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.

1. “Stay-up! (Viagra)” by 88 Keys
The video features two older African-American men (actually Kanye West and 88-Keys or Charles Misodi Njapa dressed up and in make-up to seem older like 80) taking two young white female’s out in Hollywood. They are picked up at their home visibly having a hard time getting into their limo where they then drive around Hollywood visiting adult toy stores, convenient stores and eventually end up at a hotel store where the girls get into bikini’s to dance for the men. At one point one of the males fakes a heart-attack or medical problem while in a story sending fear into his friends when he then gets up laughing. At one store they also run into Pete Wentz, lead singer for Fall-Out Boy who calls them the girls grandpa’s who then correct him that they are the girls dates. The men take pills (clearly viagra) in order to stay up like not sleep but also to stay up sexually! They then fall asleep before anything happens and the girls then find a polaroid featuring the two men in their younger days. ( HYPERLINK "http://www.mtv.com/videos/88-keys/354190/stay-up-viagra.jhtml#id=1518072" http://www.mtv.com/videos/88-keys/354190/stay-up-viagra.jhtml#id=1518072)

2. “Can’t Live w/o The Money” by Boobe
This video features the artist in multiple scenes. The first being the artist sitting on the ground beside a car while a video-girl dances around him and sometimes he waves or counts a stack of money. Another scene features him driving in the car with a clearly fake moving background with a white man wearing a curly haired wig, I believe representing a politician considering the song is about more money brings more problems. Another scene features him with the car but this time their are about 15 girls in total along with the politician figure. Another scene features another artist who is featured on the song in a room sitting on a black leather chair with a girl in a black room. He is also featured in a white room sitting on a red couch and in the room with Boobe and all the video-girls. (http://www.mtv.com/videos/boobe/369367/cant-live-wo-the-money.jhtml)

3. “Gettin’ Money All Day” by Evenodds
This video begins with the artist at 9:09 am saying hello to friends and then getting into a car where it then flashes to scenes of him in a black room talking to the camera. It then follows him through his day through a convenient store where he picks up a gucci bag, then to the barber shop. All the while it flashes back and forth to other members of the group rapping their part to the camera (alone). The video then pauses and flashes back to 33 minutes prior to the beginning where he phones a friend in the barber shop and they talk about Obama winning. He then gets in his bmw with the gucci bag. The video then moves forward to later that evening where he heads into a club to perform. After the performance the group is counting their earnings in a back room while a african-american male from earlier in the day busts the door down and cocks a gun while one man yells “everybody get done on the floor” and as everybody moves towards the floor the video ends. (http://www.mtv.com/videos/evenodds/372946/gettin-money-all-day.jhtml)

4. “D.Boy” by Pastor Troy
The video opens with two women African-American females who get out of a car at a house dressed in blue jeans and white tank tops who then enter the house. The video then cuts to the artist with a black-screen behind him featuring words that are unclear in white writing and the girls who now are sporting a orange and red bandana across their nose and mouth moving back and forth around him, clearly shot and overlaid behind the artist. It then cuts back to inside the house where another artist is at a table and they all begin counting money together. The video then cuts again to the same other screen but now featuring the new artist and bank vault behind him. The girls then go to the bathroom where they are wearing towels and getting ready, applying lotion etc. The video then cuts back to another screen where one girl is sitting in a chair counting money. The video then cuts back to the story where they all get into a car and get pulled over by a white cop who tries to place the second artist under arrest but once the girls get out of the car he lets the man go. He then gets out of the car holding and showing off a wrestling champion belt. They then arrive at a club where the video ends with him counting a wad of cash. ( HYPERLINK "http://www.mtv.com/videos/pastor-troy/369752/dboy.jhtml" http://www.mtv.com/videos/pastor-troy/369752/dboy.jhtml).

