Kelly's Place

I watched the Fox 9 evening news on Saturday March 29th beginning at 9:00 pm. Fox 9 has a reputation for having a conservative slant, but I decided to look at the program with fresh eyes instead of looking specifically rightest bias. Being objective is important in journalism, and I took this assignment as an opportunity to get into the mind set of a reporter.

Viewing Log.

1- What will be covered in the evenings newscast about 1 minutes
2- 10th anniversary of St. Peter Tornado about 4 minutes
3- Weather about 1.5 minutes
4- Traffic Crashes about 3 minutes
5- Murder pm Queen Ave and Highway 55 about 1 minute
6- Murders about 1 minute
7- A Mother's Deal for retrieval of daughter's body about 1 minute
8- Senior Scams about 2 minutes
9- Meat Packing plant blows up about 1 minute
10- Rider's auto theft incident about 1 minute
11- You Decide 2008 Hillary and Baraak about 1 minute
12 Republican Senate race about .5 minutes
13- Lowering drinking age about .5 minutes
14- Busline about .5 minutes
15- Palenty creates a day of remembrance for Vietnam about 1 minute
16- Iraq US and British Troops about .5 minutes
17-David Mcdougal / video of shooting about .5 minutes
18- Curfew in Baghdad about 1 minute
19- Condalisa Rice traavel restriction and peace debate .5 minutes
20- Somalian Civil War and attacks about .5 minutes
21- Bush's radio address concerning home owners about 1 minute
22- New York Long Island movement towards statehood about 2 minutes
23- Dog for autistic children 2 minutes
24- Teen steels car about .5 minutes
25- Fire truck overturns about .5 minutes
26- Brothers sue due to Tiger attacks about 1 minute
27- Lights out Minneapolis Spreading awareness about energy efficiency about 2 minutes
28- Holocaust survivors and US troops reunite about 2 minutes
29-Bike show about .5 minutes
30- Food collection about .5 minutes
31- Kevin Everate recovery about 1 minute
32- Jersey Boys art & culture segment 2 minute
33-Sports about 8 minutes

Total time: About 42 minutes, the rest is reserved for advertisements

This is Kelly Rudh reporting from my home office on the content of the Fox evening news and strategies used by the program to both engage and inform viewers. On the evening of Saturday March 29th, the Fox evening news began with a story that focused on the resilience of united communities. The documentation of the 10th anniversary of the St. Peter Tornado isn't exactly pressing information, so why begin with such a banal topic? Is this news? The 10th anniversary of a natural disaster as isolated as this one doesn't seem like much of an attention getter, so what is it doing? The basic theme this story was one of close knit communities being able to recuperate from hardship due to their protestant work ethic and sense of communal unity. This story might be important when considering the economic upheaval we are experiencing in the United States. The message implied by this first piece demonstrates the resilience of people in the face of disaster. Even though this piece serves to boost the moral of its audience, it also shows how fragile people's lives are. most of the news segments surrounded around stories that would make one feel uncomfortable or unsafe. About 20 minutes of the news was devoted to stories that cultivated a sense of insecurity in the viewer, stories about natural disaster, war, crime, traffic crashes, disease, and scamming. These stories inform the viewer that the world is an unsafe place to live in. These fear inciting stories perhaps create a reliant relationship between the news program and the viewer. The viewer would not be knowledgeable about these dangers without the broadcast, and the viewer may come to see the news as a protecting force because we often consider Information as power. Also, the exploitative nature of many of these stories, the ways in which they indulge in the misery of other people may feed a viewers thirst for drama. People's lives are generally boring when compared tot he drama filled lives of the people featured in news programs. I found one instance of obvious bias in a news story about a mother attempting to make a bargain with the man who killed her daughter. The man is going to be given the death penalty, but the mother was willing to plead for his life if he would divulge the location of her daughters body. The anchor covering this story had a note of annoyance in his voice while reading this story, and the picture of the murderer had been colored a deep red. This is making some kind of statement; that this murderer is dangerous, hence the red filter, and that he should not live, despite the distressed mother's wishes.

