Ethics in the News

I think the news industry should hold the highest code of ethics. If people hear about something on the news, they automatically assume it to be true. News networks rely on society's trust and I think they should ethically earn our trust. Although there are time deadlines and limited finances, journalists should always try their best to present the truth to the public. Journalists should also never stage the news. In Salt Lake City, a news reporter was accused of asking a group of high school students to come to the school parking lot and chew tobacco in front of the camera. Even though he was asking them to do what they did on their own on a regular basis, he was still charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. I agree with the fact that he should have been charged. Although the students chewed tobacco anyway, he should not have asked them to do it then just to make his story look better and more believable to the public. The news industry has to realize in a scandalous world full of celebrity divorces and CEO's who are fired for embezzlement, the news is where the public turns to for truth and accuracy. The industry should do its best to accommodate us while keeping ethics in mind rather than what would make the best story.

News Gathering Rights

News gathering rights help the news industry to report on such things as government officials and school district meetings. Sunshine laws, or open meeting laws, allow the press to report on public meetings because they are required to have open sessions. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that requires federal agencies to list all of their documents and provide them for news agencies on request. However, "top secret documents" or documents that would violate private laws are off limits to the public. Shield laws are designed to ensure confidentiality of news sources. The aspect of news gathering rights that most concerns me is the Freedom of Information Act. This is a very significant law, as it has uncovered such things as unsafe conditions at nuclear power plants and the presence of poisonous wastes in drinking water. The FOIA will allow me to gain access to important pen documents that society deserves to know about, such as where our tax dollars are really going. I intend to be a reporter someday and I obviously want to provide the most accurate news to the public about things that affect their lives, which will often involve the government's cooperation. Several government agencies have resisted FOIA actions, making it difficult for journalists and citizens to get the information they request. I will have to prepare myself for dealing with such agencies if I want to be a confident reporter someday.

Agenda-Setting Theory

I agree most with the agenda-setting theory. The agenda-setting theory is the belief that mass media influence what you think about and your perception of what is important. I agree with this statement because after watching even one news segment, people begin to think about things they never would have thought about on their own. People sometimes will continue to think about these new ideas for days simply because they feel like they should since the news said it was important. For example, the OJ Simpson trial (again) has been the topic of many family dinners over the past few months. Why? It seems that an average Joe would never care about such a thing because it does not affect the every day person at all. But because we could not turn on the TV for about a week without seeing something about OJ Simpson, it became a topic that stuck in our minds and we were forced to think and talk about. Another example is the way the war in Iraq is presented on a lot of news networks. Even if someone had never watched the news and was extremely opposed to the war, it would be very hard them to continue to oppose the war if they saw pictures of Iraqi woman and children being killed by Iraqi troops who were controlled by Saddam Hussein. The way that the troubles in Iraq have been presented over the years in the media leaves little room for anyone to protest the war or consider it insignificant. The agenda-setting theory definitely makes sense when you consider issues like the ones I mentioned.

ABC News Joins With Facebook

ABC News has noticed that Facebook is a huge social networking site that attracts millions of people from the younger generation. Therefore, ABC News has elected to establish a partnership with Facebook that allows its members to electronically follow ABC reporters, view reports and video and participate in polls and debates. The two organizations plan to sponsor both the Democratic and Republican presidential debates in New Hampshire on January 5th. The announcement is a sign that news organizations are beginning to notice and attempting to capitalize on the power of Facebook and other social networking sites. Media companies like The New York Times and The Washington Post have produced pages to put on Facebook and some newspapers, magazines and television stations have invited users to join special pages that are also set up to follow political coverage. David Westin, president of ABC News, has noticed that debates are going on Facebook all the time. This new collaboration allows ABC News to follow and participate in these debates by providing information and gathering information as well. Facebook members used to only be able to send an email to a generic ABC News email address if they wanted to make a comment. Now, they can send private messages or post directly on an ABC News reporter's wall and reporters can engage in conversations with members. This seems to be an intelligent investment; Eloise Harper, an off-air reporter, used a digital camera to record a 50-second clip of flags falling down behind Hillary Rodham Clinton at a campaign appearance in Iowa. The clip has been viewed over 350,000 times on ABCNews.com and Facebook.

