Business vs Business in Media

          For many years we have seen different business companies call each other out for their products or to simply prove that they were the more dominant one. This can range from phone carriers comparing one another in commercials to major tech companies exploiting each other. One of the biggest feuds that this includes is Apple and Samsung and one side promotes a lot to make sure they beat the competitor out.
          In the past, Samsung has used a variety of tactics in media to get the idea out that their products are superior to Apples. They have made fun of how the general public will camp out in front of Apple stores to get the latest phone and they have gone as far as use celebrities and a regular actor to portray one as an Apple employee that realizes that their products just suck in general. This does get a good idea out, but do people still listen to them despite their media interventions?
          It is something to consider if you look around that many people still have Apple products and this can be identified by the simple white headphones, AirPods and even the phones and computers themselves. They aren't really tempting people away from Apple and while they do this, even more people get drawn in to Apple since Samsung isn't doing enough general promotions for themselves. It is a good idea to use media to tempt people away from a product but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be effective at all.

Sports Impact In Media

          Sports, they are such an amazing thing to witness in person and on television as well, heck, listening to them on the radio can be fun as well. But have you ever realized how much of an impact they can leave on our lives and how often they are promoted to us by many companies and channels on T.V.? They not only leave an impact on us emotionally and physically, but they also have become a major part in many of our lives and have turned into a big market for our economy as well.
          For the National Football League, they have an average media marketing budget of 74,000 a year but bring in an annual revenue of 14.2 billion dollars across 32 teams that are spread across the country in many different states. How can they make this much of a turnover is a question many can ask, but it is pretty simple when we think of how they get their marketing to us. It all starts with commercials and promotions. Almost any channel will have some promotion for a big game or an upcoming event that involves sports for the local team. That gets to the local group of citizens but then they reach out to radio stations and give out promotions to stores that might get themed standees or chip bags that might have their team on it. After this, everyone watches on T.V. or pays big bucks at the games and after that, they are left with a lot of money. This doesn't even include what they have made off of apparel yet.
          After looking at society around us today, it is easy to see how media has let sports enter our lives and how it has impacted life around us. Let it be sports edits on YouTube, kids playing sports on Instagram, or the Stanley Cup Playoffs on T.V., media has for surely let sports enter our lives and it won't leave for a very long time.

The 9th and Final of the Saga-Marketing

          It has been nearly 42 years since the first Star Wars released in theaters and this year, we will get to see the 9th and final of the franchise. Out of the past eight episodes, they have a combined total at the worldwide box office at the total of 9.3 billion dollars. After each movie came along, there were promotions that went on that hinted at the next movie as they have all come in trilogies so far. But this year, even though it is the final one that will ever be made, the title is a bit confusing. The title of the ninth installment is, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. As most know, Luke Skywalker, who is on his last leg and is very old, has no real chance of coming back to his full force because the past two movies have focused on the younger generation of Jedi's.

          As we know, many movies pay homage to the past if they are in a series or sequel. Could this be an attention drawer to the older fans who dislike the new movies because they mention a huge name in the title of a character who had such a big role in the original movies? Well, this announcement has come out nine months before the actual movie releases and the marketing for it has been slim to none so far. There has only been one trailer and it can be found in movie theaters and  Youtube for now, no TV spots have come up thus far. It makes us wonder why Disney has decided to go with this route because it isn't getting as hyped up as the other movies.

         What the trailer does provide though is that it shows multiple characters from past movies and it is voiced over by Luke Skywalker himself. This creates an emotional connection to the older fans letting them know that there is still something left in store for them despite the torch being past to a new generation which will be it's ultimate end. Through this marketing campaign and tactics, they will still most likely have a highly successful movie that all fans can enjoy.

Ad's Everywhere: Reflection of PBS Frontline's "The Persuaders"

          As a kid and still to this day, I see ads almost everywhere I go to. It can be a five minute drive to the store and I will see ads on bus stops, benches, cars, billboards and so much more in between. As a kid, I remember all of the different ads that I would see on Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and now that I think about it, none of the products from back then are still produced to this day. This helps show the advancement and evolution in advertising presented by PBS Frontline's "The Persuaders".

          "The Persuaders' describes our current world as one that is open to these new advertisement schemes that are promoted by various business groups. This has caused the world to have ads basically everywhere which leads to us buying more than we really need at some points. With is much around us, we as humans have accepted it as a daily part of our lives.

          Businesses have gone to the point where they will even put promotions on major franchises like NBA teams where they recently put ads on NBA jerseys, something that has never been done before in major sports inside of the United States. This puts promotions on the frontline since they will now always be seen outside of commercials and will remain on regulate T.V. so they will always be seen.

          In the end, "The Persuader's" shows us the shift in our society and how we are now more accustom to advertisements more than we were ever before.

