Education and the Future: Why We Need Media Literacy.

According to Media Literacy by W. James Potter, he explains that media literacy is a set of perspectives that we actively use to expose ourselves to the media to interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter. As a college student, I feel that media literacy is a necessity for future generations.

Not only are we educated in standard classrooms with standard textbooks, but we are now becoming educated online as well. People need to be media literate if they want to understand how they are being educated and what they are learning. Even though there are so many forms of media, the future holds even more. It will be crucial for students of all ages, especially college students, to be able to understand and interpret the media.

In the article, A Plea for Media Literacy in our Nation's Schools, David Shaw states, “We live in increasingly complex times, and unless we teach our children how to read about, watch, interpret, understand and analyze the day's events, we risk raising a generation of civic illiterates, political ignoramuses and uncritical consumers, vulnerable not only to crackpot ideas, faulty reasoning and putative despots but fraudulent sales pitches and misleading advertising claims.”

As young adults in college, the media is how we gain most of our information. We should be informed as to what is going on in the news both worldwide and in our community. We need to understand what types of media are reliable and which are not. College involves a lot of media and until we learn what is right from wrong, we will never be able to survive the plethora of media that currently surrounds us.

In the article, Why Do U.S. Students Need Media Literacy?, Naomi Rockler-Gladen states, “Media literacy classes provide students with skills, tools, insights, and a vocabulary to understand the important role the media play in shaping, reflecting, and sometimes subverting our social realities. They often contain a production component so that students can understand firsthand the role of technology and production in shaping media messages.” This quote holds a lot of truth because students need media literacy for all of these reasons.

If we cannot filter out the unnecessary media, then we cannot function as responsible college students. People will just end up doing whatever the media suggests. We will lose our sense of control and decision making. An example of this is when college students are asked about politics. Students not only know next to nothing about the election and issues of the presidential candidates, but they think they know everything. Because the war in Iraq was and still is posted all over the news, people of all ages are exposed to it. The catch is that none of us are over in Iraq, but we think we know exactly what is going on because that is what reporters make us believe. Issues on the news are one sided and only half reported, causing us to believe we are on top of things.

Overall, media literacy is important for the future in education. It provides an outlet for students to gain a different perspective and to learn in a different manner than what they are accustomed to in the traditional classroom. This is really important in the current trends of education especially differentiated instruction as well as other techniques teachers are utilizing in their instruction.

Stop the Violence.

The media has the potential to greatly affect our lives. In class last week, we watched a video on whether violent video games have the potential to turn its players into violent people. While some of the class said it was the parent’s job to make sure kids know violence is wrong, others felt that these games had a major impact on its players. I feel as though the media has the ability to change the way we act, but only if we let it. By conducting this exercise, I have learned that the people who fall into the seven set point factors and six factors special to a type of effect have the ability to resist being changed by the media for the most part.

The first violent form of the media that I was exposed to was a movie called Saw. It is a series of four movies that exposes murdering, blood, gore, death, etc. Even though this is one of the more violent movies I have ever seen, it did not have the ability to change the way I conduct myself. Just because I saw numerous people getting murdered does not mean that I am going to follow their actions. I know this is wrong, I was taught this is wrong, and I would never do anything like this.

The second form of media that I exposed myself to was the radio. There are many Hip Hop, R and B, and Rap songs which are violent. The one that sticks out in my mind is called, “X Is Coming for You” by DMX. In this rap song, DMX talks about shooting his enemy in front of his family after raping his victim’s daughter. I know it’s a bit much, but this just goes to show just how violent rap songs can be. People know that murder and rape is wrong, and a song is not going to influence them into taking these actions.

If people did take action just because of a movie, song, video game, etc, then there must be something else influencing them to act this way. I mean, think about it – would you go out and murder or rape someone just because you saw it in a movie or heard it in a song? I didn’t think so.

When researching this topic, I came across an article which supports my position on this topic. In the article, media violence researcher Rowell Huesmann said, "Serious aggressive behavior only occurs when there is a convergence of multiple predisposing and precipitating factors" Like I said before, the media does have the ability to change our ways, but only if we let it.

In the future, I think movie producers, song writers, video game makers, etc, should tone down the violence for the sheer fact that it is unnecessary. We do not need to be exposed to any more violence than we already are on the news and in news articles. Enough is enough.

