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itscoralie-blog1 · 7 years

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3 of Blog 4 entry

Media is evolving. It is on a never-ending train ride, and we, the audience, must get on board, or get left behind playing catch up. As Sullivan says in his book, “the scholarly study of audiences often struggles to keep up with the pace of change in the media landscape” (Sullivan, J., 2013). There’s no need for big cameras with microphones to follow you around to record events. Because of digitization, the world now has cell phones that have camera in them that permits you to record pictures, movements and sound (Sullivan, 2013). There’s almost no need for libraries since now you can “Google it!”. Everything is made accessible through media. Contents are being put online by professionals, who are outsourcing and trying to reach new/ bigger audiences, but also content are being put online by consumers/audience members. Those types of content are called user-generated content.

Let’s take a singer, for example Taylor Swift, has more access to her fans through social media platforms, and fans also have more access to her and even her life, via social media platforms. Let’s say she needed help with writing a new song, or she needed an audience to share some thoughts and ideas to get some feedback, she can now do live streaming videos f her singing the new song for a live audience through her phone. Instantly, as the video is being recorded and streaming live, she will get automatic feedback from her fans. The audience watching will be able to leave comments and even some suggestions that she might take into consideration. This is what Jenkins was defining as participatory culture “in which ‘fans and other consumers are invited to actively participate in the creation and circulation of new content’” (Sullivan, 20013).

This is becoming a trend, it is becoming a new norm. Participatory culture has given audience members a chance to get new content from all sorts of categories of information. Young girls are becoming famous by posting pictures of themselves modeling new bathing suits, therefore attracting new audiences, which will increase their chances of being seen by professional modeling agencies. Look at artist Justin Bieber, who is a popular Canadian singer. He started by posting videos of himself playing music on the street in front of restaurants. Now more and more artists are being found in the same manner, which also instigates other people to get in on this action of posting videos online. I believe it is all a vicious cycle.

youtube

As I said earlier, media is evolving, and we must keep up with it. Whether it be as audience members or as organizations, we need to get on board of that fast-moving train, and try to get as much knowledge on media as we can to incorporate it in our routines.

References:

Suulivan, J., 2013 “Media Audiences”.

“The Star of Stratford, Canada- Justin Bieber before he was famous”

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itscoralie-blog1 · 7 years

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2 of Blog 4 entry

Recently news has hit that the Kardashians are expecting babies, more specifically, Kim is expecting her third child via surrogate, and sisters Khloe and Kylie are said to both be expecting their first child. This created a huge discussion on social media sites with fans asking questions and commenting on the news. This brings me to media fandom.

The concept of media fandom is “exploring how fan communities extend their interactions with media texts by logging on to discussions on the internet, collecting artifacts associated with their media interests, and even by participating in fan conventions and other related social activities” (Sullivan J., 2013). Celebrities have different varieties of fans. They have fans who simply like them and appeal to them; They have fans who select them as role models so they live their lives as the celebrity would; Finally, we have the fanatics who, sometimes, bring out bad connotations such as, stalker fans, or diehard fans who would do just about anything for their celebrity even to the extent of committing a crime.

When the news of the pregnancy of both Kylie Jenner and Khloe Kardashian started, fans went wild and started analyzing everything the family was posting and saying on social media.

It all started with pictures posted by all three girls. Kylie posted the picture above with the caption “which one? I’m thinking blue…”. Fans went nuts by depicting the implied meaning behind the picture. Who would think that semiology would play a role in social media posts? Some said she was announcing the sex of her child, others said this revealed the sex of all three future children, Kim’s, Khloe’s, and Kylie’s. To add to the wood to an already burning fire, Kim also posted a picture of her and her sisters at the pool, commenting "The 3 of us...". Fans were left wondering what the pictures meant. With both Kim and Kylie posting random pictures with a unique set up, fans started a discussion that got so big, it is still being talked about today.

“Jenkins notes, that the difference between watching a series and becoming a fan lies in the intensity of their emotional and intellectual involvement” (Sullivan, J., 2013). Fans feel that they have a bond with these celebrities and deserve the right to know what is happening in their lives. Jenkins was also fascinated by how fans were becoming both producers and consumers of media texts (Sullivan, 2013). With the Kardashian family remaining on lock down when it comes to this topic of conversation, we are all waiting for the final verdict. Since Kim revealed that she was expecting her third child, and it is a girl, we are now waiting for Kylie and Khloe. At least this is not a case of Star Wars fandom or Dark Knight fandom. These fans are sticking to commenting on social media.

