Paris vs. a Burger

At a first glace what do you think this commercial is about? Possibly something pornographic? Nope, but good guess.  Maybe that car? Or a car wash?  No, but also good guesses.  Oh wait…maybe it is for that hamburger that was show only from 0:39 to 0:40 for only one second? Yep, that’s right: a commercial for a hamburger that has absolutely NOTHING to do with a hamburger.  The reality is that someone like Paris Hilton would probably never eat anything like a fattening hamburger.  This causes girls to have a negative image of their bodies because they expect to look the way her body does while eating fattening foods.  On the other hand, the commercial seems to be effective to men.  Most of my guy friends decide they immediately need a hamburger after watching a commercial like this, while most girls are still stuck on the fact that she is being completely trashy and selling her body.  Commercials will always be deceiving because advertisers know how to hit our emotional triggers, and for men, this one seems to do the trick.   

Radio vs. New Music Mediums

Like Sarah and Kate both talked about, listening to music is now easier than ever. We not only have access to tons of radio station, but we can even listen to them online now. We often forget that decades ago, this wasn’t as easy. We expect that since we grew up with music always at such an easy access, it has always been that way. The reality of it is that reality of it is that radio has changed dramatically. Zoomer radio, wrote an online post saying:

“In the sixties and seventies, radio listening choices were much more limited than they are today.  It’s not that many more radio stations existed then. There were fewer formats.  For one thing, FM radio in the mid-sixties, for example, was relegated to just a few approaches, such as “easy-listening” instrumentals or classical music.  And, then, many people didn’t have FM receivers.  The most popular formats were all located on the AM band.  That, of course, is not the case today.  Both AM and FM broadcast popular formats.  Another difference is that, today, formats are much more specific in most cases.  When I was a teenager, my favourite “top forty” station played a wide variety of musical styles.  One could hear Dean Martin crooning a ballad, followed by the Kinks performing an edgy rock tune.  Today, stations tend to specialize their programming:  Classic rock, jazz, talk, all-news, etc.  With internet and satellite radio, it’s even more specific:  There’s actually an all-Elvis channel.”

Also, this website below has a video that is a talk about how radio has dramatically changed since new technology has developed. Check it out!

Watch video here!

Article discussed above

Old Radio vs. New Radio

Since the invention and widespread distribution of the radio, it has had a profound effect on how people listen to music, hear the news, and receive advertisements. However, as technology has developed, it seems as though the radio has taken a backseat to both television and the internet. People can easily watch the news on TV and listen to music on the internet. I personally only listen to the radio when I'm in a car and, even then, I usually play my iPod in my car rather than listening to the radio. While it seems that the radio won't be completely disappearing anytime soon, do you think it will eventually be drowned out by superior, emerging technologies? Will new formats of radio, such as Pandora Radio, continue the legacy of the radio, or will the days of hit stations and radio DJs end soon?

Pandora Radio vs. An Ordinary Radio

The radio has been taken to a whole new level.  Back when, you use to patiently wait for your favorite songs to come streaming out of the speakers of your car.  Today, Pandora radio has made it possible for you to chose the artist or song name of your choice and then creates a playlist for your enjoyment.  You can choose a smooth classical music station to study too or a hip hop and pop radio station to fit your Friday and Saturday night needs!  Other radios have no chance against Pandora!  So, if you haven't checked it out yet, I recommend that you take a look into Pandora radio.  Access it from your smartphones, iPads, and laptops!  And the best thing about it is that it is totally free! You would never expect putting a playlist together would be so easy, but the reality of it is, it has become easier than ever!!

iHeartRadio vs. Standard Radio

It used to be family gathering around at certain times, ready to enjoy the program for the night. Then, it moved on to being able to listen to that program in your own car. With progressions along the way, we took another big leap in the radio world; iHeartRadio.  iHeartRadio delivers access to over 800+ live, local radio stations from around the United States. It also gives us listeners access to exclusive digital-only stations and celebrity-hosted channels, and exclusive videos. A mobile app also allows users to listen to radio stations from across the country, create their own custom radio stations using particular artists and songs, and ‘tag’ songs they hear for purchase from mobile retailers. Looking back on what radio used to be, it is crazy to think that this is where we are today. I use iHeartRadio a lot at school because I can listen to radio stations from back home, which is always nice. Take a listen yourself and you'll see how this amazing radio network has evolved our radio world.

iHeartRadio

Re-Post from Professor Chris Wells

My Journalism 201 Intro to Mass Communications Professor, Chris Wells, agreed to allow me to repost one of his blog posts to our blog.  His post relates directly to the theme of our blog.  His post displays an example of when Mike Daisey lied about conditions in Apple factories in China on an NPR live broadcast.  Daisey was caught in his lies and Professor Wells created an assignment out of this journalistic flaw.  He wanted us to draw our own conclusions about what happened.  I know the radio broadcast is a little long, but it is definitely worth listening to.  It is insane how much someone can lie about on air.  I wonder what else we hear is false information?  When is it ok to stretch the truth/ use theatrical tactics about a situation when people could potentially be in harm's way?

Re-Post from Professor Chris Wells:

Last week, the famous National Public Radio WBEZ Chicago program This American Lifeannounced that it was retracting an earlier episode it had run on January 6, 2012. And a blog post by prominent media critic Jay Rosen is HERE. Your task in Online Assignment #3 is to learn about this case of journalistic mistake and retraction, draw your own conclusions about it

Photo of Mike Daisey.  

Twitter vs. Old Information

Scrolling through my Twitter feed is something I do on an hourly (if not more) basis. Whether I'm sitting in class, riding in the car, or just sitting around, I am constantly checking to see if there is updated news and waiting to be informed on what is happening around the world. Twitter, as defined by the creator, was "a short burst of inconsequential information," and "chirps from birds". This is what the world has come to. We no longer have to turn on the news or even find a computer. By the click of a button on our phones, we can read every important piece of information we need. So the argument strikes; is Twitter able to replace every old piece of informational news we used to depend on? Below are 20 interesting facts about Twitter from 2011 that give you an idea of how powerful this social media site is. 

1. There are currently about 110 million users on Twitter (as of 2011).

2. Twitter only had 8 employees in 2009. In 2011, they have over 400.

3. 21% of Twitter accounts are blank with no posts―get to posting people!

4. 93.6% of Twitter profiles have less than 100 followers and 92.4% follow less than 100 profiles. It seems like a majority of tweets are marketers.

5. There are more than 50,000 third-party apps for Twitter.

6. Of all Twitter accounts, 72.5% were created in the first half of 2009

7. Dominated by the few: 5% of all Twitter accounts create 75% of all tweets

8. Because of a Twitter donation, The Library of Congress has access to all tweets on Twitter for research and preservation.

9. New York has the most Twitter profiles. Los Angeles, Toronto, San Francisco and Boston vie for second.

10. On Twitter, there are more than 600 million searches done every single day

11. Women account for more than 53% of Twitter users

12. Most users do not follow that many people. Only 15% of users follow over 2,000 people

13. Everyday, Twitter gets more than 300,000 new users.

14. At first, Twitter’s goal was simple. It just wanted to be a very simple SMS-text service.

15. The U.S. Only accounts for about 40% of Twitter use.

16. Twitter is accessed by more than 30% users via their mobile phone.

17. Stephen Colbert sent the most re-tweeted Tweet in Twitter history thus far-- "in honor of oil soak birds, 'tweets' are now 'gurgles."

18. Lady Gaga was the first Twitter account to reach 10 million

19. There are over 10 proposals on Twitter

20. The death of Osama Bin Laden caused the most tweets to date