News, trust, and “truthiness”

We are definitely in a world where audiences either consume the news they or get influenced by the news.  It is obvious that the mass media, which are driven by capitalism, deliver the information they want to the audiences and may also construct the information.

 An example is Jon Stewart in “The Daily Show” who uses satirical news as an alternative to the traditional news reportage. In my opinion, Jon Stewart tries to distract viewers through his comedic style; he exercises the contradictory input to inform people about the truth behind the traditional news. Jon attracts viewers through the humorous side of his show to revel the deep-seated part of the news. Some studies found that satirical news is equally substantive to traditional broadcasting news. While other studies proved that it’s not equally substantive but less since the behavior of the satirical programs is directly affected and dependable on the major source of information which is the traditional reportage. Traditional segments such as CNN and NBC convince us that their news is objective and reliable. On the other hand, The Daily Show, which is a satirical reportage, proposes the opposite by proving the flaws of traditional news. In comparison between traditional and satirical news, the use of irony contributes to a democratic population.

Satire news is not considered to be a new tool but has been around for thousands of years. Since the beginning of the twentieth century this kind of news has considerably changed through the advancement of technology and innovations such as internet and TV but what didn’t change is the aim of sarcastic news.  A significant portion of young people follow satire news as opposed to traditional news. A criticism of this is that the satirist might be misapprehended by viewers who have insufficient knowledge of the “real news”. Therefore, in the minds of the viewer, the satiric news would appear to be a fully reliable source of world news. Another implication of satirical news is that some satirists are not a credible source and may deliver fake news to which the viewer does not realize. Therefore, the viewer is taking this misinformation and believing it to be true. 

After reading several of my classmate's blog entries, I found the following quotes interesting. Sarah Trotman (http://st12tq.wordpress.com/) states: “When watching these reports I take the information with a pinch of salt as I know that it is highly opinionated and not always the entire truth.” Therefore, as I previously mentioned, the general impression is that satirical news reportage is not as equally reliable as traditional news.

Kevin Shen (http://kevinshen94.wordpress.com/) also explains an implication that satirical news may face “The downside of this is the amount of false information that can be provided because satirical reporting can involve modifying some information to make it comical. If people do not know about an event are only learning about it from a satirical news source, then they will believe the satirical news to be true.” 

Tori Gligic (http://torigligic.wordpress.com/) illustrates the effect of humor and irony when mixed with traditional news and how people react to humorous news: “Viewer’s respond more positively if they are provided with jokes that they can relate to”

As a conclusion, Satire news, which is a form of mainstream culture jamming, has had an influence on the public sphere, discourse and even the traditional news. It has improved throughout the years to reach an elevated stage nowadays, thus it is extremely substantial that viewers understand satire and the way it impacts the public sphere.

 

The Fake News The Real News?

Culture jamming is an approach that is used by some individuals to obstruct the media in order to alter the original message and make society think twice about that product or service. It is an offshoot of advertising that seeks to spread suspicion among consumers whether it’s about a product or even related to a political purpose. Smartly, culture jammers use some tactics such as changing logos or an image that goes against the flow and challenges the primary notion. As mentioned in the text book culture jammers are mainly anti-consumerist social movements who are not considered to be a part of the media industry “…culture jamming is a form of communication that can come only from outside commercial culture, not from inside the media industry.” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, p. 214)

Alternative media can be any form of media such as television, radio, internet, magazines or newspapers. The alternative media intends to sarcastically transform the mainstream media and hook us by getting us to question the masses. For example, Nike is a highly reputable brand known mostly for their running shoes. The ad that shows the running shoe with graffiti writing on it about the cost of the shoe for the public and the cost of the shoe coming out of the sweatshop, is intended to make people question whether or not they should buy Nike running shoes. This may sometimes backfire and instead these ads make the consumer remember the brand name as a popular one to buy. Therefore, alternative media is biased towards its own ideology and standpoint and want to make their viewpoints known as well.

Adbusting is defined as destructing ad images to deliver a message and intentionally ruin the reputation of a certain brand. Some examples are: Absolute Vodka “Absolute Hangover” and the Marlboro ad “Moneywaster”. Culture jamming and alternative media play this adbusting game to deliver a negative picture about a certain brand or political viewpoint. Consequently, this negative game may lead to a positive outcome for the sake of the original brand since it helps consumers recall the brand and make it more attractive and in demand. “…the more clever the graffiti, the more negative publicity that it generates, the more likely people are to remember the brand in question when they walk into a shop.” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, p. 224). On the flip side, there will be some critical entanglement and make culture jammers held liable for their own actions “Culture jammers can be sued for brand tarnishment, brand infringement, copyright violation, and even defamation.”  (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, p. 224)

 Jonah Peretti’s case study explains how freedom of expression can go off limits and lead to reveal the truth behind the trustworthy brands. Culture jammers rely on several sorts of media such as email to spread the word within seconds with adbusted ads. Another example is “McLibel’s case” against McDonalds. McLibel used computer mediated communication (CMC) where viewpoints can be exchanged within a glimpse. In my opinion, this sort of reportage is a useful contribution to our public sphere mainly because it directs the eyes toward an ambiguous concern and specifically when it is related to a political influence or action.