This article reminded me of Chapter 10 when we talked about how news must have an impact on its target audience. We also talked about how people over 30 follow the news more than people under 30 and young people are most likely to get their news online. In recent years, news organizations have had a difficult time attracting the attention of adolescents and young adults, especially in political matters. But news organizations have figured out that one of the most widely used mediums in the younger generation's world is friendship databases like Facebook. I am certain that presidential candidates such as Barack Obama and John Edwards agree with this collaboration because it brings their name to young adult's attention more than it would have been if just mentioned on the 5 o'clock news. If news organizations want to hear the input of younger people in political matters or even bring important issues to our attention, there is no better way to do so then bringing it to our attention when we log into Facebook. From reading this article, I learned that news organizations take into account the opinion's of the younger generation more than I thought they would have. I am happy to see that organizations like ABC News are starting to realize that people my age don't commonly sit down and watch the evening news, and putting political issues somewhere that we are actually going to see it (the home page on Facebook) is a much more logical way to present information to us.

The Article

The Zune

INFORMATION:
Product: The Zune
Parent Company: Microsoft Corporation

Year of the Ad: 2007
Agency that Helped Produce the Ad: McCann-Erickson
Where I Found This Information: Research on Google
Program That Ad Ran On: I'm sure this ad has run on many programs but I saw it while watching "A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila" on MTV.


Q&A:

I enjoyed this ad because I am a big fan of music and I always love commercials about products that allow us to listen to great tunes. This particular commercial had a very surreal and psychedelic aura to it and some of the places the man in the commercial traveled to just because he listened to the Zune were very complex and entertaining. This ad gets your attention because experiences like jumping from a lively mountain of human beings onto a trampoline that shatters into a million pixels of an ice cream cone are not obtainable for the common man but sound like a lot of fun. The ad is effective because most people enjoy relaxing on their couch with a pair of headphones blasting their favorite song but would definitely enjoy being swept into a dreamlike world with their favorite song playing in the background. Entertainment is definitely used in this ad because reality does not give you the same kind of unique pleasures to the eye. For example, Microsoft is telling us that a person who does not own the Zune would never be able to climb into the ear of a giant statue only to be greeted by flying musical notes. Puffery is also utilized because most people realize that simply listening to a Zune will not literally suck you through the screen into a fantasy-like world. The ad is selling an experience unlike any other because Microsoft is trying to say that with the Zune, you will be taken to places that your imagination wouldn't have been able to take you without this amazing product. The placement of the ad was extremely strategic because the age group that watches reality shows on MTV is the most likely age group to buy an MP3 player. I did not buy the product after seeing the ad because I already have an Ipod and I do not need another MP3 player.

Gossip Girl

INFORMATION:

Show Title: Gossip Girl

Network: The CW Television Network

Local Channel: KPLR, or Channel 11.

Time/Day of the Week: Every Wednesday at 8pm.

Cable or Broadcast Channel: Cable.

Syndication: This program is not in syndication.

Production Company: Split between CBS and Warner Bros.

Year of Beginning and End: 2007-present.

Producers: Stephanie Savage, Josh Schwartz, Bob Levy, Leslie Morgenstein

Director: Mark Piznarski

Writers: Cecily von Ziegesar, Stephanie Savage, Josh Schwartz

Stars: Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Leighton Meester, Kristen Bell, Taylor Momsen, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick

Q&A:

