I've known about cookies for as long as I can remember using the internet unsupervised. Not because I was up to anything, but because I remember reading that you should clear them sometimes for faster internet speed. This led to my own personal investigation of what cookies were. Searching through all the cookies I realized every site I had visited left something like that of a "crumb" behind.
Cookies give companies information about what sites you visit, and that in turn affects the advertisements you see on your Facebook news feed or banner ads. They serve a legitimate purpose, but does that make it okay? I don't think most people know that every site they go to is leaving behind a trail on their computer. But I'm sure people realize (at least I hope) that everything they do on the internet isn't private. The apathy towards cookies may just come from the age of technology we live in. Most people might not care that big brother is watching because they aren't doing anything wrong. Some don't mind to waive the privacy of their computer because those ads for the new style of North Faces affected their purchase!
I could completely understand if some found it unethical for these companies to be filling our cookie jar with things that they didn't ask for, but I myself just don't care. I clear the dang things out whenever I get done browsing most of the time anyways. My computer life really isn't that interesting to need ultimate privacy.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Thursday, November 6, 2014
WKU News Stories & Public Relations
The most recent news stories on the WKU online newsrooms deal with students, which isn't a big surprise for a newspaper that mostly wants to attract student readers. These stories would be considered soft news since they don't represent an ultimate importance standing. Although they are interesting to read and peak student interests, they don't make a huge impact on information in our daily lives.
Some of their news stories do end up in Bowling Green newspaper. I think they make it to the newspaper because they're stories that are better told by people who are students and have a hand in the student body here. It builds a healthy relationship between our school and the community we reside in. People who don't attend the school can still be interested in whats going on here and the education WKU provides.
It's not cutting edge news, but it is still reliable and good information for people to have access to.
Some of their news stories do end up in Bowling Green newspaper. I think they make it to the newspaper because they're stories that are better told by people who are students and have a hand in the student body here. It builds a healthy relationship between our school and the community we reside in. People who don't attend the school can still be interested in whats going on here and the education WKU provides.
It's not cutting edge news, but it is still reliable and good information for people to have access to.
Big Fish Take Little Fish [iParticipate 10]
American Recording Company, LLC. is located in Louisville, KY and has been in service for 10 years with 5 employees. It produces artists and bands such as Daniel Jones, Heart of Kings, and Red on Tap. From the pictures of the studio, it looks like they specialize in full bands, but also pander to solo artist. They take the recordings and transfer the mastered version of it over the internet.
The variety of artists and groups suggest that they produce music for the general listener. They don't pigeon-hole their clients into a certain genre. The tag LLC suggests it is not independent, but a limited liability company apart of a organization.
The problem with small labels is that they don't have the clout to attract these up and comers, because they're already being scoped out by the larger and more established labels. The music industry might be one of the most competitive industries and even some artists that have huge followings cannot get a record label cosign.
The variety of artists and groups suggest that they produce music for the general listener. They don't pigeon-hole their clients into a certain genre. The tag LLC suggests it is not independent, but a limited liability company apart of a organization.
The problem with small labels is that they don't have the clout to attract these up and comers, because they're already being scoped out by the larger and more established labels. The music industry might be one of the most competitive industries and even some artists that have huge followings cannot get a record label cosign.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Sports Illustrated's Images
I looked up a Sports Illustrated magazine and scanned over the images. The photos in it made up about 40% of the overall issue, while words/print made up 60%. The images were decently diverse in terms of race (although certain sports seemed pigeon-holed on certain races). The pictures were either of a athlete or a sports fan, there wasn't much in between besides maybe a coach or stadium picture.
It seemed like the editors were only interested in actions shots, which wasn't totally surprising. Even a story that featured the off-court life of an NBA player didn't have images of him out in public or dressed in clothes besides his uniform. It seemed kind of unrealistic; like the player only wore his "work clothes" when lounging around the house. I understand the concept though; people don't watch sports to find out what LeBron James watches on TV. They want to see him yam the ball over a defender.
I think Sports Illustrated does a proficient job of connecting target audiences and their content. There's no doubt that sports audiences aren't that difficult to please, and whatever they've been doing is working. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
It seemed like the editors were only interested in actions shots, which wasn't totally surprising. Even a story that featured the off-court life of an NBA player didn't have images of him out in public or dressed in clothes besides his uniform. It seemed kind of unrealistic; like the player only wore his "work clothes" when lounging around the house. I understand the concept though; people don't watch sports to find out what LeBron James watches on TV. They want to see him yam the ball over a defender.
I think Sports Illustrated does a proficient job of connecting target audiences and their content. There's no doubt that sports audiences aren't that difficult to please, and whatever they've been doing is working. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Time Warner INC & Friends.
According to Columbia Journalism Review, Time Warner INC. has six categorized holdings. (HBO, Turner Broadcasting System, Warner Bros Entertainment, Time INC, Time Warner Investment Groups, and Time Warner Global Media Group.) I didn't realize how many things they own that I didn't even know they owned.
Some of their subsidiaries work together, such as Adult Swim and Cartoon Network. They both appear on the same channel, but Adult Swim comes on later at night. The only independent subsidiary I saw was Time Warner Global Media Group. It seemed that Turner Broadcasting System or Time INC had the most extensive synergy with a multitude of divisions. And the most extensive division was Cartoon Network.