Sometimes culture jamming requires changing the media ironically to positively criticise themselves and bring activists together while others focus on devastating a political message. This sort of subversion may lead to some kind of legal implications and revert back on the jammers.
 

     

                                 

References

         O’Shaughnessy, M., & Stadler, J. (2012). Media and Society, (5th ed.). Australia & New Zealand: Oxford University Press.

          http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blnike.htm  (Jonah Peretti and Nike customer service representatives)

         https://www.adbusters.org/content/nike-shoe-sweatshop (Nike - sweatshop image)

Demonstrable Demographics

Advertisement is basically a game that companies play, to their advantage, on their targeted customers. We, as customers, first look for ourselves in an ad whether it’s a photograph or a commercial. In the eyes of the companies it is very important to look at how people are depicted in terms of culture, ethnicity, and how stereotypes affect the implied message. Marketing strategies also consider body language, setting, appearance, and socioeconomic factor.

 

The fundamental purpose of visual commercials is to sell a service, product or to spread awareness of a topic. Tori Gligic (http://torigligic.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/1f25-blog-post-3-what-the-hail) passionately argues in her recent blog, “Don’t Drink and Drive.” That message is one that is valuable in today’s society and would get numerous comments.  Tori summed up her blog with a very effective statement that she believes the ad is about.  She states that the ad will “leave the audience thinking whether it really is worth it in the end.” Even though I fully enjoyed Tori’s blog, I didn’t find that the photograph used in the ad reflects the idea intended behind drinking and driving. I found it hard to figure out what the picture was portraying. She also states that although the character in the ad is a female, the targeted audience is not limited to females but extends to males as well. She continues saying “Although it has been proven that males can drink more and handle their alcohol better than females, it is still possible for regrets to happen to boys”. I didn’t fully agree with her adding this statement in. If the statistics show that males can drink more and control their alcohol better, it doesn’t mean they don’t get drunk or drink enough to make undesirable choices. I felt that this quote made it seem that usually it is females who make poor choices after a night of drinking and I don’t think that is the case.

 

Allison Sparham caught my attention by the way she describes Taco Bell’s commercial during last year’s Superbowl. Even though the characters used in this commercial are a group of old people, as she mentioned, the targeted audience are teenagers who are considered to be reckless. Therefore the humorous correlation between demographics is an intelligent way to attract a certain age “This ad was interpreted as comedic because of the mode of address.”  (http://allisonsparham.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/what-the-hail/) I agree that it was comedic and would catch the attention of the younger demographic.

 

Christine Merrill (http://christinemerrill2.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/what-in-the-hail), a reflection of my ideas, chose Revlon’s “Beyond Natural” advertisement. She argues how girls can be driven to constantly buy cosmetics in order to get the “natural” skin which is considered to be hopeless. It is a marketer’s strategy to use celebrities in their commercials to magnetize consumers. By using Jessica Alba in the ad, girls are hoping to have a smooth skin like Jessica’s face and will keep buying the advertised product line. I totally agree with Christine when she said “If the make-up doesn’t do what they advertise in the picture, why exactly do they advertise it that way?”

 

The only aim of marketers is to embolden the potential buyer to purchase their product either by a tremendous headline or by making an offer for what the customer wants or several other creative thoughts. By reading numerous blogs of my colleges, I found a diversity of opinions where I either agreed or disagreed.

What the Hail?

Volkswagen Game Day 2013 Commercial “Get In. Get Happy” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H0xPWAtaa8) is a creative and humorous commercial. This Volkswagen commercial starts in an office setting and due to the plain beige colour that is everywhere, it gives off the image of dull and boring. However, Dave is a cheerful employee from Minnesota who speaks in a Jamaican accent and is the only happy and optimistic one in the office. During a meeting Dave breaks the negative and boring atmosphere by saying, “You know what this room needs? A smile! Who want to come with I?” His boss and colleague leap into Dave’s bright red Volkswagen Beetle and they’re all cheerful now.

 

As a Volkswagen driver, the title of the commercial “Get In. Get Happy,” makes me believe that I’m the one being addressed and hailed. The location and atmosphere of this commercial is in an office but I still felt I could be related because I was picturing myself in the school environment. I felt that the boring and dull environment was something that any gender, race, nationality, or occupation could relate to. Therefore, this commercial was able to hail and interpellate a wide range of people, not just Volkswagen drivers.

