Who Owns the Media?

After examining the article and the big owners of the media, the main issue seemed to be that major efforts are being made to stop big media and instead "support local ownership, diverse voices, and truly competitive media markets that serve the public interest,"as the article states.  The site shows that the media patterns of today's society limit the amount of competition, which be of major benefit to the economy, as well are not targeted to every individual, but to the masses.

One of the main statements on the site that caught my eye read, "Our vision is for every community to have access to in-depth investigative reporting, quality local news and critical watchdog journalism that empower citizens, hold our leaders accountable and represent the diversity of our nation."  To me, this suggests that the Big Media does not fulfill any of these aspects, which I agree with.  I think that if the Media consisted of smaller, local markets, not only would the people of the community be better informed on the topics that directly relate to them, but the economy would benefit from it as well. Money would circulate within communities rather than huge corporations, which would help to generate revenue.  

In regards to the GE tax issue, I think that the criticisms are extremely valid and I am shocked that more awareness has not be raised in the media about it.  As I'm sure any citizen knows, let alone huge corporate CEO's, this nation is in extreme economical distress and has had some of the hardest years these past years.  In my opinion, any person with good moral value would not cheat the system in this awful, greedy way.  What sickens me the most is that out of the $14 billion made by the company, not a single dime was given back to the country as if making that much money in revenue was not enough.  In reality, that is more than any human would know what to do with.  The millions of dollars that the corporation should have paid in taxes could have possibly made a huge difference in today's economy and helped in certain areas needed.

As for the CEO of GE becoming Obama's right hand man, I think that situations like this are the epitome of what cause the nation's people to have complete distrust in politics and the politicians that are supposed to represent them.  I find it extremely hypocritical and sad to be frank.  As I stated earlier, I am surprised that this issue has not raised more awareness and watching this clip just made me revert to my original thought that the political system is sleezy and extremely flawed.

How influential is Political Music?

When I think of this issue, the major controversy over The Dixie Chicks' song "I'm Not Ready to Make Nice," is the first thing that comes to mind.  After the group was seen as traitors for telling a London audience that they were ashamed that their president came from Texas in 2003, the group released this song that instantly rose on the charts.  It raised awareness about the death threats that the three Texans had received prior to their London concert.  Strong lyrics like, "And how in the world can the words that I said Send somebody so over the edge That they'd write me a letter sayin' that I better
Shut up and sing or my life will be over," showed the world of the petty ways people could treat others over such political issues along with some of the sad flaws in today's society. 

I think that certain political music can be very influential as we just discussed, however I believe that they are influential in a sense of raising awareness. Some political songs have been major statements such as, "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones.  Music is a great way to reach the masses in an artistic and relatable way.  Words can be so touching and really impact the hearts of many, so I definitely think that political music plays an influential role in today's society by raising awareness and bringing people together to fight for the causes that they are passionate about. 

"Time to Kill the Wealthy"

Although I completely agree that the millionaires in our country should not receive any tax cuts what so ever and should be taxed more, I do not think that the approach taken by certain individuals by threatening them was appropriate.  I think that this tax issue has created one of the biggest problems and is the main factor as to why the gap between the rich and poor is the biggest it has ever been along with the economy's standing today, which I'm sure most of us can agree on, but these hate emails and threats do cross a moral line.

I think that death threats such as the one shown in the article, are juvenile, though I can understand where they are stemmed from.  To me, these threats show that there is no difference between them and the terrorists that this country is fighting against.  Though I completely understand that words are different than action, but different and non violent approaches could be taken to raise awareness of the issue.

This country is based on principles of equality, freedom and opportunity.  I think that this tax issue is way bigger than these petty threats that are being circulated around the internet and maybe it is time for things to change to enforce the principles that we stand for.       

Will Evolving Forms of Journalism Be an Improvement?

As the technological world is constantly advancing to produce faster, cheaper, more efficient goods and services, society as we once knew it is evolving right before our eyes.  Before our nation had these advances, society depended on print news and television.  Sources of news and information were very limited and people didn't have access to what it is that they wanted to look up at their leisure.  Today, people have the ability to have instant news right and when it is happening, which some could even call "yesterday's news."  Because of the internet, we also have access to news and updates whenever we want at our fingertips. 

I think that this evolving form of journalism from print and television to more of an internet based system is a huge improvement.  In the article "Are we on Track," Steve Johnson makes a valid point when he states that 8 million people watched Barack Obama's speech on race on Youtube back in 2008.  He makes the point that the entire speech would most likely not have been aired in 1992, but would be reduced to maybe a minute long soundbite.  The convenience of the internet allows more people to inform themselves and to do so at their leisure.  They are not limited to what is provided to them by the media, but have the power to research for themselves, which is an incredible advancement.  As a result, the society as a whole has the ability to be better informed.


Below is an interesting article that I found on this issue.  Johnson makes many valid arguments that suggest that the evolving forms of media are extremely beneficial to our society as a whole.
http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2009/05/areweontrackforagoldenageofseriousjournalism/

Articles

Arabs in the U.S. Media-

Articles

http://www.adc.org/index.php?id=283

http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/08/11/representations-of-arabs-in-u-s-media/

http://www.paktribune.com/news/print.php?id=140992

http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/sfischo/Arabs.html

http://waccglobal.org/en/20072-mediating-the-middle-east/456-Media-representations-of-the-Middle-East.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/17/netherlands.islam

Is Advertising Good for the Society?

In today's society some might argue that advertising is just another American scheme that is intended to trick consumers into buying things that they don't need, or a tactic that leaves consumers never satisfied,  however I beg to differ.  I think that this society is literally run on advertising and we, as consumers, are aware of products and services because of it.

Although some argue that we are "persuaded" to consume unnecessary goods/services, I believe that what it comes down to is the consumer him/herself.  No one is holding a gun against anyone's head and forcing them to buy anything.  It is the consumers' responsibility to look into things that they are considering purchasing and further investigate to know whether the product/service is the right one for them.  As Americans, the dream that we all take pride in and the principle that our nation is based on is the ability to have freedom to do, buy, say, etc, whatever it is that we desire.  Because of this, I really don't think that there is a legitimate argument against advertising, specially when it is a huge market in today's economy that provides thousands upon thousands of jobs.

Also, without advertising today, Television and radio would not exist as these endorsements and commercials are what pay for all of it.  I can see why some people feel that advertising is "bad" for the society, but at the end of the day it plays a major role in the economy, job market, and for the every day consumer.

America-