The Controversy with Advertising

Chart showing the expenditure of various countries in the ad market ( www.statista.com)

In 2015, the United States spent about 180 billion dollars on advertising. This amount is more than double the advertising expenses of China, a country that is ranked as being the second largest advertising market in the world (“Topic; n.d.).

 
Everywhere you look, there are advertisements. From the t-shirts that people wear, to a sign on the street; advertisements surround us. Ads can be found online, in print, and on numerous other platforms. Today, we live in a society that relies heavily on advertising. We are a consumer society. People focus on what they want and when they want it. For a company to be successful, they need to sell as much of their inventory as possible. In order to sell more, they must appeal to what the audience wants; this can be done through advertising. The job of advertising is to make a product or company look desirable. With a good advertisement, a company can make their product seem like a “must have” item that everyone wants.

 

Advertisements are everywhere (www.apollo-magazine.com)

As advertising has played an important role throughout history, it has continued to transform to keep up with the current times. Along the way, advertising agencies have faced criticism and ran into several obstacles. Three major issues that impact the advertising industry are the negative effect it has on children, in schools, and on health.

 

 

Children have a substantial influence on family spending; because of this, they play an important role in our consumer society. With a young mind that can be easily persuaded, many say that it can be dangerous for children to be in culture that is dominated by TV ads. Many advertising companies seek to appeal to this younger generation.

 

G.I. Joe was transformed into a children’s television show (www.amazon.com)

One issue that has caused controversy was when companies created “program-length commercials: thirty minute cartoon programs developed for television syndication primarily to promote a line of toys” (“Media & Culture”). Toy companies, such as G.I. Joe and My Little Pony, produced television series that were pretty much just an advertisement for their toys. As children watched these shows, their want for these toys continued to increase. Parents also worried about the content that was in these children’s shows. They detested the products that were promoted during the commercial breaks. Many of the advertisements seen during commercial breaks were products that would appeal to the network’s target audience: kids. These products included soda, sugary cereal, fast food, and more. Although laws have been passed to ensure that each children’s’ show has educational information in it, nothing can be done to stop the kid-tempting advertisements.

 

 

School systems have been affected by advertising in many ways. The biggest issue between advertising and schools can be seen when looking at the Channel One issue. During 1989, thousands of schools brought Channel One into their system. This is a program that “offered free video and satellite equipment in exchange for a twelve-minute package of current events programming that included two minutes of commercials” (“Media & Culture”). Many of the ads found in these commercials were junk food related. Schools did not want to promote products to the children that the kids’ parents may not have approved. Because of public protesting and criticism, by 2006, majority of these advertisements were removed from schools that used Channel One. Some school districts even went as far as banning Channel One News. These schools said that the program only offered a limited amount of knowledge about current affairs. The students were remembering more about the advertisements than they were about the news program, causing it to be seen as a poor educational tool.

 

Ad promoting a way for women to get fit. (www.adweek.com)

The biggest issue that has faced advertising can be seen when looking at its role in health. Advertising has a huge impact on our society’s idea of beauty and the way that we approach drugs. The women seen in advertisements are typically female models; they are thinner, more fit, and more attractive than the average woman. These models “[promote] a style of attractiveness that girls and women are invited to imitate” (“Media & Culture”). As females try to become like the models they see on advertisements, new insecurities appear and their self-esteem lowers. Some companies have even used these insecurities to profit by promising that their product will give the buyer the body that they see in the advertisements. Advertising is criticized for their promotion of the female body. Many believe that it is their unrealistic advertisements that have led to the increase of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

 

The Joe Camel ads were banned in the agreement with the tobacco company (www.thrillist.com)

There has been a lot of criticism about the advertisements of drugs like tobacco and alcohol. Both of these drugs have caused many illnesses among the American society. Each year, people are coming into contact with these drugs at a younger age. Many elders in our society claim that this is because of the products’ advertising. Tobacco ads and campaigns look to target a teenage audience. In 1971, Congress banned tobacco advertisements from television because of the influence it had on the younger, weaker-minded audience. Both alcohol and tobacco companies have used cartoons to advertise their products. The cartoon-like ads were drawing the attention of a much-too-young audience. As the use of drugs in teenagers began to increase, advertising agencies were criticized. To end the controversy, the tobacco industry settled for an agreement that limited their advertising techniques and banned cartoon characters from their ads. The alcohol industry was pushed to follow many of the guidelines found in this agreement also.