Citation:

Sullivan, L. John, 2013 "Media Audiences"

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itscoralie-blog1 · 7 years

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1 of blog 4 entry

As I am watching the TV today, I can’t help but reflect on my studies in audience. Recently I learned about the passive audience using old media such as television or radio, where audiences are meant to only watch and digest what they see or hear (2016). I start to wonder now, am I a passive member of the audience? I guess it all depends on the content and context of the show I am watching (2016). Lately I have been watching shows that ask for the participation of its audience. Shows like “The Voice”, which is a well know music show where contestants come and sing, and the public must vote for a contestant to move forward until one wins the competition. This show is honestly very entertaining. The judges keep us entertained and of course, the singers are amazing. To vote you must use a second screen, such as a smartphone or a computer, and go to social media websites or the networks website and vote for the singer you wish to move forward. This year they made it even better. They added an element for infinity subscribers that makes voting easier, you can now vote using your remote control. Of course, like all voting situations, some audience members are left unhappy with the results while others agree with the end results. A show known for these kinds of reaction is “Dancing with the Stars”, where sometimes audience vote for their favorite celebrities regardless of how they perform.

All of this to show how the audience has evolved from being passive to now active. This bring me to my second point. Has the television audience changed? “In the 21st century, audiences can access media whenever and wherever they desire, provided that they have broadband Internet access” (J. Sullivan, 2013). This is the perfect way to explain how I believe audiences have changed. Now that everything is accessible online, because it is easier faster and FREE, audiences are no longer required to watch shows on a television. I remember I used to wait every Thursday nights to watch “Grey’s Anatomy” at 8pm on the dot. Now it seems irrelevant to me to watch the season live as I know it will be available online. At least I know that when I watch it online, I won’t be interrupted with advertising agencies taking a good 15 to 18 minutes of my hour to watch the show. Also, I don’t need to wait every week I can choose to watch all of it at once. Of course, there is a negative side to this as social media website can give you hints on what is happening on the show and what you are missing. “since audiences are no longer constrained by network television schedules, we are now living in a ‘post-network’ ear” (J. Sullivan, 2013). We now rely on internet sites such as Hulu or Netflix, which you pay for, or sites where you can access free streaming of shows and even download them on your computer. I use Netflix a lot. I even use free streaming because of the convenience that comes with it. This past week was hectic for me. As exams approach, I don’t have a fixed schedule where I can watch shows from 8 to 10pm every night. Instead I work on assignments and wait until the weekend where I can take a break and watch all the shows one after the other, that way I am all caught up with what is being said on social media. Social media has maybe shifted how I look at certain tv shows, and even those that I don’t watch. I remember when “Game of Thrones” first came out I did not have a clue what it was. After hearing so much about it on Instagram and Facebook, seeing all these “memes” that were created using the characters from the tv series, I decided ok maybe I should watch at least one episode to see what it’s all about. That was my first mistake, because that got me hooked to the series.

Honestly, I feel that, as the world evolves and technology advances, audiences will change as well. The way television is, will also change. They will adapt to their new audience and their new tech-savvy industry. If they don’t adapt then they will fall behind, therefore increasing their chances of not being in the market for long.

Reference:

J. Sullivan, “Media Audiences”, 2013

Astigarraga Agirre, I., Pavon Arrizabalaga, A. & Zuberogoitia Espilla, A. (2016). “Active audience? interaction of young people with television and online video content.” Communication & Society 29(3), 133-147.

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itscoralie-blog1 · 7 years

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itscoralie-blog1 · 7 years

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“The Influence of the West” 2/3

Uses and Gratifications! This might seem extensive, but we use it in a daily manner. Everything that sums up our needs are involved with this theory. When talking about an audience experience, uses and gratification says that “the audience members actively choose media channels and content to suit their own needs at a particular moment” (John L. Sullivan, p113). As an audience member of Television, I have to say I find that TV in general is influence by the west. Come to think of it, how much of tv and movies have been influenced by the west? Major popular TV shows are American, they have a huge audience, and some even have a fandom base.

