Class Highlights

I'm not lying when I say that I learned a lot in this class. I am a journalism major, so learning all the different things that go on with media was super interesting to me.

The first "Aha!" moment that I had was when we learned about product placement. When watching movies...and I watch a lot of movies...I never really paid attention to the amount of products that are featured in films. Now, I watch a movie and almost everything that is a product catches my eye. I didnt realize there was so much of it in movies.

Next, I really enjoyed learning about Public Relations. I have never really considered the career of Public Relations, but after reading chapter 12 which was all about it, I was very interested in the job. I feel like it might be something that I want to pursue someday...maybe after being a journalist I can switch over.

One more "Aha!" moment that I had this quarter was when we were learning about advertising. I found it really interesting to learn about all the different categories of techniques that advertisments use in order to catch the eye of the viewer. I watch tv now, and when I see a commercial some of the techniques stick out to me.

Overall, this quarter was really interesting and I think all of the things that I learned will be helpful in my career.

Media Ethics/Media Law

I found a story about a police officer from Ontario, California who is going to court for "employee privacy rights in the workplace." This officer, Quon, was given a company cell phone and a limit for how many "work related" text messages he can send per month. Apparantly, this officer didnt follow the rules and used his phone for personal use..mainly to sent racy text messages to his wife, his girlfriend, and another officer. The boss was getting tired of the excessive charges that Quon was costing him, so he checked the text transcripts. What he found were the private text messages that Quon sent. Quon decided to sue to phone company and the city for an invasion of privacy. Here is more of detail of the story :)

Propaganda in Advertising/PR

This ad is a perfect example of the propaganda techniques.
One of the techniques used is "Beautiful People." This is Isaiah Mustafa and, lets be honest, he is quite attractive. Women are already interested in watching this commercial because there is a good looking man talking, and he is shirtless....and in a towel. He starts off by talking about how your man could be more like him if he uses this body wash, and the women are now interested in having their men be like him.
Euphoria is also used in this advertisement because Isaiah shows all the things that could be yours, if only your man used Old Spice body wash. He is on a boat, he's holding "two tickets to that thing you love," and then he's holding diamonds. Those three things are super appealing to the average American.

I absolutely love this commercial because it is so different from other commercials, it is super entertaining, and sticks in my mind. If I were a man I would probably start using Old Spice, not because I want to smell like him, but because the commercial really caught my eye.

Internet

I use the internet for shopping all the time. I find it super convenient to be able to sit at home and avoid lines and crowds of people at malls. I know my size in clothing so it is easy for me to order what I want from all stores, and if by chance I don't like it by the time it gets to my house, I can simply send it back and exchange it or get my money back. Online shopping is great. However, there is a chance that you can get carried away with online shopping.
I have a friend that is addicted to buying things from Amazon. She rushes home from school everyday to be home when the UPS or FedEx guys arrives so that she can sign for her package. Half of the time she doesn't even remember what she ordered until she opens the package. Her dad had let her use his debit card to buy something one time, and the card information remained on the site because Amazon does that for easier checkout. She figured out that she could just log on and buy without having to ask again for her dads information. This became a problem and when he got his card information in the mail, it showed that she had spent well over $350 on Amazon in one month. She is still paying him off, but I know that she is trying to cut back on the spending.
Its very simple to get carried away wen it comes to online shopping because its easy to just open up the internet and buy. If you're careful, it's a blessing, but if you're not, online shopping can be dangerous.

Television

Length: 2:06
Description: This video shows the excessive amount of violence that is in television shows, and the astonoshing part is that the violence is mostly in children's shows/cartoons.
Chapter 1: Media Contraversies Chapter 9: Television "Perpetuating Violence"
Quiz Question: Has media violence been shown to have a greater impact on men or women?
Answer: Men

