Comedy as a Main News Source

My dad, who is from Iran, showed me this article and video the other day. Basically, the Daily Show and Colbert Report sent "correspondents" to Iran and Iraq to interview the people there and show how much they hate Americans. In the Daily Show's visit to Iran, Jason Jones approached the Iranian public asking them crazy questions about how much they hate Americans. The Iranian people just looked at him like he was crazy and said that no, they don't really have any bad feelings towards Americans. The whole segment is presented from a comedic standpoint of course but as a viewer, you are definitely able to see the truth behind all of this exaggerated talk about Iranians "hating" Americans. Jones even goes into an Iranian home that looks like it could be right here in America. They have all of the same things Americans have- even a Wii.

The article I have posted here is talking about how these comedy shows have brought out the truth about how the people in these countries. Lots of Americans have a perception about people from the Middle East- for example: darker skinned, cave living, turban wearing people who hate Americans and want to bomb the U.S. The videos show how messed up those perceptions actually are. The people in those areas, in general, don't live in caves or feel badly towards Americans. This article brings up the strength of comedy as a news source in America. People relate more and pay more attention to the comedy shows, and, in my opinion, they are a great way to provide the truth for Americans. I like that people are getting the truth from these well known comedic shows, but this also shows that people are NOT getting the real information from real news sources. The fact that people are having to get the truth from comedy shows the lack of interest in the news or perhaps the misrepresentation provided by the news. Either way, the answer to this problem pints to the idea that, as viewers, we are going to have to be as well-rounded as possible and pay attention to a number of different news sources to have a real idea of what is going on. Watch the video! It's funny! :)

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/commerce/090630/fake-news-goes-global?page=0,0

Enough about.....

Enough about Tiger Woods crashing a car!!!! I know this is blunt but why should we care about the reason Tiger Woods pulled out of his drive way and crashed a car? People crash cars everyday. Are we hearing major news coverage of all of these incidents? No. Yes, Tiger Woods is famous and very well known across the nation and even the world. But what I want to know is why I have heard more about this little accident through the media than anything pertinent to me as an American citizen. I think the media's coverage of this situation has been a little over- board as is alot of celebrity coverage, and I think it shows alot about our nation's culture.

Fox News Slip-up

I found this article on mediabistro.com which was a link I found through politico.com. I thought i t was a good reminder and example of how the media is certainly prone to making mistakes. Fox News aired footage of Sarah Palin saying that the footage was of her at her new book releases. The footage they showed; however, was from Palin on the campaign trail during election time. The next day, Fox had to apologize and explain what happened. I like that the media, in this case, took responsibility and admitted they made a mistake. This situation also makes me wonder how much the media actually lets us believe is true when it is, in fact, a mistake. If I had seen Palin at her so called "book release" that day on Fox, I would have never known the difference. It's our job as viewers to know the facts and be familiar with everything that is going on in our world, and it's the media's job to present the information as accurately as possible. This definitely put up my guard toward believing everything I hear on the news. Here's the link to the article.....

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fnc/fox_news_uses_old_palin_footage_apologizes_143716.asp

Democratic Underground

Democratic Underground is a website that I believe is an example of a great way for Americans to stay well informed as well as be able to communicate with others interested in politics. This website has debate forums and discussion boards which illustrate just how interactive the news is for us now. People can not only read the news online but can also reflect and discuss the news with others. I know this is definitely not the only site that does this- in fact, there are TONS of sites that have the same qualities. This site in particular, which I found kind of funny, was started in response to the election of George W. Bush. The link I have posted below this is about the website Democratic Underground. It lays out the reasons for the creation of this website... one of those main points being: the degradation of the Republican party (mostly George Bush). I'm not saying I agree completely with everything this website entails; however, what I do like is this website's open opinions and discussion forums that enhance conversation and debate.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/about.html

New Language for the Internet?

This article, from BBC News, is talking about allowing other countries to use non-Latin characters for domain names on the internet. I am definitely not well educated in technology, but from what I understand, this means that countries, such as China for example, would be able to use their own form of writing and lettering for their websites. This changes the formatting of the internet and general and is a pretty big deal. According, to this article, communication willl be enhanced. Planning has been in action for a couple of years now and the non-Latin internet language is almost ready to be put into action. In my opinion, this will be a positive factor for communication in general. If our world can learn to communicate together, we will eventually have a broader, more well-rounded information system. This also shows how technologically-linked we really are and how technology is increasing everyday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8326241.stm

CNN falling to last place on news ratings.