Back home, we use a television network called Nu-TV. It’s a privately-owned company who provides Tv services. Among their channel listing we get ABC, CBS, NBC, and a bit of HBO. These are the channels I mostly watch. I watch tv most of the time as a way to relax or just to use time while waiting for something else. Some tv series have become a ritual at home. Every Monday night, my father, mother, and I, sit and watch “Dancing with the Stars” on ABC. Since we have a bit of experience with ballroom dancing, we like to watch stars learning how to dance and also, as my mom puts it, we like to gain new moves/ knowledge on certain styles of dancing. This could be a cognitive need, which Katz et al explain as a “needs related to strengthening information, knowledge, and understanding” (J.L. Sullivan, p114). Unfortunately, when it comes to the end though, the parents get irritated as it’s a show where people vote, and Stars get eliminated; they believe its corrupted and the voting isn’t done properly.

Another show we enjoy watching from ABC is “Grey’s Anatomy”. None of us, parents and siblings, are doctors. For some reason, I have always felt a connection with all shows related to doctors. I still do. Even though it is a television show, I feel like I learn a lot about medicine from it. I believed it even helped me during the earthquake. I knew how to apply pressure on wounds and how to do turn kits to help people with broken limbs. The Tv show even made me feel like I could do more and in some way motivated me to go to red cross and get a first responder training for emergency situations. So I do believe some shows on tv have a big influence on a person and their attitudes and behavior.

Now a fictional show like “Game of Thrones” is another topic. It is all fiction and not based on real life situations like Grey’s anatomy is. This series is more of a diversion for audiences (J.L. Sullivan, p117). It helps with our imagination, it distracts us from real life problems and acts as a diversion. This show has true fanatics. The name “Khaleesi” has become popular because of this tv show. Khaleesi is a role played by Emila Clark who plays the mother of dragons. This character was also popular during Halloween. One can say that this series has influenced people on their taste for costume options throughout the world.

Overall audiences are influenced by their needs of affiliation. As far as media, specifically television, some watch tv shows to be able to connect with others in a social environment, while others watch tv as a means of distraction. I believe people watch tv for entertainment purposes and also to keep up with what is going on in the world, news channels.

Citation:

“Media Audiences”, John L. Sullivan, chapter 5.

“Uses and Grats 2.0: New Gratifications for New Media” S. Shyam Sundar and Anthony M. Limperos.

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itscoralie-blog1 · 7 years

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Influence of the west. Blog1/3

“The Influence of The West”

The United States and Canada are the two main countries people think of when we speak of the West. Being a powerful and dominant country, the U.S. has a huge influence on other countries. That influence is driven to other countries with the help of its population, culture and media. Some can argue that the U.S. is a very capitalist society driven by profit gain, which I believe is true. Everything is commercialized, even the culture has become a huge stunt for profit gaining by corporations and businesses. Where and how does it all start? For this particular blog I will use Football as an example of how I believe the U.S. has influenced me and people around me.

It all starts with the people, the audience. People have needs and wants. In order to satisfy these needs, corporations do researches to identify what products or services people are into. In John L. Sullivan’s book, Media Audiences, Thomas Streeter says that people are participating in labor without even realizing it (J. Sullivan, p.80). There is a division between production and consumption, and it has been ingrained into our modern lives (J. Sullivan p.80). Television is a big part of our needs, it helps us get distracted after work, or can brighten up our day if we are having issues we don’t want to deal with. Whatever TV show we decide to watch, corporations make profit out of our viewership. The adds that play during the TV shows are also making profit from our viewership. Most importantly the adds can influence our buying behavior. Dallas W. Smythe calls this Audience Commodity. We the audience become a new product to be sold to advertisers (J. Sullivan, p81).

