What, When and Where? My top ten Media Revelations

1: Thigh-slappingly Funny.


Political Campaigns are a joke. The media control what we see and how we see it when voting comes up. Whether it’s a debate on the news between politicians, a radio ad promoting one or the other, or a newspaper article stating what the politician is for or against; every aspect of how we gain our “knowledge” of the politician we are voting for is completely controlled by the media. (Media Society, pg 244). As Corey stated in her presentation, the presidential debates for 2008 had a secret 31 page signed contract dictating what would be covered in the debates and what was not allowed to be covered. Basically it held a script for the campaigners to act out. Everything is planned ahead and practiced. There is very little actual thought put into what is said and if it goes against what the media owners believe they will censor it from the public. (Censored 2010, pg 88)

2: Plug In And Touch Somebody

The virtual community is becoming more and more real. The cyber connection is growing at an alarming rate and it seems like everyone is hooked into the Web 2.0 world in some sort of fashion now.
The younger generations are so plugged in that there is no differentiation between what is real and what is real on the internet. Companies and communities are relying on a cyber connection for communication more than any other source of media now. Our world is heading rapidly towards a Feed-based world. Much like the way the feed finished Titus’s thoughts when he couldn’t think of the term himself, we reach out and touch our computers when we want to “touch” someone now. (Media Society, pg 305 and Feed, pg 14).

3: Maybe She's Born With It, Maybe It Will Kill Her

Everyday products have toxic chemicals that haven’t been tested in them. Only 5% of chemicals have been tested in the US before being used in products that consumers use on a daily basis.
The media, when they do cover a story related to this, will automatically place the blame and the spotlight on a foreign country like China. However most of the time the media will completely ignore or censor this story. (Censored 2010, pg 27). Instead the media actually pushes these products on us with a pressure to buy. They use advertising with beautiful, famous people. Even with the medical advertisements that the pharmacies are pushing on the public, they make the side effects sound like they aren’t very significant, even in the case of death. Often now the new drug commercials spend more time listing side effects than the actual product itself. And the advertiser does it with a happy tone of voice. And because advertising is the most substantial source of income for the television studios they will happily push the commercials onto the public at a constant pace. (Media Society, pg 64)

4: Hide The Big Boom

The 9/11 bombing story astounded me. I can’t believe that it hasn’t been reported on that there was evidence of explosive devices in the 9/11 attacks.
The number one media covered event in the history of my time, neglects to inform the public about the other part of that event. As Postman mentions in his explanation of the media event after the movie The Day After, the coverage on serious issues does nothing more than promote the media’s agenda. It does not give the entire story or perhaps the entire truth of the story. In the explosives at the 9/11 attacks case, the agenda was promoting the war and the media coverage accomplished that with flying colors!! (Amusing Ourselves To Death, pg 88, Censored 2010, pg 140).


5: Important Fluff


Censored’s reporting on the actual news events that took place during the Hollywood news events that were actually reported on were amazing. The junk food news that was reported, such as Brangelina’s twins and Britany Spears’s sister were very familiar stories, however the news that Censored paired with each story was something I hadn’t actually heard of, such as the Nuclear Power Plant accident in Triscastin, France. Media Society gives a little insight on why these articles weren’t reported on. In the age of profit, the media knows they will have more followers if they report on the more popular themes. As gatekeepers they decide what is popular and what isn’t. To save money they are cutting back on reporters and relying on fewer people covering larger areas. Because of this the actual news that happens might get missed when Brangelina gives birth. (Censored 2010, pg 148. Media Society, pg 62).

6: It's Not Old VS New, It's Old AND New Together

I agreed with different aspects of both Google articles—Is Google Making Us Stupid and Get Smarter— however I find myself leaning more toward Cascio’s thought process. While I disagree with his acceptance of enhancement drugs, I agree that human nature is to survive and adapt any change thrown at us. I have found Google’s technological tools valuable in research and because the information given to me is a brief version of the text book’s wealth of information, I am able to look for different opinions, facts and reported on evidence of the topic researched. Carr believes that the Internet has taken that trivial aspect and applied to our ability to read and reflect critically. Carr’s statement- “Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski.” –sums up Postman’s theory that television has trivialized every topic reported on. (Amusing Ourselves To Death, Chapter 5). I believe that in the new pace of the information age the responsibility to take the time to reflect on the information thrown at me rests solely on my shoulders. Accountability for how you use the vast knowledge you find on the internet is up to you.



