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Exposing hidden agenda: David Graham Phillips

Posted by: | November 11, 2014 | No Comment |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:David_Graham_Phillips.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:David_Graham_Phillips.jpg

David Graham Phillips was a prominent muckraking journalist and novelist in the late 19th and early 20th century. Following the success of his first novel, The Great God Success, he was able to continue his career in fiction writing and begin work as a free lance journalist.

Throughout this portion of his career, Phillips built a reputation for himself through writing socially critical articles for various magazines. As he advanced further in his career, he found himself focusing on exposing more political issues, specifically the corruption he saw happening in government.

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/TreasonSenate.htm

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/image/TreasonSenate.htm

Phillips’ most influential piece was published in Cosmopolitan in 1906: The Treason of the Senate. The article explored and exposed the benefits some campaign contributors received from certain members of the U.S. Senate. This article, along with other similar sensationalist pieces brought the issue of corporations’ influence in elections to the attention of the public.

This would eventually become the spark that caused a push for change to the voting system by the public. The change eventually took form in the 17th Amendment, establishing direct election of senators by the public rather than state legislatures. This situation exposed one of the first of many U.S. political issues with articles that would both inform and influence the public opinion, solidifying the roll of journalists keeping the government in check.

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New era of journalists

Posted by: | November 11, 2014 | No Comment |

Image from http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/webdr02/2013/6/28/9/enhanced-buzz-20587-1372427004-11.jpg.

“The growing professionalism of the press and newspapermen in news coverage and the quality of writing (featuring talented writers). Writers were professionals and worked and live by their pens fulltime.”

Journalists living by their pens is certainly an image that has faded with time. Now, it is more like journalists live by their smartphones, waiting for the next Tweet that they can use as a breaking story to report.

Watching “All the President’s Men” reminds viewers that once upon a time, journalists had to call around or even visit people for answers, not text them, to find clues to break stories. They spent hours typing their stories on type writers and correcting typos. They didn’t have auto-correct to to fix misspellings.

In fact, now bloggers are considered journalists. It is an ongoing debate if bloggers can really be journalists, but in my opinion, anyone who puts pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to write up a story is a journalist. We are all journalists. Bloggers are the new era of journalists.

Do we even need to go to school to be journalists? Can’t we just post articles to Buzzfeed and be considered journalists? The era of the Buzzfeed journalist is definitely on the rise. And that is okay, because journalism is always changing. The news is different every day. We need to find new ways to report the news.

It is okay that journalism is progressing forward. That is how new trends are set in motion and new traditions come about. Nowadays, journalists don’t live by their pens fulltime, they live by their smart phones. In twenty years from now, who knows what they will live by next?

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Thirst for crime

Posted by: | November 11, 2014 | No Comment |

 

[HelenJewett.jpg]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RHk5fP6iA9w/S0QZ3OTaKRI/AAAAAAAAAMI/s3MlURVFfCM/s1600-h/HelenJewett.jpg

The murder of Helen Jewett in 1836 gave way to a template for crime reporting which endures to the present day. And the gruesome crime would have been forgotten if it wasn’t for the evolution of American newspapers.

 

At the time, most newspapers thrived on information that consisted of stories about commerce and politics. One such newspaper was known as the New York Herald, edited by James Gordon Bennett. Bennett thought that these newspapers were dull and boring and wanted to increase circulation and readability and so to make it exciting and appealing to the public, Bennett set out to deliver news just moments after it happened.

 

Bennett sensed that the populace was hungry for the details of tragedies as opposed to police reports, which was the traditional way to provide criminal activity.

 

Then when the murder of Helen Jewett came to Bennett’s attention hours after it happened, he used it as one of his stories. The public was so shocked because they have never before seen such detail of a crime in a newspaper.

 

Circulation grew dramatically that his machines broke down several times after the first week of the murder. And eventually the New York Herald would become the most widely read newspaper in the country and it was because of stories like the murder of Helen Jewett.

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Broadsides of the 17th Century

Posted by: | November 11, 2014 | No Comment |

A broadside was one of the first forms of widespread printed news. Broadsides are basically one-page sheets of news that often also contained some sort of picture or illustration to depict the message of the article. Most broadsides were set up so that the top part was a “woodcut or copper engraving” of an important, often historical, event, and the lower part was a description of the details of the event.

