As far as citizen journalism goes, there is really no limit to how much opinion is involved. However, where do we draw the line between a ranting blog and an informational news website? Once I checked out a citizen journal called The Beast, I realized that this line cannot be easily drawn—at least in some cases. Don’t get me wrong, this blog is extremely helpful in informing people about what is going on in the Oakland area, but that is about all that it offers.
When I think of news and journalism, I think of articles that increase my knowledge about what is going on around me. Now, granted that this blog does include articles that increase knowledge, there is no real news shown on the page. Anyone can write articles about where to go and what to do while visiting a city—that is what travel agencies are for, though. The articles written on The Beast are not about any certain issue, but rather an entertainment forum for potential visitors or bored citizens of Oakland. If the articles pertained to any sort of issue, there would be actual comments posted with the articles, however no one has responded to the majority of them.
After checking out the actual website for Oakland, I discovered that it contains more material about issues in the area than The Beast. The organization of the Oakland website is even more clear and concise than The Beast. I found no direction whatsoever in The Beast, but rather an ongoing list of random articles. If citizen journalism is supposed to include opinions and stories that may not necessarily make it to larger newspapers, then I feel that The Beast should not even be classified as citizen journalism. What are we gaining from this site other than a brochure about the area?
In conclusion, I recognize that some people may find this site helpful since it does indeed provide insight about the city. However, I don’t feel that it even offers a sufficient amount of information to help anyone. The Beast definitely cannot be categorized as an editorial page, seeing that it provides really no opinion about pertinent issues within the community. When I read a worthy editorial, it makes me want to form an opinion of my own and express it. When I read this page, it simply makes me want to fall asleep.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Survivor Reaction
First of all, I feel that the fans have somewhat of a disadvantage. I understand that they feel as if they have the advantage from watching the favorites on previous episodes, however the version that the fans have seen is somewhat censored.
In Chapter 5, the book mentions the programmer’s perspective. It goes on to say that “Programmers intuitively know that to attract audiences, they must take their audience’s sense of reality and tweak it a bit to make it seem more interesting.” This being said, the viewers have seen a skewed version of the favorites’ behaviors in order to increase their attention to the show. This proves to be a disadvantage for them, because they may have completely misjudged the character of the favorites.
Also, in class we have talked about how Survivor always shows the action, however it never shows anyone sleeping. We must take this into consideration when attempting to analyze reality television characters. If we do not see them sleep, what other aspects of their lives do we not see? Can these hidden behaviors help in order to correctly analyze the competition?
In Chapter 5, the book mentions the programmer’s perspective. It goes on to say that “Programmers intuitively know that to attract audiences, they must take their audience’s sense of reality and tweak it a bit to make it seem more interesting.” This being said, the viewers have seen a skewed version of the favorites’ behaviors in order to increase their attention to the show. This proves to be a disadvantage for them, because they may have completely misjudged the character of the favorites.
Also, in class we have talked about how Survivor always shows the action, however it never shows anyone sleeping. We must take this into consideration when attempting to analyze reality television characters. If we do not see them sleep, what other aspects of their lives do we not see? Can these hidden behaviors help in order to correctly analyze the competition?
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Max Headroom
Max Headroom provided many examples of media literacy. I think that the concept most portrayed by Max Headroom would be the three categories of media messages. Max Headroom provided an inside look to information based, entertainment based, and advertisement based messages. The news station setting is a perfect way for the audience to experience some of the issues that may occur in the media world.
The first example that sticks out in my mind would be when one of the men confirmed that news has always been about entertainment despite the beliefs of Edison Carter, who believes that the news should be purely informational. During this episode, one of the news stations is producing stories that are fixed and untrue only to create better ratings. However, Edison Carter believes that for the sake of real news, he needs to find the real story behind the strange happenings throughout their city.
This example provides us with an opportunity to think about the line that seperates information from entertainment. Often times in the world of the media this line can be somewhat unclear. It is often times difficult to decipher whether or not the news we are watching is providing us with accurate information based solely on an informational basis or whether the news is providing us with exaggerated or even false information in order to gain ratings.
Max Headroom definitely provides viewers with an insider's look at the influence that the news is able to have on viewers. Often times it is hard for us to remain objective enough to realize that the information we are receiving from the news might actually not be news at all, but rather an attempt to gain ratings for the news station.
The first example that sticks out in my mind would be when one of the men confirmed that news has always been about entertainment despite the beliefs of Edison Carter, who believes that the news should be purely informational. During this episode, one of the news stations is producing stories that are fixed and untrue only to create better ratings. However, Edison Carter believes that for the sake of real news, he needs to find the real story behind the strange happenings throughout their city.
This example provides us with an opportunity to think about the line that seperates information from entertainment. Often times in the world of the media this line can be somewhat unclear. It is often times difficult to decipher whether or not the news we are watching is providing us with accurate information based solely on an informational basis or whether the news is providing us with exaggerated or even false information in order to gain ratings.
Max Headroom definitely provides viewers with an insider's look at the influence that the news is able to have on viewers. Often times it is hard for us to remain objective enough to realize that the information we are receiving from the news might actually not be news at all, but rather an attempt to gain ratings for the news station.
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