Out of all the stories featured in the evening news, only a few felt relevant to me. When we think about any kind of media, we must think about the viewer, and this is where I must be more subjective. The segment on Minneapolis' part in the blackout between 8 and 9 pm to promote energy efficiency helped me to feel more connected to the international fight for a greener world. This also follows a kind of genre.They don't call them news stories for nothing. The underlying theme of this segment was the power of a grass-roots movement, once again highlighting the power communities have when they work together. There were similar stories peppered through the forecast. Food drives, the Tornado anniversary, and a segment about dogs that help children with autism. All of these stories show that communities have the power to solve their own ills. Very few stories concentrated on a national community, most on local communities including the story about Long Islanders trying to break off from New York because they feel their tax money is being filtered away from the island. Apparently, from the news' point of view, the system of politics and the law is working, and we should have faith in it.

One final observation that I think is of importance. Taking this media literacy course has made me more aware of the blending of medias. During the news, the news' website was plugged about 8 times. It's a " great way to stay connected" according to the anchors. They even showed pictures of the website and said that it was " easy to navigate". This television news station is aware that more and more people are looking to the internet to get their news, and they are advertising their site with gusto!

Kelly Rudh signing off!

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I decided to look for representations of Farmers for my Youtube project and I was very surprised at what I found. I thought when I typed " Farmer" into the search engine I would be flooded with videos depicting farmers as slightly slow, dirty, and unwordly Americans in overalls with corn cob pipes portruding from their lips.... what I found was something else entirely! I was surprised to find that most of the videos had an international focus and mainly concentrated on conflicts between farmers and government institutions. Farmers in all of the videos I watched were depicted as honest and hardworking, as well as victims of oppression and other hardships. There is also a significant link between farmers and freedom, and farming as an expression of self-sufficiency as well as community.

I watched many videos, but one of the most moving was a youtube video called " The Raid of the South Central Farmers June 13, 2006" . This video tells the story of the eviction of many urban farmers in Los Angelos by the police. The land was seized and the people who fed their familes with the food they grew there were thrown out... but not without a fight. The videos uses still frames in a montage in order to show the farming community, their comming together to protest the eviction, and the seizing of the land by the police. The still frames are made more dramatic by the cameras zooming in on each still frame. The music in the film also follows the progression from the peaceful urban farm to the chaotic struggle against the police. The video begins with Bob Marley, highly activist singer, progresses to a native american song, and about half way through switches to Rage Against Machine as the police make their debute.

Another video I encountered was about Afghan farmers growing poppies in order to support themselves in a war torn country. The video was an Aljazeera production and utalized a wide angle lense to show the prominance of the land in these peoples lives. These farmers think that it is morally wrong to be a part of drug production, but feel that they have no choice. Someone has to look after the education and health of their children, and the government cannot support them, so opium must.

Yet another video with an international focus is a thank you from Oxfam who helped Ethiopian coffee farmers achieve fair trade status with Starbucks. This video ustilizes the medium shot to focus in on the ethiopian farmers Oxfam and activists helped through petitions and other forms of activism.

This video shows the tension between farmers and the governement and the lack of sufficient subsidies for farmers in both Indonesia and the U.S. The film uses wide angle lens to capture the richness and beuty of agriculture as well as using the unique4 low angle shot to show the connection between the farmers feet and the land.

The last video I will share with you is one of the most tragic. Eventhough India is recently known for its great economic boom, people fail to realize the great crisis for rural indians... who make up the majority of the population. Farmers who do get loans from the governement are unable to pay them back, and so, the suicide rate for farmers is soaring. the camera person uses many high- angled shots in order to show the subordinate and oppressed state of farmers in India.

