Media and Politics

I think politics have gotten brutal and cutthroat over the years. It seems like the media is focusing more and more on the negative aspects of what is going on and less on the good things. It feels like the only news they have is bad news, which isn’t the case. I think the closer we get to the 2008 election the worse things are going to get. It is going to be a tight race and I am sure a lot of mudslinging will occur. With the media news being divided by political parties with CNN being more democrat and Fox News being republican, I try and watch both stations to draw my conclusions. I want to make an educated vote this coming election so I don’t want to hear just one side of the story.

Advertising

Advertising probably has more affect on my life than I actually know. Good advertising in my opinion, leads you to want a product without even realizing why. I know from just my weekly shopping that sometimes I tend to go for the better-known products just because I recognize the name. Occasionally even a commercial will influence me to go out and buy something. Those are typically the commercials for some sort of fast food meal that I haven’t had in months. I usually tend to avoid food like that because when I eat it, I end up regretting it later. However, those commercials make the food look so good that I forget about how much I actually hate fast food.

The Geico caveman commercials are examples of what I believe to be effective advertising. They are so clever that they have led to sequels and people don’t mind watching them. In this particular one, the music is catchy and the whole thing is very humorous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H02iwWCrXew

An ineffective ad to me is one that you can’t stand and flip the channel to avoid. In particular are the burger king commercials with the scary king mascot. Personally I found them creepy and disturbing. They totally turned me off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqzgpsVnEqg&eurl=http://www.thegreenhead.com/2007/10/burger-king-creepy-king-halloween-mask.php

PR

For my PR problem, I have to help save the Pork Industry, which has slowly overcome its public negativity. However, due to recent developments, hundreds of people across the country are dying from diseased pork. The first step in addressing this issue would be to immediately hold a press conference. In this press conference the spokesperson for the pork industry should share condolences with the families who have lost their loved ones. This person should also mention that he has a team leading investigations into the causes of the contaminated pork and that they are going to go after those responsible. Nevertheless, this person needs to urge people to continue to eat pork since it is a small fractional amount of people who are actually dying. They don’t want to cause mass hysteria and loose market profits. The next step would be to show the public that they are closing down the places that have contaminated pork. They also need to advertise this as mush as possible so that people know that the pork they are buying at the stores is not the stuff that is diseased. Depending on how many people were affected by this, they should also try and repair the damage by helping a few families whose loved ones have died. Once this hysteria has died down, they should publicize the benefits of eating pork with some leading experts in the dietary field and push pork as much as possible.

Music

Music has slowly evolved over the years with both how is it is listened to and the offshoot of genera’s. Before the phonograph, people would attend live performances to hear their music. Today we still hold various forms of concerts but it is not the primary way we listen to music. Even though music keeps evolving I think the one thing that will always stay the same is the major role it plays in our lives. I know personally I have music playing almost 24/7. I have it going when I get ready for the day, while I’m doing chores or homework and even when I get into my car to drive somewhere. Certain songs even spark memories because of the emotional connection that I have with them. For instance my Dad loves Jazz music so whenever I hear a song by Stan Getz or Ella Fitzgerald, I always think of him. I don’t think music will ever leave our lives and it is the one source of media that I believe will never die.

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003806082

This article basically talks about who is top on the billboard charts with the band Death Cab For Cutie scoring their first number one. What I found interesting is Frank Sinatra coming in at number 2. Just goes to show that people are starved for better music and are turning to the old classics for entertainment.

Newspaper

Everyone had really good ideas about how to revamp the way newspapers are delivered. The group with the futuristic paper device had a good idea on how to deliver the newspaper but I think that the problem is not necessarily the paper itself but more the content and formatting of the newspaper. Going with a few other groups, I think that it is best for the newspaper to fragment and target specific audiences much like television does today. In regards to the newspaper at Radford University, I think it needs to overhaul it appearance and appeal to a more youthful audience. The articles need to also not just pertain to the happenings of the school but also to more global issues.

Literature

It was eye opening to me today with how many things we actually take for granted like books. To have something so simple as a book be something of a novelty way back then is hard to fathom. I’ve grown up with a book being a large part of my life so to think that a long time ago, most people didn’t have that is remarkable. From an early age I was always encouraged to read. Nothing was really off limits as long as it was age appropriate. My most memorable book though was Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice. That was the first book that I actually wore out from reading over and over again. Next favorite book was The Giver. The whole futuristic fantasy created really made me think about human life and how important it is.

Disconnected

Ever since I moved here, I have been disconnected from most news. At home, my parents had the television on to news stations, where in passing I would pick up on what was going on. Now that I’m living on my own with no cable and Internet as unreliable as the weather, I have a hard time staying caught up on current events. I mostly get my news from conversation with friends and family now, but even my cell phone gets poor reception out here. (Never go with Sprint by the way!) I guess you could say I was spoiled at home with super fast Internet, cable and perfect cell connections. I will say that this experience has made me reach out to people on a more personal level. It has forced me to get off the computer and have a real conversation.