Movies

I am a huge movie fan. I love to watch movies...all different kinds. The year 2010 was not the best year for movies in my opinion. I ended up going to the theaters a lot to see a bunch of different movies; however, there werent many that stood out. When trying to decide what my favorite movie this year was, three come to mind. I love funny movies, and I thought that Due Date was great. I am also a sucker for anything that has to do with sex and the city, so Sex and the City 2 would be another one that tops my list. But the one that takes the cake would have to be Toy Story 3.
I have always been a fan of the Toy Story movies and it seems to me that each new one that come out gets better and better. This particular one touched on all the emotions and I feel like if a movie can do that, then they are able to reach out to all different kinds of viewers and please everyone. I saw this movie the day that it was released in 3D at the theaters, and although I am not a huge fan of 3D movies, I was very pleased with this one. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/toy_story_3/
Trying to come up with my all time favorite movie is super hard. There are so many that I like, such as, Pretty Woman, Sex and the City 1 & 2, Bad Boys 2, but there is one in particular that stand out from the crowd. Remember the Titans is a movie that I can watch over and over and over again and never get sick of it. This is one of the only movies where the football seems real and is based off of a real story. This movie never fails to make me sad, happy, and entertained.  http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/remember_the_titans/

Magazine Proposal

To whom it may concern,

I have an idea for a new magazine. Every team in the NFL has many faithful fans that would enjoy to hear all the news about their teams. This magazine would be made twice a year, and each team would have their own magazine created. Being that I am a niner fan, I chose to make the 49er prototype.
This magazine would be different from other magazines because it would be about one team only and would have many different articles about the entire 49er foundation, not just the players. It is a magazine that would have 32 different versions released at once, on for each team in the NFL.
This magazine would be for all ages. The articles would be designed to make sense to all readers. There wouldnt be too much "football talk" so that even those who dont know every detail about football would be able to understand. But it would also target the football fanatics because the articles would be about what the fans want to know. This is the perfect magazine for the "Die-Hard 49er Fan."
Most sports magazines talk about all the different teams, but this one would be only about the 49ers. The readers would be able to find out how events happening in the NFL would affect this individual foundation.
As far as advertisers go, GMC would be our biggest advertiser. GMC is a sponsor of the 49er foundation so they would have most of the advertisements in the magazine. Nike would also be an advertiser because they sell cleats and sports clothing. Under Armour would be another advertiser because that is what the players wear, so Under Armour could get 49er players to model their products. Beer companies, like Budweiser, would also be an advertiser because beer goes with football like peanut butter and jelly. Our last advertiser would be Doritos. Chips go along with football as well so they would definitely be interested in advertising in our magazine.
Five articles that would be included in the premier edition would be:
1. Our New Man - Jim Harbaugh joins the 49er organization
2. Destination Santa Clara
3. Lockout: Friend or Foe?
4. How to get season tickets
5. 49er Alumni - Where are they now?
The cover of this magazine would be a picture of Jim Harbaugh. Right now, he is the biggest thing to be happening to the organization and I believe that niner fans are really interested in learning more about him. The other articles would be listed on the cover so that they buyer can learn what is going to be on the inside before they purchase the magazine. If we make the articles appealing enough, many niner fans would be interested in reading the articles. The cover wouldnt be too flashy because football isnt a glamorous sport. We just want to get our information across in a clear and concise way.
I hope you enjoy the idea for NinerNation. And remember, each team would have their own magazine completely dedicated to their team.

Thank you for your time.

Books

I’m going to start off by saying that I don’t read books very often, so when I do read one, I try to pick one that I have heard about from someone else, or one where I am familiar with the author. There are three books that I have read however, that I had connected with and thoroughly enjoyed reading.

The first one is The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. This book really embraces the power that women and girls have and how they have the strength to make it through extremely difficult situations. The relationships that develop between the main characters are so strong and precious and even though they aren’t technically mother and daughter, they begin to think of themselves that way. The relationships in the book remind me of the relationship that I have with my mother and I can connect to it because of the fact that I didn’t have a supportive father around like Lily in the book. This is one book that I can read over and over again and not get sick of it.

 

The second book is The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks. First off, I want to say that I am a huge Nicholas Sparks fan; I have yet to find a book by him that I don’t like. This book however, stood out to me more than the other ones. The Lucky One is a story about true love and fate. I am a firm believer in fate and the fact that everything happens for a reason. This story was all about fate and how if it is meant to be, it will happen. It is a beautiful love story, and let’s just put it out there, I am a sucker for a good love story. This book is one that I would recommend to anyone, and it is being made into a movie in 2012…I cannot wait for it to come out!

