Media Chatter

In high school, my English teachers always made one thing clear–good writing had a clear beginning, middle, and end.  Each of these paragraphs consisted of five sentences, and, perhaps the most important rule of all, never ever include a sentence fragment.  Clear ideas were expressed in full sentences that included a subject and a verb.  In theory, it is perfectly logical to write this way.  It is perfectly logical to write down only complete, well developed ideas.  In practice, however, I have learned that sentence fragments, one sentence paragraphs, and lingering conclusions are often strategic. 

Good writers often break the rules of writing to set the tone.  It may give the writer a sarcastic tone, or simply emphasize a sense of humor or even a sense of urgency about a certain issue.  While it is still important to teach beginners all of the “official” rules of writing so that they know how to write properly, in reality, some times the best writing does not follow these rules.

As with other subjects in college, newspaper writing as a course will not teach you what its like to work as a newspaper reporter.  These types of classes teach students the official ways to do things, but it will not give these students the same type of practice.  Only through practice will students learn how to use–or discard–information that they were taught in the classroom.

Although they may choose to discard a lot of the information that was handed down to them by professors, it is not useless.  People earn degrees so that they will be a “specialist” in their field.  Going to a liberal arts college gives students the opportunity to work with all sorts of people until they have narrowed their interests into one field of study.  If they choose to take courses such as advertising copywriting at a liberal arts college, I don’t see why it shouldn’t be acceptable.  A mass communication college is probably no better for these students than a few hours of on the job training.  In the long run, we all learn the “rules” are meant to be broken and the best knowledge that we will ever take to our jobs is the things we teach ourselves.

Since the beginning of research on the affects of media myriads of information has been produced about how people react to the media they consume. Whither the investigations are by universities, government, corporations, or individuals the information always varies. Often the evidence points to violent, sexual or other media creating problems while other times it contradicts those findings. But the question that begs to be asked is if the research actually affects the media institutions behavior or is all the testing and hypothesizing just sport for analysts.

Other than minimal changes within the media not much has been done to prevent negative images and information from being presented. Although currently there are ratings for TV and movies, which are supposed to help reduce the harmful affects of media on children, often they are ignored and little is done to prevent young people from watching them despite the guidelines. Even the V-chip, a protection device that is built into many TV sets to sensor violence is rarely used.

When all is said and done, the entity that uses the research the most is the marketing industry. They convert the behavior modifying insight to their personal interest in order to make as much money as possible. Beer commercials that exploit sex because they understand the affect that sensual images have on people to get them to buy products or annoyance ads that understand that people pay attention to tunes that get stuck in their head demonstrate what is happening.  Marketing agencies now have more knowledge than ever about how people react to TV because of the information that researches have done for the protection of children.

So even though politicians and many parents are worried about the negative affects of media on children little is being done to stop what is happening. Research abounds but the most significant area that it is used is by corporations who exploit it for their personal benefit.

As a student at a Liberal Arts College and being a communication major, I believe that there is a major difference in the practice and theory of the curriculum in college media courses. But do hands-on courses belong in a separate mass communication college?

Schools like the art institute and full sail that let you major in mass communications and you get your degree with in 2 years, are available to people who are interested in going into the filed of communications. Theses schools offer hands on experience and, that is what they base most their courses off of, but does that do justice for it’s students?

In my belief and experience to understand many different subjects such as philosophy, psychology and worldview can help you understand the concept of news reporting. In most cases, if you are well rounded in many different types of studies; it can help you become better at your career. Such an example would be a musician. A well rounded Musician can play all different types of music not just one. So a well rounded reporter, or someone working in the industry, should be well rounded to understand what they are reporting on.

One charge that has been leveled against a lot of media research- both the effects and the cultural models- is that it has very little impact on changing our media institutions. I must say that I completely disagree. With media institutions being defined as such things like radio, television, and the internet, the research done for media definitely impacts them. These institutions main goal is all about what people want and about media as a whole. Research done on media’s behalf is of course going to affect media institutions.

Television, Radio, and the Internet’s goal is to gain popularity, to give society what they want. Media research is designed to reveal and show what it is we as a people, or society want to see or hear. This is almost a given. There is no question in my mind about it, media research not only has an impact on changing our media institutions, the impact is of enormous proportion!

Since being involved with the media studies here at Anderson University I have seen a very productive media program. From the lectures in the class room all the way down to the assisting students with their video projects. Anderson also has up to date equipment for video editing and offer the some of the best courses that prepares students to enter the work forces with a full head of steam. The only thing that concerns me is the way that the courses are offered here.

Anderson has a good number of students that are communication major, and with the new way of registration working basically on a first come first serve bases, and classes being available every other semester makes it harder for underclassmen to take the classes that they need. The classes fill up so quickly that if you are not some of the first students to register then you more than likely going to be wait listed, maybe hiring more professors can counter act that problem.