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1468516&partId=1&people=108188&peoA=108188-2-60&page=1

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1468516&partId=1&people=108188&peoA=108188-2-60&page=1

Broadsides first appeared in the 15th century, but remained an important source of news well into the 17th century as well. Broadsides were a great source of propaganda, which became increasingly significant due to the the Thirty Years War in the early to mid 1600s.

Throughout the Thirty Years War, broadsides were predominantly printed in major cities including Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam.

The broadsides printed during the Thirty Years War are unique because the majority of the publications from this time period focus solely on the war, whereas in the past they had covered a much wider array of topics.

The illustrations in the broadsides encompass a variety of scenes. From city skylines to battles and sieges, as well as victory parades and the glorification of commanders in chief. These broadsides also often included important religious and political symbols of the time period.

Broadsides were very prevalent all over Europe. They were often posted on walls of shops and restaurants, sold on street corners, and even sung in groups to familiar tunes.

As one article states, “By modern standards, the speed, accuracy, and truthfulness of this early picture journalism is remarkable.” Many broadsides have been preserved over the years to help historians piece together the past through the specific events accounted for in these publications.

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Look how far we’ve come

Posted by: | November 11, 2014 | No Comment |

Feminism has earned a bad rep over the years, and sensationalism in advertising has not helped.

Although we would like to believe that we have achieved gender equality, our past and our present prove otherwise.

Look at this 1950s ad.

Bell & Howell

http://www.businesspundit.com/10-most-sexist-print-ads-from-the-1950s/?img=21455

Clearly the focal point is not the projector. “Far from natural looking, [her breasts] jut out a mile from her chest, looking more like legs bent at the knee,” said Business Pundit blogger Julian. Talk about the oversexualization of women in advertising.

But we’ve gotten farther than these cheap, sexist ads, right?

Wrong.

Laura Bates, founder of the Everday Sexism Project, explains that “sexism still exists in a modern society that perceives itself to have achieved gender equality“.

Take a gander at RadioShack’s 2013 Beats advertisement.

Do I need to point out that all these women have phallic products?

Furthermore this is almost an exact copy of the controversial music video, which is described as “date-rapey.” The music video even comes with its own nudity-packed explicit video, adding to the notion that objectification of women in the media is a prime strategy to gain popularity.

After all, nothing excites an audience like controversy.

Indeed, people actively seek music videos and other media that resemble pornography. Just look at Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda, which set Vevo’s record for most views in 24 hours: 19.6 million.

But in an “attempt” to create something risque, music videos and other media end up tasteless, sexist, and even harmful.

Considering that nothing excites an audience like controversy, will gender equality ever be realized?

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Airports: Transportation, time and keepers of the textual flame

Posted by: | November 10, 2014 | No Comment |

One antiquated hand washes the other.

The only place I ever see people read magazines or newspapers is in airports.– Dylan French, founder of Nobody.com

At the risk of sounding trite, everything suddenly clicked.

This quote is a summation of the future. There will come a time when yearning for the “old days” of  journalism and print media will supersede technological advances. It may peak within the next 20 years, but it’s simmering now.

While some media outlets fade into virtual obsoletion, others reap the benefits of rampant nostalgia. People are slowly (but surely) asking “what happened to the time when” ?, print circulation is fighting an uphill (but borderline successful) battle and the masses are trying their best to separate from their mobile devices.

But the most dependable ally in this revival is the airport.

Photo Credit: www.flickr.com

Airports are the future of syndication. They ultimately reintroduce the idea of publicly reading a magazine or newspaper. Even though most of the readers are cranky travelers forced to spend countless layover hours with a bunch of strangers, they are readers nonetheless and syndication finds respite in their captivity.

It seems most appropriate that one antique innovation sustains another. Ironically, Orville and Wilbur Wright “once printed a daily newspaper together” and flight was once cast aside as a fluke. After achieving success, flight became the poster child for innovation. It is only right that this one innovation builds a support system against the vitriol of technology and provides an outlet for the syndication of the other.

Photo Credit: www.airport.kr

 

under: Comm 455
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A history of the woman’s magazine

Posted by: | November 10, 2014 | No Comment |

Long before America was declared an independent country, the first magazines were being published.  From these beginnings, they largely covered the following topics: commerce, politics, manners, society, and women.

Why did magazines discuss women so much?

