Wrapping It Up

A lot has changed since my first entry. Even though I thought that I was a smart media consumer there was so much that I didn't know about. MCOM072, along with MCOM070 has taught me some valuable lessons. Now when I see a newspaper I actually analyze it, the contents, the headline, the type, the writing style...before I simply saw it and would read it but that was it. I also find myself searching for media where ever I go. It has become a habbit for me. I never thought about the planning, mapping and constant revising of evey little detail that the average media consumer can easily overlook. I have learned to be more critical and ask questions about what I see. I'll be honest before this semester I hardly ever watched the news, or read a newspaper. Now I find myself picking one up every day and tuning in every night at 6pm. BBC is my favorite and pretty much the only news that I watch. Every once in a while I will swtich to FOX or ABC news to get some entertainment. I have also come to know how the media is integrated with larger companies and how messed up the world really is. It's depressing but it is the truth. There is scandal and corruption almost everywhere I just didn't know about it and for that matter I didn't want to know. It's also nice to know where we are headed in the future. New media is replacing old media, presenting innovative technology and convenience to the fullest. This has been an experience, and like I said in my last post I will continue to write on so for now peace. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and all the rest : )

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"Write On"

I will continue blogging. I have to say that I enjoyed this. At first I thought it would be a pain to constantly have to write all the time. But I realized that I like writing, even if I am not that good at it yet, I will keep practicing. You know that practice makes perfect. I found it reminded me of how I used to have a diary when I was a young girl. Life was so much simpler back then... anyway I will keep this blog if I don't find a better one. It has become a part of me, and I find that it is a great way to vent! I need some king of relief from this crazy world. Writing is a stress reliever for me, I just get it all out and then I feel a little better. The class was interesting, I learned about new types of media, and how the media world is constantly changing. This has been one of my better classes b/c it actually interests me. I'll be honest I probably wouldn't have even started a blog if I didn't take this class. I heard about them but I never really looked into it. Now I don't feel so far behind when it comes to technology and the media. Thank you for showing me the way to blogging If anyone wants to keep in touch you know where you can reach me :)

LOST

I don’t know if I mentioned this before but I LOVE Lost. This hit TV show on ABC has captivated me for 3 seasons. It’s ironic, b/c before I even got into the show my Mom was always talking about it, she is addicted to it by the way. Anyway, I never really paid any attention to it. It just sounded like another stupid, overplayed series to watch b/c there is nothing else on. But I was wrong… it’s so much more! I was actually in Poland when I saw the fist Lost. The show had progressed by then. Even though the whole thing was in Polish I knew the minute I started to watch that it was true love. I even got my husband into the show. I know it’s it filled with drama and never ending suspense but I just can’t get enough of it. After that, I wanted more, so we found a program that you have to pay for, and then it started. I downloaded every episode of the 1st season so I could catch up. We didn’t have anything else to do so we closed the door, got some popcorn and got down to business. We watched about like 6 hours of Lost which is ridiculous to say the most! When I came back home to the US I was keyed up to watch the second season. Every Wednesday night at 9:00 I would sit down to get LOST. Our anniversary is almost here, I can’t believe it’s been a year. The creator of Lost has to be pretty imaginative to come up with some of the stuff that goes on with the show. I have to say though; the show seems a little shorter, considering there is a commercial every freiken five minutes! I am not even joking. The show used to be like 40 minutes plus 20 minutes in a 1 hour block. Now it seems more like the show is barely 30 minutes with 30 minutes of commercials! So why do I torture myself by putting up with this every Wednesday? Watch the show!!! I know that I can watch it online, but it’s kind of a ritual now for me. Plus I don’t really want to sit and stare at the computer, I’d rather watch TV. This season seemed to go by way too quick, I can’t wait until it starts up again. By the way, Josh Hollaway (aka Sawyer is totally hot!

Advertising Rights

When I went to Ad Age’s homepage today and a headline caught my eye, "Pediatricians Demand Cuts in Children-Targeted Advertising." Regardless of whether you are in advertising or not, this story should concern you b/c it has to do with First Amendment Rights. Certain groups are asking that junk-food ads be banned during shows viewed mostly by children under age 8. They also requested that alcohol ads be limited to product pictures and text and erectile-dysfunction ads be limited to after 10 p.m. A request for a complete ban on tobacco ads also was under discussion. This is dangerous and imposes severe wide-reaching limits and is a threat to advertising everywhere. Advertising is certainly protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution Even though advertising or "Commercial speech" has less First Amendment protection from governmental infringement than other types of speech. The Federal Trade Commission, for example, can regulate speech that is found to be deceptive. Any individual can make a complaint against an ad. However it has to go through the proper channels. The FCC or the FTC has the authority to determine whether an advertisement is appropriate or not. Yet they use a 4 part test for assessing government restrictions on commercial speech. This was set forth in a landmark case, Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission Of New York. This has become the standard for all commercial speech cases. Anyway, these requests are too broad. If this is aloud to happen, the pendulum for First Amendment protection will swing back to 1942. At this point in time, commercial advertisements were considered to be outside the First Amendment's protection. We have come a long way with the First Amendment. We do not want to go back now. This is just another way to open the door to more censorship, and infringement of the First Amendment, and we can not let that happen.