I was pleasantly surprised at the represenations of farmers that I found on Youtube and I also now recognize that sites like youtube serve to create awareness for injustices people would otherwise be blind to. Creating visibility for hardworking people with such importance in communities is such a worthy cause, and I am happy to have been able to explore the agricultural struggles all over the world.

Posted by rudhx004 at 6:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Facebook- An Ethnographic approach

According to the Beach text Ethnographers, “study how audiences assume the active role of constructing the meaning of media texts�. Facebook, the popular social networking site, allows users many ways to construct digital identities and to create various meanings from media; making it a complicated yet fascinating study. The site was founded in 2004 for college students, but has since expanded to include more general populations (Wikipedia). In order to better understand how people construct their own identities and interact with others, I sent a questionnaire to some people in my network and received some feedback. I understand that this information has its limitations because the pool of people are my “ friends� and may share more in common than that of the general Facebook population; however, I feel that some of the information is worth considering. I also have spent a lot of time studying people’s sites and how they seem to navigate the online community and create a space that tries to both express realities in their lives, such as school and work, while also crafting a more subjective representation of self.
Here is a sample of one person’s answers to my questionnaire:
1. How did you hear about Facebook?
I heard about facebook through a friend who was in high school.

2. What does your profile say about you, meaning, how does it portray your
identity?
I'm probably seen as the geeky girl with an affinity for science fiction and
art.

3. How many times do you check your facebook a week?

Not very often. Probably twice.

4. How much do you post a week?

I change my status a lot, but I rarely post something.

5. How did your last wall post you received make you feel?

Happy :)

6. When you wrote your last wall post, how did you feel?

Probably happy, I'm not one for airing my dirty laundry, especially on
facebook.

7. what if your favorite Facebook aplication?

Graffiti, if anything, or the x-files application.

8. Why do you like it?

Graffiti because it has to do with creativity- I like visual messages, not
verbal ones. And the x-files application because there is a trivia section that I master!

9. Why do you think so many people use Facebook?

It is an easy way to get information on potential friends, or a way to pass the
time. Also it allows me to maintain contact with people who have moved away
etc.

10. Do you think there is anything special that connects these people?

For the most part no, many of my friends are friends of friends that I met in
high school. There are a few who do mean something to me though, so I'm
guessing that its the same for most people.

11.What are your favorite Facebook groups?

I'd say the political groups, such as "legalize same sex marriage" or
"Minnesota Pro-Choice." Although, I never check them.

12. How has Facebook changed/shaped your life?

When I have a paper to write, it somehow seems more compelling... Also, I've
reconnected with people that I hadn't talked to in years.

13. Why do you use Facebook?

Its an easy way to show someone that you still care what's going on with them,a quick wall message now and then and no animosity. I like it.
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Although this Facebook user seems to treat the site as a recreational hobby, one can tell a lot about what she values. One of the most complimented aspects of Facebook in my study was the ability to join groups that showed participants allegiance or favor for different political candidates and issues. This participant also said that she enjoyed the Graffiti Aplication, which allows people to post pictures they draw on different friends’ walls.
Facebook is filled with applications created and distributed around by other users. Users both produce and are subject to various forms of media including textual, visual, and aural. On one woman’s site, you could even see a pregnancy counter that tracks the development of her baby and shows how the fetus will grow. People invest a lot of time into constructing their identities on these sites. People upload pictures of themselves, and can display their tastes in movies, music, television, literature, among many other indicators of what they like to do and what defines them as a person. In some ways, it seems like these sites are island oasis’s meant for individuals to make a place that is all their own; these sites reflect how these individuals wish to view themselves by allowing them to control what their profiles say about themselves. But if Facebook profiles are islands, there is certainly a great deal of trade. Of course, this too is controlled by the individual by either accepting or denying “friend� requests and invitations to different groups or applications. Also, anything put up by another user on his or her site, can be taken down. So, if for example someone is “tagged� in an unflattering picture, you can easily remove it from your site so that you can maintain the image you wish.
I have already established that Facebook allows users to create an identity, but that identity must be viewed in conjunction with the audience for those pages. Facebook is primarily a social networking site, and most of the participants in my questionnaire said that they appreciate Facebook for allowing them to keep in contact with classmates and friends from work, school, vacations, as well as to meet new friends. Some people even use Facebook to get dates! A person can “ Poke� another and this is signals an interest in another user. It is impossible for me to generalize about what people post about on eachother’s walls. The posts are as varied in tone and in purpose as the individuals themselves that write them. Many people use Facebook to make plans to hang out while others use it for arguing, flirting, joking, as well as for scholastic support. On participant in my questionnaire said that Facebook is: “It’s interesting and helps keep me in the loop about parties going on...I tend to 'disappear' at times.� This seems to be a general trend with uses, our lives are busy, and yet we want to maintain a social scene, Facebook makes this possible.

