On Vacation

So i'm writing this in a starbucks while i'm on vacation at the beach in florida. I don't have much time before they close so let me post some quick questions here. Do your media habits change during the summer and how? Do you go to the movies more often? Read more books? And what about any summer trips you take or any long trips away from home for that matter. When you go on a trip do you feel more or less engaged with the media? Do you welcome the chance to "unplug" from television, the internet, your cellphone, or do you feel withdrawn and less connected to the world? Two paragraphs on these if you can. and don't forget you can bounce questions off each other. the point of this blog is to foster conversation not just between you and i but between each other.

Social Media

Welcome to the new semester! One of the things that i noticed last semester was how much time i was spending with Facebook. If you don't know about Facebook, then you need to look it up. Google it. Using this social connector, i have been able to re-establish contact with friends from long ago. I recently had dinner with an old college buddy that i found by using facebook.

So here's my question to you. How has social media like facebook, myspace, youtube, changed your life? Do you use any of these programs? Some people even have their cellphone connected to facebook. I'm amazed at how much information people will share on these sites. People constantly post pictures of themselves in compromising situations. I even know some employers who check candidates' facebook pages to see what kind of person they are in private. Do you think the Internet, with the help of these programs, is helping us reveal too much about ourself. Is modesty fading because of new media? Or does the possibility of re-connecting with old friends and establishing relationships with similar likes and dislikes outweigh the negative implications of this media. Remember, two paragraphs. Again, welcome to class.

Miss USA and Gay Marriage

Well, we started the semester by talking about celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton and we'll end on it. I really didn't think this was a big deal, but Miss California's response to a question regarding Gay Marriage is getting some press attention. In the competition for Miss USA, celebrity judge Perez Hilton asked Miss California about her view on gay marriage. Hilton later chided Miss California for her response. I'm not so concerned about her answer (although i thought it sounded like she was fumbling a bit), but i am more interested in some of Hilton's comments. Watch the following video. What do you think about Hilton's stance?

Well. That was Awkward....

I'm not really sure if you can comment two paragraphs on this. But what the hell do you think was going on here?

Pirate Porn and the Public University

I don't even know how to start this week's blog but i'll give it a shot. The University of Maryland attempted to show a pornographic movie recently. After a a state legislator threatened to withhold funding from the University should they air the film, the school's administrators canceled the event. Student groups however protested and showed the film on their own. No university funds were used to purchase the movie or sponsor the event. This became a free speech issue for the students and some of the professors, feeling that if the showing could educate people about porn's impact on society why shouldn't the university be involved. I remember a porn movie being shown at the University of Georgia movie theater when i was an undergrad student. The event was huge and most of the audience just laughed their way through the film. I've included a link to the news story here. Be sure to watch the video as well as read the article. What are your thoughts?

Violent Video Games and Media Coverage

So last week i brought up the idea of blaming school shootings on video games. Let's continue with that theme. My main area of research is on the psychology of playing video games, namely how video games make people feel and think. I will leave my personal feelings and findings out of this post because i don't want to persuade the group. CNN posted this article last semester. One interesting thing to look for when the media covers school or teenage shootings is that they will also put a quick one sentence mention that the shooter owned violent video games.

So before you post your comments on the topics, let's investigate the recent school shooting in Germany. Do a google search for "Tim Kretschmer, school shooting, video games" and see what you get. After reading some of those then post your comments. So what do you think about violent video games. Are they becoming too prevalent in society? Do they contribute to violence? Can we blame them for school shootings (as the media has done several times, especially at Columbine)? If they are a negative force for children, how do we combat that? Your thoughts please.

Where are our Pundits Leading Us

A lot of you may have seen Jon Stewart's (of the Daily Show) interview with CNBC star Jim Cramer in which Stewart basically accused Cramer and other CNBC hosts of bad journalism. You can see it here. One of Stewart's best points is that The Daily Show is a comedy show on Comedy Central whereas some of these other pundits are on News Shows. Does the fact that some pundits (like Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Keith Olbermann, and Rachel Maddow) are on news Channels, like Fox and MSNBC, mean that they should be held to a higher standard of journalism? How many of us believe that these people are good journalists? And is there danger in the almost cult-like devotion some fans show towards them?

For example, the man who recently shot several people in a Tennessee church, apparently wrote a letter beforehand claiming that he was shooting liberals to better the country. One of the items he mentioned in the letter was a book written by Bernard Goldberg who is a frequent guest of the O'Reilly Factor. Please follow this link to read the story and watch clips. What do you think of these shows? Are you a fan?

Some will argue that O'Reilly and Goldberg can't be blamed for the church shooting. I tend to agree. It is clearly an act of an insane person. But then again, don't we blame video games for school shootings? If we blame that medium for the actions of crazed killers, shouldn't we blame the actions of the church shooter on the media he consumed?