I'm Back

I can't believe that break is over, it went by so quickly. I am once again back in school, only this time I have all night classes and one morning class on FRIDAY at 7:30am! I haven't gotten out of bed that early in a couple of months. Anyway, it's good to be back in school and night classes are so much better b/c you only have to go once a week and you have the chance of getting out early. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a slacker and I like to get my money's worth but I do think that a 2hr 45 min class is way too long, and apparently so do the teachers...if anyone does actually reads this thank you. It's nice to have an audience no matter how small, it's always appreciated.

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.

Opinion To JOUR163

I do not see any point in enhancing the teaching of traditional media. There is a reason that new forms of media are established; why would you try to go against new technology and dwell on the past? That is never the solution. Isn’t it JMC’s job to offer the tools student’s need to succeed in today's world? That means teaching the newest forms of media out there b/c so we can be prepared for the professional world of media and communication. If you want to learn about traditional forms of media take a history class! We are in the age of technological innovation. This is obviously an improvement from older forms of media. I think that the course should explore and expand our reach of new media. It is important for students to learn what new things are available and out there to make communication a little easier. It’s a digital world now and we should embrace it. I also think that the teachers that are leading this class should have a decision in what it is going to become; this is obviously there field and the school should acknowledge their opinion, especially since it is a new course.

"Boze Narodzenie"-Christmas

Doesn't it seem like our holidays are blending more and more these days? It is only almost the end of November and I have been hearing Christmas ads since October! My mom already did her Christmas shopping. It is all about the presents here, and sometimes it is sickening how we as Americans are so materialistic. Well I had the chance last year to experience Christmas in another country and it is much different. People weren't fighting over things in the stores and rushing around like mad to get things done. It just all seemed to slow down. People were pleasant stopping to wish each other a “Wesoly Sviont” and so on. It is all about religion and traditional over there, especially for my in-laws and I can appreciate that. I won't get into the religion bit b/c I just don't want to go there but I will describe the tradition. There wasn't that much emphasis on presents, however there was an exchange of gifts. It was short and sweet. We spent most of the holiday time going to relatives’ houses and having supper or tea and just spending some quality time together. We had 4 dinner parties before the 24th and on Christmas day we stayed home and had a nice, quiet dinner. That is what it's about for me, the family. I love the presents but being with the ones you love and all is priceless, even though I couldn't communicate very well with them because I am learning Polish but I don't think I will ever be fluent in it :( Anyway the traditions are very different over there. Polish people eat lots of food especially on the holidays. I mean like 14 different courses with side dishes, not including desserts. Traditionally you eat like 7 different types of fish dishes. At first I was kind of put off by this idea but I ate it and I ate it all-oh except for the blood soup and the gut soup. I just can't do that! You wouldn't believe the amount of food that you are supposed to eat, it's crazy. It is safe to way I practically waddled to the car I was so full. Anyway it was fun to get away from the chaos that we create during the holidays!