Dear CNN, I Hate Your New Homepage. Love, Leah - Media Meditation #5

A few weeks ago, the "New" CNN was born. I don't know what mother CNN was on when she was pregnant, but the "New" CNN did not come out pretty. I unfortunately did not foresee this change coming so I do not have a screen shot of what the old CNN looked like. The old CNN had the most important story on the left side of the screen first with a photo and then the first paragraph and the viewer would click to read more. On the right were links to other news stories. Below is a screen shot of the "New" CNN:



The most important story is still located on the left, however, it used to be the only photo so it would stand out. Now, it competes with a video of a feature story and an advertisement. If you look closely you can even see that the advertisement on the right is bigger than the most important news story! I was furious the first time I saw the "New" CNN. I would see television commercials touting how great the "New" CNN is, yeah, right. Now, instead of my eye being drawn to the big story of the moment, I'm seeing fluffy feature pieces and advertisements for getting an online degree.

This is an example of both an aesthetic shift and an economic shift -- hyper commercialism. This is an aesthetic shift because they were trying to make their website more attractive to visitors by appealing to the limbic brain with more pictures and videos. This new makeover (or under?) blurs the lines between news and entertainment. The economic shift shows the hyper commercialism blatant in the fact that the advertisement is larger than the most important news story! CNN clearly gets more advertising dollars because their advertisers get more room and impression than they did on the old CNN. The Media and Society book says, "It appears that, rather than transporting information, the internet has become a 'virtual mall,' with corporations trying new ways to sell us all sorts of products." (pg. 13) Even our news source is trying to sell to us!

OMG R U 4 Reeelzzz?! - Media Meditation #4

Before I go on with this blog post, I'd like to give a disclaimer: I am in no way claiming innocence with this very serious issue. I have been a grammar and punctuation offender plenty of times in the past. However, I like to think that I know the time and the place to use text-talk or disregard proper sentence mechanics in the interest of time or based on who is the intended receiver of my message.

I digress.

As I've blogged about before, I have lots of experience using Craig's List. While I am using it to rent out my apartment, I am also using it to sell my furniture. I have multiple pieces of furniture for sale and have been getting a few responses. One in particular stood out:

"Hi I like to c the stuff so if u can ? can u give me call plzz I can b reach at 802-***-**** thans ."

No, I did not edit that (besides blocking out the phone number). Someone actually emailed me that and expected a response.

This may be a stretch, but I think this is an epistemological shift -- from word to image. Although it is not an actual image, but still words, they much more represent an image than anything close to words. Since when was "c", "u", "plzz", "b" and "thans" added to the dictionary? When I read this, or tried to read this, I was flabbergasted. I thought and expected that people know when there should be a certain level of professionalism. The way this person (I don't even know if they were male or female since they didn't sign a name) wrote to me, I didn't see words but rather an image of a very unmature and ignorant person for writing in such a manner to a complete stranger through email.

This is another good example of social construction of reality. The reality is the way this person writes. What I can only assume to be their construction of this reality is that they think it's cool, young, and hip. This construction came through their socialization, maybe their friends type that way. My construction of this reality is that it's incredibly unprofessional and inappropriate. My construction came through my socialization of applying for jobs and writing cover letters, etc.

Data Plan Overload! - Media Mediation #3

From my past blog entry, you know all about my apartment renting troubles. Most recently I have listed my apartment on Craig's List. I really wasn't expecting a ton of responses, and I thought it would be a long and difficult road. I am still in the process, however, my expectations thus far have been exceeded. I received 30+ emails from people inquiring about the apartment. Normally, this would have been fantastic, however, I had just gotten a new phone and my very first data plan.


From the Motorola website, "The Motorola Karma QA1 combines texting and social media. IM-style texting provides conversational-style communication. The slide-out keyboard keeps the phone compact."

I had previously owned a Blackberry but since I'm cheap and still on Mommy and Daddy's plan, I never had a data plan. My Blackberry had an unfortunate accident and broke. My top priority in a new phone was a full keyboard. All the phones with full keyboards were smart phones. I decided I had better make the switch over from paperweight mode to full functioning smart phone and buy a data plan.

