#26 Mass Media

I have learned so much this semester about the mass media! I absolutely loved that class and all the interesting things I've learned. It gave me a whole new perspective on the media and where it is headed. I loved discussing media laws and ethics. Even though it is such a difficult topic to discuss, it definitely got me thinking.
I also loved in the beginning of the semester when it was explained to us why so many different types of mediums were struggling. It is because of this equation: probability reward/effort required= probablity of selection.
This explains that if something offers a huge reward and doesn't require very much effort people are more likely to consume it, such as watching TV or listening to the Radio. Whereas books and magazines, while yes they are rewarding, they require a ton of effort, therefore people are far less likely to consume them.
This semester has been awesome! I learned so much and am so grateful to know more about the media. I learned how to do photoshop and decided that I'm going to studying either advertising or graphic design.

#25 What's on TV tonight

So it's a Friday night and I'm feeling incredibly lame. But my roommate and I decided to see what was on TV. It really amazes me difference between shows. I feel like some shows are incredibly good, but others are completely stuffed with garbage! Just by channel surfing we watched clips of some weird shows!
For instance, on the History channel there was a man who would eat lightbulbs. You would think that it would cut your mouth or something. It was definitely funky! We also saw glimpses of news channels. Tonight MSNBC did a special on criminals in jail. It was incredibly interesting to see how they acted behind bars and how some inmates were treated. It was nice to have a glimpse of that, but it makes me wonder how much of it is actually the truth because nowadays things can be changed or created in this virtual world.

# 24 Communication Majors- the prospects

I decided to look up exactly what a communication major does, how important it is to our society, and what kind of jobs are out there for future Comm Majors.
Did you know...
-it is impossible to not communicate. Everything we do, whether we intend for it to or not, sends a message.
-According to the Federal Trade Commission, there are 20,000 television commercials made each year that are aimed exclusively at children. Of these, 7,000 are for sugared breakfast cereals.

The first one talks about how it is impossible not to communicate. When you really think about that it is. Even if you're silent or stay in your room all day, you are still communicating the fact that you don't want to be bothered.
The second one is intersting too. For the latest group project, my group designed a magazine and I wrote an article about TV commercials in the US compared to countries in the European Union and found that in most other places there are strict laws about advertising to young children.

#23 Media changing Society

As I look back at how much things have changed it amazes me.
The only newspaper that I ever pick up is the Scroll and that's because I have to read it for one of my classes. I can't remember the last time I got my national news from a physical newspaper, everything I ever read is from google news online.
Also, I can't remember the last time I did research in the library. Now when I have to research something for a project I use online data bases or the internet for basic information.
I was talking to my dad the other day about how much the mass media and life has changed since he was in college like 30 years ago.
He was telling me that when he was a student back in the day people made money typing papers for people. To me that is crazy! I've known how to type and use a computer since I was like seven. And now, I know seven year olds who have iphones and cooler technology than I do! It is so interesting to see how much things have changed in even the last 10 years.

#22 The X Factor

Today we discussed the difference between American Idol and the New X factor show. I think that it interesting that they are virtually the same thing with the only real difference being that Simon and his crew is going to become the stars of the X Factors. Whereas American Idol Stars are still focused on the actual performers.
We also looked at the sponsors of the series. I think it is interesting that the two competing shows have competing sponsors. American Idol is sponsored by Coke and Ford while The X Factor is sponsored by Pepsi and Chevy.
I think that Fox and the shows sponsors made an extremely intelligent decision. Fox will make bank. I think that they will have the tv ratings go year round with the X Factor playing from mid-september to right before the Holiday season, then to show American Idol from January until May. In my eyes, this was incredibly smart of them. Especially since American Idol has had to the top ratings since it's launch nearly 10 years ago.

#21 designing advertisements

For my Writing for Communications Majors, we were assigned to create an advertisement that would attract millions to a specific resturaunt. At first, it sounded very simple, but the reality was not so easy. As I sat down at the computer and began to think of a design, I first had to consider my target audience, who in the world I was trying to get to purchase this meal. My target audience was 18-34 year old college students. So I thought, what in the world do college students love. I thought of cheap food and most men, I would assume, love a challenge. So I put the two together. And I came up with my ad for Big Jud's.
I learned quite a bit during this assignment. The first thing I learned was that you ae trying to attract as many people as possible, so you have to use colors that many people like. You also want a focal point of the ad, so that the viewers eyes don't get tired or lost. The target point of my ad was the burger.
Advertising would be a very fun industry to go into, but quite competitive and difficult to crack into.

#20 Ideas for the Newspaper Industry to Survive

            The newspaper sales are not increasing and for the business this is a problem. In order for newspapers to stay in business they will need to find other ways to reach their audience. They can do this by going onto the internet or creating newspaper apps for smart phones or ipads. They could also make their newspapers more appealing by making them interactive.
            For example, they could create an app that allows an option to listen to the article or to read the article. They could have the source linked to different local papers so that they can find all their news from one main page rather than having to read both local and national news from different sources.
            I think that in order for the newspaper industry to survive, they will have to undergo a great transformation like the radio did. They will need to find a way to deliver news both effectively and accurately to the public without disrupting their morning. While this will be a difficult task to accomplish, I definitely think it is possible and vital if the news wants to be an active competitor in the world to come.
            Another thing that they could do to make newspapers more effective is to decrease the number of copies printed to save money and simply post them online. I think that the newspaper industry has come a long way but still has farther to go. They could also make it so people could request their preference on specific types of news stories. For example, not everyone wants to hear about politics but would rather hear about what is going on in the entertainment world. It would be awesome if the majority of the stories that popped up when they logged in were about entertainment. I think that this could potentially attract more advertisers because their audience is much more specific.  

