3A State Tournament

Yeterday i went to the "E" Center to watch the 3A state boys basketball tournament. The "E" center is a great venue. It is conveniently located near downtown, the tournament was exciting, and i really enjoyed the atmosphere

Laws

Describe a situation in which you thought personal or public expression went too far and should be curbed?

• In 1978, Nazi's tried to march in a town in Illinois called Skokie. This town is predominantly Jewish and had many holocaust survivors, but the Nazi's claimed they had a right to express themselves. This issue was brought before the court, and eventually the rally was held in a park in Chicago. This is clearly a case where public expression went too far. This march was clearly meant to provoke the residents of Skokie. Skokie wasnt even close to the NSPA's headquarters in Chicago.
  

How might you remedy this situation?

• I would go about it the same way that the residents in Skokie did. It was taken to the court and eventually not allowed. The United States has a system set up for these kind of situations to be taken care of. Of course the system isnt perfect, but it is the closest thing we have.
  

PR

Are public relations activities like image consulting ethical? Explain.

• Yes i believe so. I think it is ethical to a certain point. I think that it is ethical when the image consultant is helping someone eliminate negative perceptions by showing them the truth about that person, i think it becomes unethical when the consultant lies, or when the famous person does good things just for his image.

Showman P. T. Barnum epitomized 19th-century press agentry with exaggerated claims such as those about Tom Thumb and Jenny Lind. Do such promotional methods exist today? Are there examples?

• Yes they do. Companies exaggerate the truth all the time to create a positive perception of their company. It is a common practice to stretch the truth in a way that will benefit your company. One way this is practiced today is through euphemisms. Companies take a bad situations, and rename it so that it sounds better, or even some times benefits them.
  

Advertising

Is advertising effective? Why? List some examples of where it did and did not influence one of your buying decision.

• Yes advertising is effective, because it promotes a competitive market, and makes consumers more informed. Advertising, allows for the public to make better purchasing decisions.
  
• Advertising influenced my purchasing decision regarding fitness water. I used to buy Vitamin Water, untill i saw the commercial below. Since this commercial i have not bought one Vitamin Water, only Propel.
• Advertising did not influence my decision recently when i bought a car. I researched on my own, test drove many different kinds of cars, and ultimately bought the one i liked the most.
  

Examples of Good and Bad Ads:

Good Ads:

http://www.propelfitnesswater.com/commercials/

This ad is extremely effective because of Propel's target audience. Their product appeals to active younger people who care about their weight and working out. Propel understands that their target audience cares about calories, so they took their biggest competitor Vitamin Water, and showed why they were better

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=ikea+lamp&hl=en&emb=0&aq=0&oq=ikea+lam#

This ad is effective because it is visually interesting, it grabs and keeps attention, and it solves a common misconception that many potential Ikea customers have.



Bad Ads:



















This ad is bad (above) because it is too violent. It makes associations in people's minds that I dont think Louis Vuitton wants. I don't think they want people to associate their shoes with violence towards females.


This ad (below) is bad because it shows a negative female stereotype. In this ad, the male is portrayed as the classic dominant one. The female is the sexy submissive one. Then there are 4 other guys just standing around watching.

Television

What did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about television? What does television provide you?

• I learned that I waste a lot of time watching shows i dont even like. I think i could save a lot of time, only watching shows that i enjoy, and not just turning it on random stations.
  
• I learned that TV has a lot bigger role in my life than i previously thought. I learned that there really is something for everyone on tv. Just with a basic cable hookup, i could watch so many different channels.
  
• Television provides me with an escape. I dont like watching the news. I dont like being reminded of the bad things in the world when i watch tv. I watch so that i can escape reality and give my brain a rest. TV also provieds me with pure entertainment. I watch it so that i can be entertained while putting forth a minimal effort.
  

Critiques argue that in trying to “offend no one,” the networks tend to offer TV programs that appeal to the “lowest common-denominator.” Do you agree? Can you name programs that are definitely for the LCD? Can you think of any network (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW) programs that defy the LCD label? Explain.

