Bitmap vs.Vector Quiz

How do media professionals know the audience?

There are a few ways in which media professionals are able to gauge their audience's interest and response to their media. While much feedback can come from ratings, sales figures and e-mails from viewers, there are other ways that media professionals get to know their audience. One way to do so is Hall's encoding and decoding model. In his model it says that in order to understand we must look at the production and reception of media messages. His model focuses more on the communicative exchange within economic, historical, and cultural contexts. So to really find out why a media message would work or fail, you would examine the way in which the message was made and then how the members of the audience decoded it. He says that the audience has the option to either accept, adapt or reject the message. He then goes on to explain that there are four main codes that are used by media professionals and audiences;dominant code, professional code, negotiated code and the oppositional code. The dominant code, or hegemonic refers to when a member interprets a message in the context with the preferred meaning. The professional code, for example, is the way in which professionals code meaning within their messages. The negotiated code can best be explained as the member may accept certain pieces of a message, however based on their own experiences and knowledge ultimately reject the full intended meaning. The oppositional code is when the member just rejects the entire message all together.
Another way in which media professionals know their audiences is through the research of media professionals in terms of constraints, and work practices. In this approach, one is focused more on the agency of media professionals and tries to discover how the organization can have effects on the media. Also included, researchers can almost work backwards, starting with the finished result and tracing that back to what may have formed and created it. Some of the constraints to what might have formed the media is ownership of the organization, laws and regulations and advertising from sponsors.
Production research is basically aimed at the production and the professionals. There are four main theories that are concerned with this approach. The first is the political economy approach which deals with how the production is effected by powerful politics and the economy in general. The second is the critical theory where professionals engage in production in accordance to the ruling class. The third is the liberal perspective, where it says that professionals are not acting in accordance to the ruling class and they do now have to. The last is the feminist perspective, where it focuses on how females have coped with working in an industry which was predominately male.

Money as Debt $

I thought this video was an extremely creative way to simplify the banking system and teach people about the problems we are now having with this system. Before watching the video I had some knowledge about the bank system and how money was created but always found it confusing. The video broke it down in simple terms and used images to reinforce the key points. I also found the quotes interesting because it showed that people have known about this issue for years. It is not as if someone just realized the problems we were going to come into if we continued using this system. The speakers of these quotes were also not everyday people, they were important people with positions in the banking world or the government, even former presidents of the United States.
This video taught me that our system is actually based on money that is not actually in existence and consequently increasing the debt in our country. It is scary to think that this has been going on for so long and I have never been taught about this in school. Like the video mentioned, this is a topic that is not frequently talked about even though it is of huge importance. One of the most important things that I got out of this video is that this system is unsustainable and is eventually going to cause tremendous problems; more so then it already has. The graphics used in the video were a great addition to make this problem so easy to understand. In the end, different alternatives were spoken about, such as using gold again or even silver. If we were to switch the system I think it will be one of the most difficult tasks ever brought forward and would require ridiculous backing. I think that this is the case with anything though and once people are used to doing something, it is very hard to change. Overall, I got a lot out of this video and it was very effective between the images used and the quotes, it was a strong presentation.

Media Conglomeration Animation

For the media conglomeration animation project, I chose to use Sony. Sony is comprised of a few different business operations including, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Ericsson, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The frame shown above is comprised of some of their logos for those business operations, as well as some of their products they have produced. The animation I created starts with Sony, and then adds on each of these branches. Next, products they have created such as PlayStation, laptops, PSP, digital cameras and camcorders rapidly appear on the screen. Then some of the artists that belong to their record labels are shown. These artists are extremely popular and include names such as Leona Lewis, Chris Brown, Alicia Keys, Gavin DeGraw and Jennifer Hudson. The last frame is simply the Sony logo. I did this to show that Sony owns all of the logos and products that were shown, from PlayStation to record labels, they are a media conglomerate that controls a good deal of the mainstream media. As these media conglomerates begin to gain control over the production, distribution, marketing and sales of the media they become more and more powerful. As a result the ownership of mainstream media is decreasing and ending up in the hands of a few powerful conglomerates.

Magazine Cover

For the magazine re-do project I found this image of George Bush and Al Gore from the 2000 election. The image put their two faces together in front of the White House. I thought it would be interesting to change this and put the faces of Obama and McCain together instead. While the 2000 election was said to be the craziest ever, I think this one may have won that debate. I also changed the original headline and made it a point to say that Election day is only 21 days away. While I know many people are aligned with their political parties, I also think that many people are still unsure and there really is not much more time. I also added other pictures of the candidates on each shoulder, each with respective signs from their campaign. Overall, I think that this election is probably one of the most controversial and interesting of them all and with election day approaching rapidly, it's only going to get more crazy.

