The advertisement I chose to analyze for today is not your typical advertisement. Instead of choosing a longer commercial I chose a subliminal message that was placed into the end of a Top Chef show. All the ad consists of is the McDonald's logo which is visible for only one frame, so it literally is on the screen long enough for it to flash red and make the viewer wonder "what was that?". I think that this advertising technique is a little scary because most viewers do not even realize that they are getting victimized by McDonald's. It also scares me because shows are starting to sell their own time to advertisers who already have the whole entire commercial break to try to mold our brains. With all scariness aside I do think that this was a brilliant placement of the commercial; I know when I watch food shows I tend to get hungry. A lot of people were craving food at the end of Top Chef, saw the logo flash, wonder "...was the the McDonald's logo? Speaking of McDonald's I could use a Whopper right now."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMzbwa6PvEE
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Neil Postman's 6 questions
The technology I chose to answer Neil Postman’s six questions is the Cideko Air Keyboard; it is designed to be a keyboard, mouse, and remote control all in one.
1) What is the problem to which this technology is a solution?
This technology is actually solving a huge issue that I have in my house, losing the remote. Instead of having three different objects (one key board, mouse, and remote) they have consolidated them into one object that is a decent enough size to be more visible than a remote. It seems like its main point is to make the web/television surfers lives a little easier than they already are.
2) Whose problem is it?
It seems like its main point is to make the web/television surfers lives a little easier than they already are. However, this could solve a lot of multi-taskers and forgetful people’s problems too.
3) What new problems can be created by solving the old one?
I would say the major issue is increased laziness. The modern age is all about making things quicker and easier, when are things easy enough? I don’t think that people were really struggling in their daily lives when it came to surfing the internet or flipping through the channels.
4) What people or institutions will be most seriously harmed by this new technology?
I don’t think the computer companies will see a hit in their revenues. There is potential for the remote companies to lose out if this technology becomes popular, it could put them out of business. However, if they create a deal with the computer companies to work together they also could be profitable.
5) What people or institutions will gain political or economic power from this technology?
If these are a popular item then Taiwan will benefit greatly because Cideko is a company based out of Taiwan. This could benefit teachers too, they could use it as a class room tool, allowing them to surf the web and change the educational channel while wandering around the room.
6) What types of changes in language will this technology bring out?
This technology will just continue the era of text lingo, since it is still just a keyboard/remote control.
1) What is the problem to which this technology is a solution?
This technology is actually solving a huge issue that I have in my house, losing the remote. Instead of having three different objects (one key board, mouse, and remote) they have consolidated them into one object that is a decent enough size to be more visible than a remote. It seems like its main point is to make the web/television surfers lives a little easier than they already are.
2) Whose problem is it?
It seems like its main point is to make the web/television surfers lives a little easier than they already are. However, this could solve a lot of multi-taskers and forgetful people’s problems too.
3) What new problems can be created by solving the old one?
I would say the major issue is increased laziness. The modern age is all about making things quicker and easier, when are things easy enough? I don’t think that people were really struggling in their daily lives when it came to surfing the internet or flipping through the channels.
4) What people or institutions will be most seriously harmed by this new technology?
I don’t think the computer companies will see a hit in their revenues. There is potential for the remote companies to lose out if this technology becomes popular, it could put them out of business. However, if they create a deal with the computer companies to work together they also could be profitable.
5) What people or institutions will gain political or economic power from this technology?
If these are a popular item then Taiwan will benefit greatly because Cideko is a company based out of Taiwan. This could benefit teachers too, they could use it as a class room tool, allowing them to surf the web and change the educational channel while wandering around the room.
6) What types of changes in language will this technology bring out?
This technology will just continue the era of text lingo, since it is still just a keyboard/remote control.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Feature article analysis
As I sat down and read the feature article from Rolling Stone "Wall Street's Naked Swindle" I immediately noticed how little objectivity the author was using in comparison to a regular news story. He seems to have very strong opinions towards what has recently occurred in our economy, he even uses swear words to get his points across.
The author, Matt Taibbi, is also has more of a theoretical stance in his story where as a news story would be straight to the point and fact oriented. Even though Taibbi is clearly choosing sides one would think of him as less credible, yet, his use of facts and expertise on the matter make him come across as a trust worthy individual. I made sure I read the piece with the awareness that the author is about to state his opinions and strongly at that, I found it very easy to read as well as education and enjoyable.
Most average news articles are done in the inverse pyramid style, where the important facts come first with the least important statements towards the bottom, the point is to get the facts across as efficiently as possible which is a very objective thing to do. The more subjective(or interpretive) feature article is given the freedom to dive into deeper details of the topic since who ever is reading the article clearly must have an interest in your topic.
The author, Matt Taibbi, is also has more of a theoretical stance in his story where as a news story would be straight to the point and fact oriented. Even though Taibbi is clearly choosing sides one would think of him as less credible, yet, his use of facts and expertise on the matter make him come across as a trust worthy individual. I made sure I read the piece with the awareness that the author is about to state his opinions and strongly at that, I found it very easy to read as well as education and enjoyable.
Most average news articles are done in the inverse pyramid style, where the important facts come first with the least important statements towards the bottom, the point is to get the facts across as efficiently as possible which is a very objective thing to do. The more subjective(or interpretive) feature article is given the freedom to dive into deeper details of the topic since who ever is reading the article clearly must have an interest in your topic.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Feature Idea
The idea that I have been contemplating for my feature story is about a good friend of mine named Chris Farrar. I did not choose him because he is in easy access to me or because I don't want to branch out, but because he is a part of something that I find incredibly interesting. Recently there was an article posted in the Maine Campus about the research a professor is conducting on new ways of finding tumors by using gold. Only five students out of the whole engineering program were chosen to assist the professor with his research and Chris is one of them.
My goal in interviewing him is to get more information about how the research is being conducted, what Chris' specific job is, and what his class mates do. I also think it would be beneficial for the article if he could get me in touch with those students and possibly the professor so I can conduct an interview to get multiple perspectives on the progress they are making.
My goal in interviewing him is to get more information about how the research is being conducted, what Chris' specific job is, and what his class mates do. I also think it would be beneficial for the article if he could get me in touch with those students and possibly the professor so I can conduct an interview to get multiple perspectives on the progress they are making.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
September 25th
Conan O’Brien Signs Off
Out of the deafening applause, Conan O’Brien, host of the popular Late Night’s emerged onto the stage to sat his final goodbye as he is moving on to fill the big shoes, and even larger chin of Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.
Leno is planning on officially handing the show down to large haired, imaginary string dancing O’Brien in June of 2009. As the Tonight show and Late night with Conan O’Brien have both been aired on NBC for a while now, O’Brien being on the air since 1993, NBC has full confidence in their new host.
The show was one for the ages, numerous of O’Brien’s close friends stopped into the show to wish him luck. Among the favorite guests were O’Brien’s long time friend and old colleague, Andy Richter and Will Ferrell who was splitting sides with his famous George W. Bush character. To cap the show off, The White stripes performed a unique version of “We Are Going to Be Friends”, followed by O’Brien announcing that despite rumors of his act being edited for the earlier show time it will still be as immature as it ever was.
Out of the deafening applause, Conan O’Brien, host of the popular Late Night’s emerged onto the stage to sat his final goodbye as he is moving on to fill the big shoes, and even larger chin of Jay Leno on the Tonight Show.
Leno is planning on officially handing the show down to large haired, imaginary string dancing O’Brien in June of 2009. As the Tonight show and Late night with Conan O’Brien have both been aired on NBC for a while now, O’Brien being on the air since 1993, NBC has full confidence in their new host.
The show was one for the ages, numerous of O’Brien’s close friends stopped into the show to wish him luck. Among the favorite guests were O’Brien’s long time friend and old colleague, Andy Richter and Will Ferrell who was splitting sides with his famous George W. Bush character. To cap the show off, The White stripes performed a unique version of “We Are Going to Be Friends”, followed by O’Brien announcing that despite rumors of his act being edited for the earlier show time it will still be as immature as it ever was.
