After the Seinfeld ads bombed miserably, Microsoft has a second take with commercials. I'm not trying to swing the vote one way or the other but these commercials are very clever and I like them. What do you think?
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Diversity in the Newsroom
I have a hard time understanding diversity in the newsroom to its fullest potential. Not because I’m racist or sexist, but because it almost seems foolish. Why can’t we just have great reporters? We have to meet the “status quo” to have a phenomenal newscast and label everything. I have always believed that the best person for the job should get the job. The job should not be decided on color of skin or gender or anything else for that matter. There are many times when I sit down and watch the news, whether local or national, and notice that the reporter is dreadfully boring or ditzy, and has a difficult time reporting the story. Or the anchor doesn’t listen to the interviewee. It’s terrible. Doesn’t it almost seem racist when the news station sends the black reporter to the black neighborhood for a story, or the older, more experienced reporter to the nursing home for grandma’s 101st birthday. How is this diversity? Does it cover the spectrum? Yes. Is it fair? No. There are tons of great reporters out there just waiting for their shot. But will they ever get it if the newsroom must be “diverse”? Man, woman, black, white, it doesn’t matter. Just make sure you give me the best newscast possible.
For me it comes down to the word diversity. I completely agree with being diverse in everything we do, but I believe that when we label it, it gets out of hand and is far more segregating, which hurts us more than it helps us. By saying we need to be more diverse all the time, I believe it only pushes us further away from that goal.
Final Thought: Diversity is needed hands down, but I don’t believe you should attempt to be diverse and sacrifice talent.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
GenY in the church
I just found this to be really interesting and was curious what others thought. A church in O'Fallon is encouraging the congregation to text questions to their pastor on Sunday mornings during the sermon. The article was on the front page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Tuesday.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Uses and Gratification Theory
After careful review over the objects talked about in Chapter 2, the thing that was most interesting were the social science perspectives. One in particular though, the Uses and Gratifications Theory. I found this one to be most interesting because it was the only theory that involved people using the media how they needed. Not the media influencing and controlling the people.
The Uses and Gratification Theory says that it is “based on the ways media consumers actively choose and use media to meet their own needs.” Instead of asking the traditional question “What effect do media have on people?” uses and gratifications researchers ask, “What do people do with media?” My opinion is that we influence the media in the first place. The media only reports on things that people are going to find interesting. I think we control the media more than the media would let us realize.
The theory actually compliments people by saying that we are the “decision makers who choose, sometimes deliberately and sometimes less consciously, which media to use and how to use them.”
There are many ways in which we use the media. There is the surveillance method in which we keep informed about the world. We use this media most often in the United States normally when something involving money or government. People tend to disregard things in other countries unless it involves the economy or important government issues. There is also the diversion method, which we use to escape “from the pressures of the real world through entertainment.” I believe this method is the most commonly used. We use this when we go on YouTube, watch primetime television, when we go to the theatre, or if we watch a movie at home. Another method we choose media is by conversational currency, which we use for “up-to-date on topics to talk about.” This is mostly used when we read the headline articles in newspapers and on news websites. We can also obtain it through television programming like local news programs and entertainment news shows. One of the final ways we use the media is through social integration. “Connecting with others by using shared knowledge acquired through the media,” uses this method. Social integration is very wide spread it is the media that generally everyone can relate to. It is news about an Ipod, the president, presidential nominees, video games, top 40 in music, etc.
I chose the Uses and Gratification Theory because I believe it. I go to the media I want. I use it how I see fit. Media will not control me. I will go against the flow. I will be my own person.
The Uses and Gratification Theory says that it is “based on the ways media consumers actively choose and use media to meet their own needs.” Instead of asking the traditional question “What effect do media have on people?” uses and gratifications researchers ask, “What do people do with media?” My opinion is that we influence the media in the first place. The media only reports on things that people are going to find interesting. I think we control the media more than the media would let us realize.
The theory actually compliments people by saying that we are the “decision makers who choose, sometimes deliberately and sometimes less consciously, which media to use and how to use them.”