5. “Mujeres in the Club” by Wisin y Yandel
The video opens with two men walking on a roof-top, one man (50 cent) running through a alley who then jumps into the back of a van after being chased and one girl sitting in a chair in a room. Then their are two girls walking on a street while all three men rap on a roof top and in a alley while the girl is approached by some men where she then socks one man in the family jewels. 50 cent is then featured in a elevator with two woman rapping in english while everything else is in spanish. 50 then gets out of the elevator with the women into a room to meet with some other men while a group of men on the outside throw in a smoke bomb to clearly clear out the room. Chaos erupts while a group enters the room wearing gas masks and the one woman enters last. The woman and her team then enter a different room featuring two leather chairs where she is clearly disturbed. All the while the video flashes back and forth to the men rapping on the roof and in the alley. ( HYPERLINK "http://videos.onsmash.com/v/EMUaXP6nv2LDwbyR" http://videos.onsmash.com/v/EMUaXP6nv2LDwbyR)


Radio Stations:

103.5 Power in Oklahoma City, OK
O’City Source: “Your Hip-Hop Connection” in Oklahoma City, a clothing a retail establishment
Cocina De Mino
OKC Thunder
BOK
car dealerships
nestle nesquik
geico

KJ 103 (102.7) in Oklahoma City, OK
blockbuster
Curves fitness center
car dealerships
paradise city
warnings about playing on oil-well sites
groovy’s bar in okc, ok

Other Hip-Hop Influences
Car rims
the words ghetto, fo-shizzle, crunk (Let’s get crunk!), pimp
graffiti
rapping
break dancing
beat-boxing

Music My Parents Listened too:

Dad
My dad listened to rock, which is now referred to as, classic rock like the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and T-Rex. He really only listens to classic rock but also likes some blues now-a-days like B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Johnny Lang
Mom
My mom really likes a lot but mainly listens to adult contemporary like Michael Bolton, Michael McDonald, and Sixpence none the richer. She also likes some rock/pop (due to her children) like Dave Matthews Band, Ray LaMontagne and Coldplay. But she also likes classic rock like the Rolling Stones, the Steve Miller Band and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Reflection
Although I honestly do not listen to rap/hip-hop music that much, I am not surprised by the content of the videos. I'm going to generalize but most all hip-hop or rap music video's portray women as objects mainly sex objects and like most all other forms of media it should be changed. It really bothers me that those kinds of video's get away it. If Enrique Iglesias does a video where he makes out with his now wife, Anna Kournikova, he gets reamed for the explicit content but any artist in the rap/hip-hop community who makes a video even worse than that receive no scorn. I think they get by with it because everyone writes it off as their culture and the norm when objectifying women is objectifying women, plain and simple. I think that artists who sing/rap about their life experiences, even if they are terrible things these people have been through are very honorable but just because they may have grown up with nothing and have struggled their whole life does not give them the right to portray women this way. I'm not sticking up for other types of music but I feel like rock or even pop video's usually hit every range on the spectum but most all rap/hip-hop video's I have seen are all the same storyline and they most all include women who are skimpily dressed and dance/act/perform in a very sexual manner. I have nothing against rap but I feel I do need to explain that when I say I don't listen to rap I mean I don't really listen to the mainstream rap/hip-hop. I do like old stuff more gansta rap like Notorious, Tupac, old Puffy, Outkast, Warren G. & Nate Dogg, Jay-Z and actually really like Kanye West. I like the beats and the lyrics of the older rap/hip-hop because like the article my group had to present to the class, I feel it is more real as opposed to today's stuff. I feel like today's stuff is mass-produced, easily found, easily copied and too abundant. I also feel like it is not consistant enough. Maybe its because I do not really follow that community or genre of music enough but I feel as if their is constantly a new top player, each week or month is someone new. However with that said I am a 100% music lover and all things aside I respect any true (no milli vanilli) musician for what they do.

