For this week’s class we talked about the election and I presented my book Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes America, by Jaime Settle. Also we viewed and discussed The Newsroom “Boston” episode, where they recreated the awful events about what happened on April 15th, 2013 and the following days that transpired in Boston Massachusetts.

For my presentation I read Frenemies: How Social Media Polarizes America, I thought it was very interesting and especially relevant to what is transpiring in our country right now. The book talks about how social media can create a divide between people and how many people are actually posting political content on these platforms. Jaime Settle explains how people that post this content would be people that are supporters of a certain view or those who want their ideas to be heard and they tend to be extreme to get more views and followers , but also to stir up the pot. There are also other people that are posting something and aren’t trying to be political, others can interpret and perceive those as political posts. I thought this was the most interesting part of the book because ever since I read it all the posts I see now I look at them and try to see why others may think it could be political content. Especially with the election at hand people are on edge and taking every post very serious and it is almost like the people commenting and taking it to be a political post are just trying to pick a fight it seems. She also says that how people are to exposed to social media and rely on it too much to get their news, not even caring what is real or fake. She also goes on to say that we should leave political reporting by trusted news organizations and other articles for political issues. I couldn’t agree more with Settle, after seeing something on social media people tend to blow up and they repost without researching it. This makes the news feed have a bunch of posts which can trick people into thinking it is real because so many people reposted it. I believe if people got their news from trusted sites, then there would be less hate and things would become more and more clearer for us to see real political issues. I would definitely recommend this book to gain insights on social media and how it can affect you and others, also it is very relevant because it covers the 2016 election so it can help us with this election as well.

The Newsroom “Boston” episode features the Boston Marathon and at the start we see the newsroom seeing the explosion at the Marathon. They are absolutely shaken about what just happened, but still they have to try to get the story together and is able to find out about two bombs and their detonations. They then send reporters into the field in Boston, while Will McAvoy reports the events that just took place and still trying to uncover and investigate the terrorist attack. After multiple days pass the ACN addresses the false accusations against two men, and one police officer at MIT had been killed in a shootout. After one of the two bombing suspects had been shot and killed. Then the city of Boston does nothing but search for the other suspect and the media is investigating any new leads regardless if the information is true or misleading. At the end of the episode they were able to find information that the second suspect was hiding in someone’s backyard.

News Article: It’s Hard to Escape Facebook’s Vortex of Polarization

This article explains Facebook’s ability to create filter bubbles and increase political polarization. I think this article pairs well with the book because of how Settle talks about these filter bubble social media uses.

https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-vortex-political-polarization/

Hello my name is Eddie Walser, and I am junior from Syracuse, New York. I am majoring in business marketing, nice to meet everyone!

Hello my name is Eddie Walser, I am a junior from Syracuse, New York and am currently majoring in business marketing. Nice to meet everyone!

This week in class we only had one day thanks to a snow day. Which was very much needed to get caught up on school work and get settled in after Thanksgiving break. On this Wednesday we talked about some of the communication theories there are and how they can affect us. One of them was called the Spiral of Science, it was an interesting theory of how opinions are usually kept within the person and don’t share them with others. These people keep their opinions to themselves, usually because the are in the minority and disagree with what most people have to say. These people also feel unsupported, isolated, and rejected from others which can affect their daily lives during their job or out with friends. Especially in the work place people go with the majority because they could lose their job if they said something that goes against everyone or if that idea doesn’t work out.

In these day in age people are struggling to voice their opinions because of the backlash it may have, and with the introduction of social media people could finally say anything on their mind. People that were in the minority found others who believed in similar things and realized there are a lot of people who agree with me. It wasn’t until recently where employers or anyone could track down everything you have posted the good, bad, and even the deleted. This led to many people not getting a job because of something they had posted from a while ago and still may not relate. This makes it even more challenging as people do not know what to post and are afraid of what might happen in the future.