Based on the book of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar, this drama gives viewers a peek into the crazy world of a group of upper-class teenagers who attend elite private schools in New York City. Serena (played by Blake Lively) is a popular girl who is sent away to boarding school, leaving her best friend Blair (played by Leighton Meester) behind. One year, Serena returns and quickly finds out that everything has changed. Rumors are flying about why she was sent to boarding school, but no one knows the real reason. Serena has found herself friendless, as Blair has moved on and now only seems to care about her boyfriend Nate, played by Chace Crawford. Serena soon realizes that she does not need her "cool" friends to be happy and moves onto new friends, such as Dan (played by Penn Badgley). During all of the madness, there is an anonymous character that simply goes by "Gossip Girl" who provides a classic narration during the show. The show features numerous cat fights and relationship issues, and there is never a boring moment with Blair fighting to keep her title of "Most Talked About" now that Serena has returned. I first heard about this show in a commercical promoting the season premiere. It looked very interesting, so I watched the season premiere and was immediately hooked. I absolutely love all the one-liners that Gossip Girl (played by Kristen Bell) has to offer about the hilarious situations that the priviledged clique find themselves in. The show is constantly throwing viewers through loops that are never expected and leaving viewers with cliffhanger endings that make the following Wednesday come extremely slowly. There is nothing I really dislike about this show. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone who enjoys programs like "The OC" or "One Tree Hill" because it is the same type of concept. What makes it original is how the writers are not afraid to put the characters in scandalous situations that most shows would not be brave enough to do, and this is what makes the show memorable.

Remembering Radio's Golden Age

My Grandma Terri..I love her!

INFORMATION:

I chose to interview my grandma Terri. She is 66 years old and she still one of the coolest people I know. I look up to her a lot.

CONTENT:

My grandma listened to the radio as far back as she can remember, but she is going to guess that she started when she was about 5 years old. She grew up living with her grandparents and a friend of her grandfather named Luke loved to listen to the radio, especially the news reports. All through her early childhood years, Luke and her would stay up and listen to the news reports and do crossword puzzles. From 7-10pm, my grandma would listen to the radio either with Luke or alone. Her grandparents did not listen to the radio, and her friends weren't allowed to listen to the radio. She grew up in a very small town where most parents considered the radio to be "something that would corrupt young minds." As she got a little older, she began to listen to more entertainment shows rather than news reports. Some of her favorite shows were The Shadow, Amos and Andy, The Green Lantern and Fibber McGee and Molly. Some of her favorite artists to listen to were Jack Benny, Red Skeleton, Chuck Berry, Peggy Lee and Elvis Presley. One of her favorite memories during the golden age of radio was the rebellious nature of listening to the radio that existed in her town. Every weekend, my grandma and her friend Barbara Jean would spend the night at either's house and listen to KUDL in Kansas City, which was a station that played all the music that they would have gotten in trouble for listening to. Another one of her favorite memories was the decoder rings that some entertainment shows used. She loved rushing home from school every day to see what message would be delivered to only those lucky ones who owned such a ring. She said the radio is much different today than it was back then. During the golden age, radio had mainly programs that were solely for entertainment, such as Little Orphan Annie and Stella Dallas, two of her favorites. Music was hardly ever played until the later years of the golden age, and music is the most commonly heard aspect of current radio stations. Not many recurring entertainment series, if any, can be found on today's radio stations. She said the number one thing that younger generations tend to forget is how different entertainment is today than it was when she was growing up. Radio was all they had during those years, but TV now serves as a huge competition for radio. My grandma thinks that younger people do not realize how cool it is to see a TV in every home because this was not at all the case when she was younger. To this day, my grandma is still a huge fan of the radio and misses all of the shows that added so much to her childhood. From this interview, I learned how much of an impact radio had on people who are much older than I am. Most people would not consider radio to be more entertaining than television nowadays, but it was really interesting to hear about days when TV wasn't an option. But even though TV wasn't an option, people like my grandma still feel that their childhood was definitely entertaining thanks to the golden age of radio.

Rascal Flatts

INFORMATION:

Artist: Rascal Flatts
Album Name: Feels Like Today

Popular Songs: Bless the Broken Road, Fast Cars and Freedom, Feels Like Today, Skin

Record Label: Lyric Street Records (owned by The Walt Disney Company)

Year of Release: 2004

Genre: Country

Q&A:

