my taste at times, but he was an entertainer. Stern, would anger me at times because of his crude comment, but then again he made me laugh with this potty mouth jokes. All and all, Radio media would not be where they are today without Stern.

2006-10-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

Ah templates.. links?!

I finally figured out how to add links to my blog (Thanks Prof. B!) but for some reason the changes shows up on my template, but not my blog. I tired refreshing and republishing, but it still won't show up. I find this rather strange. It would be greatly appreciated if someone can tell me what's up with this problem and/or has any solutions. Ah I wish I had Blogger Beta =( Sorry, I just had to vent out some frustration.

2006-10-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

"This whole country's just like my flock of sheep! "

Power, wealth, fame, and manipulation can kill a man. This is evident in the movie “A Face in a Crowd.” Like the saying goes “from rags to riches,” A Face in a Crowd is like a timeless fairy tale Cinderella story with a twist. Although the movie debuted in 1957, the storyline contends many current aspects in terms of media and advertising. The movie starts off with a reporter from Arkansas, Marcia (Patricia Neal) and her assistant Walter Matthau who visited a local jail in search of stories from jail inmates. She came across a vibrant boisterous man named Lonesome also known as Andy Griffith or “Matlock.” Marcia made the decision to pick up this original Joe and offer him a chance to host his own segment on the radio. Of course Lonesome’s took this opportunity and eventually his charismatic personality made him into an overnight sensation. Lonesome then upgraded nationally by staring in his own television show.

Lonesome’s personality was eccentric and hypnotizing towards audiences across the country. Eventually, endorsements and sponsors of all kinds started piling up due to his popularity. Lonesome can be compared to the late 1990s boy band craze. Sure he was not a full time musician, but his popularity is similar to boy bands such as sponsors, endorsements, and of course flocks of crazy girl fanatics. Power is the biggest manipulator. This stands true today. (Do musicians and celebrities ring a bell?) Lonesome took advantages of his fame and used and discarded anyone who got in his way of stardom. Lonesome’s personality went from a real wholesome country boy to a greedy fame hungered monster. He had his audience at the palm of his hand manipulating the public like naïve little children. Enough was enough for many, especially for Patricia. No one wanted to put up with his attitude and during a taping of his show many, including Patricia was down to her last straw. When the credits where rolling, Patricia pulled a cord and the public heard Lonesome bashing the public calling them “suckers” “stupid idiots” and so forth. What a great way for Patricia to give Lonesome a taste of his own medicine! Lonesome had no idea what was done, and after went to his banquet. He invited many powerful executives, but to his surprise no one showed up. Little did he know what have happen and was confuse of the lack of turnout. He consoled himself with hard liquor where Patricia along with her assistant confessed the big news. Lonesome went a little nuts knowing his successful fame went down the drain. At the end of it all, he threatens to jump off a building, while usually sympathetic Patricia leaves him without hesitation. This movie depicts an era where television was still going through its beginning stages. For many, like Lonesome it created so much power that it was destructing and sadly ruining. Andy Griffith acting was over the top, but he played a crazy greedy man really well.

No matter what era, the 1950s or today’s media power still stands strong. Media should stay true to their audience unlike Lonesome where manipulating them can cause serious bad karma like Lonesome. All in all even though the movie lagged in a couple of scenes, the message was loud and clear; the media is a powerful, one that should not be taken advantage of.

2006-10-04T19:13:00.000-07:00

"Who Knew You Could Be Committing a Crime for Having a Blog? "

“Blog is short for weblog. A weblog is a journal (or newsletter) that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. Blogs generally represent the personality of the author or the Web site.” (By Town Internet) As we all know each and every person in MCOMM 72 has a blog, but can you actually go to jail for having one? You bet your ass you can! Apparently to USA Today , courts are cracking down on bloggers, IF you have attacked someone online. Many who are victims of these attacks have filed libel lawsuits, “a false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation.” More than 50 lawsuits have been filed in our nation and are gradually increasing. Legal analysts are challenging these lawsuits with the argument that bloggers are “judgment proof” meaning most bloggers are just ordinary citizens and are neither journalists nor newspaper reporters. Eric Robinson, a Media Law Resource Center attorney, claims that bloggers do not understand that they can be liable for libel lawsuits because for the most part, bloggers usually takes whatever on their mind and posts it. One example of this case is DontDateHimGirl.com, where Todd Hollis, a criminal defense lawyer in Pittsburgh was accused of having herpes, infected a woman with herpes and is apparently a homosexual. Hollis, says even though if he wins his case, he loses because these false information are there for everyone to see.

