Advertisment

After reading the advertising chapter, it is amazing to see that advertisement is virtually everywhere. Living in new York city it is so easy to pass an advertisement because it is everywhere. it's on buses, inside subway cars, newspapers, websites the list goes on. When I Decided to take notice of the ads, it was almost overwhelming. 

Although I must acknowledge the fact that  advertisement does influence the public, I can't seem to grasp the amount of influence it has had on me.  I have taken advertisement more as a form of entertainment more than anything else.Instead of yearning for the product in the ad on the subway, I would be staring at the photography admiringly.

Yet advertisement itself has transcended itself from just selling to also entertaining. It has become quite common to remember products or companies through their advertisings. They have taken on a less aggressive role but at the same time more effectively persuasive. Very cleverly, advertisors have offered their products and integrated it with popular culture that consumers would want to associate themselves with.

Website Essay

Essay on Freepress.net

In society today, it has become quite common to see dominance in different media categories. It is all too common for a single message to be sent through multiple portals that was rooted from one source.  It is imperative to resolve the issues in media ownership so that it allows for a more diverse flow of information and opinion onto the mass consumers in our society. Organizations such as Free Press work to correct issues such as these that are found in concentrated media ownership.

I chose to write my essay on freepress.net because the organization was simple and straightforward with its agenda and goal. Their introductory statement on their home page states: “ Free Press is a national, non partisan, non profit organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, we promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications”. As I roamed through their informative website, it was evident that they were committed to doing just that.

The Free Press organization was founded by media scholars Robert W. McChesney and Josh Silver and launched in 2002. As media scholars, they felt the need to create an organization that worked to demand media reform by establishing better media policies than the ones that have been spoon fed to mass consumers. The organization is working to create a movement that will make media reform a political issue. The organization believes today’s media doesn’t truly serve the public interest rather a more bias reporting therefore it hinders the true democratic ideals of American society and leaves uninformed citizens.

One of the interesting aspects on this website was their “Get Involved” tab. Here in this tab, they have listed important information for their readers. Current campaigns, downloadable guides and tools that work to recruit the community, event listings of interests, an organizational directory of people looking to reform media in a certain locality and information on a national conference for media reform are all included.  One campaign that was being promoted was for net neutrality and the other for the strengthening of community journalism. Free Press does a great job to provide the tools, opportunity and place to use these same tools so that their goal to reform media is reached in all areas of the nation. They accommodate participants well and it is very impressive how organized they are to carry out this project nationwide.

One of the admiring qualities of the Free Press website was that it was reaching out to all kinds of readers as they got their message for media reform across. The website itself was very user friendly, organized and informative. As someone who is new to this movement and subject, I was able to easily follow along and instantly be familiarized with the issues at hand. Not only was I following along but I also felt inspired to partake in the campaigns and discussions. The organization does such a great job in following the news that they keep the websites constantly updated.

Free Press addresses problems across a broad range of media topics that they hope to reform. Topics such as the Internet, media ownership, journalism, public media, cable, FCC policies and others have been blogged about, discussed, debated, and made into an article for the intellectual stimulation of its readers. The common demand between all the topics that the organization has mentioned is the access to open media so that it allows for a more diversified environment and society. This in turn serves the Democratic process because it leaves citizens informed and lends the ability towards informed decision making and participation. The organization also demands public policies that will protect and support small noncommercial media so that a public access system can truly serve a community.

 In conclusion, after researching the Free Press website and spending time to learn about its goals and agenda, I have developed a deep appreciation for the work that this organization does towards the cause for media reform. This organization is so set on educating the public and encourages communities to be more independent. The website does a fantastic job to keep members in the loop of events and information that relate to the movement on a communal level as well as tightening it onto a national level. It is very simple to stay connected to the movement as they have contact information virtually on every page of their website as well as a fully comprised directory of organizations in the neighborhood. 

Blog on Media Economics

After reading this chapter on media economics, it is alarming to me how concentrated media ownership is. Major media conglomerates essentially dominates important aspects of mass communication. This is significant because they have so much to do with public opinion and thought. Media ownership is a big responsibility and should be more diverse in it's ownership so it allows for more diverse thought, travel of information, and diversity in American culture.

Concentration of media ownership also restricts what becomes readily available to the public. If major media companies such as Disney and Time Warner constantly compete in different media markets (film, television, radio etc) they essentially dominate the market and make it very difficult for outside companies that are smaller to compete. Therefore, the message that is being massively viewed is coming from very few sources.

Also, there is the issue of media bias among concentrated media ownership. This is when conglomerates send out their "version" of a story or report. For instance, Fox news by News Corp owned by Rupert Murdoch is conservative news reporting. Therefore, they will more likely report on news that will favor Republicans and will have tried to show Democrats in a more negative light. This leads to more misinformed audiences.

IN this video, Jon Stewart on the set of Fox News, calls out the bias of  Fox New's .
This video was interesting as it relates to this chapter and a conversation as well as a back and forth argument ensues.

