1. Are you exposed to popular culture from other countries? Why or why not? Give some examples.
I am not really exposed to other countries popular culture. I could not name a singer or a song that is popular in other countries but not over here. I hardly know the popular music over here anyways. On T.V. I usually watch ESPN. Because I watch that I know that baseball is big over in Japan and that basketball is growing worldwide. Also I know that soccer is a huge deal in just about every country but the USA. Other than that I know almost nothing about other countries popular culture, but I also know little about ours.
4. How does the concentration of media ownership limit the number of voices in the marketplace? Do we need rules limiting media ownership?
When a few companies own all the different types of media then all you are going to get is what they want you to get. They are able to spin the information to their viewpoint. Less and less people will have an actual voice. I think we do need rules limiting media ownership. There are some pretty stupid people out there that are going to believe whatever they hear. They hear only one side a lot so they automatically jump on that bandwagon without hearing the other sides argument. To have a better run country, we need to have people properly informed.
2. 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. Do you agree or disagree, and why?
I disagree because the media is finding out what we want to see and then getting it to us. We now can go online and get our news, which is a lot quicker then waiting for the 6 o'clock news to come around. The media knows that we want our information quick so that's how they get it to us. I feel like the media is changing to give us what we want. They focus on things that will bring people in and they get the stuff to them quickly.
3. Can you think of an issue that media industry and academic researchers could study together? Explain.
I think there are plenty of issues. They could get together on anything that deals with the media and it's effects. Things like the different effects that it could have on children, both positive and negative. They could talk about the effect that violent shows have on people. There was a very big deal after Columbine about violent video games. Well, violent shows, movies, and news stories probably could have the same effect. i personally think that violent games do not make people violent. There are more people who play violent games and don't shoot up a school then people who do. I feel like it was people trying to find a scapegoat but it would still be an interesting thing to find out because i could be wrong.
2. If you owned a community newspaper and had to formulate a policy for your editors about which letters from readers could appear in a limited space on your editorial page, what kind of letters would you eliminate and why? Would you be acting as a censor in this situation? Why or why not?
I would first have a word limit in which I would let the readers know of. I would also allow no profanity, racial slurs, or anything else that could be deemed as offensive. I would tell them to try and show both point of views to something. I am acting as a censor because I do not want anything offensive in my paper and won't allow any deragatory comments. But I would not allow my editors to not show a letter just because it doesn't show their side or it hurts their side. I would want my newspaper to show both sides and let people form their own opinions on issues, not just being spoon-fed one side.
5. What do you think of the current movie rating system? Should it be changed? Why or why not?
I think it is ok. I think there are some changes needed to be made. I feel like there is a BIG difference between 13&16 and a lot of the stuff that I feel like a 16 year old could see and handle is a lot different then a 13 year old. I feel like another rating between R and PG13 should be added. There are a lot of PG13 movies that just miss out on an R rating and a lot of parents wouldn't want them seeing a lot of things in those movies.