I decided to check this website out for myself. On their “About Us” it stated “in online community of powerful women from around the world who choose to exercise their rights to free speech on the Internet by boldly sharing their bad dating experiences with other women.” To me in a nutshell, it’s a website where women can bash on men and tell other women to “watch out” for these “scumbags” Pretty clever, I’d must admit. While I was searching through the website, I could not view everything because I had to be a member to view some sections of the website, but the ones I got to see (the forum and profiles), was hilarious. Even though each person is entitled for freedom of speech, if I was in the position as Hollis, filing a libel lawsuit would highly cross my mind. This topic is very controversial because the Internet is huge. I’m sure there are plenty of websites bashing or stating false statements. One example of this is celebrity gossip. Are we really going to take any blog or website to court for this? Also, who’s going to get sued, the person who wrote it or the website server? Don’t get me wrong, I am all about freedom of speech, but there’s a thin line between stating your beliefs and making someone’s life a living hell. Words of advice for all bloggers, if you choose to put up false accusations about someone, ask yourself this question, would you want untrue accusations all over the internet about you? Come on, let’s follow the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

2006-10-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

A face in the Crowd and advertising

The movie A Face in the Crowd is not really my cup of tea. Sadly, my attention span for black and white movies or anything made before the 1970s is quite low except for the movie Gone with the Wind. That's besides the point though. I decided to pay attention and write a blog regarding what my current perspective is for this movie. The second half of the movie started off with a corky drunken fellow named "Lonesome." Particia, a radio host I assume was interviewing jail inmates. She was fully equipped with a portable recorder, which consisted of a huge box with a microphone. Obviously, this is not the most up to date high tech equipment especially because I've never seen such object in my whole entire life. Lonesome was given a opportinity to be on a radio show by Particia and later on became successful. Along with his success, came more offers such as hosting his own show. In his first episode on television, he asked viewers to donate money to a woman who lost her home. The responds from the public was amazing and many donated. After Lonesome's show blew up, he started to get more offers. He was given an offer to promote some sort of vitamin pill called Vatadex. His spunky personality made viewers buy the vitamin, creating a huge sell boost. I believe one factor for the sales boost was Lonesome's celebrity status. Celebrities promoting a certain product is always a great way of advertising because people want what famous Celebes have. I also believe another factor was the public's naiveness because as far as media it was still greatly developing. The tactics used by the advertisment company in the movie are still going on currently. Simply, the media has and will always influence others. Whether in the 1950s or currently, the media and advertising will always be a powerful tool by impacting people, whether good or bad.

2006-09-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

The media are communicators and broadcasters to our society. At times, the media can present a message to either influence people’s opinions, views and behavior. This tactic is also known as propaganda, "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person." (Webster Dictionary) The novel, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, is a form of propaganda describing Afghanistan’s civil injustices, poverty, and their fanatic government leaders, the Taliban.

Hosseini, tells a story about the life of a wealthy Pashtun, Amir, and his Hazara servant, Hasaan. Throughout the novel, Amir goes through several life changing experiences, mostly in Afghanistan. The novel starts off with an obvious distinction between the upper and lower class. Amir was the top of the top, but unfornately for Hasaan he was on the bottom of the classes, a Hazara. Hasaan, along with other Hazaras were uneducated, frown upon and at times were often ostracized by the Afghanistan community. This is shown through this quote, “Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They are dirty as our blood” (41). In this scene, Assef, an upper class, describes Hazaras and the need to get rid of them. This is an injustice towards all Hazaras and displays the civil racism going in Afghanistan. This is propaganda because of the upper class's hatred towards Hazaras. This makes the upper class seem greedy and even racist towards their fellow Afghani people. Furthermore, Amir goes through life changing stages such as escaping Afghanistan, living in the United States, and his visit back to Afghanistan.