This is also happened to be the day before I made my Craig's List posting. I had the email function up and working but only received one or two junk emails, but was excited to be connected even away from a computer. When my listing went live, my phone was blowing up nonstop! I received a new email almost every 10 minutes and was feeling incredibly overwhelmed with how I was going to respond to all of them and make appointments for showings with that many people. If the emails hadn't been coming to my phone, I wouldn't have been notified everytime I got a new messages, but rather I'd see them when I asked to see them, by signing into my email from a computer.

This is an example of the technological shift -- from analog to digital. I took photos of my apartment with my digital camera, uploaded them to Craig's List with a description, people then viewed my Craig's List post and emailed me, I then received that email on my cell phone. The Media and Society text explains that, "The communication media are the different technological processes that facilitate communications between (and are in the 'middle' of) the sender of the message and the receiver of that message" (pg. 7). Not only did this facilitate the communcation, but it was dead in the middle of it, without it, the apartment renting process would have been extremely difficult.

My Grocery Store is on Facebook...Seriously?! - Media Meditation #2

Again, seriously?!

If my mom wasn't already using Facebook (you'll hear more about that in another post), I'd say that this is the moment Facebook just became uncool. My grocery store, Superfresh, has a Facebook page. Not only do they have a Facebook page but they have 552 fans! I am shocked that 552 people actually care enough about their grocery store to be a fan of them on Facebook.



This is a prime example of an economic shift -- hyper commercialism and corporate consolidation. The mom and pop grocery stores are slowly dying down and being replaced by the Superfresh's of the world -- case in point, they are a large enough of a corporation to pay someone to be in charge of updating the Superfresh Facebook page.

Corporations are now devoting much of their advertising budgets to social media like Facebook. This creates a hyper commercialised online environment. Almost every webpage you go to, there's an ad. If it's not as blatant as a banner advertisement, maybe it's that 3 of your friends became fans of Superfresh and 2 of them "liked" their photo.

Facebook is exactly where corporate consolidation and corporations come into play. "In particular, integrated media conglomerates seeking the benefits of what industry insiders refer to as "synergy" are likely to favor products that can best be exploited by other components of the conglomerate." (pg. 44 of Media and Society) Facebook is the perfect product for corporations to use to exploit their target market, getting "inside" information on who they are, what they do, what they like, and use it to market to them.

Are You Sure You're Not Sketchy? - Media Meditation #1

Unfortunately, this Thanksgiving, while I was thankful for my loving family and my good health, many not so great things happened which I was not at all thankful for. A few weeks ago I put my apartment on the market to try and find a renter to take over the rest of my lease. I had finally found a new tenant and was very excited. I began selling my furniture and I moved about 1/2 of my stuff back home. Two weeks after this new renter decided she wanted the place, she called me, on Thanksgiving day, to tell me that a friend of hers showed her another apartment that was $200 less than mine and she was going to go with that one. Seriously?!

After much frustration of losing 2 weeks and having to start the search all over again, I listed the apartment on Craig's List and on my Facebook. Shortly after posting on both I had already received a few emails. There was one scammer email which I deleted and another one that seemed a little sketchy. It said:

"Hi,
I am very interested in your 1 bedroom available.
From what I can see in the photos, and based on your description, I could sign a lease as soon as possible.
Can I take a look at it in person?

Thanks so much,
dS"

He didn't even sign with his name! The name listed with the email address was Deke Smith. What kind of name is Deke?! I pushed the email aside since it seemed a little sketchy and decided that I would only respond if I started getting desperate. My Media and Society text tells me that "socialization is the process whereby we learn and internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of our culture and, in so doing, develop a sense of self" (pg. 13). Through socialization, I have come to expect certain norms, for example, signing your name at the end of an email, especially to a stranger.