Monday, October 5, 2009
9/5/09
While reading this journal I found myself agreeing and disagreeing with the authors about an equal amount. I agree with them that something needs to be done to keep print news papers around; however, I do not believe that we should bail them out. Referring back to our class discussion about this I have to agree with Joanna’s point about how the government should have absolutely no control over our news papers, if they bail them out then technically they would be in control of all news we receive (which really defeats the purpose of the papers since their main goal is to be the “watch dog” for the public). On top of not approving a bail out due to government control, we also physically do not have the money to bail out the papers right now.
It is depressing that daily news papers around the are going out of business or severely downsizing, but the idea of a full on shift to the internet is also an idea that I do not support. If we were to completely nullify physical papers then we would be completely discriminating against individuals who do not have the internet. I think sometimes Americans forget how advanced our country is and they forget to include the less fortunate in their vision of modern day America. Imagine if we did make the shift to all internet news and maybe a large disaster happens where all internet is lost, how would people get their news? If we move to internet how are we supposed to know which sites are credible and which ones are not? I think a good solution would be to move most of the major news papers on line, still keep enough to sell on the streets, and keep small town news papers around. I don’t believe that physical news papers will cease to exist in the future; I think that they will be dramatically altered.
It is depressing that daily news papers around the are going out of business or severely downsizing, but the idea of a full on shift to the internet is also an idea that I do not support. If we were to completely nullify physical papers then we would be completely discriminating against individuals who do not have the internet. I think sometimes Americans forget how advanced our country is and they forget to include the less fortunate in their vision of modern day America. Imagine if we did make the shift to all internet news and maybe a large disaster happens where all internet is lost, how would people get their news? If we move to internet how are we supposed to know which sites are credible and which ones are not? I think a good solution would be to move most of the major news papers on line, still keep enough to sell on the streets, and keep small town news papers around. I don’t believe that physical news papers will cease to exist in the future; I think that they will be dramatically altered.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Chris Hedges 9-21
As I read this piece I was quick to realize that the author of the article, Chris Hedges, is a very opinionated individual who is not afraid to use a strong opinion as his lead line. He has a way of sounding passionate and opinionated but at the same time maintain his credibility and I really enjoyed this piece. He touched on a lot of issues that I have heard about in some of my previous classes, such as the decline of the publishing industry since everything seems to be geared towards switching to the internet. Corruption in the media is another issue that I am particularly concerned with, I, like Hedges, believe that you must question everything that you read, hear, or see. Since all of our news is controlled by seven conglomerates I believe a lot of what we hear is propaganda, people these days tend to care more about the size of their bank account than the truth.
Hedges describes our society by using the phrases "collective self-delusion"and "manufactured reality" and I could not agree more. Since these conglomerates have so much control over what we see and hear, they can decide what to share with the public, as well as what information they would like to up hold from us. This brings me back to the example of GE, since they are a huge supplier of weapons, why would they want to show a lot of coverage on the war? All of these conglomerates are made up of numerous, extremely wealthy, corporations who are looking to become even more wealthy, meaning they have the power to sway many people's opinions on things through the media coverage that it recieves.
Hedges describes our society by using the phrases "collective self-delusion"and "manufactured reality" and I could not agree more. Since these conglomerates have so much control over what we see and hear, they can decide what to share with the public, as well as what information they would like to up hold from us. This brings me back to the example of GE, since they are a huge supplier of weapons, why would they want to show a lot of coverage on the war? All of these conglomerates are made up of numerous, extremely wealthy, corporations who are looking to become even more wealthy, meaning they have the power to sway many people's opinions on things through the media coverage that it recieves.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
9-16 New's with volume off
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZHTJsR4Bc
When I read the assignment for today I could not help but be excited to watch a news cast without the sound and vis versa. I had never thought to do something like this before to test the effectiveness of a newscast, but I think it is a great way to put television broadcasts to the test. The newscast I chose was one that I looked up on YouTube that comes from a Fox News interview about the intelligence of Sarah Palin. As I sat down at my computer, about to hit play, I decided that I would take a guess at which way would be easier for me to get the whole story. My guess was that they would be pretty equal in getting the point across, but in the end the clip with the audio would allow for more comprehension.