But other than the way the classes are offered, and the lack of professors or what not I would rank Anderson University’s media studies with some of the other media progams in the nation.

The importance of learning Communications and Media today is very high.  As a society we have a responsibility to understand what influences our world.  And media/communications is what influences our world.  Advertising, pop culture, and other media outlets dominate our everyday lives.  You cannot turn on the TV without seeing an ad.  You cannot go outside without seeing a bilboard or sign telling you what to buy.  Music influences our beliefs and what we like.  Since media/communications is everywhere we as a people must learn about it.  It is very important for schools to offer classes concerning media/communications.  Anderson University does a good job of this.  There are several classes to take concerning media/communications.  All Univerisities should do the same and offer these courses.  Schools in the lower levels, middle school and high school also need to teach students about modern day media and society.  Media is everywhere so it is a must that we must learn about it and understand it in order for our society to function properly.

Usually a researcher is someone who professionally engage in scientific research, technological research or engineering research. When they discover something we probably would not understand it if they just wrote it down and let us read it. Academic Researchers make try to inform us all the time but without the media industry we would never know. Media puts it in term we understand and shows everyone. They work together a lot to have discoveries delivered to the public.

There are a lot of things that I would like to see the media industry put more emphasis on such as diseases, whats going on with the war in Iraq. I would also like to know how technology is doing because technology is costantly becoming more advanced and hard to keep up sometimes. I would like to know more about diseases because that can help some of the people I care for, or maybe even me in the future. One great example of academic researchers and the media industry working well together is the Truth commercials that inform us about the effects of cigarette smoking. Another great example of academic researchers working well with the media is rap-it-up campaign BET has promoting safe sex. So when academic researchers work well with the media industry they do great things.

For students studying Communications in college, it is very important to be able to take the theories they have learned and apply them to real life.  This can often be difficult, since there is no way to practice real public relations and advertising except for in the real world with real people.  The most important thing a university can do is to make class seem like realistic job setting.  For example professors could set up mock career situations where a student would have to speak in front of a crowd, plan an event, or advertise a product.  It is then up to the students to perform their task the same as they would if it was an important part of their career.  The theories students learn and the things they practice will enable them to be better workers once they get out of college and get a job. 

Many people think that all students regaurdless of their major, should take hands-on practical-skills courses such as news reporting, advertising, copywriting and TV production.  Such courses are very beneficial, and could help all students understand the field of communications.  However, students have many other required classes, and may not be able to fit all of these into their schedule.  Hence, students should have to take communications class in a Liberal Arts College, in order to get a better understanding of Communications.  However, students should not be required to take any courses beyond this if they do not wish to do so.  For students studying communications or any other field of study, it is strongly encouraged to take such classes to broaden society’s knowledge of the mass media.

Over time morality has played a major role in our media society. Especially when it comes to movie ratings. It plays such a vital role, due to the fact that it effects what kind of crowd a movie or television will draw. However for such an important aspect, such as film ratings, that particular aspect has gone down in moral value and effectiveness.

throughout the years movie ratings have been etremely effective in rating films based on the quality and material that is presentable to the appropriate audience. This is a great tool for people that want to be aware of the material  that they are paying to watch. Also this is good for people that are parents that would like to have a guide as to what would be suitable to present to their families. Although it should not be the one and only rating guide used for watching shows and films, it is an appropriate tool for judging which films are appropriate for what audience.

On the other hand as time and our society has changed morally, I believe the movie rating system has made a change for the worst! Seriously think about that idea! one reason that people shouldnt rely on the movie rating system of today is because it is not reliable. movies that ten years ago had an “R” rating would now be considerd pg-13 or pg rated movie that kids under 13 would be able to access.

The film rating system could use a durastic change when it comes to ethically depicting movies. The reason it is so, is because not only does it effect the actual rating of a film, but it also affects those wo are watching a film.

I think it pertinent to address the fact that while the media addresses society as a whole, and while universities and institutions of learning address the educated public as a whole, a gap still remains of people either deemed “unreachable” or would take too much effort on behalf of the institutions to be reached.

I feel it most important an idea for the media industry and the academic researchers to find a way to communicate the ideas and thoughts they present to the ‘norm’ of the everyday public to people with different styles of communication and learning.

It would be of great advantage to the media and educational system alike to reassess the ways in which people are reached.  People with different learning styles will be reached in different ways, and it is up to researchers and media outlets alike to be able to communicate to these individuals in whatever way possible to get their points across to them.

Moreover, it would be a fantastic change to see the media industry and educational system take measures to reach individuals with learning disabilities. Individuals with autism, for example would need to be reached in somewhat of a different manner than would someone who did not have autism.