Articles about women were largely published because in both the pre and post decades of revolutionary America, where were ever changing ideas about the role of the woman in society.  The woman’s role inside and outside of the home was especially debated.  From this debate, emerged a market of magazines aimed directly toward women. 

The earliest woman’s magazine in America was the Lady’s Magazine and Repository of Entertaining Knowledge, which was first published in 1792 in Philadelphia.  This particular magazine focused on housework, a topic that would continue to maintain future women’s magazines.

The trend of keeping good housework and “female improvement” continued in the first real successful magazine, Goodey’s Lady’s Book, which was first published by Sarah Josepha Hale in 1837.  Goodey’s laid the foundation for the “big six” women’s magazines: Ladies’ Home Journal, Woman’s Home Companion, Good Housekeeping, Delineator, McCall’s, and the Pictorial Review.

goedys1

Image from: http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/images/goedys1.gif

These woman’s magazines were not largely political, though through them, one can really track the changing attitudes towards women during the 19th and 20th centuries. Woman’s magazines during this time however, were more advice and lifestyle driven.

Commercial magazines, like Cosmopolitan, that we are familiar with today, did not emerge as successful until the 1960s.  Such magazines became a success during this time, because for the first time, it was acceptable to flaunt their feminism and sexuality.  Where magazines could not address such topics before, they now could, and the gap in the market rapidly filled with printed issues featuring the free, modern woman.

early cosmo

Image from: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/g2151/helen-gurley-brown-cosmo-covers/?slide=1

 

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The Fall of Constantinople

Posted by: | November 10, 2014 | No Comment |

On Tuesday, May 29th 1453, after a seven-week siege, the city of Constantinople, then under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Empire, fell to Ottoman forces commanded by 21-year old Ottoman Sultan Mehmed. Mehmend defeated the army of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos who was 28 years his senior.

wikipedia.org

wikipedia.org

The city’s fall marked the end of the Roman Empire which had lasted nearly 1,500 years. The successful campaign by the Ottomans rendered the rest of Christendom vulnerable as Ottomans armies were free to advance further into Europe, making it as far as Vienna. After the conquest of Byzantine, Sultan Mehmed transferred the capital of the empire to Constantinople from its former seat in Adrianople.

twcenter.net

twcenter.net

Many historians conclude that the Ottomans conquest of the city marks the end of the Middle Ages. The remaining Greek intellectuals who fled the city settled in Italy and elsewhere, bringing with them their educated perspectives ushering in the beginning of the Renaissance.

wikipedia.org

wikipedia.org

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The Impact of media on people with eating disorders

Posted by: | November 10, 2014 | No Comment |

 

stock-photo-wordcloud-with-conceptual-bulimia-or-eating-disorder-related-words-on-white-background-118745101

We live in a media-controllled world and it is hitting us the hardest where it hurts. The truth is, mass media provides a significantly influential context for people to learn about body ideals and the value placed on being attractive. Here are some statistics:

  • American children participate in growing amounts of media usage, a trend fueled largely by the increasing availability of internet access across phones and laptops.  On any given day, 8 – 18-year-olds are engage in some form of media exercise for about 7.5 hours.  Most of their time is spent watching television, though video games and computer usage take up an additionally large portion of media time.
  • Even media aimed at elementary age children, cartoons and children’s videos for example, foucs on how important being attractive is. Sexually objectified images of girls and women in advertisements are most likely to appear in men’s magazines.  Yet the second most common source of such images is the advertisements in teen magazines directed at adolescent girls.

eating-disorder-anorexia-and-obesity_gg62685770

More Effects of Media

There is no single cause of body image problems. But, research shows that media can contribute to negative self-images, and that exposure of any kind to media can increase body dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Here are some more statistics:

  • Several experimental studies have recently linked exposure to the thin ideal in mass media to body dissatisfaction, internalization of the thin ideal, and disordered eating among women.
  • The effect of media on women’s body on the female image condition seems stronger among young adults than children and adolescents. This may suggest that long-term exposure during childhood and adolescence lays the foundation for the negative effects of media during early adulthood.
  • Pressure from television, magazines, and movies to be muscular also seems to be related to body dissatisfaction among men.  This effect is considered smaller than among women but it is still noteworthy. The fact is, young men appear to be more negatively affected by the media images than male children are.

images

 