#19 Radio

In class we have been studying radio. Let's be real, radio is not the same as it was back in the 1920s. Radio has changed more drastically in the past 90 years from talk shows to music. Radio was a place that everyone used to get their news from, it was a place of unity where families would gather around the radio to hear the President address the public. It used to bind people together and it was their source of news.
Now look at radio. It can be found on itunes, in the car, and on the internet. However, radio cannot be played on an ipod. It is interesting to think about how much time has changed. Radio transformed into television, which is slowly transitioning into the internet.
But it is also interesting to see that radio is not dying. Radio realized that in order to survive it had to completely transform itself since all the big radio reporters and entertainers moved to TV in the late 1940s. This is when radio started to play music and became more niched. There were various stations that appealed to very different audiences, much like it is today.

#18 Media Ethics

Media Ethics is an extremely difficult thing to talk about because everyone has their own opinions. While the mass media can do certain things legally, there is a serious moral question. That is, SHOULD they do certain things? For example, legally, they can post the name of a rape victim but ethically should they? Today in class we talked about a practicing Mormon who was in a beer commercial. The question was posed to the class, should he have been in that beer commercial?
This is a very difficult question to answer. Drinking beer goes against what Mormon's teach, but since he wasn't drinking the beer does that make it okay?
We learned that there are two ways to judge ethical issues. The first is based off of authority, such as following what your parents or what you think God would want. The second is based off of outcomes or consequences.
Ethics is a difficult thing because no one has the correct answers.

# 17 Media Law

The past few days in class we have been studying Media law. Media law and copy right laws have always fascinated me, especially since they will have to be completely re-written in a couple of years because the internet will change everything. I think it interesting that there are hardly any laws regarding the media. In class we discussed the question, "if we could amend the constitution and have more government regulation in the media, would we?" I answer no to this question. As much as I wish the media was more appropriate, I would not want the government to interfere with the media because it will create so much chaos. I think that the government is having a hard enough time handling the things they are supposed to handle and the thought of giving them something so controversial is code for disaster.

#16 Creating Magazines

Lately I've been working on creating different magazines because it is a point of interest for me. I have learn to both love it and hate it. I have learned to appreciate all the work that goes into creating a magazine because I know from experience that it is stressful! I have learned how to make magazines in indesign and how to photoshop pictures to better suit my magazine spreads. It is stressful because there are so many options for ideas that you can choose from and it has to be visually appealing when you first look at it.
At first, I sat down and thought it would be so simple to create, because magazines don't look that complicated to design. WRONG! They're so complicated. For one magazine, I literally had 10 different ideas and created 10 different spreads for the cover alone!
Now I see why it is so important for magazines to have subscribers so that they can ensure that money because if not every single edition has to be extremely visually appealing and it is difficult.

#15 Media, Media! It's everywhere!

Over the fourth of July holiday I noticed so much about technology around me. My friends and I went to the Fireworks show in Idaho Falls and everywhere I walked there were people of every sort, rich, poor, you name it, had cell phones or ipods. There was music blasted everywhere I walked, it was incredible. I honestly don't know how we used to function or get a hold of someone before the days of cell phones.
I think that people are beginning to develop poorer interpersonal skills because of technology though. Now, instead of talking to a person you text them. Or rather than talking with friends you play games on your iphone with them. My friend had a game on his iphone that I used to play with little plastic cars! It blows my mind how much technology is changing and how far it has come in the last 10 years!
Also, I realized that I don't like driving in the car unless my ipod is plugged in or the radio is on. Even if it's turned down or if I'm having a conversation with someone I still like the radio on. I think that I've become so used to always having something on whether I'm getting ready for my day or falling asleep, so silence has begun to scare me. Which is sad, because silence can be really good.

#14 Media Law

Today in class we were studying Media Law. Basically I learned that you are protected under the first amendment with little exceptions. I also learned that there are two types of control: Censorship and after-the-fact. Censorship is blocked before it even reaches the public eye. It can be used during: military operations at time of war to prevent information from being leaked. It is also used to protect national security to keep things secret, like spies or CIA agents. Lastly it is used when something poses a clear and present danger. Clear and present danger is essentially that you have the right to yell fire in a crowded room, but can be arrested because you cause harm to others.
After-the-fact control is a little different. It is when the media chooses to publish something and take risks. There are multiple types, but today we focused on libel/slander. Libel is when you write something about someone that isn't true whereas slander is speaking something that isn't true. It is when you ruin someones reputation. There are three things that help the courts determine if it was libel/slander: (1) was it truthful? (2) official proceeding (court case/town meeting) (3) was it a fair comment?