It would just be a smart move for these two outlets to team up and address the fact that not all citizens of the global community get as much out of the media that they could.  With a little tweaking, these people who have often been considered “unreachable” would be able to gain as much insight from the media industry.  for the educational system and the media industry to work together, people would have the best of both worlds.

Communications is one of the fastest growing majors offered at Anderson University. Everywhere you turn, you hear of someone switching their major to Communications. I believe the reason for its increasing popularity is because media is something that we all are surrounded with, making it interesting. There are also many job opportunities in the Communications field, whether it is mass media or public relations. With this growing major, I believe it is crucial for the program to expand its resources and equipment.

While I am still new in the program, I feel as if Television and Journalism are emphasized more than other concentrations. Even in those courses, more so television, the technology is not reliable and there is too little of it. I realize that broadening concentrations requires more equipment, books and possibly even more professors. It would require lots of funding, but I would predict that it would be beneficial to the Communications major as a whole.

A majority of the courses offered focus on writing, video and general communication law and history. I feel that more courses on audio would be very beneficial. This would help cover the basic media concentrations- television, writing, and radio.  Overall, I have found our Communications program to be rather strong for a University of our size. As we grow, upgrades and expansion is going to be required to keep the program popular and strong. These changes are ones that need to be thought about far in advance so that money can be saved and new equipment can be purchased and new classes can be planned.

One of the many claims about the media is that it’s getting too violent for young children. This has been proven through many different scientific studies and simple observation, especially observation from teachers. Teachers from all over America are complaining about violence in the schools it’s becoming a real big issue and who’s to blame for this problem? You guessed it the media. With all this proven research little to nothing has been done to control the violence in media. One study said that children who have been watching violent television since elementary age have a much higher rate of being arrested later in adult-hood.

Things need to change, out media institutions need to take a look at what they are putting out there for the world to see. They also need to take into consideration how many hours of television children watch a day. They have a point when they say (they being the media) aren’t to blame. Parents shouldn’t let their children watch stuff with violence in it this is true. But we’re not hearing complaints from children saying you should produce television shows with less violence in them, we’re hearing it from parents, from teachers, and from doctors which are for the most part believable.

With that being said something needs to be done to put either an end to the violence on our televisions or to at least tone it down. Now the evening news is the worst but that’s a whole different blog.

Academic research has made some major breakthroughs contributing to society as we know it today.  We owe a lot to academic research, although many times we are not able to fully understand what is being stated.  Writers of academic research generally do not aim their findings in terms that the public are able to understand it.  Likewise the media industry is not interested in conducting long and grueling research; their main aim is to deliver breaking stories to the public.  Therefore there needs to be a compromise between the two parties to work together to provide the public with accurate, informative information. 

One field that needs both parties to work together is the search for the cure for cancer.  Academic research is needed to find the effects and ultimately the cure for the disease, whereas the media industry is needed to inform the public of the current progress of the research and gain public awareness and finical support to help aid the research.  Campaigns such as Brest Cancer Awareness are creating a great deal of publicity about how cancer destroys families.  In order to create this awareness both parties needed to employ a scientific method.  First they must research the problem identifying possible steps they could take.  They would then have to review existing research and the theories that are related to the problem.  A prediction is then made to create an understanding on what they aim to find and achieve.  Then a research design is created, and information is collected.  An analysis needs to be made of the current findings to see if the research is on track with the original predictions.  Then finally an interpretation of the research results is made to determine the relevance of the original problem.        

The media studies at Anderson University are adequatebut could stand some improvements in the near future.  Anderson University’s communications department offers a wide variety of classes that allow for the coverage of most major media areas.  However, there are several changes that I would personally make to insure a more well-rounded multi-media education.  One change that would help to advance the media studies here at Anderson would be acquisition of moreequipment for use by the video production classes. While the equipment the classes use now work rather well there are just too few of them.  Only two video cameras are available for both classes which when combined together have about twenty people.  This makes it difficult for the students who are unable to purchase their own cameras to have enough time to properly film for a project.  Having access to more cameras would increase the quality of many of the film projects.  Another issue that I think needs to addressed is the use of such strong Christian ethics within the Communications major.  While I understand that this is a Christian university and that Christian values must be taughtas a result of this.  However, it is my opinion that in today’s media climate, which is largely secular, it is almost naive to think that one can survive  using a completely Christian world-view.  As a program the university must present both sides of today’s media world view.  If these simple changes could be made media studies would be greatly improved at this university.