 

 

“This ‘hailing’ has the effect of putting us in our place or positioning the addressee in relation to the addresser.” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, p. 185). In the Volkswagen commercial, hailing was embedded in the nature of Dave’s character and by the very first line of the commercial. “I hate Mondays!” is a line we all relate to and therefore grabs the viewer’s attention immediately. Therefore, the impact of hailing positioned me as ‘addressee’ and Dave as the ‘addresser’.

 

 The optimism and cheerfulness in Dave that lightens up the day at work and his cheerfulness rubs off on the others in the commercial. This intrigues and hails me to watch the full commercial. There are numerous reasons why I was attracted to this ad after watching over nine commercials of different brands. It captured me through humour but also because I did not have to decode any messages.  It sparks my inquisitiveness till the very last second because I wanted to see what happened next in each scenario. Usually an ad has couple seconds to gain the viewer’s attention, but the catchy scenes and humorous techniques in the commercial got me to stay engaged for the full commercial. Once the Volkswagen commercial was over, I found myself smiling and reflecting on it. A Minnesotan white guy, Dave, who bursts with a Jamaican dialect not only innervate the spirit of his office colleagues but also kept me engaged and got me to research the new Volkswagen Beetle.

 

Interpellation is a process that affects us from the day we are born and involves us into certain roles in our society. Louis Althusser (1918-1990) explains that interpellation is a method as giving a name to a person. Moreover, ideology addresses us and proposes a specific identity according to our beliefs and thinking as stated “So, in our identity we internalise particular ways of thinking, feeling, and believing” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, p. 184).  This commercial hints to the viewer that although life may be boring and unhappy at times, if you drove a Volkswagen Beetle, you would be happy. Your cheerfulness and optimistic attitude will rub off on the people around.  I believe that this ad was successful because at the end, I wanted to see more about the car and as a Volkswagen owner I automatically felt happy.

 

References

 

 

 

O’Shaughnessy, M., & Stadler, J. (2012). Media and Society, (5th ed.). Australia & New Zealand: Oxford University Press.

 

Wanted: The Media That We Need

Mass media is considered to be the master method of communication that plays a very important role in our modern society. It is considered to be the exporter of news on which audience base their thoughts and express their opinions.

In my opinion, there is a big difference between the media we want and the media we need. In general, media is required to satisfy a big portion of their audience. Some people accept the news the way it is while others take that news, go into depth and find the full story behind it. Different sources of media are compiled and delivered precisely with a diversity of information that fits the demand of the community in terms of social, political, cultural, and economic matters. 

In my latest blog I stated that mass media does not totally control our thinking but sites such as social networks keep us up-to-date with diversified thoughts and notions. My media choices are not the best preferences where I can get the most accurate news about a certain incident but it gives me a thread that can lead me to the desired truth by seeking more reliable sites. It is an important part of media literacy when audiences create their own media messages through different means of mass media. Maybe people do not have the skills to publish a newspaper but they are able to share a photo explaining their point of view. For example, when I find a rumor on twitter about an explosion somewhere in the world my first reaction is simply accessing more credible sources such as BBC or CNN and getting the latest updates. 

 By reading several of my peer’s blogs I found that although media producers bid to deliver and convince us with their own standpoint, people still absorb and explicate messages according to their own beliefs and awareness.

Sabrina Taylor Vents shared the exact same idea how people are exposed to an idea and they in turn go in depth seeking reliable exporters to ensure the accuracy of facts “People knew what was happening yet most people choose to still watch the form of media o get reassurance of the information’s they wanted to hear was the truth.”  (http://st13sw.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/blog-entry-2-do-we-get-the-media-we-want-or-want-the-media-we-get/.) On the other side Sabina and I have a contradicting thought when she said that it’s the same “whether we get the media we want, or want the media we get”.

Alex Mohamed mentioned that media can influence us and make us believe what is said “The media can then influence us by the over-exposure to then make us want the media we get.” (http://am13lr.wordpress.com/). In my opinion, people are not influenced by any kind of media unless they have some kind of inclination. I’m a living proof that any news I read will never impact me unless there’s something in it that suits my interest and then drags me to search profoundly more trustworthy sites.

Keenan Beaumont simply read my mind by mentioning an incident where he was subject to some gossip about a ridiculous music video and he continues saying  “It only took about a day or two for me to give in to my over powering curiosity.” (http://keenbeau80.wordpress.com/). This is precisely a summary of my thoughts. It is human nature that we, as public, are driven towards what makes us curious once something grabs our attention. If Keenan had no interest in the content of the video he would have never thought about it once again.