CNN falling to the bottom of the cable news stations, according to this article, proves the public's tendency to watch "opinion-oriented shows" over news networks. I agree with this article, and believe that this is an indication of America's viewing habits. As we have talked about in class, many viewers want to receive their information from a source that they know will not be contracdictory to their beliefs- they want something from a station that has similar opinions as they do. CNN falling in ratings helps illustrate the truth behind what we've been talking about in class.


http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/cnn-drops-to-last-place-among-cable-news-networks/

Gay Rights at the Top of our Concerns?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama_gay_ambassador;_ylt=ApxsGiTGoKGKpgEpLCqKKwas0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTM2MXBrMzV1BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkxMDA4L3VzX29iYW1hX2dheV9hbWJhc3NhZG9yBGNwb3MDMwRwb3MDMTAEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA29iYW1hcGlja3NvcA

This article was from the associated press. The title read, "Obama picks openly gay lawyer for ambassadorship". First of all, why the heck should people care what sexual orientation someone of such high experience, education, and commitment to Ameican government is? Does that make ANY difference in whaat kind of job a person can do for our country. In my my opinion, this article, and gay rights being a legal matter at all, is a waste of time, and I do not care whether or not a leader of our country is gay or straight. I understand gay rights is an issue in America right now and that Obama is working towards eliminating any separtation between gay and straight people.

The only part of this article that meant anytihng to me was at the end- a quote from Obama: "At its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans," Obama said a 2007 statement on gay issues. "It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect." I completely agree with this and am so amazed that Americans even consider this a big enough issue to cover as important information going on in the world today.

The truth of what the leaders of our country are saying behind our backs...

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/09/29/bonus_quote_of_the_day.html#031535a

For some reason, this little article on politicalwire.com caught my attention. In it, Kentucky Lieutenant Governor, Daniel Mongiardo, is talking about Governor Steve Beshear. He talks about how much the Governor is screwing up and how much he has "no loyalty to Beshear". He even comes out at the end to say , "I am this close to saying fuck it all. I do not need this job. I do not need the U.S. Senate." Basically, the Lieutenant Governor is showing his TRUE colors-- showing that he is not fully into this job; showing that he doesn't support the Governor. To me, this shows Mongiardo's weakness and unprofessionalism.

In this case, I think the media has served its purpose to the public for the most part. Citizens deserve to know what is going on and need to be informed when there is a problem. Here, the media has served as a "watchdog" for the political world. People will hopefully be able to realize that not everyone can be trusted... even people in highly respected positions. Citizens of Kentucky may also keep a closer eye on their Governor after hearing those statements.- If the Lieutenant Governor has a problem, then maybe the citizens should be asking themselves if the Governor really is doing an adequate job.

What I don't like about this article is the lack of credibilty. Where did this information come from? How did it get caught on a recording? How do we really even know if this IS Mongiardo speaking? I'm not saying this website isn't trustworthy... but as a reader, I want to know where this information came from exactly and why it is 100% true and believable. Let me know what ay think! :)

Scary...

I found this article at cnn.com. The title- "Washington State Killer Captured After Field Trip Escape", definitely caught my attention. Basically, what happened was, on a field trip to a fair, Phillip Paul, a legally insane murderer who was a patient at the Eastern State Hospital, escaped from the group, hitched a ride away from the fair, and was out free in public. The police did eventually find and take him back into custody- but what I want to highlight about this article is its effectiveness in informing the public.
In a situation like this, where a part of our government has not affectively done its job, in this case- protecting the public from a dangerous killer, I believe the media has preformed to the best of its ability. The public deserves to know what is going on- good or bad. I think this illustrates how the media does act as a check and balance for our government. When they screw up- the public is obligated to find out, and, in this case, the media has served its purpose in informing facts very well.
The end of the article tells that policy changes are being put into action so that problems like this can't happen again. I think that the media adds extra incentives for problems in the country to be fixed quickly. Now the public knows what happened- the problem will be fixed faster, I believe, than if no one ever knew about what happened. Over all- I believe this article did its job without over-doing it as is so common in the media today.... Here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/09/20/washington.escaped.killer/index.html

How the Media Entertains Us...

Ok, this might be stretching a little about the media and how it is affecting our politics. I've posted a youtube link here that is seriously one of my favorite videos of all time. Basically, this clip is from a local news station literally reporting on a model falling down during fashion week in Paris. The news anchors lose their composure and laugh uncontrollably. I won't lie- I repeatedly watch this video and laugh all the time. But, in relation to what we have been discussing in this class, I began to realize how absurd it is that THIS is what our media is reporting on. How is this important to Americans? Does this help us at all become better aware of what is going on in the world today? Not at all in my opinion. While this video is hilarious, I think it goes to show how media has definitely turned into a form of entertainment. WATCH IT!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-cxitNqSnU

" 'Clunkers' binge may leave a serious hangover"... How the media can attract our attention...

I was skimming over the msnbc website, and this article caught my attention. First of all, it was listed as the most viewed article on the website. Second of all, I realized that something about this title in itself attracted me to it and made me want to read it. The media know EXACTLY how to interest us on any topic. Not that this issue is not an important one in our country right now, but how are we to know what is important and was is not as important to the politics of America? The media can be a dangerous tool for someone, including myself, who is not well informed and doesn't realize the importance of keeping an open mind when it comes to staying informed on what is going on in the country.
This article had a catchy title for a subject that could be titled in a much simpler and to-the-point manner. The article basically summarizes what has happened with this Cash for Clunkers plan we have experienced and how the sudden growth in car sales will probably lead to a very large decrease in car sales in the near future. The way this article is advertised leads its viewers to potentially expect something alot flashier than what this story is really about.

Here is the link for the article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32544485/

Procrastination and Candy Corn!