Facebook is an enormous online community, and as such, is difficult to derive any concrete definition of how people in this network construct and create meaning out of the media involved. I will say however that this study has shown me how much power the site has as a tool to create a digital face to show to other members and lends the creativity and technology to imagine the self in ways impossible in the “real� world. I will never be able to look at Facebook the same way!
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HEALTH IN THE MEDIA
Over the last decade our society has become increasingly interested in living healthier. Our fast-food nation has real concerns when it comes to obesity as well as high instances of heart disease, diabetes, and a host of other problems that could potentially be avoided by adopting better eating and exercise habits. The media, and corporations, have picked up on this trend and edepict being healthy as a choice made by people who value themselves.
I did a Google image search in order to gain some perspective about how representations of " health" and " healthy" occur in the media. I will attach my collage of images onto my discussion board post for those who are curious. First of all, one of my first observations of how healthy people are portrayed is that they are very happy. Serenity and happiness seem to be ever present in the representations of healthy people. I think we all know that just because you're healthy, doesn't necessarily mean that you are happy.

Another interesting observation is that there is a much higher representation of representations of " health" and " healthy" with white people in them than people of color which most likely leads to my next point. I believe that the media is trying to make being healthy seem like a choice made by those people who are willing to put a lot of time, money, and effort into what they put into their mouths and physical exercise. Perhaps the media is geared towards mostly white people because the marketers think that white people have the capital to buy the vitamins, gourmet waters, shoes, exercise equipment, gym memberships, and prescription drugs. One of the images that I did find on my Google image search was a poster for little dolls called " Homies" and it depicted a group of Hispanic people lifting weights with very stereotypical dress and hair; the caption read: " Homies Health Club"

Television depicts health as a choice also. My favorite public service announcement of all time shows a man in a doctors office, who, when he hears some dance music, stands up and begins to dance! The announcement is meant to tell people to try to exercise 30 minutes everyday. Another trend we see is that eating organically is " Healthier" when it could potentially mean that it is just more expensive. Samantha from Sex in the City only ate organically and did yoga.

ACADEMIC TREATMENT OF "HEALTH" and "HEALTHY"

The Oxford English dictionary defines Health, the noun, as : 1. a. Soundness of body; that condition in which its functions are duly and efficiently discharged.

and Healthy as: Possessing or enjoying good health; hale or sound (in body), so as to be able to discharge all functions efficiently.

By these definitions we see that healthiness could be seen as the absence of sickness or injury, this is not what we find in the media. The media most certainly dresses up ideas of healthiness with connotations of self-esteem, confidence, strength, beauty, and even to some extent luxury.

After perusing a verity of health related journals on the library website, I see that most of the concerns in these magazines are far more concerned with keeping people free of diseases and making sure that people have health plans so if they do get sick, they will be able to afford medical care. Ideas in the Media do seem to differ from those in the medical journals. The media represents being "healthy" almost like a lifestyle or counter culture. If you're healthy, you shop in the organic isles, go mountain climbing and read fitness magazines. The medical journals would argue that you are healthy if your cholesterol rate is low and you are within your BMI limits.

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