As a conclusion, various news to different people in one society grasp news distinctly. Some of us want the media that services a common interest and others want the media to be a mean that concentrates on one communal party and describes them. But it’s up to me to choose and get driven towards what fits my interest. Even if I get across some gossip on twitter I simply look it up on professional sites. Therefore, people approach media differently depending on their interest.

The Media We Want?

 

Do we get the media we want, or want the media we get? This “double aspect” of media literacy is a critical topic to talk about and a widely diversified subject with no median. I believe that we want the media we get. I argue in favour of this because we as individuals seek out information on social media and control it. Whether it is local or global news, information for school, or just “gossip” about celebrities, it is us who click onto the sites to get the information we want. 

Nowadays, people spend most of their time with media and although we know it has its pros and cons we still choose to get the information we want to hear from it.  We should know how senders deliver the messages to the audience and how media operates in the first place. Some audiences are influenced by what they hear and read while others try to put their word out there and oppose the flow.

With all different forms of social media, we can find any kind of information we want.  We can go on news sites to find out what is happening or we can log on to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram to see what our “friends” are up to. As mentioned in the textbook “[t]he media are not the only social forces to make sense to the world for us, nor do they have total control over how we see and think about the world. They combine with other forces of socialisation” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, p. 36).

We have perceived for a long time that politicians lie to us unhesitatingly, but most of us have not yet realized that our media deceives us much more. The trust that most people have in our journalists and broadcasters has led us to destructive outcomes. Those consequences are that most of the news is not as it has been stated. If we hear of something happening in the world, it is faster and easier to find a social media outlet to get the information we are searching for. For example, I can remember checking different sites frequently when President Obama was running for presidency. Knowing full well that some of the information I read may not be the exact truth, it was still giving me the information I wanted. In addition, I was able to see what people who were voting for and against were saying because I was able to check out different sites. 

 
I have the Score app, Fantasy Football and many more apps that constantly update me and give me the latest information. This in my opinion is one example that supports the fact that individuals seek out the specific type of information they are looking for.   

In conclusion, since we have access to information and a wide variety of sites we can search social media for the information we desire as mentioned in following quote “the audiences influence, if not control, media output through their choices of what media products to consume.” (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2012, p. 38).

 

References

 

O’Shaughnessy, M., & Stadler, J. (2012). Media and Society, (5^th ed.). Australia & New Zealand: Oxford University Press.

 

 

1F25 Blog Response 1: Media Impact on Others

When discussing modern society, it is quite evident that there have been considerable changes in the standpoints regarding social media and its impact on society.  After reading and analyzing over ten blogs about how mass media affected one’s world, I came to realize that there was a consensus among these blogs. The consensus is that mass media is negative in one way or another. I am an advocate of social media but after reading their opposing viewpoints, they got me to look at this topic through a different lens and in turn, I found myself agreeing with many points that were made. 

Melissa Froese mentioned the following: “Without the media, like Twitter or Facebook, some people wouldn’t know what is going on in the world” http://melissasblogview.wordpress.com/. Although these forms of social media do allow news to spread a lot quicker and to a mass amount of people, it does not mean that if you weren’t a part of these mass communication sites you would not know what is going on in the world. I have friends who are not on Facebook, Twitter, etc that are still up to date on world issues. That being said, they do use other websites (such as CNN or online newspapers) to get information. This proves to me that one cannot completely avoid the use of media.  

Katie Flynn had a different position on why technology has negatively affected society. She said: “I feel that all of this technology is terrible for our social skills and has really minimized face to face communication” http://mediapopculturechick.wordpress.com/. Upon reflection, I strongly believe that face to face communication has decreased in our lives. We are so quick to email, text, etc., instead of picking up the phone and talking to someone. Another example that came to mind is at my daughter’s school. The students are allowed to stay in during recesses to access online games instead of playing, socializing or being active on the playground. Katie also sparked my interest when she goes into detail about texting while driving. She talked about car crashes and how many lives are lost because of the way we use technology. The ignorance of people who are using technology is disturbing to me. 

Another blog I read by Alexandra Deyman states that: “Using the Internet for school or work purposes are useful, but I am almost positive everyone has drifted off the task at hand and has found himself or herself on a social networking site without even noticing!  Again this proves why mass media can be negative.” http://alexandradeyman.wordpress.com/. I agree with this, as I have been a culprit of this myself.  Through my readings of blogs, it is clear that the majority of people are tied to social media and network sites. Although there are positives of using social media there are plenty of negatives that come along with it.

As previously mentioned mass media has a vast impact on society; whether it is positive or negative. My final thought for this evaluation is that although as a society we heavily rely on social media site, I would hope that people use them for what they are intended for rather than be dominated by them.