The Perpetuation of Subtle Prejudice: Race and Gender Imagery in 1990s Television Advertising (4/3/09 Blog Assignment)

Advertisements Reviewed:
1. Rolling Stone Magazine
2. Glamour Magazine
3. Allure Magazine
4. Elle Magazine
5. Coca-Cola Original, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing Commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mOEU87SBTU)
6. Madonna & Missy Elliot Gap Commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBoYEswlBOw)
7. Classic Budweiser Commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73PEHI5R8Cg)
8. Coca-Cola classic ad: Mean Joe Green (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xffOCZYX6F8)
9. Tootsie Roll 70's Commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qayjR8Qbyfc&feature=PlayList&p=482D1C03044C429B&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=101
10. Where's the Beef (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug75diEyiA)

In-Depth Articles
1. Rolling Stone Magazine
The magazine itself has a lot of ads but majority of them do not have people in them or they have people but they are in different/non-normal colors like they are made to be pink or green. Of the ads in the magazine there are only six with people but I still feel like with that small number there is still a very typical representation. By typical I mean white people, usually woman, woman who are slim or in shape, beautiful, and usually scantily dressed! Two ads in particular stuck out to me, one that is typical and one that somewhat defies the odds. The first ad is an ad for Professional Sebastian hair care. The headline reads, "Flaunt more than surface shine," clearly indicating that if you don't use Sebastian hair products you are clearly just a face but if you use Sebastian you don't just have your face but your wonderful hair as well because I mean that's all men look for in women, right (sarcasm)? There are also three pictures in the ad, shocking, all the ads are of white women with smooth hair (some women do have rolled or curled hair but it looks frizz free and clearly perfect). One photo is just of a woman's head but she isn't facing the camera straight on, the next is of her body because she is kneeling down revealing a lot of her leg, and thirdly it is a full body shot but she is wearing a short dress with chunky heals giving a very cold hard look to the camera. This ad clearly has no diversity but the second actually has a lot more diversity than I honestly expected to see. The ad is for Calvin Klein's fragrance, ck one. The ad is done in black in white with a line of people walking across the page with a huge bottle right in the middle. All the people though are wearing jeans, jean shorts, white or grey t-shirts or tank tops while some men are shirtless. I feel the ad covers the spectrum of people somewhat well with white and black, men and women, adults and children even with some Asian models. No one model in particular is ahead of the other and everyone just seems to be walking across the beach minding their own business.

2. Glamour Magazine
I began counting the ads in this magazine but then I got 3/4ths of the way through and lost count so I can't exactly say how many ads are in the magazine but majority of them fall into the typical ad category (as described above). However I would like to talk about a couple of ads that really stuck out to me as I flipped through. The first is an ad for Diet Coke. The ad features 19 women, all wearing red dresses in a kind of triangle pose with the point of the triangle or focus of the picture being Heidi Klum while all the other women are posed behind her and they of course are just highered models with Heidi being the only recognizable face. Across the ad reads, "Good taste is about making a statement." Of the 19 women there are 12 brunettes, 4 blondes, and 3 redheads. Of the 19 women their are 16 white women and 3 black women HOWEVER 2 of the black women are in the back row where you can only see a corner of their smile and one eye. The other black woman did make it to the front row in the 4th from the end position but you can see her whole face which is a plus compared to the women in the back row. Majority of the women aren't young but I would say 25-40 with only 1 woman who looks over 40 however 9 of the women only get judged on what tidbit of their face makes the picture because it isn't covered by the woman in front of them. This ad really made me sick because I remember seeing this ad before, in a time that I was not enrolled in this class and wasn't made aware to really pay attention to advertisements, stereotypes and biases. It really says something about the fact that the ad jumped out to me when I usually I don't pay attention to ads.

3. Allure Magazine
Allure is a lot like Glamour in the genre of ads but Allure does have about half as many. The first ad that struck me was DKNY JEANS ad. I struck me because it was not the typical ad. The ad has no writing other than DKNY JEANS across the bottom of the second picture. The ad takes up two side by side pages and although they are separate pictures the each feature one person, facing the camera straight on with a full picture of the body. The first picture is of an Asian girl with long somewhat wavy hair wearing a zip-up jacket, jean, shorts, and socks with heals, not revealing or scantily in anyway. The second picture is of a black mail wearing a headband, sunglasses, a blue pearl-snap short sleeve collared shirt, dark-washed jeans, and red lace up tennis shoes. Both pictures are very respectable and I think very well for the fashion industry and advertising/marketing industry. The ad really looks like it is about the clothes and not the person/model selling or making the clothes look good.
The second ad isn't really an ad but more an article but it really jumped out at me. It is a story about Barbie. It is entitled, "A Barbie World: No wonder Barbie looks so great at 50 - the ultimate blonde bombshell has 25 hair and makeup pros on call." Barbie is the quint-essential white girl American stereotype. Across from the first page of the article are 25 headshot-sized pictures of Barbie through the years. Of those 25 there is only one black Barbie. Also of that 25, 19 have blonde hair, 2 brunettes, 2 redheads, and 1 rocker-style Barbie with white and black hair. The black Barbie though is from 1980 with a caption that reads, "The first lack Barbie had an Afro." Pretty sure you can't get anymore stereotypical than that and the fact that she is the only black Barbie pictured on the page and the first black Barbie of all time. It is also startling that the first black Barbie was not created until 1980!