 

The advertisements that we see effect the way we think, feel, and act. The influence that it has on our society is massive. Although advertising has had some positive influences on society, like Disney’s ads that promote healthy living, people tend to focus of the negative influences that it has had. The controversy about advertising’s involvement with children, school, and health has made many people question its function.

 

Works cited

Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos. Media & Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. Print.

Topic: Advertising industry in the U.S. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2016, from http://www.statista.com/topics/979/advertising-in-the-us/

 

 

 

 

April 18, 2016April 18, 2016 by katiehalee Leave a comment

How Rock and Roll Blurred Cultural Boundaries

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll (www.billboard.com)

When thinking about early rock and roll, a few names come to mind: Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Ray Charles. These are just a few of the many iconic figures that shaped the music industry in the 1950s and 1960s. Elvis Presley’s song, “Jail House Rock” was the second best selling single worldwide during that 1950s. This song was just one of several of his songs that made it to the top 100. In 1956, Elvis Presley became “the first artists to have nine singles on the Hot 100 at one time” (“1950s Music Decade Overview”, n.d.). By 1959, rock and roll accounted for 43% off all record sales.

 

In the mid 1950s, a new genre of music came about and instantly caused controversy. This genre was called Rock and Roll. Why did rock and roll bring about controversy? The term rock and roll “was a blues slang term for sex” (Media &Culture). Adults worried about the bad influence that this genre may have on the younger generations. Although rock and roll was controversial, it had a positive impact on society. Rock and roll was not like any other style of music; it merged many cultures together. The merging of cultures did not just affect the music industry, but it caused a cultural shift throughout America. No other music genre has “ever had such a widespread impact on so many different cultures as rock and roll” (Media & Culture). In the 1950s, rock and roll helped bring together racial cultures, geographical cultures, and the sacred and secular.

 

Elvis Presley and Little Richard (www.genius.com)

The early style of rock and roll is said to be the first “integrationist music”. It merged the black sounds of blues and gospel with the white influences of country, folk, and pop (Media & Culture). Rock and roll is one of the few music styles to come from such a mixed background with so many diverse influences. In the early 1900s, southern blacks began to migrate to northern cities in search of work. Their migration helped spread different styles of music. The main style of music that started to spread to the north was blues, which was strongly “influenced by African American spirituals, ballads, and work songs” (Media & Culture). By the 1950s, music artists began to cross over the racial boundaries. Now, there were white artists singing blues songs and black artists singing country songs. There were no more racial boundaries in music. This was the beginning of breaking down the boarder between white and black cultures.

 

Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of Rock and Roll music (northtexasdrifter.blodspot.com)

Rock and roll’s merging of cultures did not stop at race. It also played a roll in merging various geographical cultures. The country and city’s geographical boarders began to blur during the rise of rock and roll. The term rockabilly refers to a sound that was created when country music was combined with southern gospel and blues (Media & Culture). The mix of music styles helped the songs appeal to a much bigger audience. During the early twentieth century, there was a difference between the music that was heard in the urban areas and the rural areas. The urban cultures listened to rhythm and blues, also known as R&B, while traditional rural music was white country or western. Many songs that were popular on R&B charts began to cross over onto the pop charts during the late 1950s. People were starting to listen to a variety of music styles, rather than just the one style that was prominent in their culture. Now, after several decades, rural and urban music continue to mix. Along with music, other aspects or rural and urban culture continued to merge. The boundaries between these two cultures have blurred together with the help of rock and roll.

