Radio is the most personal media. Five stations here in Utah that I picked to listen to are KALL on 910 AM, KONY 101.1 FM, KSOP 104.3, KUBL 93.3, and KTKK 610 AM. KALL and KTKK are talk radio stations and the rest are country. The target audience for KALL and KTKK are about the same, as well as their advertising, seeking middle aged men and women of a conservative persuasion. KONY, KSOP and KUBL are all country stations with a target audience of really anyone that likes country music. The types of advertising on each range from local concerts to car dealers to department store sales. I couldn't really tell a difference in if one station had more of this kind of advertising than that. They all generally spoke about the same thing. I suppose what makes each station successful is their advertising to their target audience. The better the targeted audience then the more the advertising money.
Radio is the most personal media for a number of reasons. Radios for the most part, are local media sources. Often times people have opportunities to meet the disc jockeys at local events. It is more of a community feel. Also feedback to the radio stations is nearly instantaneous. All someone would need to do is call in and they can be on the radio and talk to the DJ. That makes it very personal. Music plays a huge role in radio. Music is entertainment. And that is one of the major purposes of media. And fulfilling another role of media, information, talk radio is also very popular. People desire to be informed. Not everybody has time to read the paper everyday to find out what's going on in the world. But everybody drives. To work or to school, we all have places to go. And that is the perfect time to get informed. Hence, talk radio thrives.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!
Many metropolitan daily newspapers have lost circulation and shutdown. It's true. And who is the culprit that is killing off these papers? Well, it would appear that the electronic media is holding the smoking gun. And we the people are the ones who loaded it. It is our lack of going out and buying the paper, subscribing to the daily news that has moved advertising money away from the print journalism and onto the web. The New York World and The New York Tribune just to name a few, have folded and gone under.
They call it "citizen journalism". Blogging has become a full on competitior with the big wig newspapers. Your everyday citizen can be just as active of a journalist as anyone these days. Many of the so called "real journalists" look down on this form of journalism claiming it isn't real journalism. But that doesn't change the fact that many people are going to these citizen journalists for their news which is hurting the metropolitan daily newspapers.
However on the local level, people seem to rather just get their news from the local paper. Most likely there is no one that blogs about little Timmy hitting the homerun at the t-ball game last weekend anyway, so there is no real competition for community papers. As to the real reason why local papers are booming I can't nail down one exact reason. Maybe there's just a lot of parents that love to see little Timmy's up and coming athletic abilities.
They call it "citizen journalism". Blogging has become a full on competitior with the big wig newspapers. Your everyday citizen can be just as active of a journalist as anyone these days. Many of the so called "real journalists" look down on this form of journalism claiming it isn't real journalism. But that doesn't change the fact that many people are going to these citizen journalists for their news which is hurting the metropolitan daily newspapers.
However on the local level, people seem to rather just get their news from the local paper. Most likely there is no one that blogs about little Timmy hitting the homerun at the t-ball game last weekend anyway, so there is no real competition for community papers. As to the real reason why local papers are booming I can't nail down one exact reason. Maybe there's just a lot of parents that love to see little Timmy's up and coming athletic abilities.
Read it and weep!
So I asked ten of my closest friends how many books they've read in the last 6 months. Surprisingly, more than I would have guessed. On average the group I asked read 3.85 books in the last 6 months. Considering I've read maybe one in the last 6 months, I thought that average was pretty good. Only one person answered zero. The majority of the people said they had read self help or self improvement books followed by novels then textbooks and the scriptures. My sample group is made up of people obviously like me. Religious students who are ambitious and looking to improve. I'm not sure if this would necessarily be an accurate portrayal of society because most of society isn't made up of students reading textbooks or entrepenuers looking for self help in the business world.
Depending on the cost would greatly change which form of textbook I would want. If electronic textbooks were free or cheaper I would greatly desire them. Actually, I think would prefer electronic over regular anyway. It would make it a lot easier to bring your books to class if all you ahd to do was bring your laptop.
However for leisure reading I would prefer goold old fashioned books. Just holding the book, turning the pages and relaxing with it. Nobody wants to curl up with a good laptop for reading the latest John Grisham novel.
Depending on the cost would greatly change which form of textbook I would want. If electronic textbooks were free or cheaper I would greatly desire them. Actually, I think would prefer electronic over regular anyway. It would make it a lot easier to bring your books to class if all you ahd to do was bring your laptop.
However for leisure reading I would prefer goold old fashioned books. Just holding the book, turning the pages and relaxing with it. Nobody wants to curl up with a good laptop for reading the latest John Grisham novel.
Magazines
So I pick up a Glamour magazine with much shame and zero confidence. Of course, I also pick up Street Rods, Surfer and a motorcycle magazine just for good measure. And the typical reader of this shameful magazine (which I so quietly picked up) is really a typical person.
First of all, this person is obviously female. Why would any male read this magazine unless a class tricked him into it? This woman reading this magazine is most likely in her 30's to maybe low 50's. The reason for this is the many ads for clinique age defense moisturizer cream. Apparently the target audience is old enough to have those unsightly wrinkles. So we have a middle aged woman so far. From the cover of the magazine I would say this woman is incredibly interested in how to "please her man". She's quite possibly married. She is either extemely self conscious or extremely self absorbed because of all the diet programs, make-up ads, fashion tips and clothing apparel ads. I also believe she is most likely a mother because there are also some cooking tips which aren't directly related to a new diet. I would also picture this woman being a mother because of the "free and easy stress cures". So we have a middle aged, insecure, sexually active, slightly self absorbed (maybe more), wife and mother.
