By:Hillary Thornton
How much fragmentation is there among television news audiences? When looking at polls on political issues given by the major news coorperations it would look like there is hardly any fragmentation among the American people concerning the debates of today. WRONG! It is common knowledge that FOX=conservative and CNN=liberal. If people have conservative political views they are going to watch FOX, if they have liberal views they are going to watch CNN. Therefore they are going to take polls from their respective news source. There will be more shared opinions among the viewers of each station. For example, majority of FOX viewers will have a negative opinion of the new healthcare bill while the majority of CNN viewers will share positive opinions of the healthcare bill. Clearly politics drive which station the audience views and those politics cause fragmention among the American audience in its entirity.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Framing in Television News
By: Hillary Thornton
So really how reliable is the information you receive through television news? TV journalists have delveloped several techniques for framing their stories. Does this mean they are bringing false evidence, facts and information. No, they just have ways of making their audience see the story through a certain angle. Ways they do this are by using or not using certain video footage, different editing techniques. whether they cover the stroy live of as a pre-produced package, where in the newscast the story comes and the length of time the story gets. All of these things are very simple things but tv journalists heavily consider all of these details because they do greatly effect their viewers and how they feel about the story at hand. For example, stories that come at the beginning of a newscast make viewers believe it is one of the most important stories for the day. However, there could be much greater issues going on that day. Since the newscasters placed the story at the beginning the viewers believe has the most importance. TV journalists tend to frame stories surrounded by conflict. Stories involving high-profile celebrities (recent example of Tiger Woods), politics, race, war, etc. are almost always framed whether the newscasters are aware of it or not. Framing is simple using effects to make your audience see the story through a particular angle. Often framing is used to persuade the audience, maintain integrity or simply gain an advantage. In the Duke lacrosse team rape case. Duke's Public Relations professionals used framing. The university was in the national spotlight and their school's prestige and integrity was under scrutiny. The university was involved in a case of rape however the school never actually discussed rape. The PR people never discussed the 'big issue' with the public. They focused on the emotional aspect of the students and how these particular athletes were being wrongly accused. There is more framing in this example...the athletes were found not guilty of rape. Even though the majority of America first believed without a doubt they were guilty of rape because of the way the story was portrayed by the media...the story was framed.
So really how reliable is the information you receive through television news? TV journalists have delveloped several techniques for framing their stories. Does this mean they are bringing false evidence, facts and information. No, they just have ways of making their audience see the story through a certain angle. Ways they do this are by using or not using certain video footage, different editing techniques. whether they cover the stroy live of as a pre-produced package, where in the newscast the story comes and the length of time the story gets. All of these things are very simple things but tv journalists heavily consider all of these details because they do greatly effect their viewers and how they feel about the story at hand. For example, stories that come at the beginning of a newscast make viewers believe it is one of the most important stories for the day. However, there could be much greater issues going on that day. Since the newscasters placed the story at the beginning the viewers believe has the most importance. TV journalists tend to frame stories surrounded by conflict. Stories involving high-profile celebrities (recent example of Tiger Woods), politics, race, war, etc. are almost always framed whether the newscasters are aware of it or not. Framing is simple using effects to make your audience see the story through a particular angle. Often framing is used to persuade the audience, maintain integrity or simply gain an advantage. In the Duke lacrosse team rape case. Duke's Public Relations professionals used framing. The university was in the national spotlight and their school's prestige and integrity was under scrutiny. The university was involved in a case of rape however the school never actually discussed rape. The PR people never discussed the 'big issue' with the public. They focused on the emotional aspect of the students and how these particular athletes were being wrongly accused. There is more framing in this example...the athletes were found not guilty of rape. Even though the majority of America first believed without a doubt they were guilty of rape because of the way the story was portrayed by the media...the story was framed.
Go Greek or go home?
Georgetown College has several Greek organizations and they are very prevalent around campus. It seems that almost everyone on campus is a member of a Greek organization, excluding those students that are members of athletic teams. It seems, however, that there is a separation among the student body because of these “cliques”. If you walk into the cafeteria you know exactly whom a person is judging strictly by where they are sitting. Georgetown College is making a movement to improve the diversity of the college by recruiting a diverse group of new students, but what about the students that already go here? By no means are Greek organizations a bad thing; actually they do a lot in terms of charity and community service. However, the students that are members of them could do better job have branching out from their particular “clique” and meeting new people. Many people claim that they join a Greek organization in order to make new friends, but a small private college it is a lot easier to make new friends than at a state school. Greek organizations are not the only ones at fault here though, athletes also have trouble branching out from their comfort zone of friends and meeting new people. If all Georgetown students would branch out and meet some new people they might find out that they have been missing out on some great individuals that they could have been friends with all along.
