Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Media Contact #4

No matter what form of media I encounter, I hear or see something about certain states petitioning to secede from the United States and to create a completely independent government. It's a ridiculous idea but for some reason it's very entertaining to practically anyone.

For that very reason, the media just cannot get enough of this secession business. As a result, I see it all over Facebook, Twitter, local websites and programs, and even on the radio.

I've expressed my opinion on the media's power in previous posts, but I never realized how truly significant it is. It informs people and those people try to inform others via social media, and then that starts trending and becomes another story on yet another form of media.


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Media Contact #3

I just watched the 5 o clock news on KNWA for the first time in a while. I almost didn't know what to do because I thought it was a different news program -- they have a new set now. For some reason, it seemed as though the news they were presenting was more interesting due to the advanced set and technology.

This made me realize that television has a great advantage over radio and print. Television can easily become more attractive and appealing by adding a few flashy lights and graphics, whereas radio and print are almost stripped down to the basics (words). The news that is being reported on TV may not be as informative or cutting-edge as print or radio, but it is visually appealing, which grabs the attention of a larger audience.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Media Contact #2

Today, while surfing the internet, I stumbled upon an article on Huffington Post regarding a woman who named her newborn twin sons after Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. . . The reader comments were both hilarious and astonishing. People were upset because they think she just wants money. People made fun of her because "her children will grow to hate her."

I thought it was completely ridiculous, at first, until I thought more about it. A woman in Kenya named her twin sons after the 2012 presidential candidates, not because of who they are, but because of the glamour of American culture. I'm almost 100% positive Millicent Owuor didn't name her twin sons because she was well informed about their party platforms.

Everyone, everywhere is obsessed with America! Americans are obsessed with America! The media are such a driving force in the United States, that they could glamorize a fish in a bowl named Reginald and have people in India naming their fish Reginald in hopes that it'd become famous too.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Media Contact #1

Before I began this post, I didn't think I had, had any contact with the media today. I woke up this morning twenty minutes before my first class and didn't have time to watch the Today Show as I normally do. I have refused to check social media in the last week -- therefore I couldn't have been in contact with the media today, right? Wrong. The media are EVERYWHERE. I recalled that when I woke up, my television was on (I'd forgotten to turn it off last night) and the first thing I heard was E! News telling me about Kim Kardashian's "new rock" that could be a potential engagement ring.

I became upset with society for a second because we are so wrapped up in celebrity life, that we would much rather pay attention to a baseless story about a woman getting a new ring instead of jumping at the opportunity of donating canned goods to homeless people in the region. I'd heard that on the radio on my way to class, too (another contact with the media that I had completely ignored).

How is it that, as a society (or maybe it's just me), we have become completely engulfed in the culture of those that have more, that we don't even pay attention when we are called on to help those that simply do not have?

The idea is a stretch, I understand, but it really makes me wonder why I would even have a reaction to a story about a giant diamond ring on a celebrity's perfectly manicured pinky finger, and feel nothing at all when I hear about the heartache in my own neighborhood.