I am from Haiti, the sport that we are generally interested in is soccer, which we call football. Ever since I travelled to the U.S. for my studies, I have become a huge fan of, what I call, American football. My roommates use to take me to college games, which I enjoyed, then they got me hooked on the NFL games, where I became a big Patriots fan. When I went back home to Haiti, I started watching the games at my house and got my father hooked. It became a ritual for us to sit and watch football n Sundays. Not only were we influence by a cultural element of sports from the U.S., but we were also influence by their tradition of doing the whole barbecue super bowl party, which is a huge profit driven event for corporations. The super bowl is an example of how “advertisers seek to quantify audiences in order to assure the success of their advertising efforts” (K.S.F. Buzzard, p513). Even though we have our own beers in Haiti, for the super bowl we drink Budweiser because they are the official beer people drink during the game, plus I love their commercials, which might influence why I buy their beer. The Super bowl is watched literally everywhere. Many Haitian students that come back from studying in the U.S. come back to Haiti and we all come together to watch it every year. We even do setups where we get decorations and sometimes build a stand and have a huge projector and screen to watch the game as if it were in a theater. What really gets everyone’s attention during the game are first the commercials, then, the half time show. As Karen Buzzard states in her article, “Audience size, known as exposure, literally serves as the currency for determining the cost paid by advertisers for network and spot advertising” (K.S.F. Buzzard, p. 512) the amount of money companies put out for a 30 second video commercial during the Super Bowl is in sane, makes you wonder if it’s worth it.

To conclude, I can easily say that the U.S. has influenced my viewing of sports, specifically football. It actually makes me sad when I think of it because, I don’t go to that extreme when I watch my national soccer team playing. I mean we do tend to go big during World Cup Soccer, but not for just a championship in Haiti. This also shows how companies take advantage of audiences to gain profit from sales and viewership from not just people in the U.S. but from people around the world. With access to Television, companies are gaining an internationalization of audience, which can only serve to broaden their market. Hopefully not everyone will forget their own culture during this globalization of western cultures.

Citation

“Media Audiences”, John L. Sullivan, chapter 4.

“The Rise of Market Information Regimes and The Historical Development of Audience Ratings”, by Karen S.F. Buzzard

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itscoralie-blog1 · 7 years

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why do people deviate from the truth?

Freedom of speech is the first amendment in the constitution of the United States of America. People tend to give it many definitions depending on their moods or surroundings. Rioting can be a form of expression of freedom of speech, doing a march is another example, or taking a knee, which seems to be popular these days. You are free to have an opinion, you are free to express yourself, as long as you remain in the legal side of things, you are free to do as you please.

Watching the news lately, has been short of a comedy show. All topics seem to lead to one character, Trump, and all seem to deviate from the true message that was intended. “taking a knee” became a trend within a week. Whether it be the NFL and now basketball players, singers and all others have joined to stand united against… well that is the big question. This all started when Colin Kaepernick sat then took a knee during the national anthem in one of the preseason games in 2016. Fed up with the inequality and violence toward the blacks he decided to do a silent protest by doing a “gesture of humility”, taking a knee (“Why Kaepernick takes the knee” L. Siegel). Nothing came of it at first. Some news outlets started talking about it, but were more focused on the election going on. This year, taking a knee has sparked many outbursts from fans of all participating teams and even the president, Trump. (#shocker)

Trump is generating all kinds of audiences, supporters, haters, in betweeners, and even kids. He uses social media as a way of transportation for his message to reach millions of people generating all kinds of reactions. Those reactions are what tend to start the trends and get news channels to get involved. What did Trump do again? Some might say it’s a game; some might say it’s a distraction; honestly believe it’s both. Before becoming president of the US, Trump was a celebrity persona. People looked up to him, some even identified to him, had some sort of parasocial relationship with him for example (W. J. Brown). When you idolize a celebrity, you share their beliefs, values, attitudes, maybe you also try to have the same way of life by going to eat where they go, or use the same perfume. So, without intending it, Trump automatically has followers who will share his messages, tweets, and support him in all he does. Without intending it as well, his messages are seen by millions therefore have a chance to affect millions.