 

Another way that rock and roll helped merge different geographical cultures can be seen when looking at the North and the South. Along with merging rural and urban influences, rock and roll also combined northern and southern influences. During the 1950’s the South was producing a lot of the popular blues, R&B, and rock and roll music. The popularity of the South’s music helped bring life back to the southern culture, which has been damaged after the Civil War. As blues became more popular, the North began to make it a part of their culture. Blues music was viewed as being a southern style, but after it was absorbed by the North, blues music was seen a style amongst all cultures.

 

Sam Phillips recording with Elvis Presley and his band (www.houstonpress.com)

Elvis Presley was one of the most popular musicians during the 1950’s. Elvis Presley was from the rural south. As his popularity began to spread, he was able to bring southern culture to the north through his music. A record producer, Sam Phillips, said that Elvis had a distinct feature that made him standout; he was a white man that sounded like a black man. This distinct feature made his voice appeal to a bigger audience and allowed him to sing a variety of different styles. With the help of Elvis, poor white southern mannerisms and behaviors were being pushed into the mainstream culture. The northern and southern cultures began to merge and become more similar.

 

Album cover for Ray Charles (www.allmusic.com)

Most Americans saw the blurring of boarders between racial and geographical cultures as a good change. Rock and roll also merged the sacred and the secular; however, this was not viewed and a positive. When rock and roll came about during the 1950s, adults immediately began to worry. They claimed that rock and roll was a bad, almost satanic, influence. Because rock and roll confronted sexual identity and other subjects that contrasted the moral norms, it was questioned. The boundaries between sacred and secular was blurred when Ray Charles “converted an old gospel tune he had first heard in church and a youth” into one of his signature songs (Media & Culture). This song was called “I Got a Women”. Ray Charles is just among many artists who turned gospel songs into rock and roll.

 

www.pintrest.com

When people heard these gospel songs turned into rock and roll, they were outraged. Rock and roll had a negative connotation. Many were convinced that rock and roll was “devil’s music”. Even some of the artists who sung these rock and roll songs were convinced of its’ evil nature. People became even more outraged by the merging of sacred and secular in 1957 when Otis Blackwell “turned an apocalyptic biblical phrase into a sexually charged teen love song” (Media & Culture). This song rose all the way up two number two on the pop charts. Because of the controversy that was brought by his song, “Great Balls of Fire”, many radio stations banned it. Although many were appalled by Otis Blackwell’s song, it did not stop the merging of the sacred and the secular. In our society today, there is not as much anger about the merging of sacred and secular. Many churches even play rock and roll style Christian songs as a way to appeal to the younger audience.

 

In the 1950s, rock and roll was a new style of music that was unlike any style before. This genre was formed by combining blues, country, and gospel music. Because rock and roll combined a variety of aspects from a variety of cultures, it helped spread different aspects of each culture. A cultural shift was seen in America when rock and roll helped bring together racial cultures, geographical cultures, and the secular and the sacred. The effect that rock and roll has had on American society is shocking. Looking at these effects brings up a question: how is the music we listen to today affecting out society?

 

 

Sources

1950’s Music Decade Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2016, from http://www.rockmusictimeline.com/1950s.html

Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos. Media & Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. Print.

March 15, 2016March 15, 2016 by katiehalee Leave a comment

Issues Facing Journalism Today

New York Times in print and on Kindle (www.thegaurdian.com)

The number of Americans who say they read print newspapers continues to fall. Over the past decade, the number of print readers has fallen 18 points and now stands at only 23%. As technology is advancing, more readers are shifting to a digital platform to view their news. Many of the leading print viewers, such as those who read New York Times, prefer to read the paper on a mobile device (“Number of Americans, 2012). Since 2000, newspaper readership has gone down 40%, most of which came after 2008. This decrease is leaving newsrooms with fewer writers. 