Within an hour I received a text from my friend, Pat. He said he had a friend would who was interested in my apartment and would love to see it when I got back in town. Great! I was hoping the Facebook posting would lead to a friend or a friend of a friend renting the place, to void out as much sketchiness as possible. I set up a time through Pat with his friend to see the place. I think at the last minute to ask what their name is so I know who to expect at our set time, he says Deke.

Ding, ding, ding!

I put two and two together and realized this was the same Deke who had emailed me. Apparently my assumption that Pat had seen my Facebook posting and thought of his friend in need was completely wrong. Rather, Deke saw my Craig's List posting with the link to more photos on Facebook. On Facebook he looked to see what friends we had in common and there was Pat. He then contacted Pat to get in touch with me to get him a faster in than Craig's List would have. Boy, was he right!

This is an excellent example of the personal shift -- from mass to personal. My Craig's List posting was meant for the world to see. It was just a worm tossed out in the ocean hoping to catch a fish, not targeted (besides that it was listed in Burlington, Vermont). My Facebook posting was just for friends to see, except for the photo album which I linked to the Craig's list posting. However, unless you are my Facebook friend, you can't see any of my other information. This stranger, Deke, was able to use what little information he had about me tossed out into the internet ocean to find a mutual friend, Pat. That's where the shift to personal occurred, Deke then targeted Pat to target me.

It absolutely worked. At first I thought Deke's email came off as a little sketchy. With what I know now, I have a friend vouching for him and he's got the first appointment for an apartment showing out of the other 30 something Craig's List responses I received.

And, to top it off, I also found out from Facebook that he's a Champlain graduate. So I know he's definitely good stuff.

Katrina's Hidden Race War

1. “A shocking report in The Nation magazine exposes how white vigilante groups patrolled the streets of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, shooting at least eleven African-American men.”

2. “While the media portrayed African Americans as looters and thugs, it is now clear that the most serious crimes were committed by gun-toting white males.”

3. “Nathan Roper, another vigilante, says he was unhappy that outsiders were disturbing his corner of New Orleans and that he was annoyed by the National Guard’s decision to use the Algiers Point ferry landing as an evacuation zone. ‘I’m telling you, it was forty, fifty people at a time getting off these boats,’ says Roper. The militia, according to Roper, was armed with handguns, rifles, and shotguns.”

4. “While white vigilantes killed an estimated total of eleven African American victims, local police have never conducted investigations. So far, the crimes have gone unpunished.”

5. “Democracy Now! footage shoes that dead bodies were left, sometimes for weeks, to rot in full view of Homeland Security, State troopers, Army personnel, private security guards, and police who “secured” the streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina.”

Truly Censored?

LEXIS NEXIS provided nothing on this story. I did an archival search of the mainstream news networks (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc) and also found nothing.

The Nation

Democracy Now!

The Huffington Post

Institute for Southern Studies

News One: For Black America

Color of Change

Black Rose Alliance

Let's Talk Postman

WEEK #1

1. Describe three specific characteristics of the "Typographic Mind."

Typography dominated the Age of Exposition in which the American mind, the typographic mind, “submitted itself to the sovereignty of the printing press.” (pg. 63) One characteristic of the typographic mind, found on page 63, is “a large capacity for detachment and objectivity.” The typographic mind can read a piece of work without going into it with a bias or opinion. The typographic mind is able to take each thing on its own and access and analyze it. In today’s world most of the information we receive comes through some sort of filter, whether it be the medium’s bias or our own. Another characteristic of the typographic mind is a “tolerance for delayed response.” The WWW has drastically sped the rate at which we can receive information. Before this invention, the typographic mind was patient. The typographic mind didn’t have expectations and a sense of entitlement to instant gratification. A third characteristic of the typographic mind is a long attention span. The typographic mind could spend hours at a time divulging completely into a piece of work or speech without distraction or boredom. These days everything is rushed and instant gratification is a must.


2. Postman suggests that the twin inventions of 19th century Telegraphy and Photography challenged Typography's monopoly on public discourse. How, specifically did each of these two new media/communications inventions do this?