American Idol v. Dancing With the Stars

Broadcast television is very popular today. Two of the most popular shows on broadcast television are American Idol and Dancing With the Stars. These shows tend to appeal to every age group because they are family oriented, but still have the ability to attract the younger generations. Also, these two shows are based on the nation’s opinions by having them call or text in and vote. This also attracts people because it makes them feel as though they have a say in who wins.

The broadcast television show I picked to research is American Idol. Since this show is on two days a week, I chose Tuesday night even though it took second place in the ratings to Wednesday night’s showing of American Idol. If you are not familiar with the show, every Tuesday night at 8:00, the competitors sing in order to remain on the show. At the end of the show, people across America call or text their votes. Wednesday nights at 8:00 is when America finds out who gets kicked off the show. Even though Wednesday night is the bigger night, I enjoy watching the competitors sing every Tuesday.

One of American Idol’s biggest competitors is Dancing With the Stars. This show is on Monday nights at 8:00pm and Tuesday nights at 9:00 following American Idol. According to Nielson’s television ratings for the week of March 24, 2008, Tuesday night’s American Idol rated at 14% with 24.758 million viewers which took second place to Wednesday night’s showing of American Idol with 15.2% of households tuning in which equals to a whopping 25.742 viewers. Monday night’s showing of Dancing With the Stars ranked third place with 13% of households watching it equaling to 20.515 million viewers. Dancing With the Stars directly follows American Idol, but it takes third place to both nights of it. My best assumption would be that American Idol has the better time slot at 8:00pm opposed to 9:00pm.

If American Idol was moved to 9:00pm, I do not think it would do as well. It might split the ratings with Dancing With the Stars. Also, American Idol could fall below Dancing with the Stars in ratings. These are both very popular shows and they both compete for viewers across the nation. The 8:00pm timeslot is a very good time for this show to be on because many older people go to bed around 9:00pm which is why Dancing With the Stars does not have as many people watching it.

How Amusing...

I just recently finished a quite “amusing” book by Neil Postman. Amusing Ourselves to Death really made me think about the effects of electronic media on today’s society. Published back in 1985, it comes as a surprise to me how relevant Postman’s information still is today. In fact, it is slowly becoming more and more relevant as time progresses.

The main focus of this book is television, which currently just so happens to be our main source of media. Throughout this book, Postman implies that we slowly being overtaken by the massive amounts of media present in today’s society. Although Postman does support his beliefs, I cannot say that I agree with all of them. Postman always has a pessimistic outlook on every topic he discusses. For example, toward the end of the book in chapter ten, Postman states that, “At the same time, ‘Sesame Street’ relieved them of the responsibility of teaching their pre-school children how to read – no small matter in a culture where children are apt to be considered a nuisance.” It is safe to say that many people would not agree with statements like this causing this book to be, at times, quite controversial.

In the beginning of the second chapter, Postman talks about how we are undergoing a media-metaphor shift in America and that most of what we are taking in is nonsense. Now, I do not know if I totally agree with this statement, but I thought it was quite meaningful and powerful to say the least. This book definitely backs up his beliefs about our media shift. Every chapter has at least one reason why he believes the media is taking us over.

Today's media landscape consists of anything ranging from television to the internet to newspapers. Media is everywhere – like it or not. Sometimes we find ourselves multi-tasking often with different forms of media. For example, anyone could be listening to their iPod while reading the newspaper or a magazine. With all this held true, it’s time to discuss the major media outlet in further depth – the television. I agree with postman that the television is our main media source and that it can sometimes be quite overwhelming to say the least. In an article about the effects of television on today’s society, the first statement took me by surprise.

Overall, this book is an entertaining read. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for some insight on the media effects on today’s society. Although you will not finish displeased, you may find yourself disagreeing (or maybe even agreeing) with Neil Postman.

Headline: CyberJournalists Are Taking Over!

What’s happening today is that everyone is being bombarded by the news and media. Currently, the news consists of mostly shocking and upsetting news with maybe one or two good news stories thrown in for good measure. In fact, most of the time it almost seems as though people do not want to watch the news, or even read about, something good that is happening. Journalists really have it cut out for them in today’s society. They have to capture and hold the reader’s attention which is sometimes hard to do. Potter states that, “When we take a closer look at the news, it becomes clear that the news does not reflect reality. Instead, it is a construction by journalists. News coverage is triggered, of course, by actual occurrences. But what we see presented as news by the media are not the events themselves. Instead, the media present us with stories about the events, and those stories are constructed by journalists who are influenced by constraints that are largely outside of their control.”