When you first stop and think about media and academics one would not think that the two could go hand and hand, but on second thought why couldn’t they?  In both fields you are able to do research on different areas and many of the times they cross paths.  For instance if a group wanted to find out why so many college students drink alcohol and how could they get it to be less attractive to college students.  First, they could use the scientific method and follow the seven steps that go along with scientific research.  This would help dig up information that is already out there and create a base for the research.  Then, the group could use surveys and get new up to date information.  This would allow the group of researchers to go onto college campuses and ask questions such as; how much alcohol do you consume in a month?  With this data they are now able to draw new and up to date conclusions.  After this the group could use content analysis to go and look at past advertisements on the affects of drinking on teenagers.  Through this they will know what has already been done and how to update it or know to go in a different direction with the media side of the study.  The group could then create a commercial, ad, or short film that portrayed alcohol as a negative thing for teenagers in hopes that the image would stay in their mind and make alcohol less attractive to them.  They could then use audience studies and present the form of media to a group and see how they react and study if it would work in colleges.

Academic and media research should essentially go hand and hand.  Many times we hear teachers and colleges complaining of the media that is out today.  If they would get more involved with the media then maybe they could have a positive impact on media and the negative things in media could be replaced with the positive. 

In order to maintain a functional, efficient, and balanced society as well as to assuage growing concern about public opinion, propaganda, and the impact of the mergence of media with growing journalism and mass communications departments in colleges, research into the media and its effects on behavior is becoming more prevalent. Some argue that this research has very little impact on changing our media institutions, and I agree.

Research into behavioral studies has increased and the results from these studies have become more publicized and well known. Nevertheless, the majority of our media institutions remain unchanged. Research and increased knowledge about media and its effects is usually a positive thing, but without action and a will to change, these new findings serve no purpose and, rather than impacting the media, become a moot point. Without a plan to change or improve our media institutions and without someone that is willing to carry out these plans, nothing can nor will be done to change the institutions.

Furthermore, it usually takes a long time for a real change to occur. Most people like consistency and would rather keep something the way it is rather than spend the time and effort to change it, even if it would be for the better. If an institution has already been established for an extended period, it is far more difficult to motivate someone to not only desire a change, but also be willing to take the initiative to make a change. For example, it takes a long time to petition for, vote for, and finally decide to change a law or amendment. The same goes for our established media institutions. It all depends on the willingness of participants and the urgency of change.

Real, lasting change takes time, effort, and motivation of the majority of people affected by the change. In order to make a large, lasting impact, it takes more than research to effect our established media institutions.

The only issue that I can really think of for combining the media industry and academic research would be to increase an interest in learning by providing many options for the different learning styles as well as those that have learning disabilities. So many children especially at the elementary age need to be encouraged that they can get through school with such issues and I think that if the media and academic groups were involved together that some great improvements could be made to decrease the drop-out rate of high school students but I believe that those changes and issues need to be dealt with at an earlier age in order to make a difference in the future.

Of course the media is able to let us know of learning disabilities that are out there but I definitely do not think they do enough to make parents aware of what could be troubling their child. In doing a search on Google for learning disability advertisements, there were hardly any that came up which is pretty sad if you ask me. There are a few organizations that are conducting studies and making progress in order to improve multimedia usage for those with learning disabilities. The Rix Centre in the UK recently held a conference in order to introduce new technology to better the tools for people with learning disabilities.

I think that if the media were to get involved more could be done to improve a positive feel to learning and to get the drop-out percentage to decrease by offering more options in learning materials and technology.

Today, the media affects our society more than we realize.  Sometimes the affect is negative and sometimes it is positive.  News stations should closely monitor its reporters.  Negative news reporting can come from biased opinions, unethical practices and political extremists.

It is hard not to be a biased reporter.  Everyone has their own opinions and it’s hard not to let that show.  When reporters favor a certain side, you can tell this by their tone and body language.  Many producers tend to be more interested in making a point rather than neutrally reporting a story.  Some producers choose to ignore a story if they feel it won’t help their ratings.  This isn’t fair to the public. 

Ethical reporting has seemed to decline also.  There are stories of reporters digging through trash cans and committing bribery to get stories about celebrities.

It seems that the “decision-makers” of the news stations don’t reflect the diversity of a community.  It is very important that the editors and producers come from a variety of backgrounds; male, female, race or sexual orientation.  It is unethical for the hiring of people for theses positions to all be of the same persuasion.

Politically speaking, media can be greatly persuasive.  For example, in the recent presidential race, the media seemed to over-report every detail about Barack Obama including what coffee he drank.  In contrast, John McCain’s coverage was very limited and impersonal.

          On a positive note, it is my opinion that the news media has done a remarkable job of quickly appearing at the scenes of events.  From homeland disasters; like hurricane Katrina, to foreign wars.  They regularly enter into dangerous situations to keep us informed.  The media has a lot of work to do in policing their overall reporting standards, but they can also be commended on their courage and perseverance.