By Alex Stewart
By Alex Stewart
Housing Concerns at GC?
The cost of living on campus at Georgetown College is right around $4000 a year. Since the students only live in the dorms/apartments for about 8 months out of the year, that works out to about $500 per month. In comparison one can probably afford to live in a nice off-campus apartment for about the same price instead of cramming into a tiny dorm room with another person, which you may not even like. It is understandable that the college requires all freshman to live on campus, unless they are commuters, however there is a point at which the college should allow students to move off-campus without being penalized. Several Georgetown students are concerned with the state of the housing situation at the school. One student I talked to said that he got a staph infection from living in the dorm and wants to move off-campus, but cannot afford to lose any of his financial aid. East campus is a nicer option in the campus-housing department, however you must be at least a junior with a 3.3 GPA in order to live there, so for the sophomores and juniors that do not meet the requirements the only option is the dorm. Some change needs to be made, either an increase in the amount of time and funding that is spent on on-campus housing, or a change in policy regarding moving off-campus.
By Alex Stewart
By Alex Stewart
Private school worth the price of admission?
With the state of the economy how it is and the need for a college education growing greater by the year, why is it that Georgetown College feels the need to have an annual increase in the cost of tuition? It is very hard for some students to afford the cost of tuition at a private school, however most students are able to make it through with the help of student loans and financial aid. Georgetown College might be digging themselves into a hole that they cannot get out of if they keep raising their prices. According to the College’s website the total cost of each year is $33,110, in comparison with $8,123 that it costs to attend the University of Kentucky. Although the private school prestige is very attractive, if the cost keeps going up it will soon become only a dream for most middle to lower class students. Many recent college graduates have found themselves entering a very competitive work force and are deciding that instead of facing the real world, they should continue their education by going to grad school. However, grad school is not free either so there are even more bills that will be piling up. So, it is becoming very difficult for a student to justify attending a private school when the cost of a public school is much cheaper and the result in finding a job could be the same. Maybe Georgetown College should reconsider their annual increase in tuition before they raise their prices right out of contention with the other schools of the state.
By Alex Stewart
By Alex Stewart
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wrap Up
By: Danielle Gilford
The decade of the Aughts gave birth to a media obsessed audience. Not only did we witness the rise of social networking sites, the internet, and reality television. We began to notice the increasing laziness and dormancy of the audience. It’s not that the audience has become stupid; it’s just that they have become content with not having to work as hard to obtain information. It has also become harder to keep the audience entertained because they are turning to technology and electronics more and more to fill their need for entertainment. At the same time, we have been able to make incredible advancements in technology and entertainment such as the iPhone, iPods, the increased efficiency of the internet and social networking online. It has had its share of advantages and disadvantages.
The decade of the Aughts gave birth to a media obsessed audience. Not only did we witness the rise of social networking sites, the internet, and reality television. We began to notice the increasing laziness and dormancy of the audience. It’s not that the audience has become stupid; it’s just that they have become content with not having to work as hard to obtain information. It has also become harder to keep the audience entertained because they are turning to technology and electronics more and more to fill their need for entertainment. At the same time, we have been able to make incredible advancements in technology and entertainment such as the iPhone, iPods, the increased efficiency of the internet and social networking online. It has had its share of advantages and disadvantages.
Internet and the Distribution of Knowledge
By: Danielle Gilford
During the Aughts, the internet has become more elaborate and widely used than ever before. It has become a main source for people all over the world for the distribution of knowledge. Audiences don’t have to leave the comfort of their own home to find out almost anything they need to know. All someone has to do if they want to find out more information about something is to get online and type a few words into Google search or Bing and there is an endless list of results. Wikipedia, although not always 100% correct, tells most people anything they want to know about any subject. Also available to audiences are online library resources like ProQuest and EBSCOhost which “serves thousands of libraries and other institutions with premium content in every subject area.” (EBSCOhost 2009).
During the Aughts, the internet has become more elaborate and widely used than ever before. It has become a main source for people all over the world for the distribution of knowledge. Audiences don’t have to leave the comfort of their own home to find out almost anything they need to know. All someone has to do if they want to find out more information about something is to get online and type a few words into Google search or Bing and there is an endless list of results. Wikipedia, although not always 100% correct, tells most people anything they want to know about any subject. Also available to audiences are online library resources like ProQuest and EBSCOhost which “serves thousands of libraries and other institutions with premium content in every subject area.” (EBSCOhost 2009).
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