Personally, for me I believe that I am free to say things on social media and in the real world. However, it does not mean I always post or voice my opinions, only because I do not want to, instead of being scared of what others might think. In social media I am careful about what I post because I know that there will be people looking at my profile and posts later in my life. I also do not post that much because I don’t feel the need to and don’t really care for it at all. as for real life and talking to people I do tend to hold back on some of my opinions because everyone has an opinion and I don’t want to start bickering with anyone or disagree and make it feel awkward. It also depends on the person I am talking with such as family, friends, and other people I am not that close with. With friends and family I usually always voice my opinion because I know they will hear me out, respect it, and not argue about the topic. As for others it is tough because some people always believe they are right or get offended at my or someone else’s opinions. Today’s world is great for voicing opinions because there are so many ways to connect with others, but we always have to be careful on what we say or post because it can affect us later on in life.

This week in class we learned about fandoms and how they can effect the entertainment industry. Fandoms are groups of people who are all really into a show, movie, comic, or game. They are all different types of people including their age, gender, beliefs and much more. People in these fandoms are called fans, people who have a strong interest in or admiration for a particular person or thing. By taking in these things the entertainment industry must provide these fandoms with what they want. They can bring in massive amounts of views, money, and support if they satisfy their needs. For example when the first time Family Guy stopped airing on television there was a huge uproar about it because people did not want the show to end and were upset that it did. Finally, Family Guy came back on the air, but the creator was not able to the all the things he wanted, he had to gradually work back to where he could put whatever he wanted on the show.

Knowing the impact that fandoms have on movie franchises and television series, entertainment companies should even more events than they do know so that they can make more money, but it is also a place for fans to interact and spread the love they have for the fandom they are in. Another great example of a fandom that we watched was Galaxy Quest. At first I did not know if I was going to enjoy this movie, but it turned out to be very funny and it also showed how fans come together for the things they love. The movie is like Star Trek, even though I have never watched I can still see similarities between the two, but Galaxy Quest brings us into the real world and we see the many devoted fans going to conventions and meeting people, but to also meet the people they loved to watch and get their autographs, or ask them questions about their adventures during the show. It was also great to see how when their heroes were in trouble and they called upon their fans and received help from them which made their days and made them feel special. People in fandoms have something very special that not everyone else may have, they have a community that they can turn to for help if they need something.

During this week in class we focused primarily on the show The Newsroom. Before taking this class I have never watched this show until now. I liked how the show brings forth past events and does not make up any news stories for entertainment, it gives the show a real feeling to it and we can then relate to these stories and make connections about what happened. It keeps the show relevant and interesting to watch rather than some made up news story. After the first episode I saw how TV personalities can slip up and make a bad decision which will affect their ratings, even if it was just voice his opinion instead of being neutral.

By being distracted by this sign the main character finally voiced his true opinion instead of some comedic answer that makes the crowd laugh. He gets a ton of backlash and negative feedback because of what he said, even though it was true. After losing a massive amount of their audience they had to find a way to get back on top with a story that will bring in new and their lost viewers. That’s when there was an oil spill in the Gulf and everyone was scrambling to get their hands on the first scoop and deliver to the people. Thanks to the addition of two people and a newly hired intern they were able to get all the information they needed and give it to the public before anyone else. They had multiple leads that followed through and came in clutch for them.

As discussed in class it seems we have all these choices when it comes to media entertainment, but in fact we don’t. There are only six major companies that make up almost all of what we read, watch, and listen to. These six major corporations have monopolized and control this industry, which is completely different from just a couple of decades ago where there were over fifty companies. Now that the fifty went all the way down to six there is even a bigger need to create more shows and content for the people, this also means that there will be more jobs available to people because of the workload needed to put out these shows. With all of these opportunities being produced by these huge corporations we should think about supporting them rather than disliking the companies.

Media is in our lives and here to stay, everyday we check our phones go on social media for multiple hours, multiple times a day. We are constantly glued to our phones, television and laptops we never stop and put them down. With all the social media apps it is hard to get away from. Media and especially social media is getting bigger and more useful for everyone.

In today’s society opportunities arise everyday just from social media. We can get all of our news straight from our phone, some of it is questionable and must be open to believe it. This is because anyone can post anything which means people who lie have a voice as well. Just because there can be fake news online doesn’t mean that social media isn’t trustworthy, there are plenty of trusted account that will tell you everything you need to know. It is also great for keeping up with all of your friends and family and even meeting new people. But because of this there a plenty of mean people in the world and being online allows them to say and post anything they want with no consequences most of the time. We can block these people but they can just make a new account if they want. These people can make you feel bad and for no reason, because of this social media can be a mean and hurtful place. It can cause stress and anxiety, and all other mental and physical health issues. The world can be a very hateful place especially with social media being right on our phones. The only thing that we can do is to not feed into it and fire back with more hate because that will solve nothing. So the best thing we can do is to just brush it off our shoulders and go on with our daily lives and not letting it affect us.