Amir goes back to his homeland of Kabul, Afghanistan to visit a sick family friend, Rahim Khan. He then later on finds out that he is on a mission to find Hasaan’s son, Sohrab. In his stay, he notices the huge differences between Afghanistan before he left and currently. “We had crossed the border and the signs of poverty were everywhere. I saw children dressed in rags chasing a soccer ball outside the huts” (231). This was a culture shock for Amir and gets worst. “The buildings that hadn’t entirely collapsed barely stood, with caved in roofs and walls pierced with rocket shells. Entire blocks had obliterated to rubble. I saw” (246). These scenes describes the poverty in Afghanistan. For desperation, Afghanis would do whatever it takes to earn money for food. In this incident, Amir sees a man selling his artificial leg. “He’s selling his leg. You can get good money for it on the black market. Feed your kids for a couple of weeks” (251). Everywhere Amir went in Afghanistan, poverty was evident, but sadly the Taliban had all the wealth. When Amir goes through the Wazir Akbar Khan district, he notices it was not as poor as the other areas. “To my surprise, most of the houses in the Wazir Akbar Khan district still had roofs and standing walls. In fact, they were in pretty good shape. Most of the important people live here now, Taliban” (260). This clearly shows inequality between the citizens of Afghanistan and governmental leaders such as the Taliban. These two scenes portrays Afghanistan as a poor and corrupt country. This is propaganda because it sheds some light Afghanistan's poverty dilemma to people who are unfamiliar with it. Moreover, along with poverty, the Taliban’s violence was a reoccurring problem in Afghanistan during Amir’s stay.

When Amir arrives at Rahim Khan’s house, Rahim tells the tragic news that the Taliban killed Hasaan. “The Talibs said he was a liar and a thief like all other Hazaras. So they took him to the street and order him to kneel and shot him in the back of the head. Amir in fact did not steal the house, but because he was a Hazara, the Taliban quickly assumed he did the crime. As a result, “Hasaan’s murders were dismissed as a case of self-defense. No one said a word about it. Most of it was fear of the Taliban I think. But no one was going to risk anything for a pair of Hazara servants” (219). Amir sets out to find Soraya and his friend and helper Farid comes along with him. During their travel, Faris points out a crumble village. “I had a friend there once. He was a very good bicycle repairman. The Taliban killed him and his family and burned the village” (244). This shows the Taliban’s insensitivity towards the Afghani people and their brutal punishments. Moreover, These two incidents were one of the many cruel events Hosseini wrote that the Taliban conducted.

The Taliban’s inhumane violence is clearly obvious and propaganda becomes more evident. This is shown during a soccer game. A Taliban leader stops the game during halftime to conduct a public display of execution. The Taliban then describes the convicted as sinners and deserving of their punishment of stoning. “Every sinner must be punished in a manner befitting his sin! How shall we answer those who throw stones at the windows of God’s house? WE SHALL THROW THE STONES BACK!” (270) “The man in the hole was now mangled mess of blood and shredded rags. His head slumped forward, chin or chest. When it was all over, when the bloodied corpses had been unceremoniously tossed into the backs of red pickup trucks” (271, 272). The message of this scene is to publicize the Taliban’s merciless acts towards to the Afghani people.
The Taliban murdered many and intimidated its citizens.

Amir finally finds Soraya and fights until the end against the Taliban leader. Before the two men fought, Assef, tells the story about Mazar on August 1998. He reminisces the acts of violence he did to some Afghanis. “Door to door we went, calling for men and boys. We’d shoot them right there in front of their families. Let them see. Let them remember who they were, where they belonged” (277). This depicts the irrational and emotionless choices the Taliban made. Moreover, these incidents can convey an audience to sympathize towards the country’s situation and victims, but also cause bad feelings towards to the Taliban.