4. Elle Magazine
I counted the ads in this magazine and counted 132 ads that feature white people and white people only. There were two ads featuring Spanish or Latino women only but they were both ads featuring Penelope Cruz. I counted seven ads featuring black women or people and one ad that feature Kimora Lee Simons, now just Kimora Lee who is part African-American and part Asian. This does not include the fashion spreads with majority featuring a single white female model. Most all-major fashion ads were almost one in the same featuring a freakishly skinny female white model with long soft and flowing hair and this look of "ugh." I really can't describe it except they look weak with no emotion in their eyes except for maybe a "rescue me?" Some major ads that break the norm of just a typical white girl caught my attention but not in a good way. The first is LG commercial which features a black female as a tailor fitting a skirt on a white female. Only the white female's legs are pictured because she is standing on a stool while the black female is on her knees on the ground almost eye to eye with the bottom of the skirt which hits just above the knee. The second is a Paul Mitchell hair care ad featuring Paul Mitchell himself, his wife, and son amongst seven African-American children of both genders. The in caption reads: "Family knows no borders. John Paul Mitchell Systems proudly supports Food4Africa and other local and international organizations in their commitment to feed, shelter and educate needy children every day. The real Paul Mitchell...guaranteed only in salons and Paul Mitchell Schools." I think charity and volunteer work is fantastic but the fact that a super wealthy white male is pictured with his nothing short of a blonde bombshell trophy wife amongst African-American children in Africa is a little ridiculous. But the children are not pictured in sadness or dealing with the stress and pain of hunger and poverty, No, they are happy and joyful, which of course they would be because Paul Mitchell and his family are here to save the day. The third is an ad for Johnson & Johnson. This ad features only an African American woman placed against a purple backdrop and she is completely nude but you can only see part of her leg, arm and head. The text reads, "Give us 10 days. Get 10 times more moisture." The ad, I feel, only features a black woman in a ad about soft skin clearly insinuating that black skin is more dry and that it is only good looking or appealing when soft and smooth so let Johnson & Johnson make YOU more appealing!

5. Madonna & Missy Eliot - Gap Commercial
The commercial opens with VH1 naming certain types of groove the corny groove which features a quick picture of clearly a African-American man with corn rows; The sweaty groove which features almost a fully picture, cut off from the knees down of a African-American woman wearing a bikini top and shorts clearly sweaty from dancing; The sexy groove, which features a picture of just a African-American woman's chest aka her cleavage and finally the boss groove, which is the famous Bruce Springsteen picture where his back is turned to the audience, looking over his shoulder, wearing tight blue jeans with a white t-shirt and a red-baseball cap is in his back pocket however the picture is just of his butt in the jeans with the cap. And that is all just in the first 15 seconds of the 1 minute and 45 second commercial! The commercial then goes on to premiere a duet featuring Madonna and Missy Elliot. Madonna, shockingly, gets more airtime and is featured wearing tight jeans and tight white tank with heals whereas Missy Elliot is debuted second wearing baggy jeans, an oversized t-shirt and a baggy jean-jacket with tennis shoes. I am pretty sure however that this commercial was made before Missy Elliot lost a bunch of weight and she may not have been comfortable wearing something else or she just picked her own outfit but I would love to see the clothing racks for both women picked before the shoot. The commercial features a lot of dances of mixed races but towards the end, one dancer, a black male gets on the floor and Madonna places her foot on him as if she has conquered a huge mountain climb...The women then share dance moves at the end but the commercial turns off however the recording is still going. Missy ends the video with doing the splits while Madonna does a yoga pose. Everyone is clapping and I can't help but notice that Madonna to get more attention yells, "wait I can do that, I can do that." Explaining that she can do just as Missy Elliot is doing too, maybe I'm reading too far into it but if not then she is clearly displaying that Missy Elliot is no better or more advanced than she.

