Thursday, March 24, 2005
What else is in the news? Nothing? ok, let's talk about this.
One of the Michelles thought we should have some discussion of the Terri Schaivo issue since it is so prominent in the news right now. I was going to avoid the topic for that exact reason but I am now caving to pressure. The media has set the agenda for me.
I didn't want this to be a discussion that had nothing to do with the class. Luckily I found this very interesting article from BAGnewsNotes. I like this web site. I don't check it every day but I do look at it often.
The article is an analysis of two photographs relating to this story and the perception they create for the consumers of news. Read the article, look at the pictures and give me your analysis of the pisctures. Also, react to the article. Do you think anything is missing from the analysis? If so, what?
As an aside, if you haven't seen the exhibit in Berman I highly recommend it. There are some amazing prints on display.
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One of the Michelles thought we should have some discussion of the Terri Schaivo issue since it is so prominent in the news right now. I was going to avoid the topic for that exact reason but I am now caving to pressure. The media has set the agenda for me.
I didn't want this to be a discussion that had nothing to do with the class. Luckily I found this very interesting article from BAGnewsNotes. I like this web site. I don't check it every day but I do look at it often.
The article is an analysis of two photographs relating to this story and the perception they create for the consumers of news. Read the article, look at the pictures and give me your analysis of the pisctures. Also, react to the article. Do you think anything is missing from the analysis? If so, what?
As an aside, if you haven't seen the exhibit in Berman I highly recommend it. There are some amazing prints on display.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Advertising and the mind
This is an incredibly interesting and scary article from the L.A. Times. The article looks at how advertising can be used to influence the subconscious reasons why we buy the things we buy and vote the way we vote. The implications for the research are very frightening. The research is implying that when it comes to the things we do, "much of what was traditionally considered the product of logic and deliberation is actually driven by primitive brain systems responsible for emotional responses."
One big claim that is made in the article is that media and marketing can change the way the brain functions. This is similar to technological determinism which basically states that it is more important to study the nature or characteristics of a medium than the content of that medium. One writer, Neil Postman, made the claim that media can change the way the human brain works. For instance, when you're reading a book you're using a different part of the brain than when you're watching television. What happens when a large part of society spends more time in front of the TV than reading a book? One part of their brain will become stronger and another will become weaker. It's not unlike going to the gym. If every time you work out all you do is lift the free weights with your arms and you never work out your legs what will the result be? You'll have strong arms and weak legs.
This article addresses some very important issues whether you plan on going into broadcasting, public relations, journalism, politics or any other realm of public communication. You should all be aware of this research and continue to follow it wherever it goes.
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This is an incredibly interesting and scary article from the L.A. Times. The article looks at how advertising can be used to influence the subconscious reasons why we buy the things we buy and vote the way we vote. The implications for the research are very frightening. The research is implying that when it comes to the things we do, "much of what was traditionally considered the product of logic and deliberation is actually driven by primitive brain systems responsible for emotional responses."
One big claim that is made in the article is that media and marketing can change the way the brain functions. This is similar to technological determinism which basically states that it is more important to study the nature or characteristics of a medium than the content of that medium. One writer, Neil Postman, made the claim that media can change the way the human brain works. For instance, when you're reading a book you're using a different part of the brain than when you're watching television. What happens when a large part of society spends more time in front of the TV than reading a book? One part of their brain will become stronger and another will become weaker. It's not unlike going to the gym. If every time you work out all you do is lift the free weights with your arms and you never work out your legs what will the result be? You'll have strong arms and weak legs.
This article addresses some very important issues whether you plan on going into broadcasting, public relations, journalism, politics or any other realm of public communication. You should all be aware of this research and continue to follow it wherever it goes.
