Assignments

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Assignments
Assignment 1
When talking about the emergence of new media, it can be discussed as what can be defined as new, but most commonly new media refers to content on the internet and the use of the World Wide Web. Some of the most common new medias are online newspapers, blogs and social medias such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In 2016, the latest stats showed that 40% of the world’s population has access to the internet and the amount is still increasing (Internet Live Stats, 1). In the developed world, the society has become quite dependent on the access to the world wide web, though many developing countries still lack access to the internet. Since the emergence of the internet, it has become a resource for knowledge, news and ways of staying connected to the society and the world, all because of the new approach multiple news outlets are using to cover news. The internet has opened up for a new way of covering news that no longer requires the journalist to physically be at the scene to get or report the news.
On the internet, a lot of news, events or situations are shared on alternative medias (Facebook and Twitter) faster than on any other mainstream media (radio, newspapers, and television). This can be used to the advantage of a journalist; any information necessary can be obtained online through alternative medias where events are shared through posts, tweets, pictures and many others. This is one of the benefits that the emergence of new media has brought.

Another benefit with the internet is that a lot of people have access to it, which creates a global audience. When content is published on the internet, it will immediately be available to a bigger audience than if only published in a local or national newspaper. These benefits make the internet a powerful tool, which is why they are used by a large number of news outlets (INVIRCOM, 1). The benefits stated above also apply to the audience, because of the internet, information is delivered globally faster than ever before. The audience is able to obtain any information that they need, and they are able to share with others. Many people consider both alternative medias and mainstream media as favorites hence their frequent use. The alternative ones like Facebook or Twitter is a constant source of diverse information, in the way that it is possible to share any news with the click of a button.   
The coming together of various broadcast channels to be able to converge their media practices will enable the confusion that exists in journalism to be eliminated. The idea of having different versions of an event will be no more.
Assignment 2
In the society, mass media has been seen to have an influence on the rate of violence and sexual activity. This is more rampant among the young people as they are the most vulnerable with little to no experience in life. This leads to a sense of confusion and the need to blindly imitate what they are exposed to, hence having difficulty distinguishing between the real and the imaginary. In comparison between violence and sex in the mass media, sex tends to outweigh violence. This is because it has been proven that promoting sexual content on the media, for example, TV shows, has been associated with making a lot of money. In simple terms, sexual content is a gold mine, and it sells. The more a teenager is exposed to sexual content at a young age, the more likely he or she will engage in sexual intercourse, and this eventually leads to early pregnancies. Apart from early pregnancies, contracting sexually transmitted diseases is also a risk that the teenagers are exposed to (CPS, 301-306).
Due to the severe, long-lasting effects of mass media, some measures have to be taken. Firstly, the children need to be engaged with their parents on talks about sexual health and sexuality in general from a young age as the children progress. This will enable the children to have knowledge on the adverse effects of too much exposure to sexual content. Secondly, media literacy should be employed as this will educate children and the society as a whole on the impact various media sources can have on their lives hence enabling them to be wise in their choices. Finally, as parents, they should be alert and be in the know-how of what their children are watching. This will reduce or avert the negative effects of mass media.
In Spite of the fact that having regulations to control the negative effects posed by mass media is a helpful endeavor, these same regulations have an impact on the way the general mass media operates. Firstly, setting a government body to be in charge of the regulation, will bring a tendency of certain information being kept from the public. Secondly, the mass media will also be hindered from exercising its right to expression as outlined by the First Amendment. Finally, concerning the sexual content, even though sex is considered a taboo, the content of what is to be shown should be considered, so as not to hinder mass media from spreading sex education around the world.
Assignment 3
Public relations also referred to as PR is a way of managing the information given to the public about an individual, organization or business group. News outlets are commonly used to provide the audience with information which will give them a perception of the individual, organization or business group.
One of the most current news events was the US presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. The event was covered by both national and worldwide news outlets. Most news outlets are perceived as holding preferences, some newspapers are more conservative, while others are more liberal. The New York Times, one of the renowned news outlets in the United States, has a section set aside for journalists to convey their thoughts to the public concerning a certain issue in the society. Under the presidential election quite a lot of articles were addressing the matter of who should be the next president of the United States of America. The majority of the articles seemed to be more liberal and therefore on Clinton’s side.
One article was about why Trump should not be the next president. In the article, he is being described as a man who makes false promises and is hostile and closed-minded toward social minorities. This could be considered as bad publicity against Trump because the article can persuade its audience to share the same perception, which is probably what the publisher of this article was trying to accomplish by sharing his or her political beliefs. To a person who wants to vote, but knows nothing about politics, an article like this can have a huge impact. The article doesn’t only deliver facts but also an opinion which influences the voters (The New York Times, 1).