Although this book is fiction, it has given me a better insight on the culture and more empathy towards the country. This book has not change my views on the country, simply because I am aware of the situation going on in Afghanistan. My views on Afghanistan are that it poverty-stricken, full of struggles, violence and injustices. Those who are not familiar with the situation in Afghanistan can definitely gain insight and also a change og views on this country.

Media transmits messages to its readers, viewers and listeners. Even though if the point is not bluntly said, such as the Kite Runner, if changes your point of view on anything, then by definition it is propaganda. The Kite Runner is clearly propaganda because it promotes the horrible conditions in the country, way of life for Afghans and the corrupted government, the Taliban. Whether good or bad, propaganda is meant to influence people’s opinions, something The Kite Runner does.

2006-09-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Damn, this magazine smells good!

I usually read magazines once a week on my down time at work. I’m usually more of a “US Weekly, Vogue” consumer, and embarrass to admit that I have a yearly subscription to Teen Vogue Teen Vogue thanks to my Aunt. For this September’s issue cover of Teen Vogue, actress Rachel Bilson is on it, along with bold headlines of “Nick Canon” and “Kristen Bell” This magazine is definitely geared towards teenage girls ages 12 to 17. (Hence the name “TEEN” Vogue) I’m 20 years old and magazines such as Seventeen, Teen Vogue are a bit too juvenile for me. Sadly, in reality I’m a consumer, since I read these monthly issues. For those not similar with the magazine Vogue, Teen Vogue has a similar theme as Vogue, which is fashion. Flipping through the pages, there are bright colorful ads for “Chanel” and “Dolce and Gobanna.” I only can speak for myself and if I saw these ads when I was 14 years old, I’d beg my grandparents to buy me some Chanel sunglasses. I moved on and checked out the editors page and to the looks of it, the editor was not very young and looked as if she was in her mid forties. Definitely, far from a person who knows about “teen.” Fortunately, the magazine did a special segment on their contributors. For the most part, the contributors looked in they are in their mid-twenties. The art director for the magazine, John Munoz, does the magazine’s layouts and graphic elements. In his biography and picture he seems hip and update to the teen world.

I moved on to the Fashion section and it had plenty of pictures of celebrities with fashionable clothing. Also, an article in this section explains that “wide belts” are in and the “find the best buys for jeans.” Obviously, teenagers are often concern with their image and the need to keep up with what’s in. These are definitely subjects teen girls are interested in. Next section was beauty and health. One article that caught my attention was the beauty Q&A. Astrid, 14, asked “How can I get my weak nails into tip-top shape?” This says a lot about the readers of the magazine, girls as young as 14 are reading it and are concerned about beauty. The magazine is answering the questions young girls are worried about, which is helpful. Back to the cover story, “Young Hollywood, ” has various full page solo pictures of celebrities. From experience, this is a great strategy to lure teenage girls to buy Teen Vogue. For example, if one of their favorite actors, actress, musicians, etc is on the cover, they might buy the magazine to read up on them, but most importantly rip the pages of their favorite celebrity. Being a former teenage consumer, I would actually buy Teen Vogue because of the celebrity picture. This is a great tactic for this magazine and other teen ones to gain revenue. Everything in this magazine (ads and editorial content) is definitely appropriate for teenage girls. It has everything a teenage girl would want, fashion, celebrities, hot guys, advice and plenty of clever ads.

Oh yeah, who doesn’t love those sample perfumes in magazines?
Euphoria by Calvin Klein is really making this magazine smell good. Definitely an added this Teen Vogue’s advertising!

2006-09-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

"Out with the old, in with the new?"

For this blog assignment, I read the San Jose Mercury News' Monday, September 25, 2006 issue. First, I read the actual newspaper, then proceeded to read it online. With both the newspaper and San Jose Mercury News online, I believe there are pros and cons. Personally, for me, it does not matter whether I read it on a newspaper or online because I am still getting the same news. Although, you get the exact content, some may believe, like myself that the newspaper holds a sentimental value. I mean, who does not love reading the Sunday newspaper along with some delicious breakfast and a good ol' cup of Starbucks in hand? How about reading those corky Sunday comics? Those are definitely my personal favorite. In any case, the newspaper and the online site has differences and also some similarities. Lets start off with differences.