I became a country music fan during my freshman year of high school, and it has been my favorite kind of music ever since. But I have not played any country CD as much in three years as "Feels Like Today" by Rascal Flatts. The first song I ever heard by Rascal Flatts was "Mayberry", which is actually from the CD entitled "Melt". I had never heard of the band before and I heard this song on the radio for the first time in 2002. I liked the song a lot and immediately bought the CD. The band instantly became my favorite. "Feels Like Today" did not come out until the next year. I had been listening to my one and only Rascal Flatts CD almost every day during that time, and I couldn't wait to buy their newest CD after hearing "Feels Like Today" on the radio about a month before the CD was actually released. I now own all five of their CD's released since 2000. Country is definitely my favorite kind of music. Some of my other favorite artists are Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban. On my Myspace page, my current song is "Take Me There" from Rascal Flatts new CD entitled "Still Feels Good". I like this song because it is their newest song and the lyrics amazingly explains the feelings of a boy wanting to know anything and everything about a girl that he loves, from where she kissed her first love to the qualities of her mom and dad she admires the most. I listen to most of my music either on the radio while in the car, my Ipod at any time or Yahoo Music while I am sitting in my dorm room. About 90% of the music on my Ipod comes from iTunes and the rest of them come from either Limewire or my CD collection.

Sweet Home Alabama

INFORMATION:

Movie Title: Sweet Home Alabama
Movie Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Parent Company: Walt Disney
Other Movies: Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Pretty Woman, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Dead Poets Society, The Waterboy
Producer: David Brown and Michael Tolkin
Director: Andy Tennant
Writer: Douglas J. Eboch and C. Jay Cox
Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey, Ethan Embry, Candice Bergen, Fred Ward, Mary Kay Place, Jean Smart

Q&A:

Sweet Home Alabama stars Reese Witherspoon as Melanie Carmichael, later found out to be a fake name. Melanie is an Alabama-raised socialite who moves to New York City to achieve her goals and reaches outstanding heights as a fashion designer. She begins to feel as if she is on top of the world, with a great boyfriend named Andrew, played by Patrick Dempsey, and a flourishing career. But when Andrew proposes, Melanie feels as if she must “inform” her family down South that she rarely speaks to of her decisions. This is especially true of her high-school sweetheart turned husband Jake, played by Josh Lucas, who refuses to divorce her. Melanie believes this is because he is stubborn and wants to make things difficult for her, but she later finds out that he doesn’t sign the divorce papers in the hopes that Melanie will come back to him someday. With huge determination to get her husband to sign the divorce papers, Melanie returns home. As she reconnects with her family and her old friends, including Bobby Ray played by Ethan Embry, she begins to realize that home might really be where the heart is and that she is still in love with her husband. This proves to be a major complication when Andrew decides to pay Melanie a surprise visit, but he storms around town looking for “Melanie Carmichael”. He doesn’t find her, because her real name is “Melanie Smooter”, which she changed to Carmichael because that is the name of the richest family in town. He is upset that she lied to him but forgives her and meets her real parents, played by Fred Ward and Mary Kay Place. His mother, played by Candice Bergen, is the mayor of New York City and she believes that it was extremely wrong of Melanie to lie to Andrew by failing to mention her husband and lying to him about her roots. Andrew still wishes to marry Melanie, but she simply cannot go through with the wedding because “she gave her heart away a long time ago”. Melanie and Jake end up back together. I saw this movie when it was in theaters. I was interested in seeing this film because Reese Witherspoon is my favorite actress and I always love any movie that she is in. I was also living in Georgia at this time and I thought it would be interesting to see how the deep South was depicted in this film. I like the chemistry between the actors in this movie. There is many funny conversations and situations and you can tell that the actors probably got along very well on and off set. I also like the message the movie tries to send: sometimes the thing you are looking for the most is the thing that is right in front of you. I would definitely recommend this movie to someone else because it is the classic romantic comedy with a few original details, like the comedic undertones of how different a small town in Alabama is from New York City. And of course, Reese Witherspoon never gives a disappointing performance.

Trailer

US Weekly

INFORMATION:

Name: US Weekly
Example of Magazine Cover: See above.
Publisher: The Walt Disney Company and Wenner Media
Type of Magazine: US Weekly is a consumer magazine that focuses on entertainment.
Subscription: No.