Because of this, journalists are expanding their grounds. In most newspapers, or at least the ones I’ve read, journalists put the main outstanding facts in their story. This may cause the readers to have a tough time getting the whole picture of the story. This problem is slowly being solved by people known as “CyberJournalists.” These people can get their whole story out to readers with as many pictures and/or videos as they wish. CyberJournalists write for their own communities and their own stories. This idea is based on people from that specific community being able to report on what they know.

The Chicago Daily News, or Chi*Town Daily News, serves just this purpose. This online newspaper is written not only for, but BY Chicago’s own residents. Chi*Town Daily News is different from Chicago’s other media outlets because it is owned by a non-profit corporation based in Chicago, whereas the other outlets focus more on profit than news. This online newspaper actually encourages readers to help write their stories and also make the appearance of the site better by adding pictures, movies, etc.

I have to hand it to them - The Chicago Daily News is quite the online newspaper. Their homepage has everything ranging from headlines to videos which are all posted by residents of Chicago. They have every necessary navigational link which serves readers well including: Local News, Culture, Sports, The Big City, Events, Blogs, Updates, and Special Reports. As anyone would be able to see by visiting this site, The Chicago Daily News is very developed and successful. Residents of Chicago have their own place to turn when they witness or hear about a story. They can simply report it into this website for others to read about. As mentioned before, this newspaper is solely dedicated to what is happening in Chicago.

I was extremely impressed with this site. Compared to other similar sites, this one was by far one of the nicest and most developed. I found myself reading about things that do not even concern me, but they caught my eye anyway, which is impressive to say the least. The residents of Chicago definitely know what they are doing and I hope they continue to keep this site going. If I could give an award, this site would easily get it. Not only is it organized and easy to read, but it catches and holds the reader’s attention.

I hope CyberJournalists continue to write and develop new sites. This is a great way for members of specific communities to stay in touch and have a chance to give back to their communities. Its things like this that make people feel important or like they’re able to express their knowledge and feelings. Keep it up!

Survivor: Fans v. Favorites

I must admit, Survivor has never been one of my favorite shows. However, I found that this new twist on the show has sparked my interest. To this day, I have only seen one – maybe two episodes of Survivor. The one thing I noticed as I was watching it is that we, as viewers, only get to see the most dramatic and competitive activities that happen on the island. In class, we discussed how we do not get to see every aspect of a specific show – only the ones that would make us want to watch it and keep coming back for more. Survivor is just another great example of the excessive amount of editing going on behind the scenes.

The fans versus favorites setup is just asking for massive amounts of drama. Many people could argue that it was solely set up for the purpose of attracting viewers through drama and excitement. Think about it: What Survivor fan wouldn’t want to watch their top favorite players battle against normal, everyday fans like themselves? My point is, is that there are many happenings which occur behind the scenes that we, as viewers, never get a chance to see. We don’t get to see them because they are simply edited out, which is due to the fact that these scenes are not dramatic or exciting enough to attract and hold the viewers’ attention.

This new twist on Survivor will most likely be a success because it offers quite the competition. Alexis mentions how they, as fans, know the “favorites’” strengths and weaknesses. This statement alone is enough to spark the interest of viewers – especially diehard fans. But what most people don’t realize is that they are only seeing a small fraction of what is really happening on the island.

Max Headroom: Exposure and Attention

There are many different media messages in Max Headroom's episode entitled War. The main one that stuck out to me was that of exposure and attention. The two news channels, Network 23 and Breakthru TV made it possible for everyone to be exposed to the set up terrorist attacks on the news. As stated in the textbook, a person cannot attend a message without being exposed to it. Exposure and attention go hand-in-hand in this episode because there are many messages being exposed. Therefore, the people who are being exposed to the messages are also attending the messages if they want to see what is going on.

The men at the beginning of the episode were being exposed and attending to the message coming in over the webcam. Also, every time a person was watching something on a monitor, they were being exposed and attending to that specific message. These are just two of the many examples of exposure and attention in this Max Headroom episode.