The last book that I can say has really had an impact on me is The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler. There is a time in almost every teenage girl’s life where she begins to feel extremely self conscious and like the world is out to get her. I know I went through that phase, and while I’m out of it now, I really connected with this book because I felt very similar to the girl in the story. Throughout the story, the main character, Virginia, realizes that she must accept herself as she is and recognize that she is beautiful in her own way. I recommend that all teenage girls read this book because while it is funny and goofy, it is also very empowering.

Media Impact

On April 20, 1999, two boys headed to Columbine High School fully prepared to kill as many students and teachers as they possibly could. After many months of researching and planning how they would pull this off, the two boys acted out. Although everything didn't happen exactly as planned, the boys managed to pull of one of the most well known massacres in history, one that still haunts people today. The boys committed suicide after killing 13 people, so their motives behind this atrocious attack are not known for sure. One factor of the boys' lives that raises eyebrows is that fact that they enjoyed playing violent video games such as Doom, and watching violent movies such as Natural Born Killers. These have been thought to be some sort of motivation for the boys in what they did, or as some look at it, influenced them to be violent. And although this cannot be proven for sure, it would make sense that violence in media had some sort of influence on this attack. To read more about what happened that day, go to http://history1900s.about.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/a/columbine.htm

Media Autobiography

Being that I am 19 years old, I have grown up surrounded by all the different types of mass media. The first type I was exposed to was television. When I was younger, I spent a good chunk of my time in front of the television watching shows like Barney and Sesame Street.
As I got older my preference of shows began to change drastically. Nickelodeon was the channel I watched to most. Shows like Rocket Power, Rocko's Modern Life, and Rugrats were my favorites. As I continued to get older, my preferences continued to change. Nowadays sports are a huge part of my life so ESPN, ESPN2, and CSN top the list of channels that I watch; however, I am still a girl and LOVE to watch shows like Sex and the City and How I Met Your Mother. As you can tell, I enjoy a mix of different shows, and like when I was younger, I spend quite some time daily with the television on.

As far as books go, I was never much of a reader. I read books every once and a while, ones that I heard were exceptional, but that happened rarely ever. I found myself getting lost in books and losing interest very quickly. I read the books that were assigned for school, or at least I tried to read them (because let’s be honest, most of the time they weren’t the most exciting and entertaining books). I find that there are much more productive things that I can do with my time besides reading. When I do find the time to read though, I read books by Nicholas Sparks, my favorites being The Notebook and The Lucky One.

Newspapers are a different story. All throughout high school I would read the local section and the sports section almost every day. That has changed a little now because my family only gets the newspaper on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. When those days come I find myself reading the local and sports sections just like I used to. On the other days, I rely on the internet for my daily information.

I find myself connecting to the internet countless times throughout the day. I have internet on my phone as well as my computer, (duh! Who doesn’t?), and besides checking my email, my most visited site is ESPN. I love checking the site for breaking news and new transactions with different players and teams. I would feel disconnected from the world if I could not find out new things that are happening in the sports world.

Because of the fact that I don’t like reading books too much, I read magazines instead. I currently subscribe to cosmopolitan and ESPN the mag. I know that these are two completely different magazines, but that is why I enjoy getting both of them each month. ESPN satisfies the sports side of my life, while Cosmo satisfies my girly side.

            When it comes to movies, I consider myself somewhat of an expert. I absolutely love watching movies. I spend so much money seeing movies in theaters simply because I cannot wait for the movie to come to DVD. When I see a movie I may be interested in, I need to see it ASAP. I don’t think that I have a favorite genre or anything like that, but my two favorite movies of all time are Sex and the City and Remember the Titans. Once again, extremely different, but it just shows my two sides.

            Radio is something that I listen to every day. Being that I drive my car every day, the radio is always on; however, each time I listen to the radio, I find myself becoming more and more annoyed with it. I get sick of hearing the same songs over and over again and on top of that all the talking and advertisements makes it less appealing. The plus side of the radio is that I can be introduced to new songs and artists.

            I love music. My iPod is with me at all times of the day, so if I ever get a break I can just listen to music. I honestly listen to all different types of music and love discovering new artists and songs.

            So this is my media autobiography. Yes, it got a little long, but there was a lot I needed to say. Media is a huge part of my life. It always has been and it will continue to be. While pursuing a career in journalism in hopes of becoming a sports writer, media will become more important that it ever has been before.