Social media is a great place for many of reasons, but we have to be careful with the news we receive and all the mean people online. There are many opportunities presented in social media and we should take advantage of that, but we do need to be careful about what we post, because anything posted can be seen by a future employer even if you are private, from a long time ago, or if it was deleted.

This week in class we learned a lot about television and its impact to today’s society. We all revolve around our televisions and we wouldn’t know what to do without them, shows and movies we watch are just second nature in watching them. We can thank the previous generations for the tv programs and shows we have today. With the rapid growth in popularity and viewership its the reason why it plays such a big role in our lives. Shows like ER are the reason tv has adapted to what we have now. After watching ER in class I can now respect it on how good it was and how different it was from other tv shows I have watched. They really placed an emphasis on the emergency room itself rather than the characters which is an interesting idea and concept. This way it isn’t always based on the characters but shows conflict on what could possibly happen in the emergency room. The characters don’t necessarily react to each other but they react to the emergency room which is quite fascinating to watch. The way the had to change what they were doing on the fly with accurate information. Showing how such a big an important room being contaminated by a chemical shows how much a hospital needs to run smoothly just to get by. Even in this situation the doctors and nurses were struggling to get the situation under control and needed a leader to step up. With the intern he shown to make small mistakes, but with the little advice of one of his patients he was able step up and make a difference when the protocol doctor got contaminated with the chemical. Seeing that shows how if you have a clear head it is possible to think your way through many situations. And even after that one old women died he thought that she was going to be okay, which shows that he is human so he cannot do everything right and even though he did a great job there was things he could do better. Also the way the doctors had to remain calm in such a high stakes and pressure situation. The doctor that was taking care of the little girl knew exactly what to do and forced the mother to sign the forms because he knew that without the proper treatment immediately there could have been major problems or issues. Even faced with adversity by being locked in the elevator for such a long time, the doctor did the best he could with what he was given in that situation. He was able to pull through at the very last possible moment and was able to save the little girl’s life. It is always great to see how much these doctors care for their patients and what they would do for them. This shows how doctors should be in our life and be caring in their patients and not just act like its a job to paid. 

In class we learned about how television was first created, how it was used, and how it became so popular. Rod Sterling and The Twilight Zone are one of the main reasons television became so popular and changed how we view it. Rod Sterling created The Twilight Zone to make real life situations that almost everyone can relate to. It also shows how a person can change their ways and have a second chance in life while others get caught up in their greed, lust, or selfishness. For example, it was an apocalyptic time period and a man was by himself, but he found a broken down library where he could read all the books he could ever need. In the end his glasses break making it almost impossible for him to see at all. This just shows you that we can’t take anything for granted and too much of one thing can also be a bad thing. Also, I thought it was very interesting on how TV shows back during that time period had to have sponsors to be aired. And those sponsors could tell the creator what he can and can’t produce. Even for someone like Rod Sterling its crazy to think that someone would want to censor and modify his works because of how incredible and brilliant they were. I also was able to see how television changed throughout the years, like the adding of HBO, where it was the first paid subscriptions for TV and it revolutionized the industry to this day. They were able to get away with more things that wouldn’t be able to be shown on regular TV, and they were able to say whatever they would like, including swearing. The development of TV drastically changed during the 70s because with all the family shows that came about it started trends. This eventually led to some shows talking about real life problems and some of which caused a lot of drama between communities. Talking about people’s sexuality, race, culture, political views, and much more were the ones that stirred up the drama. There was also another big thing every Monday that was on TV, it was Monday night football. If you didn’t watch the game there you were out of the loop in conversations because it was that popular, it was more than just football, with the commentators and everything else that went on during the games it was almost better than any show during that time.

I was so interested in the Twilight Zone that I came across this video and it is some of the most creepiest moments in the shows lifetime. If you have time I strongly encourage you to watch it.