Blog Assignment 7: Electronic News

  On several different news websites, I read about Sarah Palin’s East Coast bus tour, a story that is currently in the news. Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and vice presidential candidate in the 2008 presidential election, announced she’ll embark on a bus tour of the East Coast. This gave rise to speculations about her running as a presidential candidate in the 2012 election.

 

  I found three different news websites that cover this story, from a conservative, liberal and creeping liberal bias. All three were published on May 28, 2011. The story is a political issue that makes it difficult for reporters to hide pro- or anti-Republican views.

 

  The Wall Street Journal’s “Palin Sets Tour With Stop in New Hampshire,” by Jonathan Weisman, covers the story from a slightly conservative bias. The point of view is rather pro-Republican. Weisman counters poll results that found 41% view Sarah Palin very negatively with: “Ms. Palin still places in the top tier when GOP voters are asked their choice for president.” He chooses to include only quotes by Republicans such as that of Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant who said: “we welcome everyone into the race and look forward to voters comparing the candidates’ records.” What makes Weisman’s pro-Republican views clear to me, however, is his statement: “Ms. Palin’s revived public presence could reshape the battle for the support of social conservatives and tea party-affiliated Republicans.”  His word choice hints that he is hopeful that conservative Sarah Palin will run in 2012.

 

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303654804576347560903745364.html

 

  In contrast to this, The Daily Mail’s “Sarah Palin and family land in Washington to kick off bus tour through the Northeast… deep into the enemy territory she has been avoiding” by an anonymous Daily Mail reporter, covers the story from a liberal bias. The point of view comes off as anti-Republican. The reporter presents the findings of a New Hampshire Republican voters poll which found Palin has the support of just five percent of voters, without immediately countering this with words of hope for Republican Palin supporters. It is also emphasized that the potential conservative presidential candidate is being criticized. Republican Jim Roddey is quoted saying: “[…] I would hope she would not run for president. I don’t think she has the intellectual capacity or depth of knowledge to be president.” Sentences like: “Mrs Palin’s political action committee’s website does not actually specify what day she will roll into New England” indicate that the reporter is poking fun at the Republican candidate’s potential campaign.  

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392007/Sarah-Palins-poised-visit-New-England-area-keeps-avoiding.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

 

  Finally, The Salt Lake City Tribune’s “Palin announces East Coast bus tour,” by Michael D. Shear, covers the story using a creeping liberal bias. Shear manages to present the story rather objectively but his choice of words and facts subtly indicates his liberal bias. He emphasizes that Palin’s East Coast bus tour is evidence she is “seriously considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination.” The word “seriously” implies that he is not taking the Republican seriously as a potential candidate. Moreover, he chooses to highlight the fact that “the field of Republicans who are vying to challenge President Barack Obama has dwindled in recent weeks” which is a triumph for liberal voters.

 

 

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home2/51905170-183/palin-tour-bus-presidential.html.csp

Blog Assignment 6: Television

 I searched for - and found - a YouTube video that helps explain a topic mentioned in Mass Media In a Changing World, by George Rodman. 

It is a commoncraft video called: “World Wide Web in Plain English”

1.      URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZoMbBzqxyc&feature=related  

2.      Length: 3:10

3.     Description: A brief explanation of how viewing internet websites through the World Wide Web works.

4.     Chapter(s): Chapter 10: The Internet

5.     Quiz Question: What makes it possible for the information on the internet to be translated from packets of code into the words and images we see when we access a website?

6.     Answer: Web browsers. 

Blog Assignment 5: Movies or Recordings

I interviewed my dad, Christian Kaiser, about recordings. He was born in 1964 and is now in his late forties.  

1. What were some of your music-listening habits as a teenager?

I used to listen to music on my record player every afternoon, while I was doing my homework. I also listened to tapes I created myself. The tapes contained music either recorded from radio shows or copied from records my friends owned. I listened only to one radio station, the local Bavarian radio station called Bayern 3. Every Friday at 6 pm, the station played the Top 10 songs. I often recorded these songs because they cost a lot of money to buy on record. 

2. How have your tastes in music changed? 

I still like the same type of music I liked when I was a teenager (new wave and electronic music), but now I also like some of the more recent music genres such as trance and techno. I always liked music with complex rhythms. When I was around eleven years old in the mid 70s, I listened to classical music. I don’t do this anymore. In the late 70s, when I was in my early teens, I started listening to punk, new wave and the German genre NDW which stands for “Neue Deutsche Welle” (New German Wave). In my early twenties, in the mid 80s, I began to like trance music. Today, I listen to techno, trance, ambient house, trip hop and dub music.

 

3. What were some of your favorite artists back then, and which artists do you like listening to now?  

In my early teens, most of my favorite artists came from British bands. I liked the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, The Stranglers, Sex Pistols and Ultra Vox. Later, I liked the NDW bands Fehlfarben, Grauzone, Extrabreit and the Spider Murphy Gang. From my late teens to my mid twenties, I liked some “more mainstream” artists like Prince and U2, as well as trance music artists like Paul Van Dyk, and the bands Dead Can Dance and The Orb. Some of the artists I like to listen to today are Kruder & Dorfmeister, Creed, Underworld and Thievery Corporation.

4. Do you think the music industry has changed? If yes, how did it change? 

Yes, the music industry has absolutely changed. It is so much more diverse now. Back in the 70s, you could get a pretty complete selection of records to fit in an average-sized living room. Not anymore. I also think that today, possibly because artists now make music videos and etc., there is a lot more “popular” music that is made mostly for money-making purposes, rather than for musical expression.

Blog Assignment 4: Magazines

  I have recently founded an imaginary magazine. The name of the magazine is PG Media Magazine. 

  PG (“parental guidance”) Media Magazine is a print magazine that aims to discuss and promote a broad range of current media offerings that are geared towards kids. The newest movies, books, TV shows, video games, recordings, websites and etc. are introduced in the magazine. It also includes articles and news about kids’ favorites, new media research studies, and tips on how to help kids establish a healthy relationship with the media. Overall, the magazine creates a balance between colorful advertisements and informative, textbook-like articles.

  The magazine differs from existing magazines, as there are no (at least none I’m familiar with) magazines that concentrate solely on discussion and promotion of children’s media offerings. 

  The readers of PG Media Magazine are parents (mostly mothers) of five to 12-year old kids. The age-range of readers is great; most readers are between 25 and 55 years old. The consumer magazine aims to appeal to diverse ethnicities. For the most part, readers are middle-class parents interested in parenting methods and different types of media. They generally place a high value on raising their children to become productive, competent and media literate individuals when they grow up. Readers neither do not set any limits on their children’s media usage nor believe that their kids’ media usage should be severely limited regardless of the content.

  Other magazines the readers of PG Media Magazine read include: Parents, Parenting, Toy Tips, Cookie and Mom magazines. 

  Five advertisers that are able to reach readers of PG Media Magazine are: Disney, Nintendo, Scholastic, Apple (Ipod) and Netflix. All advertisements in the magazine promote media-related products. 

  The cover of PG Media Magazine lets readers know that it is a magazine's focus is on children's media. Because it is a magazine for parents, however, it is not meant to be too "flashy." An image that relates to the cover story of the issue spans the front cover. The image is effective and not too "busy" (there aren't too many details, to make written lines stand out and easy to read). The colors of the front cover lines that introduce some of the issues highlights match colors found in the image for a more understated look.  

  Here’s the cover of the premier issue:

  

   I wish all who are interested get an imaginary chance to read it!