Q&A:

I got the magazine from a news stand at Wal-Mart. This is a consumer magazine because it is released about 52 times a year, hence the name “US Weekly”. It has more than 3,000 general readers and it contains much more than 16 pages of editorial content. It is an entertainment magazine because the majority of the articles are targeted toward human curiosity and desire for gossip. Readers get to see the most famous celebrities at 3 in the morning on drunken nights and also baby pictures of the cutest celebrity toddlers. In the “Just like Us” section, stars are photographed doing things that us regular people do, such as grocery shop with our families and walk the dog. In the “Fashion Police” section, editors choose which stars had the current “look of the week” and also choose which stars are “good people with bad clothes”. Girls who are my age, along with girls in their 20’s, are definitely the targets for this magazine. The advertisements range mostly from perfumes, types of makeup, hair products, healthy foods, television shows directed at women, and personal hygiene products. The articles in the magazine, aside from the cover stories, are usually articles about eating healthy, looking your best and choosing the right make-up, what shoes and purses are “in” currently, outfits for every body shape, and the newest, most fabulous hairstyles. On the particular US Weekly that I am in the middle of reading, the main cover story is titled “Mommy’s Crying”. This story is about none other than Britney Spears and her two sons, Sean and Jaden, who are trying to deal with her constant roller coaster of emotions and lapses into the dangerous world of drugs and alcohol. This sounded like an interesting story to read, possibly because I believe that Britney is not fit to be a mother in her current state, and I bought this magazine partially to read this article. I also bought this magazine because I have read US Weekly before and I always know that even if the cover story is less than what I expected, there is at least one other article in the magazine that I will definitely read more than once. I would recommend this magazine to anyone who enjoys a good laugh at celebrities looking like fools and also enjoys a smile here and there when you see a happy celebrity couple making it through the evils that tabloids can bring to their lives.


Word Count: 445

ABC Tries To Keep Up With The Competition With Network Distribution

Disney-owned ABC is marching forward with its revised online video strategy and will soon attempt to distribute its primetime shows on AOL with no extra charge. The effort to push forward quickly is partially due to competition from rival CBS, which created its own online distribution network this past spring, and also from NBC Universal, who has claimed that they will start testing a desktop video download service next month. The ABC/AOL agreement includes the following:
1. sharing of ad revenues
2. in order to protect ABC affiliates who could possibly lose broadcast viewers to the Internet, the network will be geo-targeting ads, along with three national ads for each hour of programming
3. ABC's shows will be available to the public on AOL on the day that follows the initial broadcast; four episodes of each show will be available to watch at any time
This ravenous effort on ABC's part has reminded me how competitive the "powerhouses" like NBC Universal and Walt Disney really are with each other. If one of them has a technological breakthrough, the other one better not be too far behind in order to retain their whole audience.

An American Classic

Information:

Title: The Outsiders
Author: S.E. Hinton
Publisher: Penguin Books
Parent Company: Pearson




Summary of Content:

This novel tells the story of 14-year old Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles growing up in a society where he feels like an "outsider". Ponyboy and his older brothers, Darry and Sodapop, have recently lost their parents in a car accident and live on their own. These three boys, along with friends Johnny and Dallas, belong to a group called the "Greasers", who are from the poor side of town. The "Socs", short for socials and their rival group, live on the rich side of town. A fight between these two groups can break out at any time without any provoking from either side. One terrible night during a fight that gets way out of control, Jonny kills a Soc in order to protect Ponyboy. Ponyboy doesn't tell his brothers about the murder, and Johnny seeks help from Dally in order to avoid being arrested. Dally gives them $50 and tells them to leave town until he goes to find them. They hide out in an abandoned church, color and cut their hair to disguise themselves, and pass the time by playing cards and reading. Dally shows up after a week, takes them to a local Dairy Queen to buy them food, and has good news: he has lead the authorities to believe that Johnny and Ponyboy are on their way to Texas and a "Soc" girl is going to testify that Johnny killed her friend in self-defense. Johnny wishes to turn himself in, and they go back to the church to retrieve their belongings, discovering that the church is on fire. A school group is there, and little children are trapped inside. Ponyboy and Johnny immediately race inside and rescue the kids. As they are attempting to run out of the burning building, the roof collapses. Ponyboy barely escapes, and a piece of timber falls on Johnny, badly burning him and breaking his back. The boys are now viewed as heroes, and they are raced back to the hospital in an ambulance. Johnny dies, and Dally becomes extremely grief-stricken and robs a grocery store. He flees to a vacant lot where the rest of the gang is waiting, and the police chase him there. He pulls a "black object" from his pocket, and the police believe it is a gun and shoot him. Ponyboy misses both of his friends dearly, and writes a book in order to remember them.