There are many ways in which we use the media. There is the surveillance method in which we keep informed about the world. We use this media most often in the United States normally when something involving money or government. People tend to disregard things in other countries unless it involves the economy or important government issues. There is also the diversion method, which we use to escape “from the pressures of the real world through entertainment.” I believe this method is the most commonly used. We use this when we go on YouTube, watch primetime television, when we go to the theatre, or if we watch a movie at home. Another method we choose media is by conversational currency, which we use for “up-to-date on topics to talk about.” This is mostly used when we read the headline articles in newspapers and on news websites. We can also obtain it through television programming like local news programs and entertainment news shows. One of the final ways we use the media is through social integration. “Connecting with others by using shared knowledge acquired through the media,” uses this method. Social integration is very wide spread it is the media that generally everyone can relate to. It is news about an Ipod, the president, presidential nominees, video games, top 40 in music, etc.
I chose the Uses and Gratification Theory because I believe it. I go to the media I want. I use it how I see fit. Media will not control me. I will go against the flow. I will be my own person.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Newest Microsoft Ad
This is it in it's entirety but it's originally split into two parts the first part ending with the giraffe stolen and the screen going to blue saying "to be connected", the second part picks up where that left off with the family questioning Gates and Seinfeld.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
International Interview
For my interview with an international student I looked no further than my roommate. His name is Emmanuel Ortigüela and he has lived in two different countries, Spain and Argentina. Two countries, two very different locations; so I thought this was an excellent opportunity to learn a lot about how US media affects different regions of the world.
For the first order of business I began to ask about television programming. I asked if there was a lot of American influence in either Spain or Argentina with television programming. He responded by saying that they get a lot of the same shows such as; C.S.I., Law and Order, Family Guy, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, all of which are subtitled in Spanish. Other popular shows are The Simpson’s and South Park, which are dubbed in Spanish. I then asked if these shows made them perceive us Americans as the shows imply us to be. His answer was what shocked me the most, though I’m not sure why, it is completely predictable. He said, in both countries, they perceive the American family as The Simpson’s and Family Guy portray us. Which is exactly how I want to be perceived. They also have their own versions of MTV, ESPN, and Disney Channel. Which he followed up by saying that High School Musical is just as popular in both countries as it is here. Other than that he said that they just have their own shows that they watch.
Next I asked him about our movies. He said that movies are released the Thursday following our Friday release. They wait about an extra week to see our films. He said that movies are taken for what they are, entertainment. In Spain everything is translated, however you have the choice to either see the movie with subtitles or dubbed. His favorite movie is Good Will Hunting and his favorite actors are Robert De Niro and Anthony Hopkins.
When it comes to US politics Argentina is very interested with our decisions but Spain is really only interested during election time. He said, “Everyone cares about the elections”. Argentina pays close attention to our politics because they have closer economic ties with America. They have free press in both countries so they don’t have to worry about government-controlled media.
For me, music was the most surprising answer I received. He said artists/bands like Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Eminem, Britney Spears, and Rihanna are popular. The ‘pop’ music is more popular there than hip-hop or R&B. Hip-hop is more of a demographical and personal influence. He did say that hip-hop is more popular in Spain. Some of his favorite artists are Alicia Keys and Tyrese. Other than that it is more local music that is popular and played more often.
When it comes to commercials and advertising there seem to be small similarities. Coke is very popular and is heavily marketed while Pepsi rarely, if ever, marketed. Gum commercials are present but they primarily advertise gum as candy and they aim it towards children. In Spain the most heavily marketed item is cologne and perfumes. The only time that kind of stuff is advertised around here is if celebrities come out with their own line of scents. The way they market things is the same but there isn’t a lot of American influenced commercials.
When it comes to technology he said stuff like that is just more expensive in Argentina and Spain. Microsoft and Apple are geared more for the wealthy. While Microsoft is more affordable, he said that Apple is pretty much for the rich. So people tend to build their own computers because it’s a lot cheaper. Thus computer parts are advertised more than and entire system. Here is a list of things us Americans almost can’t live without and how much it costs in Spain and Argentina: 30GB Ipod = $300, PS3 = $1000, Xbox360 is around $1000.
So all in all it was really cool to see how the US media affects Spain and Argentina, which turns out to be not too much. It was also an awesome opportunity to get to know my roommate a little better.