Differences

In Monday's issue, the newspaper was separated with six categories: Front page, (which usually consists of the top news stories) the Valley, (news going on in the Bay Area) Arts and Entertainment, Sports, Tech Mondays, and Classification. The San Jose Mercury News website’s home page did not contend a front page; rather it had updated news. This brings me up to another difference; the online site has news updated about every hour, where as Monday’s paper had news that occurred before it was printed. What about convenience? You can carry around a newspaper wherever and whenever. Heck, you can even take it with you all the way to the North Pole! For the website's case whenever you want like an actual newspaper, but the only problem is you’ll have to you sit down to a computer and go online. If you have a newspaper, you can read any article you’d like on it, but not for the website. For some articles, you must subscribe and pay a fee. Since technology is up to date, the website offers variety. For those tech junkies, there are pod casts, videos, audio play, and blogs. Also there are a few helpful sections such as there is a search engine for events around the Bay Area, site services, (i.e. Yellow pages) and even a dating section! (Oh lala!) Obviously, the newspaper does not offer any of this simply because its just paper. Surprisingly, with all these differences, they are also similarities.

Similarities

Articles in Monday’s newspaper were exactly the same as the ones online. Although advertisements were placed in a different formant, both the newspapers and the website had plenty of them. Lastly, the website had news, sports and entertainment sections like the newspaper.

Even though the differences outweigh the similarities, the most important similarity is the articles are exactly the same. As long as the content of the stories are the exact, does it really matter whether or not if it’s in paper form or on a computer screen?

2006-09-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

Random side note, does anyone know how to link websites? I've been trying to figure it our for awhile now. If someone can tell me how, it'll be greatly appreciated! =)

2006-09-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

Propaganda... what is it? Before Thursday lecture, I never had a clear definition of the word "propaganda." All I knew is it had to do something with the infamous Hitler. According to Merriam-Webster Online, the definition of propaganda "is the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person." All in all propaganda is used to influence people's opinions.

After thoroughly understanding this word, I realized propaganda is everywhere. It may not be as extreme as Hitler's but it still exist in today’s society. Propaganda may be seen or heard on television commercials, music, movies, and even on the Internet. The most recent propaganda I've come across is an Anti-Tobacco commercial, the movie Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore, and a rap song by Chamillionaire, "Riding Dirty."

First, I'll start off with the Anti-Tobacco commercials. This commercial used to run on television a couple months ago and I found it terribly disturbing.
“The Truth” is an anti-smoking advertising campaign, which derides the tobacco companies. This commercial is clearly propaganda because they are attacking tobacco companies by convincing the public that tobacco companies are killing about 12,000 people a day.

Out of all the propaganda I came across lately, I found the movie, Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore to be the most extreme. A quick summary for those who have not watched it is director Michael Moore criticizes George W. Bush with the war against terrorism. Through footage and interviews, Moore illustrates his argument on how Bush and his administration brought the U.S.A. into worse trouble than ever before and why American citizens should not support Bush’s cause. This movie bashes Bush and on the current war in Iraq. It is a very intense movie and is truly a fine example of propaganda.

Lastly, is the song by rapper Chamillionaire, “Ridin Dirty.” According to the rapper himself the song’s statement is about police racial profiling African Americans.

“They see me rollin’ They hatin' Patrollin and tryin to catch me ridin dirty. My music so loud. I'm swangin.' They hopin that they gonna catch me ridin' dirty.”

This is the chorus of the song and explains police trying to catch Chamillionaire “riding dirty,” meaning racially profiling the rapper, who himself is African American. Chamillioniare is artistically attacking police though his song and are convincing listeners and fans that authorities are racial profiling African Americans, simply based on their race.

These three of these examples all sends out a message to influence opinions and/or behaviors.