There are plenty of issues that media industries and academic researchers could study together. First though it is best to find out what those issues could be and to find the best possible outcome. The research of these issues could be found by the help of the scientific method. The scientific method will have stages that will help along the process of finding out which issues could be best for the media industry and academic researchers to study together. According to the textbook “Media and Culture”, there are seven steps to the scientific method. The first step is that you need to identify the research problem. The second step is that it is best to review existing research and theories related to the problem or issue. Developing working hypotheses or predictions about what the study might find is known for the third step. The fourth step is to determine an appropriate method or research design. Fifth step is collecting information or relevant data. Analyzing results to see if the hypothesis have been verified is the sixth step. Finally the last step is to interpret the implications of the study to determine whether they explain or predict patterns in human behavior. These steps can finally help know what is best for the media industry and academic researchers to study together. It is also a good idea to look at cultural studies. “These studies have generally focused on how people make meaning, apprehend reality, and order experience through their use of cultural symbols in print and visual media stated in “Media and Culture.” These studies will look at stuff like gender, sex, or race and how their power is in society.

With looking at all of these options to find out which issue is best to study with combining the media industry and academic researchers together it is probably best to study something about school and what is best for the students. For example, the media industry and academic researchers could study what kind of lifestyle and classes college students like the best, then when the media acts as a recruiter for students to go to college, it can be known for what students like and have a offer of variety of classes they can take. It might seem like a huge process to find out what these two can study together, but that is the best way to find out is take time to see which issue is right or best for society.

Anderson University’s mass media communications program has many different classes in the major. The classes offer a variety of different topics to better the student’s knowledge of the major. Most of the classes in this major allow the student to gain experience and allow hands on studies to allow for a better understanding. Although the program has classes that help to develop the student’s understanding of the major there are some changes that could be made to better the program.

            My concern for the program is that the classes seem to be aimed towards students going into the field of television. Many of the classes are geared toward positions in the television field. The classes benefit the students who want to go into this field. I think a few changes could be made to the classes to give the students a variety of information about other forms of video. This would take money to change the classes and to buy new equipment to use for the classes.

I think that it would be beneficial to the students to have a variety of film education instead of being so focused on television. A variety of classes could allow for students to broaden their ideas on what type of career they want to follow. The University of South Carolina has a Media Arts program containing five different concentrations. They allow for more concentrations to develop a better understanding of the career the students are going into.

            One problem with this idea is that Anderson University is a small college and it would take a lot of funding to create new classes. I think that small changes over time could add a variety of benefits to the mass media communications program.

Media most times changes what people think or view certain situations. People see certain things acted out on the tv set or in movies and it appeals to them, the violence, the money, the perfect, “get away with everything” lifestyle that is depicted. Music changes people attitudes and emotions as well. the violent lyrics can push people to do things that they may not do if the music did not make it so allurring. Research has been conducted to find out why people are so motivated and moved by the media and what the media does to attract people to act i ways they normally wouldn’t.

Many events have taken place that show people are seriously moved by the media. The columbine shootings, the VT shooting, and the Hollywood shootout as well are all examples of people acting out their fantasies through violence. Each person in these incidents had watched certain movies or played certian video games that made them want to act out their anger through the movie or the video game depicted.

The attraction to the media is the way that they show how the bad is actually fun and easy to get away with. practical application is rarely used in the media. The media never shows the good side of things if something or someome is sincere. They also don’t show the truly bad side of people or society. The truth isn’t shown because it doesn’t sell. Nobody cares to see or hear something that is safe or exceptable. The media that sells is the type that is darngerous looking or sounding.

Media courses in a college curriculum require both theory and practice. Theory is taught in the classroom whereas practice is more of a hands-on experience that applies theory to everyday life. Equal amounts of both are vital to a good education. 

Hands-on courses belong in both Liberal Arts colleges and Mass Communication colleges. This type of course gives the student a good balance of theory and hands-on experience that is necessary to enter the workplace. Hands-on, practical-skills courses such as news reporting, advertising copywriting, and TV production can belong in both colleges. 

Mass communication colleges such as the MTSU College of Mass Communication states that:

You’ll explore theory and practice, laws, ethics, and philosophy of communication while also learning specific skills in a chosen area.

Graduating from a Mass Communication college gives you the education that specializes in your specific field of study. Graduating from a Liberal Arts college gives you an education that covers a much broader field of study while also concentrating on the specialized courses in your field. Whichever college you pick, either should prepare you for a future in communications. 

If you are not 100% sure on one type of college, you could visit both and witness the different environments to see which would better suit your needs.

In college classes, many topics are brought up for discussion.  Discussion about politics, economics, and even television shows arise.  Talk about the media tends to get overlooked quite often.  Being a sophmore in college, I have taken a variety of classes.  The most common thing I find in classes is that the present status of the media is usually overlooked.  In classes, we talk about history from the past.  We discuss what happened hundreds, even thousands of years ago but not what happened yesterday.  Current conditions of media are overlooked and viewed as not as important.

