We live in a world that constantly offers us choices. iPods come in a variety of colors, phones, cameras, and now even computers can be bought in any color in the rainbow. People can choose their internet provider, their phone service, and who they buy cable from. Why then, are they subject to watching and reading news that others pick for them? It is a wonder why people are still watching news shows and buying newspapers written by journalists who very well are not concerned with the same news events and happenings.
The Gotham Gazette is a website designed by and for the people in the greater New York City area. The site allows viewers to choose areas of interest, ranging from arts to current political events. Locals can look up information about which stores have the most recently published books, or they can get the latest news and others’ commentaries about the changes in report cards at the local school district.
It is important for people to decide what is news-worthy and what issues are important to learn about. Sites like The Gotham Gazette allow everyone in its readership to gather information about exactly what interests them. Sure, there are news programs on televisions that the citizens of New York City all have access to, but not all of the citizens are interested in the same parts of the broadcast.
In addition to offering choices about which news to learn about, the website allows readers to write and post their comments about all of the topics featured on the website. Professional journalists cannot cover all of the areas of every town; the real professionals of an area are the people who live there; why not make them the journalists, too?
With an increase in websites like The Gotham Gazette, the future of news looks very personable. People in small towns can now rely on fellow citizens to learn about the happenings of the city and people who live in large metropolitan areas can focus in on the news that matters to them. No longer do people have to be bombarded with news that does not concern or even interest them. Why not learn about what you need to know exactly rather than skimming through paragraphs of news that has nothing to do with you?
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Survivor
As the American public, we seem to believe everything that we see. Here, this fan obviously thinks that she knows how to win a "reality" TV show because of what she has seen during half an hour segments of edited film.
In class, we learned that in actuality, the contestants on Survivor don't actually spend all their time doing what we see on TV. They are usually sleeping because of lack of food and water, and what is on TV has been edited for ratings.
The book discusses automaticity, which is the idea that the brain filters media messages. There are triggers that allow information to come through and there are also traps that make people "more susceptible... to negative effects of the media". One of the traps is a false sense of feeling informed. This quote is a definite example of a person feeling wrongfully informed about something on the media.
After reading this quote, my immediate reaction is, "Oh, this poor woman believes everything she sees on TV." When it comes to Survivor, the person with the advantage is the person who can survive the longest in the elements. An audience that only sees the edited finished version of a show has no advantage over people who have lived the experience of being on the camera.
In class, we learned that in actuality, the contestants on Survivor don't actually spend all their time doing what we see on TV. They are usually sleeping because of lack of food and water, and what is on TV has been edited for ratings.
The book discusses automaticity, which is the idea that the brain filters media messages. There are triggers that allow information to come through and there are also traps that make people "more susceptible... to negative effects of the media". One of the traps is a false sense of feeling informed. This quote is a definite example of a person feeling wrongfully informed about something on the media.
After reading this quote, my immediate reaction is, "Oh, this poor woman believes everything she sees on TV." When it comes to Survivor, the person with the advantage is the person who can survive the longest in the elements. An audience that only sees the edited finished version of a show has no advantage over people who have lived the experience of being on the camera.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Max Headroom
It was an accident that I stumbled upon the old episodes of Max Headroom when cleaning out the closet at work. I couldn’t resist the temptation to watch what looked to be like such an ancient sitcom. After I searched high and low for a VHS player, I popped in the cassette and anxiously awaited what I hoped to be an entertaining blast from the past.
Boy, was I disappointed. The first Max Headroom episode I viewed was a weak cry for entertainment. I found myself confused and not sure as to what exactly was taking place on the screen in front of me.
Although the plot was jumbled and hard to follow, the idea that the media industry was so power-hungry and profit driven that it would literally kill for ratings was mildly amusing. If a sitcom from over a decade ago predicted such a blood thirsty, rating driven industry, it is questionable as to what the media industry has in reality become.
Perhaps we would kill for ratings? Would there be a good TV station and a bad station fighting over ratings and the good of the world? Maybe we do live in a society completely driven by results. One thing is for certain, Max Headroom became victim to the same group of people that it depicted as villains. Our rating driven media industry would not let a sitcom like Max Headroom last more than one appearance.
Boy, was I disappointed. The first Max Headroom episode I viewed was a weak cry for entertainment. I found myself confused and not sure as to what exactly was taking place on the screen in front of me.
Although the plot was jumbled and hard to follow, the idea that the media industry was so power-hungry and profit driven that it would literally kill for ratings was mildly amusing. If a sitcom from over a decade ago predicted such a blood thirsty, rating driven industry, it is questionable as to what the media industry has in reality become.
Perhaps we would kill for ratings? Would there be a good TV station and a bad station fighting over ratings and the good of the world? Maybe we do live in a society completely driven by results. One thing is for certain, Max Headroom became victim to the same group of people that it depicted as villains. Our rating driven media industry would not let a sitcom like Max Headroom last more than one appearance.
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