The impact the electronic media has had on the magazine industry I believe is really just beginning. With the introduction of blogging, twitter, netvibes, magazines online and various other forms of electronic media I believe there will be a very big impact on not only the magazine industry but all written forms of media including newspapers and books. Magazines were originally devastated by television but made a strong comeback. I can see many magazine pouring a lot of energy into online versions of their former selves. However I do not forsee them disappearing altogether from the shelves at stores. Many times we don't have easy access to the electronic media. For example, while traveling I always buy a magazine. I own a laptop but still enjoy flipping through the pages while flying through the air. Therefore I think the magazine will survive the electronic media revolution. But will need to adapt once again.
First of all, this person is obviously female. Why would any male read this magazine unless a class tricked him into it? This woman reading this magazine is most likely in her 30's to maybe low 50's. The reason for this is the many ads for clinique age defense moisturizer cream. Apparently the target audience is old enough to have those unsightly wrinkles. So we have a middle aged woman so far. From the cover of the magazine I would say this woman is incredibly interested in how to "please her man". She's quite possibly married. She is either extemely self conscious or extremely self absorbed because of all the diet programs, make-up ads, fashion tips and clothing apparel ads. I also believe she is most likely a mother because there are also some cooking tips which aren't directly related to a new diet. I would also picture this woman being a mother because of the "free and easy stress cures". So we have a middle aged, insecure, sexually active, slightly self absorbed (maybe more), wife and mother.
The impact the electronic media has had on the magazine industry I believe is really just beginning. With the introduction of blogging, twitter, netvibes, magazines online and various other forms of electronic media I believe there will be a very big impact on not only the magazine industry but all written forms of media including newspapers and books. Magazines were originally devastated by television but made a strong comeback. I can see many magazine pouring a lot of energy into online versions of their former selves. However I do not forsee them disappearing altogether from the shelves at stores. Many times we don't have easy access to the electronic media. For example, while traveling I always buy a magazine. I own a laptop but still enjoy flipping through the pages while flying through the air. Therefore I think the magazine will survive the electronic media revolution. But will need to adapt once again.
Mass Communication Effects
Do stereotypes exists in the media today?
I would of course argue yes and no. You might wonder why I take this stance when the obvious answer would be a simple yes. However there are a number of reasons why I take this stance.
The answer is yes because there are so many instances where the advertising in the media will portray an image of a certain gender, age, ethnic group, etc. that is not accurate with the majority of that type of people. For example, the snickers ad of an old woman underneath the coffee table holding it up because there is nothing else of use she can do. She's old and useless. That is the message. That is the steroetype of old people. But is that consistent? Obviously not. My grandparents are still very active. And you might also take the general authorites of the church. President Hinckley was extremely active despite his age. Therefore, the answer would be yes, stereotypes do exist in the media.
In contrast, the answer could be no as well. Are there elderly people that serve no purpose to their community and to society as a whole today? Well, anyone that visits a nursing home might think that these people do seem, forgive the bluntness, to be a drain on society. There is no longer anything productive they can do. Therefore, the stereotype in the Snickers ad would be accurate, which would no longer make it a stereotype. It would be an accurate portrayal of the age.
What might happen if people begin to overly distance themselves from the reality of the outside world? Are there examples of where this has already happened?
They could be called hermits. Recluses. People who abandon the outside world to stay inside of their homes. Completely cutoff from reality. They lose themselves in their imaginations, their fantasies and their so called dreams. There have been instances where people distancing themselves from reality has resulted in the very worst outcome, death. A man in China after a 3 day gaming binge on an internet game died from exhaustion. He totally cut himself off from reality and lost himself in this fantasy world. And it ended in his death.
I would of course argue yes and no. You might wonder why I take this stance when the obvious answer would be a simple yes. However there are a number of reasons why I take this stance.
The answer is yes because there are so many instances where the advertising in the media will portray an image of a certain gender, age, ethnic group, etc. that is not accurate with the majority of that type of people. For example, the snickers ad of an old woman underneath the coffee table holding it up because there is nothing else of use she can do. She's old and useless. That is the message. That is the steroetype of old people. But is that consistent? Obviously not. My grandparents are still very active. And you might also take the general authorites of the church. President Hinckley was extremely active despite his age. Therefore, the answer would be yes, stereotypes do exist in the media.
In contrast, the answer could be no as well. Are there elderly people that serve no purpose to their community and to society as a whole today? Well, anyone that visits a nursing home might think that these people do seem, forgive the bluntness, to be a drain on society. There is no longer anything productive they can do. Therefore, the stereotype in the Snickers ad would be accurate, which would no longer make it a stereotype. It would be an accurate portrayal of the age.
What might happen if people begin to overly distance themselves from the reality of the outside world? Are there examples of where this has already happened?
They could be called hermits. Recluses. People who abandon the outside world to stay inside of their homes. Completely cutoff from reality. They lose themselves in their imaginations, their fantasies and their so called dreams. There have been instances where people distancing themselves from reality has resulted in the very worst outcome, death. A man in China after a 3 day gaming binge on an internet game died from exhaustion. He totally cut himself off from reality and lost himself in this fantasy world. And it ended in his death.
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