Now that he is the President, his messages have a deeper meaning. He represents a nation and holds the responsibility to act accordingly and not create more chaos, at least one would think that. Giving a speech in front of thousands and calling the NFL players “Sons of B*****S” and yelling “you are FIRED” should not be appropriate or representative of a nation (Right Side Broadcasting Network). This created different reactions from all audiences. Stars took it upon themselves to respond by posting videos of themselves taking a knee in support of the NFL players; others posted videos of them reacting to his message using the same foul language he did but the difference being that they opposed him. News outlets are having multiple interviews with people from both parties, democratic and republican, to get opinions, and the best that can come out of it is arguments creating more chaos. Game attendance have seemed to lower as well due to this protest, which I don’t seem to comprehend why, but apparently people refuse to pay to watch players protesting SILENTLY (CNN interview with Maria Cardona at al). We cannot forget the bandwagon effect, if one person doesn’t want to go and had planned to attend with a group of friends that share the same ideologies and beliefs as him, then they will all choose not to attend. (J. L. Sullivan). The US national anthem can run up to three minutes, so players are taking a knee for three minutes prior to the game. A football game runs at about three hours on length. Please explain to me how people refuse to continue to attend games for a protest that lasts three minutes, when the actual game they paid to see lasts three hours? If that is the best excuse they have, well MAYBE they are not true fans of the GAME, MAYBE they are looking for excuses not to go, or MAYBE they do not agree with mixing politics with games. Everyone is free of having their own opinion and protesting in their own way, not attending the games, yet for some reason we don’t hear people complaining about it, or the media talking about this protest. The NFL players are not taking a knee during the entire game, they are not destructing property, they are not marching, and they are certainly not having a riot. They are simply kneeling to express their frustration.

The media is so focused on what Trump has to say about this stance, one could tell they have their own agenda to sell. Why not sell the stories that trend to get more viewers? Why not continue the trend by talking about what the actual message behind this protest is instead? We could almost say that the story is deviating from reality to popularity. Audiences watching the news are bringing this up in their conversations at home. “Did you see what Trump say to the NFL players?” is the questions being asked at dinner instead of “have they started looking more in depth about the death of Eric Garner who died while being arrested by police officers using techniques that are not allowed in Staten island?” (they used the choke hold). Bringing these topics of conversations can be taboo, or people simply avoid them because they do not know how to respond to them. Instead of having discussions they rather follow the spiral of silence, which is when people talk when their views mesh with the views of others, or the public opinion (J. L. Sullivan).

These subjects should not be ignored, people should not remain silent due to fears of judgement by the public, they have the right to have their own opinion, they have the right to freedom of speech. News outlets should know better than to ignore the real problem by deviating and going towards what is trending or what will sell more.

People confide in news reporters because of their “Professionalism” and “credibility”. I put these two in quotation marks because news broadcasters tend to be bias therefore giving their audience bias opinions or news on the events they talk about. We as audience members should start by asking news reporters the serious and hard questions like what is really happening? Are we still having issues with North Korea? Is this why they are deflecting? Is this why Trump causing so much noise in the media?

Citation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoPv5EsFb40

Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones take knee before national anthem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpGxagKOkv8

Eric Garner Video- Unedited Version, published, New York Daily News, July 12th 2015

“Media Audiences, Effects, Users, Institutions, and Power”, John L. Sullivan, 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bg4qyscj-w

NFL Players Taking A Knee During National Anthem ~ Asking President Trump What He Thinks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocSKo53JzQw

NFL players take a knee to protest Donald Trump’s comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrLwjUyAo34

“PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLS OUT NFL Players Who KNEEL During National Anthem!” Right Side Broadcasting Network, published Sept 22th 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/opinion/nfl-football-kaepernick-take-knee.html

“Why Kaepernick Takes the Knee”, by Lee Siegel, published, Sept 25th 2017

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itscoralie-blog1 · 7 years

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why do people deviate from the truth?

Citation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoPv5EsFb40

Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones take knee before national anthem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpGxagKOkv8

Eric Garner Video- Unedited Version, published, New York Daily News, July 12th 2015

“Media Audiences, Effects, Users, Institutions, and Power”, John L. Sullivan, 2013

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bg4qyscj-w

NFL Players Taking A Knee During National Anthem ~ Asking President Trump What He Thinks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocSKo53JzQw

NFL players take a knee to protest Donald Trump's comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrLwjUyAo34

“PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLS OUT NFL Players Who KNEEL During National Anthem!” Right Side Broadcasting Network, published Sept 22th 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/opinion/nfl-football-kaepernick-take-knee.html

“Why Kaepernick Takes the Knee”, by Lee Siegel, published, Sept 25th 2017

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