It was not until the communications class I am taking this semester that the topic of media has been brought up.  Not only do we discuss the history of media, we also discuss what is happening presently throughout the world.  I think it is important for these topics to be brought up in college studies.  Withthe advantages of Tivo and watching television online, students are avoiding the news all together.  They control what television shows they want to watch, and when there aren’t any on television that they want to watch, they go to the Internet for backup.  They can view their favorite shows online, limiting the amount of exposure to commercials and daily news and media.  If more classes took the initiative to discuss different subjects in class, college students would be more aware of the surrounding media.

Colleges pride themselves in producing students who are aware of the world around them.  More than that, they train students how to be a part of the world and how to be an effective leader.  Naturally this should include the study of how the world communicates ideas and beliefs.  In a university setting, there is a strong connection between study and practice.  For example, students who study how to be an effective teacher, will be and effective teacher.  Likewise, students who study how to effectively communicate will have a great lead over students who do not. 

One advantage that small colleges and universities have is a curriculum that requires their students to take a variety of classes.  If these institutions include classes in which students learn how to communicate their ideas and beliefs, they will be effective in whatever their course of study.  For example, students who take a class about how the media affects and shapes their lives will gain a better understanding of how to use or not use different media forms.  Students who pursue a Christian ministry degree or plan to hold a pastoral office may benefit from taking a Television Production class.  Having this skill would benefit them in communicating with their church or outreach group. 

Students who wish to obtain a degree other than a specified form of communication should certainly take one or two communication classes.  Students who wish to pursue a communication degree would benefit from attending a school that offers a comprehensive communication program.  A student who wishes to pursue their academics even further should consider attending a communication graduate school to further their knowledge of the communication world. 

Whatever course students choose to follow, general (and specific) communication classes are essential to relating and defending personal ideas, beliefs, and methods.  

Everyone has heard the saying “Practice makes perfect.” Just because someone goes to a liberal arts school does not mean they shouldn’t have the opportunity to learn practical courses that are offered at bigger institutions. Most skills are better learned by practice and not theory. Someone could believe they understand everything about journalism, communication, and so on, but that doesn’t mean they can handle it in real life. Theory does nobody any good without being used and put to practice. Most people do not respect or think a person is credible until they can back up what they say with realistic background in the topic.

One way small liberal colleges, with less of a diverse course catalog avoids only using theory as a means of teaching, they make internships mandatory with a required amount of hours invested in the internship. This helps students to get wider range of actual experience, make contacts, and get a taste of the real world. Even though smaller schools emplement their program with internships and such, they should not limit themselves from having the news reporting, advertising copywriting, or TV production classes in their program. Students who are serious about communication sometimes see the importance of getting a well rounded education, but they want to learn all they can to help educate and advance them throughout their college career and profession. A liberal arts school can deliver all of this to their students to aid them in being the best they can be not just from head knowledge but hands on knowledge.

In looking at media courses in a college curriculum, the relationship between theory and practice is self-evident.  Hands-on, practical skills courses such as news reporting, advertising copywriting, or TV production invariably add to a student’s best interest in learning.

 Furthermore, it should be noted that indeed, these courses should be offered in both a liberal arts college and a mass communication college, for at either one, there are a plethora of students studying to be pro’s within this field.  With this mentality, students need the first hand experience of what it is actually like in the field they are entering. Without this experience, a student may be deceived as to what it is their actual occupation may encompass. 

 Allowing students to experience and learn first-hand what it is like in the fields of news reporting, advertising copywriting, TV production and more inevitably best prepares them for their job; without this first rate training, an individual will more or less be inadequate at what they do. 

 Imagine, if you will, a doctor in his medicinal practices.  He attends college, graduate school and even attains his doctoral degree in his desired field of nursing.  He is extremely knowledgeable in the area of his expertise; yet, has never performed any operations or followed another doctor as he performed surgery, diagnosed a patient or performed a doctor’s work – he only has the intellectual knowledge needed for the job, but has never actually been allowed to first-hand perform and use his abilities.  As a result, he has a bad reputation as a doctor and is recommended by few and has no experience in what he has studied to become – a doctor.

 As always, there are always exceptions and there are those elite few who with their book knowledge can perform and work all of the ‘knowledge’ they have learned.

 Yet, more often than not, most all individuals learn best in actual hands-on environments.  Such is the role of an individual in the profession of media.  Without the hands-on work (referenced in the doctor example), an individual cannot reach their full potential – they need professionals (aka: professors) who are the best at what they do, who can impart their wealth of knowledge and expertise to the student, also allowing the student to perform for themselves and then receive feedback on what they did well or what they should improve. 