Blog Quiz-Media Globalization

1) The first main feature of media globalization that I think effects us on a global level is, the globalization of media content has resulted in a greater amount of homogenization and standardization in certain media products produced and distributed by the global media industries. Basically, as a result of the media globalization that is occurring, places that would normally not be as in touch with the world are. Since more places are connected then usual, when a product is marketed, everyone sees it. This means that someone in India can see the same McDonald's commercial as someone in the United States resulting in the fact that now they both want to eat McDonald's. There is little difference in their wants which leads us to this "homogenization and standardization." Another possibility is a singer, who was based primarily in Ireland, songs are leaked onto the Internet. Before you know it she has listeners in 20 different countries and there are 100,000 fans from all over the world who want to hear this same singer. Globalization is creating a "sameness" among many cultures from all over the world. The always available Internet enables this constant connection with people from all over the place and starts this homogenization process. Also, because it is so readily available their is no time for each country to try to make it their own, instead this person, or product becomes the same one that is known in every other country.
2) The next feature that I think effects us on a global level is, the uneven flow of information and communication products within the global system and the different levels of access that global citizens have to global networks of communication. I think this feature is extremely important. Growing up at this time in the United States has proved to be full of technology, communication products and easy access to this networks of communication. For example, right now there are about 20 students in the room, each with their own computers, all connected to the Internet. I think we take for granted what we have and may not realize that it is not like this all over the world. While most of us have access to the Internet whenever we please, and constant flow of information and news, some do not have this opportunity. There are other places in the world that do not have this level of access to these global networks. While we are so used to up to date, constantly changing news and information, many places are still using old media techniques, such as the television and radio. To them, that may not be old media like it is to us. We can compare this to McLuhan's idea of the global village, where he says that anyone can participate. However, this idea may not really hold true, as in some areas of the world they do not have this access to the global world like we do. We can describe these areas as information-poor, and the areas that have this ability to participate in the global village, information-rich, like the book does.
3) The last feature that I think can effect us on the global level is, media globalization is inextricably linked with the promotion of the ideology of consumerism and is therefore bound up with the capitalist project. This is saying that this whole globalization process is being pushed by capitalism. This feature is based on the idea that many of the large,wealthy, powerful conglomerates are using globalization to promote consumerism. The companies are able to do this by pushing the idea of the "ideal life." They use television, commercials, and advertising in general to accomplish this. For example, the axe commercials often show a normal man, but then he uses axe and the girls are unable to stay away from him. They refer to this as the "axe effect." There are many other instances where advertising uses these opportunities to promote this "lifestyle."

While some of these features can be a positive, there are also concerns and worries that are forming. In the global society approach, they explain how this global village is becoming a huge part of how we are informed on many issues that effect the world. Many are using the global village to raise consciousness on different topics effecting us, such as global warming. While this can be a great way to do this, the concerns that arise are the fact that only the information-rich are able to have access to this and not the information-poor. It is also being said that no one is using this global village to show people about third world poverty. This is a problem also because people in third world countries do not have access like we do, so while our stories are flying around in seconds, their stories and issues remain in the dark.
Another issue concerning media globalization is in the world system approach. In this approach the world is broken up into different parts; core, semi-peripheral, and peripheral societies. It is argued that the parts needed to run the global village in the core societies are all being manufactured in the semi and peripheral societies who do not even have access to this village yet are making these parts. I do think that this is unfair to those societies.
Another concern is the issue of this homogenization occurring in the world. Many cultures are unable to stop this phenomenon. Cultures and societies that used to be extremely different, are beginning to become one in the same based on the easy access to this global village. This is obviously an issue as we all come from different backgrounds and have different beliefs which I think is eventually going to cause a problem.

Globalization Remix

For the globalization remix, I chose all Blackberry products. Recently, I have noticed that a lot of people have Blackberry devices opposed to before when I only noticed people using them for work. Now, many of my friends have them and I think they are becoming a trend. The Blackberry's have access to the web and e-mail which I think appeals to many people. They are able to communicate and check their e-mail wherever they are and whenever they feel like it. They have full keyboards that make it easier for users to type. They have Blackberry messenger as well, which is an instant messaging system for Blackberry users only. Also, people can now log on to Facebook wherever they are, and they can be used as GPS systems in the car. I think that because many celebrity's are using them that they are also gaining more and more popularity. There are also all these colorful cases that are meant to protect the device, but I think it's becoming more of a fashion trend. Now, they are designing new models that are smaller and better fit consumers needs which includes creating the pink Blackberry Pearl to appeal to different markets. Blackberry's are taking over and connecting the global community more each day and I do not think that this trend is going to end anytime soon.