Because newspapers and newsrooms are slowing dissolving, many have said that journalism is in crisis. Personally, I do not think journalism is in crisis, but merely evolving to catch up with our generation. Just because newspapers are becoming less popular does not mean that news is any less important to today’s society. There has been a shift from print to online. New technology has dissolved the old system for news and created a new system. When changing from print to online, journalism has encountered many issues that have shaped the news today. Journalism has faced issues such as appealing to the viewers, ethical predicaments, and gaining the trust and respect of the audience.

 

FOX is seen as having a conservative bias (www.people-press.org)

Today, news media has changed to fit our needs. An issue that journalism has faced was figuring out a way to appeal to the masses. Journalism changed from print to online as a way to appeal to our technology-driven society. With newspapers, people were able to read about an issue or event whenever a new copy of the paper was printed. Now, we have access to the news whenever we want it. The news has changed to become more convenient to the viewer. On television, there is a variety of news channels. These channels work to update our society about the news constantly throughout the day; this makes sure that they are fitting into the viewer’s schedule. Also, because there are a variety of news channels, news appeals to a larger audience. Although journalists are supposed to be unbiased, it is impossible to create anything that is not biased. In BBC News’s “What is the point of ‘the news’”, Alain de Botton says that news is the most powerful source on how we view economic and political things because it tells us what to think about. Some news sources are liberal while others are conservative. For example, many viewers believe that CNN has a liberal bias while FOX has a conservative bias. This diversity helps the news appeal to everyone.

 

Social Media has become a source for sharing news (giraffesocialmedia.co.uk)

An article on an online news source, The Guardian, states, “The web is the greatest tool in the history of the world.” With the help of the Internet, news is spread quicker and more easily than ever, which allows for society to be informed about important issues sooner. Once an article is posted online, people are able to share it on their social media with other people. Because our society relies so heavily on the Internet, we are more likely to see it if the article is online rather than in print. Using social media, people are able to talk about the news as a group; they are able to give their opinions and thoughts on the subject. In Tom Rosenstiel’s speech, “The Future of Journalism”, he talks about how the audience is able to become the teacher through the use of social media.

 

Staff members of The Sun were involved in a phone hacking scandal (mediamatters.org)

Another issue that journalism has faced is how to deal with ethical predicaments. News media is divided into two aspects: corporate ownership and content producers. The job of the corporate owners is business; they try to get the most profit possible. The content producers are the journalists. A journalist’s goal is to share truth and inform the public. Journalism is about doing what is right and good, not about profit. In order to complete their job, a journalist must be objective and follow a code of ethics. We live in a profit society; everything we do is for profit and about profit. The business side of news media will do anything to make a profit. This desire for profit can put the journalists in an undesirable position as they are made to feel like they must compromise their principles. Andrew Jaspan gives us an example of this in his speech about a new way to do journalism. In London, multiple journalists for The Sun, were arrested under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906. This scandal was occurred when a few of the journalists hacked into one of the Prince’s assistant’s phone messages as a way to dig up more information.

 

After this scandal, the news faced a major issue; viewers found it hard to trust and respect the news. David Bornstein talks about solutions for journalism. He says that trust is the most important quality that an institution can have. Society needs to trust and we need to be able to know that we can trust each other. One way to start building back is to stop pointing out negativity, because negativity is eroding trust. Andrew Jaspan came up with an idea to bring back trust in journalists. He began by asking the question, “Why would you buy it if you cannot trust it?” He knew he needed a diversity of views and people who could be trusted. Jaspan had an idea to put journalists and academics together. Journalist tends to focus on bad news, or issues and problem, while academics seek solutions. He said that only those who really know a subject could write on it. Jaspan also regained reader’s trust by allowing readers to comment and get involved.

 

The 21^st century values in journalism are transparency, authentication, pluralism, democratizing knowledge, and building trust with readers. After overcoming issues of audience appeal, ethics, and reader’s trust, these values are held highly with great importance. Technology has provided new tools to make journalism better. Although newspapers are disappearing, journalism is still very much alive.

http://www.ijpc.org/project

Sources

Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos. Media & Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015. Print.