First-hand experience and teaching, by far surpasses the ‘do it for yourself’ way of learning – media personnel will benefit unsurmountably well with learning and applying what they have ‘learned’ in the classroom with the actual ‘let me do this myself so that I can know what to do in the wild.’

“Journalists have traditionally viewed their work as a public service and seldom think of the news as a product or a commodity.” –MassMedia 510

Within the job of a reporter, there are dangers of both detachment from and involvement in public life.  Most of these dangers come from uninvolvement; however, some entail involvement as well.

A risk that a reporter takes in disengagement from the public life is the inadequate knowledge of knowing what is happening in the world around them – without some sort of outlet in society, a reporter does not clearly understand the world events happening.  With this method, journalists merely state their opinion on a particular issue in lieu of presenting both sides of the issue(s) for the public to view for themselves their own conclusion.

While disengagement can be a concern for journalists, so can too much engagement as this may lead to a biased viewpoint or the chagrin of those in society believing the journalist is too ‘attached’ to their society or neighborhood.

Essentially, both work hand in hand and could be considered a ‘toss-up.’  The dangers are many and varied.  Jay Rosen explicitly states this concept, which alludes that in order “to be adversarial, critical, to ask tough questions, to expose scandal and wrongdoing…these are the necessary tasks, even noble tasks, but they are negative tasks.”  He also says that “journalism should assert itself as a positive force, not merely as a watchdog or as a neutral information conduit to readers but as ‘a support system for public life.’”

Many people grew(ow) up having their parents or other news media thinking for them – delve into issues and stand firm for what you believe!

Music has largley shaped the image if what America is. Music has changed very much over the years and will always and comform to the culture of society. Music has has had its share of conformities. The Flat disk, phonograph, audiotape, cassettes, to the cd and now the ipod, ways to listen to music have certainly evolved. Online music stores have now become a threat to the recording business. People can simply retrieve music from online music stores for free instead of buying the cd in stores. Music itself has also gone through many changes conforming to culture. The days of Frank Sinatra, to the rock and roll, and now rap/hip hop have all been popular depending on the culture and fashion at the time. Each generation has its own defining music and sound that goes along with their style of how they lived and rebelled. Each “brand” of music can represent a different social group in society. Country/folk music represents people of an older generation as well as jazz. Rock and roll represents the middle age, “Vietnam” generation of rebelling. Hip hop represents society today as an arrogant nature.

An issue that a media industry and academic research team could study together is deciding what a community needs. Smaller technical colleges can offer this by trying to figure out what jobs are needed to be filled inside the community such as X-ray technicians at hospitals or professional truck drivers.  They can pull their research together to help strengthen the community around them.  In a media world they could offer classes at a technical college for persuasive writing and help people get degrees in fields that affect the communities directly such as in a political roll by offering political science or public relation classes.  Since the technical colleges are smaller, they can offer different classes according to what is needed by the surrounding community. 

The internet is the most popular media in the world. People can access the internet in places where they can’t get the radio, televsion, or even cell phone service. The internet can do what all other media can’t. The internet can use visual aid such as video and pictures, as well as update their stories constanly. The internet was first used my the military to communicate information to their ships at sea without being detected. The internet is used for many different things now. The internet gives access to news, Email communication, instant messaging, which is on par with cell phone communication, as well as blogging. The internet gives the capability to find information that may often not be able to be found in books. It is also many times just something that much more convenient to use than ano other forms of media. There is now something called media convergence used through the internet. It mixes audio, video, and data used to activate telephone service, wireless WiFi, cable, satellite, broadband, and cell phoen service. The internet in many ways is a one-stop-shop for all mass communication doing it all in one. Although the internet has hadmany problems with laws. There is now real that is set on the internet. Anyone can post and put up anything that they want to.

Well, speaking as a student at Anderson Unviersity and being a mass media major , I have alot of concerns. I do beleive that Anderson is a good well rounded school, but when it comes down to some of the classes that are offered, it’s a messed up situation for students especially in the communications department.

As a student I feel that if you pay the money to go to any college or university then the school should first off supply enough equipement to be used. It’s not right to the students with especially tution being so high that they can’t even get enough computers to do their work. The situation that I’m speaking on is the in the communications lab there only two mac computers for students to edit their work. This isn’t fair to the students especially when you have deadlines and only two hours on the computers, and there are tons of students needing to get on the computer. The school should supply the students needs when it comes to academics.

Secondly which is one of the main concerns with the mass media department at my university is, the mass media classes aren’t offered but every two years. Well, we all know that this isn’t fair. The university should hire more staff so these classes can be offered every semester. Because you have kids busting their butts trying to take on 18 load  hour of credits, because they need these classes to graduate and if they don’t get them when there offered it will set them back. Also another major problem that worries me is students can’t get in the classes because they are full,  well, that’s not our problem we pay money to go to school here and the school should fix this.  And if you don’t get the classes when you need them and you don’t pass them then you have to wait then you’re just sol. 