This assignment did not make me notice the unfair representation of not just minorities but African-Americans especially anymore than I have since I began the class. However it was just another reminder of everything we have learned and that the media and especially the advertising market is extremely biased and not just to African-Americans but to women in general and all other minorities!

Response to Local News Extra credit assignment

I chose to do all my stories during the same week, which happened to be last week and I regret that a lot. It was a bad week because like usual in Oklahoma we had some crazy weather especially for this time of year so most of the news coverage was all about the coming storm, preparations for the storm, picture of people outdoors when the snow was falling, pictures and coverage of people who had wrecked, etc. This in itself really drove me crazy because it shows what is important to the station. Yes, weather is important but taking up the whole newscast except for the small 3-minute sports section and usually only about two other random somewhat news-ish stories, seriously? I think there are way WAY more important stories out there than checking the weather map twenty times over the entire newscast and a map that looks like it is straight out of a coloring book!
As for the crime stories I think that the coverage is of course not representative of the true population over the area that the news stations I chose, cover. However what it is the worst is the news anchor that introduces all the stories. Most every night except for probably two nights a white 30-ish year old man anchored alone at the news desk. Most times if another anchor appeared to report the story they were a minority either a black female or a Hispanic female but the ratio of their appearances to the white male appearance is ridiculous. I’ve never really paid attention to local newscasts and what they deliver. I do know the obvious that most of what they deliver is the blood which don’t get me started makes me crazy because I want news that affects my daily life not a police report sheet. But the fact that this week’s news revolved completely around weather is insane because clearly they feel that nothing else that happened not just at home but internationally is of complete unimportance and relevance to their community’s daily life. As for who anchors the news it just reminds me of Anchorman in the sense that middle-aged white males rule the evening news desk.