First, I watched the clip with the audio off. What I got from the clip was shocking to me because it was not a lot of information. The only way I knew what was going on was by the caption right below the reporters that flashed phrases periodically that said something along the lines of "if Palin costs McCain a single vote she is sorry" and " Palin thinks we should unite and work together", all comments being pretty typical for a politician to say. I knew, however, that if Shepard Smith and his colleague were talking about her, something important must have gone on.
Next, I hit minimize and only listened to the audio of the clip. Simply by doing this I was immersed in a news story that I found to be almost unbelievable and pretty embarrassing for Sarah Palin. Now, I'm not writing this piece to cut down Governor Palin at all, but if what these men are saying is true (which I assume it is because Fox News is a conservative station, meaning they would not report negative news about their favorite politicians if it was not a huge deal). What I heard was a report about the McCain campaign having worries about Palin's intelligence level, saying she did not know which countries were included in NAFTA and even more embarrassing, she was not aware that Africa was a continent. There were a few other points that they made about her being overly emotional and also refusing to prepare for her Katie Courick interview which she had a hard time answering some of the questions in.
Overall, I liked this exercise because it opened my eyes to how heavily the media relies on audio. After watching the story both ways I concluded two different stories, one that was your everyday politicians saying we need to unite and that Sarah Palin did not want to cause John McCain to lose any votes because of her. The second was a story filled with information that would really concern voters about the credibility of Sarah Palin. I would conclude after this assignment that news programs should put more visual queues or messages about the story being reported on.
When I read the assignment for today I could not help but be excited to watch a news cast without the sound and vis versa. I had never thought to do something like this before to test the effectiveness of a newscast, but I think it is a great way to put television broadcasts to the test. The newscast I chose was one that I looked up on YouTube that comes from a Fox News interview about the intelligence of Sarah Palin. As I sat down at my computer, about to hit play, I decided that I would take a guess at which way would be easier for me to get the whole story. My guess was that they would be pretty equal in getting the point across, but in the end the clip with the audio would allow for more comprehension.
First, I watched the clip with the audio off. What I got from the clip was shocking to me because it was not a lot of information. The only way I knew what was going on was by the caption right below the reporters that flashed phrases periodically that said something along the lines of "if Palin costs McCain a single vote she is sorry" and " Palin thinks we should unite and work together", all comments being pretty typical for a politician to say. I knew, however, that if Shepard Smith and his colleague were talking about her, something important must have gone on.
Next, I hit minimize and only listened to the audio of the clip. Simply by doing this I was immersed in a news story that I found to be almost unbelievable and pretty embarrassing for Sarah Palin. Now, I'm not writing this piece to cut down Governor Palin at all, but if what these men are saying is true (which I assume it is because Fox News is a conservative station, meaning they would not report negative news about their favorite politicians if it was not a huge deal). What I heard was a report about the McCain campaign having worries about Palin's intelligence level, saying she did not know which countries were included in NAFTA and even more embarrassing, she was not aware that Africa was a continent. There were a few other points that they made about her being overly emotional and also refusing to prepare for her Katie Courick interview which she had a hard time answering some of the questions in.
Overall, I liked this exercise because it opened my eyes to how heavily the media relies on audio. After watching the story both ways I concluded two different stories, one that was your everyday politicians saying we need to unite and that Sarah Palin did not want to cause John McCain to lose any votes because of her. The second was a story filled with information that would really concern voters about the credibility of Sarah Palin. I would conclude after this assignment that news programs should put more visual queues or messages about the story being reported on.
Monday, September 14, 2009
9-14 convergence and consolodation
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/opinion/14mon3.html?_r=1&ref=opinion
Until recently, advertisers have been allowed to paint a false image of what their products might do for you. We see billboards and newspapers filled with smiling, healthy, attractive people who seem to be enjoying the product being sold. Finally, officials in New York have decided to take a stand against this false advertising by creating an ad that would make any soft drink user think twice about chugging down glass after glass of the sugary drinks. The ad campaign features gooey globs of fat spilling out over the brim of a cup, rather than bubbly fizz. Following the graphic picture comes the phrase “Don’t drink yourself fat”. You’re probably wondering, “What does this have to do with convergence and consolidation?” I really wanted to choose a piece that was not just dry and boring, but rather something that would make me have to think about the relation, and something that I could challenge myself with a bit.