• I agree whole-heartedly, and i dont blame the networks for this. They are trying to make money, and appeal to as many people as they possibly can. The majority of people who watch TV regularly are less-educated than the average american, therefore many tv shows are geared towards this large audience.
  
• One example of this is: Paris Hilton's BFF. This show is ridiculous (Sorry to anyone who watchs this) The premise of this show is to find a new Best Friend Forever (BFF) for Paris HIlton. On this show, girls (and some affeminate men) compete in front of Paris to be her best friend. This show is popular and definitely appeals to the LCD
• An example of a tv show that defied this label was Arrested Development. This tv show is one of the funniest ever. But the humor was mostly sophisticated, leading to a quick cancellation of this show. The lowest common denominator couldnt understand this humor, and the show was dropped.

Many people would say that television has had a greater impact on society than any other form of media. Do you agree? Why or why not?

• I agree. I think this is in the process of changing to the internet, but right now i beleive it to be true. So much of who i am has been influenced by television. How i speak, dress, and look at life is influenced by the tv. The statistics alone show us this great impact. 99% of households in America own a tv. 66% have 3 or more. Household of three or more people watch an average of 60 hours a week. These stats show the effect TV has on our society. It is a part of everyone's lives.
  

Movies

Why is the amount of sex and violence increasing in motion pictures? Is this a case of Hollywood giving society what they want or is it simply society’s acceptance of what we are given?

• As in most cases, I think it is a little of both. Obviously if society didnt want sex and violence, then Hollywood would not make any money selling it. So yes, Hollywood is giving society what they want, but also because of Hollywood, we are becoming more and more immuned to sex and violence. They keep pushing the envelope, and seeing what we will accept, and what we will not.
  
• Example: the TV show Grey's Anatomy is an extremely popular tv show, especially among women. I dont watch it, but my mom was complaining a couple months ago about a new relationship on the show, involving two women. She asked me if i thought she was being irrational in being bugged by it. I told her yes, and that was it. Last week we were talking about it again, and my mom told me that apparently she wasnt the only one who cared, becasue they eliminated that relationship from the show, and killed off one of the women participating in this relationship. This shows that society is still moral enough to take stands, and not accept everything that hollywood throws at them.
  

If you were a movie producer, what would you do to make a box office hit in 2008?

• I would make a movie where people could relate with the character. A Forest Gump type of movie where the character is developed, and realistic. I would make the movie about success, a positive story. In these hard times, i would make a story that gave people hope, like life is beautiful. I think this is what people are striving for in this dificult world
  

Journal Entry #6

Why are Metropolitan Newspapers shutting down?

The newspaper business has evolved immensely in the last couple of years.  More people are reading the newspaper than ever before, but in a different manner then they used to. They are reading online newspapers, and those companies that failed to integrate this new development into their companies failed.  Newspaper as we know it, is changing, and if the newspapers fail to evolve too, they will suffer. 

 

Community Papers:

Community newspapers are booming, while the rest of the newspaper business is faltering.  This is due to the fact that community newspapers are a part of the culture, there is no other way to get the specific news that people want about where they live.  The people talked about in the community papers are people that everyone knows, and the news that is written about affects the readers directly. Nothing can replace this.

 

What is the balance between hard and soft news?

The front page is all hard news.  Stories that don’t involve opinions, stories that strictly tell the reader what is happening.  Once you get into the back pages, and the opinion section, is when comes the soft news.  Feature stories, human interest stories, editorials, and letters to the editor are all soft news stories, and have their place in the newspaper. 

 

What kinds of topics are being covered?

Right now, the main topic being covered is politics.  It is an election year, and this is what everyone cares about.  Another big topic is the economic crisis that our country is in right now.  These are the two biggest topics being covered right now. 

 

Are newspapers still the “watchdogs” they used to be?

Yes they are, they are also known as the “4^th estate”.  Newspapers keep an eye on the other three institutions of the government.  They regulate what goes on, and expose any corruption.  An example of this is Watergate, where two reporters from The Washington Post uncovered the fraud that Nixon and his cabinet were committing.  This is still going on these days.  Newspapers bring corruption to the public eye, making an example of those wrongdoers and hopefully preventing others by giving them the fear that they will be exposed.