7: A Great Solution, Completely Ignored

I believe wholeheartedly The US should adopt Venezuela’s Bottom-up Democracy style. I didn’t know about this style or the conflict America created around it until reading chapter 5 in Censored 2010. The way the policy is explained in the book makes it sound exactly opposite our current form of Democracy where the rich get richer and the poor get forgotten. The cultural and social examples in Feed paint a clear picture of how our democracy is today. Violet’s neighborhood is basically described as the slums, and Violet’s family can’t afford the newer versions of the Feed or expensive trips to alternate planets. Titus’s family on the other hand takes things like this for granted. It I believe adopting this policy would completely reform our country. Instead America funds the anti-Chavez opposition and turns Chavez into a villain.
The American Media reports on the negative side of Chavez and all of the anti Chavez movements. (Censored 201, pgs 210-212, Feed, pgs 112-113.)


8: There Is Nothing "Pretty" About It

One of the most appalling stories in the Censored 2010 book was the sex trafficking chapter. It sickens me that this sort of thing happens and at such high numbers.

I am grateful that this article was written and without the glamour of Pretty Woman thrown in. I couldn’t that victims of sex trafficking cannot receive government aid because of the lack of identification. It has been reported on through research that pimps are withholding their victims’ forms of ID. Aid should not be withheld because of this fact. Without aid being available we are saying that these people aren’t worth our help. And that is exactly what is happening. The information provided in the Media Society chapter entitled: “Some People Are Worth More Than Others”, the media has clearly left certain classes and groups behind and censored. (Censored 2010, chapter 13 and Media Society, pgs 216-224).

9: Control is the new definition of Objectivity

Objectivity in news reporting is amusing. I was surprised at the explanation of a news reporter’s daily routine, defined in the Media Society book as “beat reporting”. The example given about the one reporter covering so many different areas in a single day makes me wonder how many stories that perhaps weren’t quite “newsworthy” were left untold because they simply didn’t have time to cover them all. The explanation on newsworthiness and objectivity resonates with the same core values as Postman, that the news is more than ever before part of the Now…This/Peek A Boo world in the shallowness of the articles covered and the same stories being seen on every paper. The statement that news is considered objective if many different reporters are reporting on the same story and providing the same information is a sad an pathetic attempt to cover up the fact that they control what the public learns about as “news”. The media has shifted the definition of Control into the definition for Objectivity. (Media Society, pgs 126-135 and Amusing Ourselves To Death, pgs 99-113).


10: Why? Who Cares, Just Get 'Em!

I didn’t know what the Palestinian/Israeli conflict was about and after Z and Joe both presented their Censored stories I still didn’t know what it is about. This video explains the conflict’s roots a little bit.

The US has backed Israel since the late 40’s with funding, support and weaponry. As was stated in the Reel Bad Arabs film, America has constantly vilified the Palestinian people in our movies and other mass media. The new reports on the conflict only show the suffering of the Israeli people. As Joe stated there were white phosphorus casings found with US labels on them in the Gaza Strip after Israelis had shot them low enough to cause serious injury to the Palestinian refugees in the streets. Media Society explains this as well with their example of the action-adventure movies giving a clear example of who the villains are. It has become so commonplace that Arabs are our enemies due to the news media and the Hollywood media influence. (Media Society, pgs 172-175 and Censored 2010, pgs 42-46 and 51-56).

Entertaining Nonsense

Because I am a huge fan of anime, I often hope that some of the more popular series get turned into live action movies to give anime a wider fandom. However when someone takes an anime series and completely destroys it, like with the DragonBall Z movie it is very sad. With the new Avatar movie (called The Last Airbender and not to be confused with the movie actually called Avatar), there are a lot of skeptics making criticisms about how Shaylaman will destroy this movie. While I realize Avatar is not actual anime, having been made in America, it is still a huge push forward for the anime culture.

With all the critics out there, this witty reply made me laugh and want to share!