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Word of mouth marketing

Posted by: | November 9, 2014 | 1 Comment |

Word of mouth marketing has existed since people could communicate with each other. But today, word of mouth marketing is very different from what it was centuries ago. Then, Ancient Romans used to chat about the latest new wine, and today, consumers share their new products through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Word of mouth has changed because of the growth and expansion of technology. Getting a message on any social networking site today means for that message to easily be spread all over the globe.

http://www.socialmarketingforum.net/2010/11/primer-understanding-word-of-mouth-marketing-in-the-social-media-age/

There were many memorable ad campaigns that really got people talking in the 20th century. Before cable television companies brought hundreds more channels to American living rooms, most people watched the same shows and saw the same commercials.

“Some, like the understated “Think Small” Volkswagen ads that debuted in 1959, actually changed the face of advertising. Slogans such as Alka Seltzer’s “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” and Coca Cola’s “It’s the real thing” became part of the cultural vernacular of America.”

Word of mouth marketing is actually more difficult than it seems. People change generation by generation but the principles will remain the same. Companies have to be careful with what will work and what will not work. They really just have to try their luck because it all depends on whether people will like it or not.

under: Comm 455
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An increasingly “complex” media

Posted by: | November 4, 2014 | No Comment |

Corporations like Verizon and Pepsi Co. are creating their own news sites to promote their agendas and are using trendy site names like SugarString and GreenLabel to make the outlets seem like alternative online news sources.

sugarstring

sugarstring.com

green-label.com

green-label.com .

Both companies have contracted popular magazine called Complex Media to create and run the sites for them. The sites use edgy graphics and tantalizing headlines to draw the reader in and mask their purpose. At the bottom of each article it says “Presented by Verizon” or the name of the respective company.

sugarstring.com

sugarstring.com

Sugarstring avoids covering topics that make its company look bad like net neutrality and mass surveillance. It is easy to understand why: Prior to the disclosures by whistleblower Edward Snowden, Verizon turned over millions of American’s phone records without their consent. The company also successfully sued the FCC to allow fast lane data service which some say violates net neutrality rules.

heavy.com

heavy.com

 

The sites represent a change in the way corporations are marketing their products and controlling content. They are doing it in a way that is subtle and finespun. Media commentator David Carr of the New York Times wrote in an op ed yesterday that this is an alarming development:

“Clearly, historical models of funding original content are under duress, and a variety of efforts have emerged to innovate around that new reality: nonprofit news sites, digital news operations with low-cost approaches and yes, brands like Verizon that are also beginning to finance their own media operations.”

The best way forward is to adopt the practice of NPJ (non-profit journalism) to ensure the practice of news reporting does not become overwhelmed by corporate influence.  It is harder for donors to influence the content of NPJ’s because they depend primarily on foundational grants of private donations from the public at large to cover operational expenses. NPJ organizations are therefore, able to overate without concern of debt and are best able to serve the public good.

wikipedia.org

wikipedia.org

wikipedia.org

wikipedia.org

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The wonders of nature: when disaster strikes in the public eye

Posted by: | November 4, 2014 | No Comment |

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allerheiligen_Moser_1570.jpg

During the 16th century, pamphlet readers were exposed to a variety of content. This news often affected the readers themselves, or large groups of people elsewhere. One of the primary topics covered in this “developing news market” was natural disasters and other natural phenomena.

The instinctual fear and curiosity about the unknown would drive these readers to consume and push for an increasing number of these articles. They often covered natural events like floods and storms, but could also discuss astrological events such as eclipses.

One of the more devastating of these events during the 16th century was the All Saints Flood in 1570. Although there were inklings about the storms having a potential to cause serious damage, the citizens of these coastal towns could not have imagined the effects they would eventually cause. On November 1st, after days of continuous storms, the water levels rose to heights the levees couldn’t handle and the barrier began to crumble. The flood that followed was one of the worst in Dutch history, causing thousands of deaths and the loss of large amounts of homes, food and livestock that were needed for the winter.

Although this fascination with the power of nature developed early on in news reporting, it is still a topic that takes the public by storm today. Whenever there is a large scale natural disaster, be it a hurricane, earthquake or tsunami, it is wildly covered and sensationalized by the media. Readers and viewers can’t seem to get enough of these stories because the power of nature is still something that we don’t fully understand and are unable to control.

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