Another Response to Lecture 8- Movies
I liked learning about movies because the movie theatre is a common hangout for my friends and me. Yes, you can get movies on the internet, TV, DVDs, etc., but yet people still go to the movies regularly. I never thought anything of it until this lecture. I never really knew why I enjoyed the movies so much when there are so many other convenient ways to watch them. I realized it is to hang out with friends. If my friends and I want to get out one night, our ideal choice is a movie theatre. Also, it is a break from the outside world. Since the main goal of a movie theatre is to watch the movie, there are no interruptions with schoolwork or nagging parents. Movie theaters are a break from all responsibility which I know I cannot speak for everyone, but I enjoy that a lot sometimes. I love going to the movies, but I never realized why until this lecture.

In Response to Lecture 7: Radios
I liked learning about radios, because they are so relevant to my life. Even though they have decreased in popularity, radios are still regularly used. I do not know personally anyone who doesn't listen to the radio in the car. Also when people are on the road and cannot be home to keep up with a sports game, they can listen to it. It was interesting seeing how it grew into something so common in every car. You can also get the radio on TVs, smart phone apps, and computers. Even though the use has declined, the way they are used and different innovations of radios are evolving.

In Response to Lecture 8: Movies

The main thing that caught my eye while learning about movies was the first subject we discussed, which was who invented moving pictures. Thomas Edison tried to take credit for inventing moving pictures, but it was actually one of his workers, William Dixon. I thought for a while about situations where people have tried to take credit for certain things, or  tried taken the credit off of them for different situations. I first thought about how students copy other student's homework, schoolwork, etc. This is a form of taking credit for something that isn't yours. Sometimes people explain an exact story in first person that someone else told them, but act like it is theirs. When we don't list sources on projects we are taking credit for other people's information.
I also thought about ways we try to not be credited. My favorite show is Criminal Minds. I love how sometimes the criminal tries to frame someone else for their wrong doings. So they do not get in trouble with the FBI, they try to make it look like an innocent person did their dirty deeds. However, the FBI usually is smarter than that and gets down to the bottom of the lies.
The lecture made me think about how people try to take responsibility and credit for positive actions, and the opposite for negative. It made me dig deep into my life and how innovative I've been. Have I always been responsible for MY own actions? Have I tried to take the ideas of others or act like others?

In Response to Maya's "Three Types of Communication" Blog Entry

What I found most interesting about Maya's entry was the fact that she used FaceTime and Skype as examples of mass communication. They seem like such direct forms of communication it is weird to fathom that they are forms of mass communication. After I considered the fact that it was because you aren't physically present and the information travels through time and space, it made a lot more sense. Thanks Maya!

In Response to Piper's "Magazine" Blog Entry 

In Piper's post she talked about how interesting it was that the magazines motivated people to read. I also found this fascinating, but never really thought of it in modern day circumstances like she did. I never realized how much we actually talk about what we've read. Novels become well known from conversations and ratings that it makes you want to read them as well. They become so popular they are made into movies! Thank you for that new outlook Piper!

Media Critique

In the Rolling Stone last November, a journalist named Sabrina Rubin Erdely covered a news story describing a gang rape by a fraternity at the University Of Virginia. The article contained detailed descriptions of the rape from the victim, yet she refused to answer specific questions of the encounter. This one article had a major impact on the university. All fraternities were investigated and put on suspension because of the incident. The article drew a lot of attention to other rape stories and rape awareness at the university. 

In December of the same year, the Washington post released an article on the same incident with a totally different turnout. After the victim refused to talk to the reporters, they interviewed witnesses of the encounter and talked to the fraternities. The Washington Post had enough evidence to prove the victim did not get gang raped at a fraternity party. 

The Rolling Stone article is an example bad journalism. The only material Erdely had for her report was what the victim had told her. This is bad journalism because the article was one-sided, failing to look at the bigger picture and investigate other areas of the event. You never heard from the fraternity's perspective of what happened, and there was no specific evidence the incident as well. Her story was proven invalid by the Washington Post, consisting of a group of journalists that dug deeper into the story and found evidence against Erdely's claim. 

People rely on journalism to report truthful news. The University Of Virginia trusted the Rolling Stone article and applied it to their campus. After all the trouble, the article ended up being proven invalid by the Washington Post. Bad journalism doesn't just effect how people view an event, but it also effects lives as well. Innocent fraternities were suspended. The University Of Virginia was given a bad reputation. Erdely should have known she had to back up her claim before publishing the report. 

It is important to report a story from an unbiased standpoint, and to have various sources from different perspectives that back up your claim. An event that was misinterpreted caused chaos. It cast on future victims of rape. Prosecutors may be less likely to pursue these cases because of previous false allegations such as this. Not only has the Rolling Stone's false report effected the lives of people at the university, but future rape victims and reports as well. 

Mass Communication

I am considering many future jobs, some of which are forms of mass communication. Mass Communication uses technology to reach a mass audience through time and distance, without the communicator having to be physically present. Any one has access to mass communicated information. I am considering a sports broadcaster as a future profession. I would be presented on live television, and anyone around the world could tune in to watch my broadcast. That is a form of mass communication. Also, I would not be getting immediate feedback from my viewers because I wouldn't be directly broadcasting to a specific group or audience. I am also considering a profession of writing for the  Rolling Stone. The Rolling Stone is a very famous music magazine. If I wrote for the Rolling Stone, I would not have to be present in order to communicate my columns to people.  My writing could be accessed in printed magazine form or on the internet by anyone at any time. Copies of the magazine travel over a distance, and the website would be accessed on any computer. Those are just two examples of jobs I am considering as a future profession, and two of many that have to do with mass communication.