2006-09-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

I decided to search online on a history timeline on publishing. According to infoplease.com, it states that the first known publish book, The Diamond Sutra, was produced in 808 in China. As the world progressed, in 1440, Johann Gutenberg, invented a wooden press, and published, a Latin Bible. A couple centuries later publishing became more sophisticated and the first paper book was published in the United States. Fast-forward towards the 1980s, about 70 percent of books bought was paperback and technology was on the rise, publishing became commonly used. Currently, books are now sold through various book chains such as Borders and online retailers. (Amazon) Also, there has been the creation of E-books, which are electronic versions of printed books and can be viewed online. Obviously times have changes since the days of the third century where information was stored on animal skin.

Books have been around for a long time, so why hasn’t it progress to something more advance? For example, if we could burn CD's, why not books? Unlike downloading songs and burning CD's, books are much difficult to copy. Who seriously would sit down and take the time to copy each page of an 800-page book? Not me! Books are just simply convenient and also symbolic. When I was younger one of my favorite books was Hop on Pop, by Dr. Seuss. I can’t stress how many times I read that book. When I was older, I read Hop On Pop to my little cousin, and to my surprise she loved it. I decided to give it to her and hopefully one day she can pass it on to her child. I had lots of books when I was younger and donated most of it to either Goodwill or to underprivileged children. Although, I got rid of most, there is one in particular I decided to keep, a children’s book called Berenstain Bears and the Bad Habit.

I absolutely loved this book and will probably never give it away, unless if its to my children. This book is like one of those “blankeys.” Even though if it’s old and tore up, you still keep it for symbolic reasons.

Even though E-Books have been created, I believe books will always be around. Personally, for myself, E-books are a little too difficult, because I would be reading a whole novel on a computer screen for many hours. Also someone in class brought up an excellent point that E-books sometimes can’t save what page you ended on! That’s a bit ludicrous to me! So no worries everyone, I believe the future of books is secure.

2006-09-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

Downloading music? Admit or not, many of us have done it. Even though it is a long shot that this act can be fully abolished, I believe there is a way for it stop or at least decrease the amount of downloading. Currently, music records companies are threatening downloaders that what they are doing is a crime and will be punish. I believe companies should advocate in a less threating way. These companies should try to reach out to downloaders less emphatically.

Lets start off with advertising. This strategy is a great way to spread the word out and has been for many years. Music companies should come together to stop this act. First, music companies should contribute and supple money to create campaigns against downloading music. A way to start this is to produce several clever advertisements with famous music artist(s) advocating to stop this act. This is a great strategy because many fans are loyal and might listen to what their favorite artist(s)’ message. As long these advertisements run, such as in television/radio commercials, magazine advertisement, etc, it will eventually decrease downloading.

Another strategy music record companies and their artists themselves can do is advertise at concerts. Obviously, concerts are packed with people who are music fans. Most likely of course, they too are illegally downloading music. Somewhere at the concert, a booth or a workshop can be set up. Before and after the concert flyers even keychains allocating against downloading can be passed around along with several people at booths can educate people of the illegalness. Since the iTunes Music Store have many downloading songs legally, they too can be at concerts promoting their stores and even give a huge give away for anyone who signs up for the iTunes music store.

Lastly, since technology is flourishing, there is a possible way to create a system to prevent file sharing online. Yet again, musicians and record companies and even the government can come together and invest money to create this system. Even though this investment might be pricey, it will eventually balance out because file sharing will be demolished, thus, record sells will increase rapidly.

I know it’s easier said then done, but I believe these ideas can essentially work, in the long run, not immediately. You must start somewhere to gain results.

2006-09-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

I'm bummed out that I didn't get the chance to watch Katie Couric on CBS Evening News last night. According to the Washington Post, Couric roughly had about 13.6 viewers and was ranked number 1. This is definitely a huge turning point for the media especially for women. Yes, Couric is the first woman to have a solo evening news for a major U.S. network. She had many mix reviews. Los Angeles Times' Paul Brownfield said "nobody can turn a frown upside down the way Katie Couric can,” but Washington Post critic Tom Shales said "brisk, engaging job of getting the strange new show off the ground, but the show was too jammed with new features." I believe this show will be a great change for the media, especially since the nightly news is predominately men. Couric will now compete against Brian Williams NBC "Nightly News" and Charles Gibson at ABC's "World News." Luckly Couric's transition won't be as difficult because she of her audience from NBC "Today." I guess I'll just have to watch it tonight to see if it's any good. I hope society is ready for a nightly news women anchor and embraces this change.