For the first order of business I began to ask about television programming. I asked if there was a lot of American influence in either Spain or Argentina with television programming. He responded by saying that they get a lot of the same shows such as; C.S.I., Law and Order, Family Guy, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, all of which are subtitled in Spanish. Other popular shows are The Simpson’s and South Park, which are dubbed in Spanish. I then asked if these shows made them perceive us Americans as the shows imply us to be. His answer was what shocked me the most, though I’m not sure why, it is completely predictable. He said, in both countries, they perceive the American family as The Simpson’s and Family Guy portray us. Which is exactly how I want to be perceived. They also have their own versions of MTV, ESPN, and Disney Channel. Which he followed up by saying that High School Musical is just as popular in both countries as it is here. Other than that he said that they just have their own shows that they watch.
Next I asked him about our movies. He said that movies are released the Thursday following our Friday release. They wait about an extra week to see our films. He said that movies are taken for what they are, entertainment. In Spain everything is translated, however you have the choice to either see the movie with subtitles or dubbed. His favorite movie is Good Will Hunting and his favorite actors are Robert De Niro and Anthony Hopkins.
When it comes to US politics Argentina is very interested with our decisions but Spain is really only interested during election time. He said, “Everyone cares about the elections”. Argentina pays close attention to our politics because they have closer economic ties with America. They have free press in both countries so they don’t have to worry about government-controlled media.
For me, music was the most surprising answer I received. He said artists/bands like Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Eminem, Britney Spears, and Rihanna are popular. The ‘pop’ music is more popular there than hip-hop or R&B. Hip-hop is more of a demographical and personal influence. He did say that hip-hop is more popular in Spain. Some of his favorite artists are Alicia Keys and Tyrese. Other than that it is more local music that is popular and played more often.
When it comes to commercials and advertising there seem to be small similarities. Coke is very popular and is heavily marketed while Pepsi rarely, if ever, marketed. Gum commercials are present but they primarily advertise gum as candy and they aim it towards children. In Spain the most heavily marketed item is cologne and perfumes. The only time that kind of stuff is advertised around here is if celebrities come out with their own line of scents. The way they market things is the same but there isn’t a lot of American influenced commercials.
When it comes to technology he said stuff like that is just more expensive in Argentina and Spain. Microsoft and Apple are geared more for the wealthy. While Microsoft is more affordable, he said that Apple is pretty much for the rich. So people tend to build their own computers because it’s a lot cheaper. Thus computer parts are advertised more than and entire system. Here is a list of things us Americans almost can’t live without and how much it costs in Spain and Argentina: 30GB Ipod = $300, PS3 = $1000, Xbox360 is around $1000.
So all in all it was really cool to see how the US media affects Spain and Argentina, which turns out to be not too much. It was also an awesome opportunity to get to know my roommate a little better.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Generation Y?
Through the Millenial survey there is no way to deny the fact that I am considered to be a portion of Generation Y. However after watching the 60 Minutes report on Millenials, I have no choice but to disagree that I am a part of Generation Y.
I mean this term is used so broadly for ALL of Generation Y. Sub groups are a must when taking up this issue. Jason and Ryan, from the 60 Minutes interview, were more than likely from either the east or west coasts. The principles they spoke of with their parents and stuff were outrageous. I would have a hard time believing that Midwest kids have the same ideology at the work place. Us Midwesterners tend not to have such a mushy way of life. Our parents expect a lot from us, and we have to work hard for it. I would be willing to go out on a limb and even say that most kids from the Midwest have had at least one job since the age of sixteen, no matter how well off your family is. So to put it simply, am I a product of Generation Y, yes; but not how the report would make you believe.
Do I get complimented on a job well done, yes; but if the job is not done thoroughly or complete I have to go back and start over and finish the job correctly. The report made me feel like I was in my thirties while I was listening to Jason and Ryan talk about how tender they are. I know I am a minority when I say that I have wanted to be married since I was 18, but it is what I have always wanted. At 18 I wanted my career, my wife, and my kids. I wanted life to begin. I have had this goal for the past three years and I continue to work hard for it everyday. With no career, there is no family, so I do my very best everyday in hopes that it gets me one step closer to my dream. I guess what I am trying to say is that you should have to work hard for what you want, there is no need for it to be handed to you on a silver, I mean platinum, platter. So I guess I pretty much disagree with everything stated in the 60 Minutes video. I do not want that to be me.
I do not think that it should be ‘What can older generations do for us to make communication better’ but, ‘what can we, as Generation Y, do for the older generations to make communication better’.
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