Blog on Internet

I was really glad to see that the textbook had a piece called "China's Great Firewall". This article was on how China tightly controls the flow of information across country. This is something I believed wasn't talked or discussed about enough and here it was in a college textbook. Being a Tibetan, I was quite furious during 2008 when China refused to let any information into and out of Tibet. Meanwhile, the CCP (Chinese Communist Government) was handing out atrocious punishments to Tibetans who rose publicly for their own human rights behind closed doors.

Internet was definitely a valuable tool for protestors during that time and the Chinese government knew that and virtually had it shut down. All networking websites were shut down for some time making it impossible for people inside Tibet to communicate with family members or friends outside the country (as well as phone lines). Only through smuggled photographs and traveling word were people outside the country able to know what was going on. Overseas, Tibetans in exile compiled a list to account for the deaths. There has also been graphic photographs that have enraged the public.

Meanwhile, outside of Tibet, Tibetan organizations were working to lobby their host governments, pressuring the International Olympic Committee, sending pleas to the United Nation and creating a great amount of public awareness. During this time, these board members of the various organizations had their email accounts and websites hacked. They also encountered a number of viruses in their emails. It was no coincidence. They were being cyber attacked by an organization that opposed the Tibetan movement.

It's interesting how Internet has become a primary tool for the flow of information. We depend on it on a daily basis to be in touch with the outside world. People use it for their own benefit or to falter opposing members. Certainly, to goverment it has great intimidation. It's the fact that everyone uses the internet and there are so many diverse opinions and movements.

Chapter 16 Legal Controls and Freedoms of Expression

After reading this chapter, I have realized how much of a government's operating system affects media and how it reaches its people. For the most part, after years of revision, freedom of speech and expression is relatively free in the United States. Sure, there may be some loose ends but at least we are protected by a legal document that safe guards our rights.  The United States Constitution.

However, in a country like China where the government is highly bureaucratic and single partied, the media does not protect individual rights. As a Tibetan, I have been been keen to keep up with China's wrong doings. Not only with Tibetan issues but with their overall human rights violations that have directly affected a whole range of people. And to cover up their wrongdoings their main weapon that they have continually used and abused was their state-controlled media, the CCTV.

I have had the pleasure to visit Tibet during 2007. I had the great opportunity to see my home land. The homes of my grandmother and grandfather. Instead of listening to my grandmother talk about a stream where she used to play  i got to see the stream. I got to step in the stream and feel the water. Just as she did when she was a little girl. This was significant because i realize that not many Tibetans who have been born into exile will ever get the opportunity to set their eyes on Tibet. Tibetans have been continually denied entry into their home land by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). While there, in a little internet cafe, i googled "Chinese Invasion of Tibet". And all i got there were tourism and vacation sites for Tibet. There was not a single page that mentioned any of China's past actions or anything that supported Tibetan struggle. And so, i googled "Tiananmen Square Massacre" and i got the same results. All that resulted were tourism sites for Tiananmen Square. This was how they erased history and moved on. The people in China won't be able to participate in a discussion that opposed the county. They are so heavily censored that it's almost impossible to get a message across let alone a movement.

In another example, during the 2008 crackdown of Tibetans (This was during the Beijing Olympics).  Tibetan monks rose to their feet and publicly demanded a Free Tibet, for the return of the Dalai Lama and for Human Rights. They were met with military response. China kicked reporters out of the country and publicly reported on how Tibetans were violently rioting throughout the country. After much public pressure and the fear that they may lose their olympic bid, China finally allowed for an escorted media tour. In the mean time, social networks like Twitter and Facebook and youtube were shut down.

During this one incident while on the media tour,  Tibetan monks take the opportunity to tell foreign journalists and the world what was really going on behind China's "closed doors".

Chapter One

After reading Chapter one and listening to class discussions, i found it interesting how we are so hooked on media. Though after careful thinking, i realized how easy it was to stay hooked. People have adapted to new technology and it has become central to their lives. On any typical day, people come home after work or after school and immediately turn on their computers-check their social network updates at the same time they turn on the local news TV  while reading emails from their phone (for example). It could be that people enjoy virtual communication and connection more than the actual face to face time with their friends. I thought it funny how Apple coined the term"face time". Yesterday my coworker loudly exclaimed "YOU WANT FACE TIME? FORGET THE IPHONE. HERE'S SOME FACE TIME" while making an invisible circle around his face.

Perhaps the widespread availability and instant access of new technology contributes to our day to day dependency. It's everywhere. It's on your phone, on your tv and it's all over Times Square. This is our society at it's technological finest. My younger brother, age 10 (just turned), has more digital tricks up his sleeve than i do. It's a statement. It's foreshadowing the type of generation to come. His generation is brought up on this. A phone that has youtube, bbc radio news, facebook, farmville and facetime is not something new to him. It's "comforting". It hits close to home for him. Whereas my grandparents are simply startled and intimidated at this type of technology. 

The age of technological convergence rethinks every piece of technology that ever existed. It rethinks also, the way in which news or entertainment is brought forth to the public. We as consumers have become masters at handling new media. We have become more involved in the whole process. We have choices in the way we consume media. While ideas from company is being brought to us, we-as consumers-have also learned to use the same media technology to participate in the whole discussion. It's just interesting how technology has remodeled itself completely.