Audible Media
Audible media is used to inform an audience solely through sound. Electronic books give a good example of how audible media can be used. Many books available through an electronic book device have the ability to read the words aloud rather than the individual reading the words to himself/herself. Another type of audible media would be the radio. A script for a radio show is written differently than for a visual or printed news broadcast. A radio script needs to have information that paints the picture of what is going on to the listener. It must be clear but it needs to be easily understood as well because, like a visual news piece, the audience doesn’t have the opportunity to reread the article to further understand the point. It is heard once and if it isn’t understood and processed immediately, it will be forgotten. Audible media is a great asset because it is easily accessible and mobile. It can go virtually anywhere and causes minor distractions while operating a vehicle. Music can also be a type of audible media. The words and rhythm depict some type of story portrayed by the writer or musician. It informs the audience about the message that is intended. A country performer may do a song about America. The story/information being depicted is about love and respect for the country and the people who protect its citizens. Patriotic songs often allow emotion to well up inside and cause an overwhelming feeling to consume the listener with pride.
Visual Media
Visual media is used to inform an audience through telling a story with pictures. News broadcasts and commercials are very common forms of visual media technology. A news broadcast is written in a manner to inform a large majority of the population regardless of their intellectual background and the pictures assist to tell the story or validate the source of the information received. It is available as a means to communicate information to mass groups. Visual media is influential because the images, whether moving or still, allow the viewer to see for themselves what is being reported. The danger with visual media is that anyone can tell you what you see and twist the reality by giving false auditory information. Clearly it can’t persuade in a way as to convince someone who is looking at a blue sky that it is actually a brown sky but they can manipulate the meaning behind the events through scripting. It is important that the videographer/photographer conveys the truth in the images and does not distort the facts through creative camera angles, filter colors, or lack of lighting. Visual media is generally the easiest to prove or convince others to believe because when an individual sees it for themselves it is ingrained in their memory as fact because they “saw it with their own eyes.” Perception plays a key factor in all visual media. One person’s perception may be completely different than another’s. Take the vase/face pictures for example (Science Kids, n.d.). At first glance one individual can see two white faces on a black background but another may only see a black vase in a white room. Neither is incorrect because both can be proved based upon personal experience. If a videographer does a poor job at capturing the truth on video then the broadcast writer, or anchor person, can easily manipulate the facts to convey the story they prefer. Civilian news companies do it all the time. They take footage that was realistically positive and find a way to give the story a negative spin. They use the footage they think will prove their point and they leave the rest even if it creates a story out of context.
Print Media
Print is also used to inform an audience about events going on within a local, state, or national level. The newspaper is one type of print media. It is generally written to accommodate at least a fourth grade reading comprehension in order to reach the largest majority of followers possible. Another form of print media would be brochures or flyers. They inform an intended audience about something the advertiser feels is important. For instance a cancer brochure is intended to inform all people of the risks of certain behaviors and to warn that with the correct use of situational awareness and attention to detail, cancer can be found in earlier stages and therefore treated easier. This audience would mostly be for adults but easy enough to understand for an adult who has a basic intellect. (“Print Media,” 2011) I think that one of the advantages of print media over electronic journalism is that once an article is printed and displayed, the information is always available somewhere without changes. Some sites are updated daily and may cause an issue when trying to revisit a source. A document in writing is permanent. They only way to go against what the message of the original article says, would be to retract the statement and create a whole new article. Although it happens, the situation is rare because the reputation of the source is easily tarnished through print media versus online media. If it is in writing it is generally reputable. Take a dictionary or encyclopedia for example. The written and published version of the Encyclopedia Britannica is a reputable source. Many online dictionary sources are unfamiliar and therefore don’t have an established good-standing reputation with the readers. Wikipedia is often used as a reputable source but the information can be edited by anyone. It is easy to change the page and the information within the page of electronic media. However, it requires money, research, time, and patience to publish printed work.
Social Media
Social networking is the newest form of media technology. It is used to connect people with common interests or relationships. According to the website www.pewtrusts.org, the audience has grown significantly over the past few years. It was very popular among young adults but has quickly grown to bring in pre-teen children up through older adults. For instance, Facebook was originally created to reconnect old college roommates but has become a place for children, elderly, and all those in between to connect with others. I think social media has changed the way people communicate with one another forever. To me, it can be a shallow and insincere way to remain connected to acquaintances. Some people get caught up in the convenience of single sentence conversations that they feel it is good enough to build or maintain a friendship. If a married couple communicated to one another the same way the majority has come to communicate through social media, the marriage wouldn’t survive long. The conversations would be shallow, generic, selfish, childish, and overall meaningless. Social networking has opened the door to endless opportunities by networking with people who would otherwise be inaccessible. It can allow individuals who are looking to start a career in journalism to meet new people who can mentor them and assist in furthering their career by sharing their network of colleagues or friends. Social networking is also the fastest way for news to spread. Like any potential breeding ground for a rumor mill, it is important check the source of the information being shared. Someone’s opinion can easily become fact if misconstrued along the line of communication. Like the game telephone, one message with a distinct meaning may turn into a completely different story. “A man’s body was found on Chipper Jones’s ranch in Texas” may turn to “Chipper Jones killed a man on his ranch.” The reality of the situation is that a body of a 22-year old man was found on a 10-thousand acre ranch owned by the Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones and his family. The man is believed to have died of dehydration after crossing the border from Mexico onto the Double Dime Ranch in Carrizo Springs, Texas (mlbvoice.com). Social media is a great way to share information and quickly. It is a great way to get help if needing an answer to a problem or volunteers for a clean-up effort. However it is easy to be lead astray by opinions or hearsay being portrayed as facts. Always check sources before spouting new information and always clarify that the message has been received and interpreted correctly before sharing it with another.
Communication is the key factor in all types of media and interaction. The best way to live a peaceful and realistic life is to learn to communicate well verbally and non-verbally and to strengthen listening/ attention skills.
References:
(2011, June 16). Social networking sites and our lives. The Pew Charitable Trusts. Retrieved on July 21, 2011 from http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_detail.aspx?id=56
Clausen, M. (2011, 23 August). Body Found on Chipper Jones’ Family Ranch. MLBVoice. Retrieved July 23, 2011 from http://www.mlbvoice.com/2009/08/23/body-found-on-chipper-jones-ranch.html
Print Media. (2011). On PublishingDictionary.com. Retrieved from http://www. Publishingdictionary.com/definition/print-media.html
Science Kids. (n.d.). Optical Illusions. Science Kids: Bringing Science and Technology Together. Retrieved July 23, 2011 from http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/
pictures/illusions/facevase.html
lol
ReplyDeletehi
Deletelit
ReplyDelete