Class Highlights!

I feel that I learned a lot in Journalism 2 this quarter, and that I will be able to take a lot of my media literacy knowledge with me to my major of Communications/PR. It'll be easier for me to know the best ways to market different types of media, and to be able to have an affect on how people view things as well.
I don't really view media in a different way, but I do think that I have a better appreciation for the media we do have today, especially in regards to film and music.
I feel that this class as definitely taken my media literacy and over-all knowledge of the different medias to a new level, and I had a lot of fun in the class, especially with the Research Project.

Media Ethics & Media Laws

In 2011, the popular media sharing site Limewire disappeared as the music industry's RIAA sued them for as much money as possible.
Limewire faced multiple charges of copyright infringement, and the RIAA stated that Limewire owed them $75 TRILLION in damages, which is ridiculous considering that the World GDP is under $1 Trillion total. Limewire was forced to pay the 4 Major Music Labels $105 Million in damages for their copyright violations, with the artists whose music was being stolen receiving $0.00 of the $105,000,000.00
Personally, I have always bought music on either CDs, iTunes, or Amazon, so this doesn't affect me directly, but it's interesting to look at how the situation was handled, and what will happen in the future as more and more piracy-based websites are created.

Federal Judge Denounces RIAA Claim Over Limewire

The Deception of Propaganda

For the advertisement for the movie "King Arthur", the actress Keira Knightly's breasts were digitally enhanced about 2 Cup sizes. This poster uses a few different propaganda techniques to draw in a bigger audience. By Photoshoping her breast size, which Keira Knightly said was originally digitally changed to a size DD, they use techniques of "Beautiful People" and "Half-Truths".

They use "Beautiful People" by taking Keira Knightly, who is already beautiful, and make her more stereotypically attractive. They do this by enhancing her breasts, making her more tan, glowing skin, and eliminate all possible flaws, all by digitally changing her. Because they did this, more and more males wanted to see this movie with the impression that they would see this version of Keira Knightly, even though she doesn't exist, even in the movie.

They use "Half-Truths" by this as well because, while you do see Keira Knightly with little clothes in some parts of the movie, she is more covered-up for most of it, and the idea that her breasts will be in the camera the whole time is very deceptive. This is probably used more than most propaganda techniques in the film industry, leaving many viewers disliking a movie because of the false expectations.

The Internet Takeover

For the internet, I can easily use myself as an example of addiction.

When I was in Middle School through my first year in High School I was addicted to the video game "Final Fantasy XI: Online". I spent most of my time playing this game and escaping reality, that I didn't really do anything with my friends or family. I eventually was able to quit, mostly in order to hang out with my friends, but it was definitely a first-hand shock to see how online video games can affect a person.
Final Fantasy XI: Online on Amazon.com

I am also constantly online shopping, sometimes spending way more than I should. I will spend hundreds in an hour on Amazon.com, usually on stuff I don't need. I'll also be constantly checking different store's ads online to see what the next and best sale is. It's a dangerous relationship, and it's one I will still need to work a lot on, but it's probably a lot safer than some of the things I stupidly do.

And, with stupidity comes online dating in the not smart ways. I've used a few online dating websites, mostly just to see what's there, but I tend to not be the smartest when it comes to using them. I will meet people I probably shouldn't, and do stupid things like that. Thankfully, nothing has happened to me, and I've gotten better about being less stupid on how I go about it, but I still need to work on that one a little bit.

It's interesting to see how much the internet controls our lives today, and I'm very curious to see how it is 5 or 10 years from now, it should be interesting.

Television Today

Length: 1:05
Description: Reinforcing the "Blonde" stereotype on the Television show GLEE through the character Brittany.
Chapter 9: Television, Part 3: The Electronic Industries
Quiz Question: Why is television the most controversial of all media?
Answer: Because it revolves around the nature of programming, the parental advisory ratings, and excessive viewing. It also is controversial to the the amount of violence shown, stereotype reinforcement, and a lack of educational programming.

To The Beat of My Heart

Music is a major part of who I am today. I listen to whatever I feel strongly about in that moment, weather it be happiness, sadness, anger, betrayal, or any of the emotions in between. Music has helped get me though a lot of stuff, and I think that sometimes it is just easier to express these emotions through singing along to these songs, instead of acting out on the emotions. Sometimes though, it's just fun to sing and dance in the car.

One of my most favorite songs of 2010 was the song "Pyromania" by the German-based Euro-Pop group Cascada. This song was my go to dance song, and while it never picked up in the US, it was always blasting in my car. All my friends eventually learned the words to it (which was pretty simple), and we would have these silly little dances for it. It was, overall, just a fun song, and it's one of the few songs that I enjoyed just for the pure simplicity of it.
The music video for it was pretty fun, too.


One of my personal favorite older songs has always been ABBA's "Mamma Mia". I grew up listening to ABBA, but (and what I find to be funny), is that I learned who ABBA was through a band called the A Teens, who started out as an ABBA tribute band. My mom was so excited when I told her I loved "Dancing Queen" and "Mamma Mia" that she bought me ABBA's "GOLD" CD, and I had no idea who these "other people" were singing my songs. Ever since then, ABBA has been a major music act for me.



And, Just for fun, here are some other music videos from Cascada in case you want to check them out:
(In order from most recent)
San Francisco
Night Nurse
Fever
Dangerous
Evacuate The Dancefloor
What Hurts The Most
Everytime We Touch

Magazine Proposal

For this blog, here is the magazine I decided to create:

The Title: "Evolution Music"

The Concept: The concept of this magazine goes along with the standard music magazine, but I want it to focus on what is current. I want each month's issue to focus on the current "BIG" artists and what is new for them. I want the cover to focus on the new CD that that artist is releasing, accompanied with an exclusive interview.

The Readers: The readers of this particular magazine would mostly focus on the teens through mid twenties, as they control a lot of what is currently happening musically.

The Competition: The main competition for this type of magazine would be any sort of music or entertainment magazine. "Rolling Stone" would definitely be one of the main competitors, as would other magazines such as "Vibe" or "Blender". Although these magazines would be major competition, with "Evolution Music", each issue is accompanied by an exclusive Remix CD of some of the current big hits, as well as some up-and-coming hits. 

The Advertisers: The advertisement of this magazine could be anywhere from shoes to movies. Some major advertisers that would most likely invest in this magazine would be:

1. Express, because of their constant "Now" fashion.
2. Movie Studios, because they want to reach similar demographics but to get them into a movie theater.
3. Music Studios, because they would be able to get their artist's info into their direct demographic.
4. Apple, because of their constantly evolving technology, and being known for iTunes/iPod.
5. HP, because they usually try to stay connected with music with all their technology.

The Articles: Some of the articles that would be expected for the first issue would be:

1. The cover Artist's exclusive Interview
2. The top 25 up-and-coming artists
3. What's happening right now
4. The fall and rise of a major pop star.
5. How to get discovered

The Cover: I want the cover to be simple and self-explanatory. I want the reader to look at it and know exactly what is inside of it. I want it to state some of the bigger articles, and I want there to be one major picture from the main Artist of the issue. I don't want it too be too complicated, as today's youth goes for the simplicity and edge, more than clutter and fancy lettering.

The Magazine: