News Media Critique

An article titled "Flying brisket whacks women amid beef at barbecue festival" was published on WHAS11's website on September 15, 2015.  Although the article did a mediocre job over-viewing an incident where a man lost his temper and threw a 200 degree slab of meat at women who was sharing a beef cooker with him at a barbecue festival, it has many violations in regards to the 7 yardsticks of journalism.  First, this article is not newsworthy.  A newsworthy article will have a long lasting effect on many people.  The only person this article effects is the injured victim and the guilty culprit.  Secondly, this article lacks explanation.  It fails to conclude what happened to the women after she was hit in the head/neck area.  It leaves the reader questioning how badly injured the victim was and if this incident was blown out of proportion.  Lastly, this article did not have local relevance.  Yes, the festival was in Kentucky, but this incident was a brawl between two people, therefore not affecting the audience or citizens reading the article.  It does not warn the audience because this specific accident is not very common and it does not teach the citizens of the community anything. This article may be a little interesting because of the oddness of the incident, but it is not worthwhile to read; therefore it is a great example to prove how some journalists over exaggerate interesting news rather than making the important news more intriguing. 

The link to this article is here

Reponse to Plagiarism: Ariana

Ariana Moya did an insightful job responding to our first lecture on plagiarism.  Something Ariana said that stood out to me was, "I thought that reviewing plagiarism as our first lesson was definitely useful because it helps refresh our memories and review content we have already covered before but we might have just moved to the back of our heads." What she said made me think of the impact of having this lesson first.  It wakes us up that we are in high school and don't have room for these kind of mistakes.  It made me think that we will be less likely to making the mistake of plagiarism on our assignments if we are taught the expectations of plagiarism before our first assignments are due. Her response was very relatable. Overall, Ariana did a very good job explaining the importance of the lecture on plagiarism!
The link to her response is here

Response to Information vs Entertainment: Melissa Perello

I agree with Melissa's response to the lecture on the binary models, monopoly, and demassification.  Melissa did a great job giving examples in the real world of binary models wich made it easier for me to relate to.  I specifically liked Melissa's comment on elistist-populist, "Populist is what really interested me because this generation is always on the latest trends, always has the newest technology, and always knows which Kardashian got divorced." I agree that our generation will lean towards populist news than elitist news because at times it is to me, more interesting than politics. Also,I couldn't agree more with Melissa on that monopoly was hard to understand and wished we spent more time on a topic like this.  Melissa did a nicely done job on her opinions and explanations of this lecture!
The link to her great response is here

Gutenburg

People always say where would we be if Columbus hadn’t sailed the ocean blue in 1492, but really Columbus wouldn’t have sailed without the concept of standardized maps and global exploration which came from Gutenburg’s invention.  His invention of the metal printing press changed our world and shaped our world into what it is today. 

This had to be my favorite lecture thus far because I never knew where the invention of a printing press came from.  Gutenburg’s printing press wasn’t the first printing press, but it was the first, most useful and effective printing press.  Gutenburg just wanted to make the world an easier place and help the lives of others. 

I agree that if it wasn’t for Gothenburg’s metal printing press, we wouldn’t be where were today.  Our literacy rate would be A LOT lower because only the wealthy could afford to read, leaving out the majority of the world.  The printing press shaped languages and helped all afford to read.  We also wouldn’t have standardized maps.  It is hard to explore without a printed guidance.  Therefore, the chances of Columbus finding our nation at the time he did is very rare without Gutenburg.

Gutenburg made books possible which also made journalism possible.  I wouldn’t be sitting in the Journalism and Communication program at DuPont Manual without Gutenburg.  I really liked how we focused on the cause and effects of Gutenburg in this lecture.

Binary Models, Monopoly, and Demassification Lecture

This lecture to me was both easy and confusing.  What I mean by that, is that to me, most of the binary models were very simple to understand but I stumbled upon a communication process during this lecture.  The binary model, hot-cold, was very easy to comprehend and I understood elitist-populist well.  I could differentiate elitist as a purpose to inform, whereas populist is only in it for the money and to get the most viewers.  I felt like elitist-populist connected to information-entertainment. I have grown up in a generation where we are trampled by “news” on the latest Hollywood breakup which is a populist company using “entertainment news” instead of news that we could really be educated by elitist companies. 

Things then got a little complicated…Content-distribution boggled my brain.  Personally, I could only tell you what content-distribution is by memorizing a model we were given and tell you that companies make money on advertisement, sponsors, donations, etc. I felt that we needed to spend more time on this concept.  I particularly didn’t understand how the process connected and what part of the company is content and which distribution is.

I also wasn’t very confident on my knowledge of monopoly.  All I could tell you is that vertical monopoly is legal and horizontal monopoly is illegal.  I do know, though, that horizontal is illegal because it eliminates all of their competitors. 

I thought it was very interesting when we talked about niches.  It explains why there are cooking magazines for people who have an interest in food and a sports magazine for people who are interesting in athletics.  It creates a fan base for each niche that companies rely on or they will lose audience, talent, and advertisement…therefore, demassify.   There goes another fad! Remember silly bands or wheelies?!?

Overall, I thought that the concept of binary models is very important to communication, and I look forward to answering all my questions so I am more confident on this matter.

Mass Communication

I thought that this lecture was a very easy concept.  If you are sitting, watching and experiencing a live show… that is group communication.  If you are watching television for example…that is mass communication. To me, I saw a connection to primary and secondary sources.  If you were there to experience it, get a message and give immediate feedback, it is group communication which is like a primary source.   Mass communication isn’t as closely related to these example of sources but it could be like secondary sources because you weren’t there to experience it live and the communication has traveled over time and space.

I really liked the model we were given in class.  I am a visual learner so seeing a model makes me grasp onto the content better.  However, I was a bit confused on the difference between decoding and internalization.  I feel as if decoding and internalization are very similar and hard to distinguish which one of these processes is the one where we interpret the information.  Decoding is when the conversion has happened and it means to solve or interpret, but isn’t internalization also when we interpret the information that stays in our brain? I believe the only difference is that internalization is when the information is planted into our brain. 

I thought the easiest information to learn during this lecture was when we discussed filters and impediments.  To me, it is easiest for me to differentiate the two by thinking of filters as distractions and impediments as disruptions.  I realize that these filters and impediments surround us and are bad because they catch us off guard from our internalization.

Journalists use mass communication.  I believe it is better that journalists' articles are not provided in a “live way” (if that is possible) because immediate feedback is not always positive and good.  Overall, I really enjoyed this lecture and found it interesting. 

Plagiarism

This lecture was not as necessary to me as it might have been to others because I have learned about plagiarism year after year at my old school.  I do agree that plagiarism is bad and that this lecture is important for students to understand what it is and what its consequences are. 

Plagiarism can get confusing at times though.  What I have learned through writing many research papers in the past is if the information is not yours, CITE it.  It is your preference whether to paraphrase or quote it but either way, CITE it. 

I liked how in this discussion we were given the consequences because personally I would not like to spend my Saturday picking up sand with a teaspoon.  One of the tricky things about plagiarism is that sometimes students are unaware that they have committed it which can be bad and emotionally hard for the student. 

I believe that most students of DuPont Manual are individually motivated and strive to learn every day.  Hopefully, with such hardworking personalities, they will make the right choices and lean towards their own words and ideas. 

This lecture may not have been the most intriguing lesson, but it is one of the most useful and important lectures!