Different Viewpoints: Coverage of Bombings in Sri Lanka by CNN and Fox News

          On Sunday April 21, there were multiple bombings at various Easter services in Sri Lanka during the morning. No known group has come forward to take responsibility for the attacks but I thought it would be interesting to the opinions of two U.S. news sources on a topic that is based outside of the country. I want to see this mainly because I know that politically, Fox and CNN lean different ways so it should be interesting to see the differences in coverage.

          To start it off, when you are on the Fox home page, the article is labeled as "'Several' U.S. citizens among 207 killed in blasts by 'radical terrorists' in Sri Lanka, 13 arrested." The article begins by explaining the casualties of U.S. citizens instead of opening up on the events that actually happened. The article also mentions that it was caused by 'radical terrorists' even though no group has claimed responsibility for the events yet. Throughout the article, it also shared the opinions from Trump's twitter account instead of covering the actual topic yet again.

           The CNN coverage was bit different and more concise. It was labeled as, "Bombs tear through Sri Lankan churches and hotels, killing more than 200 people." Unlike the Fox report, it had no mention of who exactly was killed and it did not label who did this terrible act of violence. Throughout the article, CNN talked about the real events that happened at the different locations and times when they really occurred.  It also had no mention of U.S. politics throughout the article which is again different than Fox News.

            In conclusion, we can see the real separation between Fox and CNN. Fox focused on how this attack affected the United States while CNN focused on the real events that happened and the people that were affected by the tragic event.

Fox: https://www.foxnews.com/world/easter-sunday-explosions-at-multiple-churches-and-hotels-rock-sri-lanka-death-tolls-rises

CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/21/asia/sri-lanka-explosions/index.html

How Can Thought and Language Corrupt Each Other? From "Politics and the English Language" By: George Orwell

          In his piece, Politics and the English Language, George Orwell wrote, "But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought?" Many things can be taken from this statement presented by George Orwell.  Because there can be so many ideas taken from this statement alone, I believe the ideas that he is putting out relate to the society that surrounds us and how both ourselves and society can reflect off of each other.

          The beginning of his quote starts out as, "But if thought corrupts language." From here, we can see that Orwell can be presenting the idea that our own personal ideas in our thoughts can affect our language. And where do those thoughts usually come from; the society that surrounds us daily. Without other people and their ideas in our lives, we wouldn't be able to be as sociable as we are and from that, we are able to think of our own ideas and the way we speak in our language. If we want to say the word to for example, we just say it was to. But if we write it, society makes us think grammatically so we have to decide if it is written as to, too, or two. These thoughts just then over complicate how we want to think.

          Since I've gone over the beginning, the end of the quote suggests, "Language can also corrupt thought." Orwell is now perceiving the opposite of the first statement and yet again, this statement is true. I believe that society is the number contributor to our language and it will always mess with how we think. If you look at promotions in media and around you, the companies will try to persuade you into thinking a certain way. Burger King and other food markets use specific logos, colors, and pictures to persuade you into their food even if you aren't hungry at the time. We will never really be able t think on our own unless we hide away from society because it will always try to draw us in and change our thoughts.

          In the end, these two sides are both true, language can corrupt thought and thought can corrupt language. Orwell made a very good statement because it is a idea that can often be overlooked  and it can show how the world has an influence over us.

My Relationship With Media: Attachment to Tech and Media

          My relationship with media has usually always been off the walls. As a teen in this day and age, it seems like media is never to far out of reach. It can come in all different shapes and sizes but I make the effort to look at it every single day and usually every hour that I am awake. To start this first blog, I am going to give a summary of my day so you can see how attached I really am since I like to immerse myself with different ideas and facts.

          In the morning right when I get up at 5:45, I look over at my phone to see who texted me at night and then I will proceed to text them back. It's usually Kennedy, my girlfriend, definitely not the high school :), or all of the group chats I am in so it brings a smile to my face when I eventually roll out of bed. After my shower I get some breakfast and when I sit down, I open up Youtube or Netflix on my phone so I can have some entertainment and then I look at this one mirror we have that is perfectly lined up so I can see the T.V. and from there I can see what's on KCRA 3. It is sort of an overwhelming amount of tech to have in the morning but I live with it perfectly. After breakfast I hop on my bed and scroll through Instagram for a solid twenty minutes before I leave for school. On Instagram I usually view sports and news and my friends profiles are also plopped in there as well. On the road to school I listen to music through my phone while I can also hear the news on the radio from what my mom listens to. Then I arrive at school.

         At school I am still connected to media despite my classes since I listen to music and always scroll through my phone during the day so I get a pretty solid intake of information aside from the education that I get in the classroom.

         When I get home from track, the media begins to die down for the night. After my shower and dinner are done I do my homework and once that usually takes a while. During this time I just listen to music and have a sports game behind me on the T.V. so I can always look over my shoulder if I really need to. Overall, pretty simple school night.

          When I look at what I do on a regular basis, I think that I can cut a few things out so I can have more time to rest. I'm always doing something because I hate to sit around and do nothing since it feels like I have accomplished nothing at all. If I didn't look at as much tech and media I feel like the day would go by quicker but for now, I really like how it is going.