News and the Media

1. Who determines the news or sets the agenda? The government.
2. Why do we need a media that specifically represents difference interests of people of color? First and most obviously because they are powerful and growing minority. They just like the majority have their own specific problems, issues, interests etc. all things most likely not covered by the mainstream. If the media actually represented the American society in a equal representation I’m sure that history would be different. Like the video mentioned among African Americans the war was overwhelmingly unsupported and how ironic that the dumb white majority got brainwashed by the government propaganda and pushed full steam ahead for a war that now they too do not support. If only the media equally represented the majority and minority we would be in a much different and better situation.
3. What can be done to increase the mainstream media’s interest in other topics and concerns? Demand change. Minorities or topics that aren’t getting covered that should be covered should be demanded. People should organize and get together if they want change. The second video talks about the Civil Rights Movement, which is a perfect example of how group organization receives change. The video notes that if you want to see change you should, get in touch with commissions of the FCC and members of Congress. Write letters to your congressmen and/or the FCC.
4. Aren’t those interests everyone’s interests? The problem and reality is that these interests aren’t everyone’s interests simply because they are not made aware. People are lazy and in today’s society it does not help that we believe and demand instant gratification. If someone is not even happy but content with the way there life is and the way things are going for them then they typically don’t want to cause commotion in the fear that things might change from okay to worse. People are also selfish in the sense that if all is okay with themselves then the problems among or with others doesn’t bother them. People look at it as why help someone else fight for something I already have or something I don’t believe in. But when people do stand up and demand change for those who are demanding it, the message is more likely to spread and that’s when the change takes place.
5. How was the war initially reported by the media? Scripted, the president’s staff had given the president a list of reporters to call on. If you challenged anything, you were made to feel wrong. Somewhat of a patriotic police was created in that you don’t get that critical of a government that is leading us in wartime. Network and cable news originally used to report the count of civilian deaths but eventually the patriotic police came knocking saying they were being unpatriotic. Memos were sent out to lessen the pressure by counteracting the images of dead civilians with reminders of 9/11. Newspapers also suffered, one paper in Florida for example sent a memo stating, “Do not use photos on page 1A showing civilian casualties…our sister paper…has done so and received hundreds and hundreds of threatening emails…” Then Fox news pushed the Bush administration to use he harshest tactics possible clearly making a jab at CNN for being too liberal AKA too sensitive to the other side AKA unpatriotic.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks gave the Neo-Conservatives a motive for their long awaited cause of reforming the Middle East and going after Saddam Hussein and the media provided the platform. Every channel suddenly joined the bandwagon and Richard Pearle and James Woolsey both set on the defense policy board advising Donald Rumsfeld and both used there inside status to insure the press that the overthrow of Hussein would be easy. They even stated that the 9/11 attacks were a plan of Hussein’s, that he had even ordered the attacks.
The Washington Press Corp. follows the war in a bubble, in the Washington bubble or the Beltway Bubble. However those abroad understood the situation more clearly because they were in the thick of it, they actually had their hands in the actual situation. Bob Simons from CBS News 60 minutes said on the video, from overseas we had a clearer view, we knew things, we suspected things that perhaps the Washington Press Corp. did not know for example the absurdity of the connection between Saddam and Al Qaeda.
It was thought that the Pentagon and the Bush administration were stretching little facts about Saddam and the war. This led to asking questions about the sources and information that the administration and government relied on. Come to find out the administrations star witness on Saddam, Ahmed Chalabi provided a lot of evidence that was all questioned and eventually dropped by the CIA however he conned the media and the government into not only deeming him credible but paying him! He was only the first among a long line of “defectors” who swindled the media, administration, and American people into believing they were all credible sources who all provided extremely important information in the crusade for Saddam and for weapons of mass destruction. But then red flags started appearing, specifically in a New York Times piece causing reporters to be more skeptical. These “defectors” latched onto America media and milked it for all its worth and the biggest problem of all, the American public kept eating it up and excepting it for truth.
Then CBS 60 Minutes wanted to question the administration and challenge what they were providing as truth but they had to package it more softly than usual because questioning the government and the president can not only damage your credibility but possibly even ruin the organization. The government was using propaganda as a means to sell the war and sell their ideals. The administration wanted to pursue their ideals and the only way to move forward with those is to get your community involved so that you have more power. The administration, if successful would then have evidence that, if something had gone wrong, no worries because they had stated all their plans beforehand. In my mind this practice is no different than brainwashing. If someone is brainwashed they truly believe what they are told to believe. The US people truly believe that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction due to constant government propaganda so when the search ended up without weapons of mass destruction the US people didn’t blame the government or get angry with the administration instead they kept the faith that the government has their best interests.
The press and government are clearly in bed together clearly exemplified in the connection between the New York Times story break about “aluminum tubes” from anonymous sources and the appearance by vice president Dick Chaney on “Meet the Press.” Although it is stated that the sources were anonymous it is clear that Chaney knows a lot about the story, as a commentator on the video states, isn’t it clever to leak the story to the Times and then quote the story on a national respected television news show! When if you look back through news publications this was not the first time this story had been reported. What made this time different was that it had landed on the pages of the nations most credible newspaper when before it was reported in smaller papers not popularized to the whole country. But when citizens question the war and even one of the most popular democratic figures, Ted Kennedy, you are put on the back burner. You are given the tag of un-patriotic. “You either report the news the way we want it or we will hang a sign around your neck,” as stated by Ted Koppel in the last video. Most of the media ran stories in favor of the war but when it came to coverage of anti-war protests or stories not in favor of the war, well these stories were simply not covered.
The problem boils down to this, the main source that people consume their news from are the TV news outlets when they should be consuming their news mostly from print. Furthermore, TV news like what is cheap and what sells. Cheap guests that can provide opposing views on a subject and basically peck at each other provides more profitable entertainment then the very small pool of people who are actually credible and know what they are talking about. It is also easy to regurgitate what is spoon-fed to you instead of really getting out there and finding the truth and reporting on that. If you regurgitate you also win because you aren’t going against the grain raising questions about your credibility and your patriotism.
6. How has the media covered recent social protests? Jenna Six – Proposition Eight? Jena Six: the story first got a got a lot of attention from Louisiana papers and bloggers but once the Chicago radio station began reporting on it (WVON) it began sprouting curiosity among African Americans and eventually mainstream media who had not followed the story previously. They ignored it because “its not there story, its not what they are passionate about.” I feel like the same goes for Prop 8, I believe that the majority of America hasn't yet been sold on the idea that same-sex marriage should be legal so mainstream media only covers stories that highlight the denial of Prop 8. Personally I believe its upsurd, hello its 2009 and just like when African-Americans were denied the same rights as whites, same-sex couples are humans too and they too should have the same rights as any other straight American.
7. Was the media beneficial for the Civil Rights Movement? Yes, the second video touches on how the media proved beneficial for the Civil Rights Movement. The media helped in spreading the cry for equality and justice by the African American people. Although strides had been made for equality among all Americans, the South still remained mainly segregated. People in the North had little knowledge of the constant brutality that African Americans endured day in and day out but once the media picked up on the injustices and spread the word, the fight for justice grew. I strongly believe that if it weren’t for the media the Civil Rights Movement would not have been as successful and maybe not even successful at all.
8. Your thoughts and reflections on setting the news agenda, minority media and the media and reporting the war. I feel like many of my thoughts and reflections are woven throughout all my answers. Mainly I think that the American people along with all reporters and the media need to question more. And we should not be made to feel as if we are un-patriotic or deemed as outcasts, we live in country based on freedom therefore the ability to question should not be threatened. Knowledge is power and when it comes to questioning, inevitably I believe that only more knowledge can be acquired whether it is important or useless. But mostly everyone needs to wake up and understand that just because you vote someone into power does not mean that you trust them completely, when are people going to completely understand that a politician is a politician and scandal and corruption doesn’t just happen among those of the opposing view but guess what it can happen to your party too so get involved so that the corruption and scandal is lessened!

