Last Blog

First off I would like to say this has been one of my favorite classes not just this semester but in all of college. I really enjoyed hearing everyone's opinions and thoughts on all the issues discussed especially everyone's willingness to share their opinions. But I mostly enjoyed the topics discussed. Most classes in college never openly discuss such topics as race, gender, privilege, sex etc. in the media and in life. This class really provoked independent and original thought. I really enjoy classes that provoke you to step outside the box, form your own opinion and most of the time makes you think about something you may not have ever thought of. I also really enjoyed our blogs, I thought it was great way to further our opinions. I really enjoyed them because I always felt like I could never fully express my opinions and thougths in class and always do a better job when I write them down so the blog was really great for me. I also really enjoyed reading the feedback and giving feedback to my peers. I always have my opinions, which I'm usually pretty strong about but I really liked hearing others opinions about what I had to say.

I feel like this class should be a requirement and not an elective because everything we discussed, although most of it is not new, is a real issue and is something that needs to be changed. There is not enough diversity in all forms of media. There is not enough diversity in how information is presented and enough diversity in specifically what information is presented. The US is supposed to be the "melting pot" of the world, a place where every person, every culture, every skin color, every ethnicity, every sex, is represented but that is not how we portray ourselves to ourselves and to others. Majority of all advertising features the typical image of a white, thin, female, long straight hair, and usually posed or dressed in a sexual manner. Majority of US advertising incorporates sex as a means of getting attention and is usually used to catch the male's eye through sex and the female's eye through beauty (beauty as in what the advertising company feels their audience or their client views as beautiful). Majority of TV features the same thing. Most sitcoms feature mainly an all white cast with the few token ethnic characters, for example Grey's Anatomy. According to this picture, 8 of the 12 cast members are white of the remaining 4 their are 2 African Americans, 1 Latino, and 1 Asian.
Although Grey's Anatomy does not have a fair representation or diversity of ethnicities, races, and sexes featured in their cast they do have a somewhat better representation compared to shows like Dirty Sexy Money who feature a all white main cast of characters. I do not watch Lost but when I found the picture below of their cast, I feel that this show does do a really good job of showing a diverse cast.
However, I feel the biggest changes need to be made to TV news. TV news is notorious for not only catering to the white majority but also being presented by white males and sometimes their female counterparts. TV news is just that, news. It is not a sitcom created to help you relax and escape into another world; TV news is and was created to deliver the days events and create a public forum where these events/news can be shared. In saying that, TV news should be more representative not only in the stories covered, but the light they are covered in and the reporters who are covering them. TV newscasts should not be consistently only led by white males or white males with a white female. The sports reporter and meteorologist should not only be positions held by white males. And beat reporters should not be white but sometimes occasionally of a different ethnicity. Any person living in the US and any child growing up in the US should be able to turn on not only their local newscast but a national broadcast and find a prominent, consistent figure to associate with. How can America promote the American dream when we only portray white males and the occasional white female as the only ones able to achieve that goal of success? What are we teaching our youth? The government, the US population, and the world wonder why we have so many problems like hate crimes, eating disorders, mental disorders, etc. its because through all forms of media, these companies are subliminally putting down minorities and letting the majority rise to the top.

Fox News Reporters, could we get anymore bias towards the majority?














Probably the most notable face of CNN and (sarcastic voice) clearly not of the majority at all!





















Getting better (MSNBC).









The only thing I can say about changing this problem and the only thing I know how to do is get in there and change it myself. I may be somewhat of the majority by being white but I am a minority by being female. However I can cover stories that better represent the minorities and represent them in a more positive light. I can encourage my co-workers and those around me to do the same. I can encourage my superiors to be the change, to be a media outlet that is praised for covering the minorities and not just covering them but covering them positively and offering opportunties for the minorities to succeed. Change has to start somewhere even if its with one person but considering the recent future (1960's to present) I think we are off to a good start but just need to pick up the speed towards progess.