I think synergy provides more/effective resources to deliver entertainment and news. Working together means that these subsidiaries can help out other subsidiaries if they need additional capital. Then the ones who aren't doing as well can trend upwards to the ones who are and increase profits for the company as a whole.
Some of their subsidiaries work together, such as Adult Swim and Cartoon Network. They both appear on the same channel, but Adult Swim comes on later at night. The only independent subsidiary I saw was Time Warner Global Media Group. It seemed that Turner Broadcasting System or Time INC had the most extensive synergy with a multitude of divisions. And the most extensive division was Cartoon Network.
I think synergy provides more/effective resources to deliver entertainment and news. Working together means that these subsidiaries can help out other subsidiaries if they need additional capital. Then the ones who aren't doing as well can trend upwards to the ones who are and increase profits for the company as a whole.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Another Generations Take on News Networks
For this post, I interviewed my mother (who lives in Florida) and my aunt (who lives in Kansas).
I started with my mother first and asked which TV news channels she preferred. She told me that she used to watch Bill O'Reilly a lot, until he became too mainstream and "started to become an asshole." Then I asked what she prefers to watch now. My mother informed me that she mostly watches the local news for Cape Coral, Florida, but from time-to-time she will catch segments on CNN if they are discussing something interesting.
My Aunt was my next target. Her preference was The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. She liked these programs because she enjoyed comedy with her news reports and said ", I am mostly interested in their views because they are my views too." She said she originally watched MSNBC, but felt that regular news is too depressing.
Both my aunt and mother said that growing up everyone sat down and watched the news. The family would sit in the living room after dinner and keep up with world events.
I think it says something to these networks like Fox News and MSNBC that even older generations tend to move away from networks that lean too far in one political direction. Although, The Daily Show and Colbert Report are not free their moderate liberal views, I feel like the comedic effect explains their views better. You know, in a satirical sort of way. This also speaks volumes among TV versus print media. It's hard to relay comedy through a newspaper, so these periodicals have to stay strictly business. I can tell you first-hand that when I lived with my mother she only read local stories, the funnies section, and the obituaries (for some weird reason).
I started with my mother first and asked which TV news channels she preferred. She told me that she used to watch Bill O'Reilly a lot, until he became too mainstream and "started to become an asshole." Then I asked what she prefers to watch now. My mother informed me that she mostly watches the local news for Cape Coral, Florida, but from time-to-time she will catch segments on CNN if they are discussing something interesting.
My Aunt was my next target. Her preference was The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. She liked these programs because she enjoyed comedy with her news reports and said ", I am mostly interested in their views because they are my views too." She said she originally watched MSNBC, but felt that regular news is too depressing.
Both my aunt and mother said that growing up everyone sat down and watched the news. The family would sit in the living room after dinner and keep up with world events.
I think it says something to these networks like Fox News and MSNBC that even older generations tend to move away from networks that lean too far in one political direction. Although, The Daily Show and Colbert Report are not free their moderate liberal views, I feel like the comedic effect explains their views better. You know, in a satirical sort of way. This also speaks volumes among TV versus print media. It's hard to relay comedy through a newspaper, so these periodicals have to stay strictly business. I can tell you first-hand that when I lived with my mother she only read local stories, the funnies section, and the obituaries (for some weird reason).
Monday, October 6, 2014
Two Very Different Magazines, One Similarity.
To compare ads in magazines, I grabbed two random magazines in our apartment's living room. I grabbed an edition of GameInformer (GI) and Eastbay (EB). One is a magazine about video games and the latter is a magazine that sells sporting equipment and apparel.
Both magazines were scarce with advertising, which made it feel like a more rich read. The advertising it did have was mostly relevant to the content. GI had ads for upcoming games and EB had ads with sports athletes, such as Eddie Lacy, previewing the sportswear they promote. GI did have one Progressive advertisement that felt out of place. EB lacked editorial content, aside from the pictures of professional sports athletes. The other magazine, was full of stories from game developers, pictures from gameplay, and rankings of video games.
In the situation of these two magazines, I would say that the content influences the advertisements. These are two magazines that can stick to their guns and people who purchase them know exactly what they want out of them; and they get it. I find it very professional to keep out the clutter of non-related advertisements. It keeps a nice smooth flow to the reading. I might have just gotten lucky and picked up two magazines that are pretty static, but it seemed pretty balanced overall.
Both magazines were scarce with advertising, which made it feel like a more rich read. The advertising it did have was mostly relevant to the content. GI had ads for upcoming games and EB had ads with sports athletes, such as Eddie Lacy, previewing the sportswear they promote. GI did have one Progressive advertisement that felt out of place. EB lacked editorial content, aside from the pictures of professional sports athletes. The other magazine, was full of stories from game developers, pictures from gameplay, and rankings of video games.
In the situation of these two magazines, I would say that the content influences the advertisements. These are two magazines that can stick to their guns and people who purchase them know exactly what they want out of them; and they get it. I find it very professional to keep out the clutter of non-related advertisements. It keeps a nice smooth flow to the reading. I might have just gotten lucky and picked up two magazines that are pretty static, but it seemed pretty balanced overall.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)