This piece demonstrates convergence through explaining how New York health experts are planning on changing the public’s view of soft drinks. They are utilizing the media to change people’s minds, instead of flashing false images the commercial takes a different approach, in hopes to steer people away from making unhealthy choices. As a think back into history, the impact that television has had on our nation is huge, the messages that are displayed to us do influence our spending and living habits whether we like to believe it or not. We are so surrounded today by advertisements through television that even if we say we don’t watch television, we subliminally still hear and see the ad (even if we aren’t fully paying attention to it. I think that the push for healthy commercials is a great idea, honestly I think that a lot of people just don’t realize what they are eating is harming them due to little regulation on what the advertisers can show.
As for another problem in our country, the concentration of media is something that few people know about, but really should hear more about. All the major broadcast channels are owned by a few major conglomerates (National Amusements, Viacom, CBS Corporation, Time Warner, News Corp, Bertelsmann AG, Sony, General Electric, Vivendi SA, Hearst Corporation, Organizações Globo and Lagardère Group). Now, these companies also own a lot of other business’, some being fast food or soft drink companies, so clearly they would want to help endorse their brands by advertising for them on their networks. I think the only way for these companies to not get out of control with false advertising is if the government comes up with some sort of regulation for these conglomerates, it is not fair to the American people to have a select few groups brainwashing them through false messages on the television. I can only hope that more people around the country start acting the like the New York City health officials by giving the people the truth.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Journalism Resume
515 Stillwater Avenue
Old Town, Maine 04468
Phone: 207-756-4050
Objective
· Become a staff journalist for the Bangor Daily News.
Education
· Greely High School graduate, class of 2007. GPA: 86.4
· One year completed at Emmanuel College in Boston.
· Currently a third year communications major at The University of Maine. GPA: 3.0
Experience
· Broadcaster for Lake Shore Elementary School’s television channel.
· Sports journalist for high school news paper.
· Experienced in interviewing, having been interviewed numerous times for sports related pieces in the Portland Press Herald and The Falmouth Forecaster.
Employment History
· Intern at WCSH channel 6 – helped in the production of Bill Green’s Maine working both independently and in large groups.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
September 8, 2009 Atircle Accuracy Check
http://www.thedailymind.com/how-to/how-to-become-a-better-husband-boyfriend-or-life-partner/
As a reader, this article seemed to be very eye catching to me at first glance. The head line was big, bold, and bright blue and really had me wondering "maybe someone out there really does know the secret to relationships...". As I began reading I quickly noticed that this was more of an opinion piece rather than an accredited article or scholarly journal, however, I believe that the author knew this article was not going to win him any awards for mastering science.
Even though this author chose not to site any sources but himself, I still find this article to be a well written opinion piece that contains a lot of statements and beliefs that I would tend to agree with. The way that the author begins his piece makes it clear that his intentions are to share some of his own advice, not advice of the experts. The way he comes right out and says it makes him seem a little more credible as an author, which would make me less likely to judge him harshly on the credibility of this piece.
As a reader, this article seemed to be very eye catching to me at first glance. The head line was big, bold, and bright blue and really had me wondering "maybe someone out there really does know the secret to relationships...". As I began reading I quickly noticed that this was more of an opinion piece rather than an accredited article or scholarly journal, however, I believe that the author knew this article was not going to win him any awards for mastering science.
Even though this author chose not to site any sources but himself, I still find this article to be a well written opinion piece that contains a lot of statements and beliefs that I would tend to agree with. The way that the author begins his piece makes it clear that his intentions are to share some of his own advice, not advice of the experts. The way he comes right out and says it makes him seem a little more credible as an author, which would make me less likely to judge him harshly on the credibility of this piece.
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