Race & Gender Assignment (Assignment 2)

Sunday February 22
DVR Recording of MTV's The Real World Brooklyn 2:00pm
My roommate had just watched a recent episode for the first time of the show whereas I had not watched with her but she immediately came into my room to wonder if one of the characters Chet was gay for the way he dresses.
Gender stereotype

Oscars 9:00 pm ABC - Sean Penn's acceptance speech
He spoke about getting equality for all genders and all races specifically gay marriage
Gender stereotypes


Monday February 23
Movie at Home: Diary of a Mad Black Woman 1:00 pm
First off just the title in itself! When Madea and Helen seek revenge on Helen's ex-husbands new lover.
Racial stereotypes

Personal Conversation with friend at Homeland grocery store 6:30 pm
I was being somewhat short with him and he jokingly asked if we need to visit the female product aisle.
Gender stereotype

Tuesday February 24
Conversation between friends of mine which I did not participate in, on the way to the Riverwind Casino, Norman 10:30 pm
Blake, asked CieAnn, who happens to be a Native American if she could score him big bucks wondering if she had connections to the casino in any way due to her race.
Racial stereotype

Classroom Experience with Professor Chavez T/R 1:30-2:45 JMC 4803-001 Hist. of Journalism in Nielsen Hall
We were having a discussion about women trying to gain the right to vote during the Suffrage movement in the late 1800's to early 1900's.
Gender Stereotypes

Wednesday February 25
TV Commercial for Nutri-System 3:30 pm
The commercial talks about being a woman and wanting to fit into a swimsuit because its that season and since its been cold we have put on weight or maybe you just had a baby, it was not tailored to men at all!
Gender Stereotypes

DVR Recording of MTV's The City 6:00 pm
One character is a model and another character involved in the fashion industry who is not a model was worried if she had an eating disorder due to her thin frame upsetting the character.
Gender Stereotype