Another example of PR under the election is an article describing how Hillary Clinton should be the next president; this article would be considered as good PR for Hillary. The article describes how she has experience, whereas Trump doesn’t. This article is also found under the sector ‘opinion’ the information that the writer has obtained could be delivered by a spin doctor, whose job is to spin the truth in a way that makes the individual, organization or business group look good in the eyes of the public. Therefore, once again the information be colored by the writer’s perspective and opinion on the matter at hand. By getting a journalist to write an article that praises Clinton, the spin doctor will have accomplished the goal by getting the good publicity out to the masses (The New York Times, 1).
Personally, when reading articles like this, I would be aware that it is an opinion of only one journalist or newspaper. Also, when reading the public relations, it is important to be aware of which goal the PR organization is trying to accomplish. When a Journalist is reporting information about an individual, organization or business group, then it is usually information that is served by a spin doctor, it is, therefore, it is worth noting, as a reader, you should be aware of what your reading.
Assignment 4
For this experiment, I used Television, Radio and Laptop and a phone as medias.
During an hour of watching television, I was able to see five advertisements, for radio I could hear only three advertisements. These were a reasonable number as both medias rank high in advertising costs (Xander, 1). Over to the internet, I happened to observe 33 advertisements in an hour of using the laptop, but when I switched to opening the website with my phone, the number of advertisements happened to reduce to 11. The volume of advertisements observed through the internet using a laptop and a phone was by far more as compared to the rest of the medias. This is due to how cheap it is to place and run advertisements on the internet.
Every advertisement regardless of the media used, it is paid for, but not all receive the same recognition and audience. When using the television, I was able to be engaged as there were both visual and audio elements but not to a high degree, so if I was not taking the experiment, little attention would have been observed. On the other hand, on using the radio, it was sometimes hard to realize when an advertisement had started, and when it had ended, this can be due to the existence of only the audio functionality, so in the absence of this experiment, almost no attention would be seen. The use of the laptop and the phone was very engaging in the event an advertisement appeared. It was hard to ignore the presence of an advertisement as some basically popped up in front of what I was working on.These two medias’ attention would have been more even with the absence of the experiment.
Assignment 5
CBS NEWS
Heavy Snow in USA (National Based Story)
Some areas of the United States are being covered by huge chunks of snow. This is after a massive storm in this winter season that has been seen to pack snow. It is accompanied with strong heavy winds and ice. Due to this, cold temperatures are experienced and are said to last to the second week of the storm (CBSNEWS, 1).
Applications to college (State Based Story)
Due to early applications into college by some high school seniors, it has been observed acceptance notifications have started to stream in. One school did not hold back to showcase their reaction having managed to have two students being accepted into the Ivy League of Schools (CBSNEWS, 1).
Trump on CIA claims of hacking the election (National Based Story)
Trump has continuously been against the hacking claims released by the CIA, some terming them as a way to undermine his transition into power. The Republican team has been seen to be curious enough and have made measures to determine the truth of the matter. This is not to mean that they are doubtful of the election results but as a way to know the methodology of the hack and what was the intended result (CBSNEWS, 1).
Trump to announce “The Secretary of State” (National Based Story)
The country is anxiously waiting for the announcement of the “Secretary of State” by Trump. He has been seen as unpredictable and this announcement will not be any other way. With how things are going, it has been that Rex Tillerson is the most likely candidate to be appointed (CBSNEWS, 1).
Job as an emoji Translator (Internationally Based Story)
A company in London needs the services of an emoji translator who will be doing a monthly analysis of how people use emojis. This will be of much help in the understanding of the uses of emojis in the society (CBSNEWS, 1).
All through the stories, it has been observed that the Television news channel is more concentrated on the issues revolving around President-elect Trump and what is taking place after the general election.
References
Becket, Xander. “The Cost of Advertising Nationally Broken Down by Medium.” WebpageFX, 13 January. 2016.
Canadian Paediatric Society [CPS]. “Impact of media use on children and youth.” Paediatric Child Health, 8,2003, 301-306.
CBSNEWS.”CBS Evening News”,12 December 2016. Web. 14 December 2016.
< http://www.cbsnews.com/>
Internet Live Stats. “Internet Users,” 1 July 2013. Web. 14 December 2016. <http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/>
Indonesian Virtual Company(INVIRCOM). “Advantages of Using The Internet,” 2007. Web.14 December 2016.< http://www.invir.com/int-bus-advantages.html>
The New York Times. “The Opinion Pages,” 2016. Web. 4 December 2016.<http://www.nytimes.com/>