These problems that where listed are major concerns about mass media department at school. As a university the president should try to fix this . Why not hire more professors to teach in the communications department and invest in more equipment so students want have this problem? This isn’t right, and it’s a major concern of mine, and others also.

There are many different types of media. Television, magazines, journals, radio, internet, the list can go on. In the days before mass technology there wasn’t too much comminication interaction going on. News was hard to get around, people were in many ways left in the dark. In the ancient days the only comunication done was that of oral and written communication. Debates were often the center for most public conversation and the spread of news. The 1800s brought about movable print. This changed the era of communication. News was now able to be spread, but still not in  a fast way. Many newspapers and magazines would print and publish fake articles, they would make up stuff for the purpose of money, in other word, they the publishers just wanted people to buy their product. Later on, the radio would take over the newspapers. The radio was able to put news out much quicker and could update their news several times throughout the day inbetween the music. The telivsion then became popular in the 1950s. With visual aid, the tv was now th most popular media tool. The internet eventually came bringing about the fastest and most popular media usage in the world enabling visual aid and th eability to update stories instantly. Mass media has the ability to change styles, fashion, viewpoints, and entire cultures.

Have you ever gone to an R rated movie and seen 12 year olds or even 8 year olds sitting in the seats?  This is a crazy thing but it happens all the time.  Parents are buying tickets for their under aged children to see an inappropriate movie.  It is no wonder we have so many violent and sexually immoral kids in the world.  Watching these types of movies is certainly a contributing factor.  These movies expose young children to inappropriate things early in life, and convince them that it is okay to do exactly what they see in the movies; whether it is having sex outside of marriage, underage drinking, shooting somebody, or even robbing a store.  The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) puts ratings on movies for a reason, to provide parents with information about the movies, thus allowing them to make judgments as to whether or not to allow their children to watch it.  The rating system was established to protect children from inappropriate movie content.  But the rating system can only provide the information; parents must take an active role and determine whether a movie is appropriate for their children.

There are many factors considered by the ratings board when assigning ratings to a movie including sex, violence, nudity, language, adult topics, and drug use (MPAA).  The MPAA does a decent job at making sure movies are rated appropriately but there is always room for improvement.  The system does not function as a critic of movies; the ratings do not determine whether a movie is good or bad.  It simply assigns a rating to help parents make the decision.  The MPAA wants to make the public aware of the content of the movie, therefore, helping parents take the necessary precautions before spending the money to take the family to an unsuitable movie.  The latest poll shows that 78% of parents with children under 13 found the ratings to be “very useful” or “fairly useful” in helping them make decisions about proper viewing (MPAA).  Even with the help provided by these ratings, some parents ignore the warnings and still take their young children to see movies that are improper and unfitting for their age such as Step Brothers or Tropic Thunder.

The current movie rating system sponsored by the MPAA is strong, but not strong enough.  The ratings simply provide a person with information about a movie, such as violence and sex.  Even though this information is important and useful, the rating system does not restrict who can and cannot get into movies at the movie theaters.  Theaters allow under aged children to see an R rated movie if those children are accompanied by an adult who is at least 21.  This should not be allowed.  The MPAA should set rules that forbid anyone under the appropriate age from viewing certain movies, with or without an adult.  If these rules were made and most importantly enforced, we certainly wouldn’t have to worry about eight year olds, or any other young children, watching R rated films in theaters.  Researchers have found that children are more physically and verbally aggressive immediately after watching violent movies (SafeYouth).  So eliminating the problem of having under aged children seeing violent, sexually explicit movies with inappropriate language would make an impact on society as a whole as this would help decrease violence.

If the law was changed and theaters were forced to forbid under aged children from viewing movies unsuitable to their age, they would probably be unhappy with the change.  But I believe it is a needed change.  Something must be done to protect these children when their parents are not providing the necessary guidance.  Theaters would then be responsible for making sure no one was allowed in the movie if they did not meet age requirements, whether or not the parents wanted them to attend.  To make sure it was enforced, theaters would have to receive punishment for ignoring the situation.  If theaters are caught letting young people into the movie rated above their age level, then the theater should be financially penalized.  If they are continually fined for the same offense, they will lose money and even possibly be forced out of business.  Hopefully the fines would be enough to deter the problem and make them change their policy.

 The MPAA cannot restrict who buys certain movies, but they can put rules on who gets in to certain movies.  These new rules may take a while to set into place making sure theaters know the penalties for breaking the rules and making sure the public understands the new policies.  During the process some people and some theaters may object but eventually they will all accept it and realize it is for the greater good of society.