“But the foresighted among the nation’s publishers were quick to see where the future lay, and committed their full resources to the wiring of the continent” (pg 67) Although telegraphy and photography started slow due to resource, they quickly flourished due to their potential. When all the attention shifted in a large fast movement it greatly threaten typography’s monopoly on public discourse. The new and previously unknown was exciting; public discourse could now be gone about in a fascinating new way in a way that the written word alone could not reel in.


3. What does Postman mean by "The Peek-A-Boo World," and can you give an example of this world from your own media experiences?

On page 77, Postman writes, “…a peek-a-boo world, where now this event, now that, pops into view for a moment, then vanishes again. It is a world without much coherence or sense; a world that does not ask us, indeed, does not permit us to do anything; a world that is, like the child’s game of peek-a-boo, entirely self-contained. But like pee-a-boo, it is endlessly entertaining.” From my own media experiences, I definitely have the peek-a-boo effect when it comes to websites. I will discover a new website and spend hours on end exploring it until eventually, after a few days or sometimes months, I get bored and move on. I never submit my own content nor take part in anyway, just explore and am entertained.


WEEK #2

1. Discuss THREE specific ways in which Postman explains how the medium of television transforms the epistemological nature of each of the following:

A. Public discourse about religion

“To say it still another way: Entertainment is the supra-ideology of all discourse on television. No matter what is depicted or from what point of view, the overarching presumption is that it is there for our amusement and pleasure.” (pg. 87) Rather than religion be about faith itself, the medium of television transformed it into entertainment. Instead of going to a place of worship for religious services, you could now stay in the comfort of your own home and watch your religious program on the television. This creates competition among these television programs because now “worshipers” can simply flip the channel to change their mind about what they wanted. This meant these programs had to be more intriguing, more fun, more exciting, more drama, more everything than the next; therefore becoming entertainment.




B. Public discourse about politics

“The men were less concerned with giving arguments than with “giving off” impressions, which is what television does best.” (pg. 97) Television made looks and charm top the list of priorities for the next president far above intelligence or platform. The candidates and the audience watching their televisions wanted to entertain and be entertained. They were more concerned with how the candidate looked and if they could “KO” their opponent with jokes. Television turned public discourse about polities all into showmanship.

C. Public discourse about education

The story about the Yale University commencement on pages 96 and 97 prove once again how television has changed public discourse is all areas of life, including education. An Ivy League school full of intellectuals being honored for their years of hard work were more impressed with the attendance of Meryl Streep than with honorary degrees awarded to Mother Teresa and other humanitarians and scholars. Not to demean Meryl Streep’s work, but the audience’s excitement came over having a television celebrity present rather than all of the accomplished individuals awarded before her.


2. What specific solutions does Postman offer to improve public communication in our "Peek A Boo" world, and our challenges to communicate in a thoughtful and rational manner in "An Age of Show Business"? In other words, how might we prevent a world in which we are "amusing ourselves to death"?

“There are only two answers that come to mind, one of which is nonsense and can be dismissed almost at once; the other is desperate but it is all we have. The nonsensical answer is to create television programs whose intent would be, not to get people to stop watching television but to demonstrate how television ought to be viewed, to show how television recreates and degrades our conception of new, political debated, religious thought, etc. …The desperate answer is to rely on the only mass medium of communication that, in theory, is capable of addressing the problem: our schools.” (pages 161 and 162) The first answer is clearly ridiculous, in a culture where money talks there is no way morality would lead production companies to follow this path. The second answer is exactly what Postman calls it, desperate. Even if schools were to incorporate media analysis and critical thinking into the education, there’s no telling it would work. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.


3. HARD Question: Does Postman's thesis about television still apply to our public discourse in today's Age of the Internet? Please explain your reasoning in 4-5 sentences.

Postman’s thesis about television still applies to our public discourse in today’s Age of the Internet, except with a twist. It is still greatly focused on entertainment, however with the interactivity component it is a step up. There is an opportunity for people to question what they read/hear/see and search for other answers. The 6 big media don’t have control over the internet so there endless opinions and view points to discover and censorship of the medium isn’t an issue. In the Age of the Internet people have a greater opportunity to question what is.