Thursday February 26
Magazine - Rolling Stone (March 5) 4:30 pm
Calvin Klein Jeans Ad
Inappropriate images, one male is on the floor wearing jeans and an opened shirt while two other males and a female are on a couch, all shirtless, while one male is sitting down making out with the female while the lays on top of the other male and holds his head.
Gender stereotypes

Classroom Discussion T/R 10:30-12:20
JMC 3003-003 MM Journalism (T/R 10:30-12:20)
The conversation was about newsroom and how they should be culturally diverse. If they are not then they can tend to be bias and not have a true filter for all genders, races, stereotypes etc. The recent uproar about the NY Post cartoon referencing President Obama to a chimpanzee.
Racial stereotypes
Friday February 27

I would like to say that I am suprised with the amount of stereotyping in media today but I am not. I will admit that the more you look for it or maybe the more you notice it, I am a little suprised. But it is out there and although, me especially being a female, would like to think that we have made it so far in not being so objectified and only used to sell products due to our physical appearance, we have not really broken away from this. I am only suprised because maybe these stereotypes are a little bit more excepted because our society is so much more relaxed. People can get away with a lot more in print, tv, radio etc because not as many people speak out or get offended. If I get offended by an advertisement from say Calvin Klein it would be hard for me to really wage a war against them seeing as I have little power. I would have to create noise by gathering people who feel the same and moving forward with my cause when in reality to me that takes too much time unless I truly felt passionate about the subject. I feel that is the view of many American's that they just let things slide because they feel either too busy to attack, to small to attack, or feel its not worth it because if you fight that there will just be another battle tomorrow to fight.

As for the racial and gender sterotyping in my personal or social experiences I was not too offended possibly because none were directly directed at myself. However during the discussion in Professor Chavez's class I was more shocked at how ignorant people especially men could have been at that time to ignore/deny a woman's right to her children after a divorce, the right to own land, the right to speak in public, and the right to vote all because they felt a woman was incompitant. I just don't understand where this view of women being so much less than a man started? It only infuriates me more when I find out or learn of people who still believe this today, it only makes me want to push further in my education and career goals to prove those wrong. This stereotype is something I believe that is live and well today, with men still ruling majority of the business and corporate world along with men still being paid more than woman in many instances for doing the same type of work. Its 2009, people it is not longer common to think that women's brains are inferior to those of male.

I believe that the continues use of images that objectify certain groups or races only continues the stereotype or the feeling portrayed. If a child grows up viewing images of woman in fashion magazines who constantly objectified by their male counterparts it is hard to say that, that child will not grow up and either objectify women himself or feel she herself must be objectified in order to be worthy or accepted. If the media continue to use images that are stereotypical it is only doing a disservice to the world by keeping that stereotype alive. We should all be working hard to end stereotypes and quit using images that keep them alive. Everyone is human therefore everyone should have a fair shot at anything they attempt in life and to not be offered that opportunity due to a stereotypical label, is unfair and a very old-world image of thinking.

Extra Credit

Do certain schools in the Big 12 do race based admission?

The University of Nebraska in November of 2008 voted to ban the consideration of race in admissions decisions by public colleges and universities.

The University of Colorado also voted in November of 2008 on what is known as the "affirmative action ban." However by a vote of 51% to 49% the ban wich was a propsed constitutional ban on considering race or gender in state hiring, contracting and college admissions did not pass.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/08/nation/na-colo8

Some other schools that do not adhere to race-based admission but may not have any particular ban in place are Oklahoma State University, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and the University of Texas. These schools do take race into account but it is not the deciding factor. Race may be factored in among high school GPA, extra-curricular activities and specific skills.

The University of Michigan Law School Supreme Court case kept popping up in my research about the affirmative ban and big 12 schools.
"The U.S. Supreme Court justices decided on two separate but parallel cases -- they voted 5-4 to uphold the University of Michigan's law school affirmative action
policy, which favors minorities. But in a 6-3 vote, the justices struck down the affirmative
action policy for undergraduate admissions, which awards 20 points for blacks,
Hispanics and Native Americans on an admissions rating scale," according to a article
from NPR.
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/michigan/