In other news, according to CNN.com, who do celebrities love the most? Their family? Their friends? Their 2384093 million dollar homes? Nope, themselves! Drew Pinsky and S. Mark Young of the University of Southern California's study conducted a study of 200 celebrities and will soon appear in the Journal of Research in Personality. Apparently, celebrities are in loved with themselves more than the average person. This is also known as narcissism. For those who do not know the meaning of a narcissist, USC's Keck School of Medicine would define a narcissist as "someone who constantly craving attention, overconfident and lack any empathy." Sadly, the most narcissists of all are reality television stars. HAHAHA! WOW, seriously why would anyt reality celebrity think they're an A-listers. Its quite simple, all you have to do is start a fight with someone or eat some bugs and you’re in! All in all, I don't think it was really necessary to conduct a study to prove this. Let’s take a good look at Paris Hilton. Enough said.

2006-09-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

Today’s lecture in class was quite interesting. One topic in specific, downloading music online, intrigued me the most. In 2000, I used Napster for the first time and believed it was the best device ever created. I’m a huge music buff and being able to download all the songs I wanted was like heaven. Not only could I download all the songs I want, but it’s absolutely free.

The real question that repeatedly occurs is if downloading music online is ethical. I’m definitely stuck in the middle when it comes to this controversy. As a constant media consumer, downloading music online is simply a way for me to enjoy something I love. Come on, songs are constantly on the radio, and that too can be easily recorded. What’s the difference? I understand why artist(s) especially mainstream ones, are against downloading because obviously they are losing profit. Yes, they’re just like us and also need to provide for themselves and others.

Someone raised a great point about downloading and said, “The actual musicians’ CD profit isn’t directly going to them. Maybe if it did, then I would be more willing to buy.” Not only that, but there’s a huge distance between yourself and the artist(s). I guess that’s the reason why I don’t feel like I’m “stealing” because its not like I’m going up to Beyonce and stealing her CD right in front of her face. What about the underground, low-key musicians? I have many friends who are in bands and believe downloading music is a benefit because they get their songs out to the public and build an audience.

In conclusion, downloading music online has its pros and cons, but at the end of it all, it benefits myself.

2006-08-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

Today, I finish completing the media use inventory and the results were rather shocking. The days I spend without the media is 105 days. There are 365 days in a year. Subtract 365 from 105 equals 260. I assume I spend 260 days dealing with some sort of media? Anyways, I usually spend most of my time listening to music (5 hours a week) and watching television. (4 hours a week) The total hours a week I spend with media is 20 hours. Yes, practically a day. I truly cannot imagine my life without the media. Ugh, how did people living in the 1800s live life without it? Talk about boredom, but I’m sure they lived a more productive life than me.

Here’s a bit of information about the “you and the media survey” I took.

2. What was the last book you read? What kind of impact did it have on your life? The last book I read was Fast Food Nation. This book has definitely impacted my life by limiting my fast food intake. It also gives a great in dept look about the fast food industry.
13. What is your current favorite song? Nujabes- Think Different. This song is highly recommended for anyone who is into underground hip-hop.
24. Which of the media do you think influences you the most in terms of opinions, values, clothing styles, products you purchase and so on? Why? Definitely television. For examples, VH1’s The Celebrity Life of… show. The public gets to have a glimpse of what a typical celebrity life is. Viewers get to see what sees what the celebrity wears, their opinions and etc. Many people, especially children, eat that up thus imitating the celebrities’ lifestyle.

A quick side note, P Diddy’s girl group Danity Kane debuted number 1 on the billboard charts!

I guess it pays to have reality show.

2006-08-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

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.