Number of Americans Who Read Print Newspapers Continues Decline. (2012, October 11). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://www.pewresearch.org/daily-number/number-of-americans-who-read-print-newspapers-continues-decline/

 

February 21, 2016February 22, 2016 by katiehalee Leave a comment

The Effects of Media

 

Classic Cartoon Network shows (www.nitwitty.net)

When growing up, my parents were very strict about what shows and movies I was allowed to watch. I could not watch majority of the shows on Cartoon Network and several of the cartoons that came on Nickelodeon. Honestly, the only cartoons that I remember watching are Rocket Power, Hey Arnold, Dexter’s Laboratory, and Jimmy Neutron. There were other shows, such as Sponge Bob, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Ed, Edd, and Eddy, which my parents believed would instill faultily values and stupidity. To this day, I have still never seen a single episode of Sponge Bob.

 

Today, media plays a large role in our society. Interacting with media is unavoidable; it is everywhere. Radio, television, newspaper, and magazines are examples of the media we face everyday. Media is described as “the means of communication that reach or influence people widely” (Dictionary.com). Because it has such an obvious presence in our society, we are all affected by it in some form or fashion.

 

Media sources that discuss politics (www.newbusters.org)

One way that media affects us is on an individual level. An example of the individual effect that media has on us can be seen when looking at psychological matters. These psychological matters include the “behaviors and cognition” of an individual (Media and Culture). Media can also affect us on a cultural level. As media has continued to become more prominent, it has had an impact on our culture. Media plays a role in shaping the views and opinions of our culture. An example of this can be seen in politics. Politicians spread their views through the use of media. They use this media as a way to persuade the views and opinions of a society. America has changed a lot over the past century; could this be because of our culture’s vast use of media?

 

 

Kid playing a video game (www.scrapedknee.com)

Although media affects us all, it may have a much larger effect on certain social groups. Media looks to target people who are viewed as being vulnerable. These “vulnerable” people are those who can be persuaded very easily. In the early 1900s, the upper class was afraid of the effect that the media would have on the lower, working class. Because the upper class saw the working class as being uneducated, they worried that the working class would be too easily persuaded by what they saw in the media. However, today, the media targets children. Children are young and innocent; because of this, they can be persuaded very easily. Our society fears that children may model their behavior after the events that they see through video games and movies.

 

As a way of understanding the effects that media has on us, people began to observe and research. Over the last century, people have come up with many theories about how media affects us. The early paradigms for understanding media’s effects were the direct effect model, limited or minimal effect model, and the uses and gratification model.

 

Example of the violence seen in video games (uhaweb.hartford.edu)

The direct effects model is also known as the hypodermic model. This idea gives media a lot of credit by stating that the audience is weak compared to the powerful media. The direct effects model says that people do not have free will against the media; the viewer will believe whatever the media may say. Although this theory has been disproven, many people still believe this theory today. An example of direct effect is when parents think that their children’s video games are causing them to act violently. I believe that because of this idea my parents did not allow me to watch several television shows. They feared that the stupidity shown in those shows would make me think that it was okay to act in an inappropriate way.

 

The minimal effects model says that media alone cannot cause a person’s attitude to change. Not everyone is affected the same way. Two people can watch the exact same movie, but it could easily affect the two people differently. Why is this? What make these people react differently? According to the minimal effect model, people have selective retention. This means that viewers notice different things and will take different things away from the same mass media text. This model does not blame media for controlling the viewer’s thoughts. Instead, it states that media reinforces an already existing attitude or belief of the viewer. I personally thought that this idea was intelligent. Every day we experience selective retention. You may have a conversation with someone and both get something different out of the conversation. We choose to listen to what we want to hear and what makes us feel the best. This model made a lot of sense to me.

 

The news is media that can satisfy intellectual needs (www.wikipedia.org)

The uses and gratification model examines how people use media to satisfy their needs and what people do with media. It looks at why different things give people different gratification. It is this model that changed the whole thought pattern of scholars. People used media as a way to satisfy intellectual and emotional needs. Although this theory focuses on how we use media, it does not explain how media affects us.

Today, the dominant approach is cultural studies. Cultural studies look at media as a part of our daily lives. Rather than using the scientific method, it uses a qualitative and interpretation approach by looking at why and how people use media. This approach examines the meanings that people make of their media experiences. Our textbook, Mass Media and Culture: Mass Communication in a Digital Age, talks about three cultural studies approaches: textual analysis, audience studies, and political economy studies. Textual analysis “highlights the close readings and interpretation of cultural messages, including those found in books, movies, and TV programs”. Audience studies looks at how people use and interpret cultural content. Political economy studies focuses “on the production of popular culture and the forces behind it”.

Although there are many different ideas and theories about our interaction with media, one thing is sure: people are greatly affected by media. People may not want to admit it, but we are all affected by media in some way. Parents worry about how their kids are being affected by television or video games and sometimes forget that they themselves are also vulnerable to media.

February 1, 2016February 1, 2016 by katiehalee Leave a comment

The Power of Propaganda

 

globalresearch.ca

Whether or not you notice it, propaganda affects you every day. Look around you; there is propaganda everywhere. From the TV screen, to magazines, to the internet- you access propaganda every day. Propaganda does not have to be big. It can be something as simple as an advertisement on one of these mediums.

Propaganda is used as way to promote a point of view, and it has been around for many centuries. Over time, propaganda has changed to fit the audience that it is trying to relate to. As propaganda has changed, it continues to control the way that the viewers think. Because of its ever-present occurrence in our society, propaganda has become very powerful. This powerful force is often times given a negative connotation. We can see why that is by looking at how propaganda thrives on media and how it affects the audience.

World War I propaganda for the U.S. Army   Militaryhistorynow.com

Dictionary.com describes propaganda as,  “information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view” (Dictionary.com). Because of propaganda’s “misleading nature”, it is often thought of with a negative attitude. When a group or company creates an advertisement,they want to appeal to the masses. What is the easiest way to get a person’s support? By telling them exactly what they want to hear.  Many political groups are guilty of making false or exaggerated promises as a way to boost their campaign (Merriam Webster Dictionary). They continue to bring up their most popular opinions and ideas as a way to persuade people to vote for them. Once they have collected the votes they needed, they do not put as much emphasis on certain ideas as they did before.

Another reason propaganda has a negative connotation is because it is used a lot of times to support controversial issues.  Every time I think about propaganda, the same picture comes to my mind. It is a piece of war propaganda from 1917, which has a picture of Uncle Sam and says, “I want you for the U.S. Army” (“I want You”, 2015). This poster encouraged young men to support the war against Germany and join the efforts.  At this time, some Americans were still anti-war and felt that America should remain neutral. While this poster influenced some people, it made others bitter.

“Blinsided: How ISIS Shook the World” cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com

Today, we live in a media-centered society. Everyone has access to social media and many are addicted to it. After watching Fareed Zakaria’s documentary, Blindsided: How ISIS Shook the World, I was able to see how social media and the internet could be used to influence people and ideas. In the documentary, we are able to see several of the videos that ISIS put on the Internet as propaganda. During Fareed Zakaria’s visit to the Islamic State, he saw some of the prisoners that the Islamic State had in custody. These prisoners were put in cages and paraded around the state. Personally, I thought that this video was sad and heartbreaking. Zakaria next explained that ISIS had filmed this scene and made a propaganda video out of it. Some could say that this video was disturbing. How could this appalling video possibly bring them positive support?