Type of Book: The Outsiders is an example of a trade book.

Type of Reader: I would consider myself a casual reader. I probably read about 3 or 4 books a year, and they are usually books I have already read.


Questions & Answers-

I read this book in English class during 8th grade, and I still remember it very vividly. I also have seen the movie a few times, and I enjoy both. This book impacted me because it shows you how the worst moments can bring out the strongest qualities in people, whether the qualities are good or bad. I also really loved the fact that no matter what kinds of horrible things happened to the gang of "Outsiders", they stuck together through thick and thin. Even after Johnny and Dally are killed, Ponyboy vows to "make their deaths mean something". This story definitely has deeper meanings. The theme of innocence is symbolized in the Robert Frost poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," which Ponyboy reads to Johnny at the church. As Johnny dies, he tells Ponyboy to "stay gold," meaning hold onto his innocence despite the cruel conditions of the world in which they live. Another theme in the story is shown when the Socs and Greasers come together after the three murders and decide they will be tolerant of each other and not continue to fight based solely on class differences. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story that tugs at the heartstrings. I have never read any other books from this particular author, but I would highly recommend this author simply because "The Outsiders" is that great of a book.

Word Count: 697..man I'm good!

The Media in Canada

I interviewed my friend Jobie Waughman and he is from British Columbia, Canada. He told me that in Canada, the news is worldier and has to do with global issues, whereas American news is mainly about American issues. He also said that actual Canadian films are very hard to find, but American films that are produced in Canada are much more readily available. The radio is pretty much the same except for the fact that Canadian radio stations receive new songs a lot slower than American radio stations do. They are usually at least a few weeks behind. The same thing goes for TV: if a new TV show comes out, American cable stations will reach the public much faster than Canadian cable stations will. He pointed out that the first thing he noticed about the media in America was how much Americans love to talk about themselves. A news broadcast in Canada usually will show 90% global issues and 10% Canadian issues, and he was shocked to see how much of an American news broadcast is about American issues that simply are not as important as such things as the War in Iraq and global warming. I had always heard that other countries thought Americans were extremely self-absorbed, but to hear this face-to-face was even more convincing than all the claims I've heard on this foreign opinion. Jobie does not think the Americans take their freedom of press for granted. From this interview, I learned that the media is used in Canada in a very different way than it is used in the United States, from the news broadcasts being more "global" to the media obtaining information slower than American media. The thing that shocked me the most from the interview was how much other countries really do think America needs to "get over itself", especially a country that is right next door! I thought this was a very educational experience and opened my eyes to the views of other countries.

My Favorite Class is Survey!

My favorite class at Lindenwood University is COM 130 Survey of Professional Media taught by Asst. Professor Jill Shroeder.

You Know I Got Some SOUL POWER..

Welcome to Survey of Professional Media

My name is Katie Schuler. I was born in Kansas City, MO and I have lived in four different states: Kansas, California, Georgia and Missouri. My family currently lives in Lake Saint Louis, MO and I graduated from Wentzville Holt High School in Wentzville, MO. I am majoring in Mass Communications and I plan on becoming a sports broadcaster or journalist. I intend to join the National Broadcasting Society and I want to help with the radio and television broadcasts at Lindenwood. I am excited to learn more about the Communications industry and acquire knowledge that will help me start a successful career. My favorite television shows are Grey’s Anatomy, CSI, King of the Hill and Family Guy. My favorite movies are Remember the Titans, Varsity Blues, Sweet Home Alabama and 300. An interesting fact is that my dad is the football coach at Lindenwood and he also majored in Sports Journalism.