ISIS’s propaganda video shows prisoners being paraded through streets. ynetnews.com

Many of the videos that ISIS uses as propaganda are violent and gruesome. In the documentary, Zakaria stated that although the videos were violent, ISIS made sure that they also showed a sense of community. The violence was used to appeal to the young, while the sense of community was used to appeal to those who felt alienated and out of place. When browsing through social media, you’re only a click away from finding ISIS propaganda. They use the Internet as a “control center” by sharing on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other popular sites.
The propaganda that ISIS uses has an impact on their audience. The violent videos that ISIS shares over social media are used to manipulate children. Now, more foreign fighters are joining this group than ever. CNN published an article that discussed how ISIS appeals to the young people. Along with its use of social media, they promise a better life. This promise includes free rent in a house with water and electricity (Mullen, 2015). ISIS makes these young adults feel that life there is better than life in the west.

An ISIS video shows young children from Kazakhstan at a training camp using guns.  dailymail.co.uk/news

Another way ISIS may try to appeal to more people is by playing the victim. When ISIS puts their videos on the Internet, the U.S. will put it on our news. ISIS then uses our news to either mock us or make new propaganda. Making the U.S. look bad draws more people towards them. For example, many radicals will leave home to join this group because they claim that Muslims are constantly under attack. Because of this belief and the propaganda’s persuasion, some of these people genuinely believe that they are doing the right thing under God (Blindsided). Propaganda can shape a person’s identity, beliefs, and values.

Propaganda is everywhere. By looking at groups such as ISIS, we are able to see how easily propaganda can negatively influence a person’s values and belief with the help of social media. Propaganda has become on of the most powerful weapons in today’s society.

Sources:

“I Want YOU!” – The Story Behind One of the Most Famous Wartime Posters in History. (2015, July 27). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://militaryhistorynow.com/2015/07/27/i-want-you-the-story-behind-one-of-the-most-famous-wartime-posters-in-history/

Mullen, J. (2015, February 25). What is ISIS’ appeal for young people? – CNN.com. Retrieved January 19, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/25/middleeast/isis-kids-propaganda/

Zakaria, F. (Director). (2015). Blindsided: How ISIS Shook the World [Motion picture].

January 20, 2016January 20, 2016 by katiehalee 1 Comment

My Life and How Media Affects It

My name is Katie Hale. I am from Macon, Georgia. I am a junior at Reinhardt University. The opportunity of playing on the women’s soccer team is what brought me and my twin sister, Allie, to Reinhardt. I am a Digital Art and Graphic Design major with minors in history and PR/Advertising. With this degree, I hope to pursue a career either in advertising or with a magazine company. I decided to take this class, Mass Media and Mass Communications, because it is a subject that interests me and will help me learn more about the industry that I hope to work in after graduating.

As technology has continued to advance over the past years, our society has become more and more dependent on it. Media and technology play an important role in my life. Whether it is for schoolwork or relaxation, I am almost always using technology. For example, right now I am writing this blog. As I am writing on my laptop, I also have the television turned on as background noise. It is not uncommon for me to be using multiple devices at one.

People like to use devices and technology as a way to stay in touch with others. This is the reason why I, like so many others, constantly have my phone in my hand. With cellphones and other similar devices, people are easily able to connect to media outlets. I am a member of many social media sites. These sites give me the ability to keep in touch with friends and family, learn new information, and they also provide entertainment. The most important role that media plays in my life is that it gives me a place to share my photos. One of my hobbies is photography. Media sites have given me a place to share my pictures with others. Being able to share my photos with others has made me enjoy my hobby even more. It has also helped me improve because I am able to get feedback from other people.

In today’s society, media and technology is used by everyone. Many things are changing to adapt to this technology-driven society. Books are a good example of this. Honestly, I have read more e-books than hardcopy books in the past year. The same goes with the newspapers. I seldom pick up the newspaper; instead, I prefer to get my information by going to the newspaper company’s website. Schools have changed to fit into this media centered society. With the use of technology and media, we are now able to get information quickly. This has made learning much easier. They are even some online colleges that people can enroll in. Without technology, I would not be able to post this blog for this class.

In these days, being dependent on technology and media has become a norm. It has become such a big part of society that people have come to reply on it. I am definitely guilty of using media way too much and would probably be lost with out it.

January 13, 2016January 13, 2016 by katiehalee Leave a comment