After our discussion about corporate media conglomerates and the evolution of regulations from the 7-7-7 rule to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, I dug around for additional information on Clear Channel's massive radio monopoly. You really don't have to look far to find brutal complaints and rave reviews.
First, I journeyed to Clear Channel's website. It's a site to see. Pun intended. Truly, I have never thought to not support Clear Channel. But I have also never seen the word "corporate" used so much on one page. If I was unaware as to what Clear Channel was, based on their website I would assume it was an advertisement agency. According to the "About Us" description, it provides outdoor advertising (through a subsidiary) and also offers broadcast and digital media and entertainment services through wholly-owned Clear Channel Radio."
Define "wholly-owned", I believe is the response Salon.com might give.
Salon's proper name for Clear Channel: "Radio's Big Bully".
As the biggest station owner in America, Clear Channel's site boasts they own over 850 stations, and reaches 110 million listeners every week.
Salon complains: Where's the localization in that?
It's a fair point. The more stations in an area owned by Clear Channel, the fewer local stations there are. Instead, the stations are fed from commercial radio, hundreds of miles away. According to Salon, the cut-throat nature of Clear Channel and the biases that come with them make for cruel intentions not revealed to the public.
Am I destined to abandon commercial radio? Unlikely. But Salon's was certainly an interesting perspective to explore.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Occupy Boston Protests
It's one thing to know they're going on. It's another thing to walk by.
Occupy Boston started across from the Federal Reserve Banks, in order to protest economic inequality and corporate greed. Their signs yelled angry statements such as "I gave my health to corporate wealth". Their makeshift "information desk" sign points passerbys to more enraged posters and information propped up on fences. The tents, and literally seeing people camped out in the heart of Boston- particularly when you've seen the area pristine and tent-free in the past- is truly a sight to see.
Occupy Boston started across from the Federal Reserve Banks, in order to protest economic inequality and corporate greed. Their signs yelled angry statements such as "I gave my health to corporate wealth". Their makeshift "information desk" sign points passerbys to more enraged posters and information propped up on fences. The tents, and literally seeing people camped out in the heart of Boston- particularly when you've seen the area pristine and tent-free in the past- is truly a sight to see.
The Back of the President's head... Not too shabby.
On Tuesday, November 22, 2011, I saw the President speak in Manchester, NH. He spoke at the local high school on an Official White House visit- a euphemistic way of pointing out that it was not a campaign outing. Four years earlier, according to the principal of the HS and the sitting President, Obama's visit to Manchester was cut short because of horrific weather conditions. He promised he would return. Low and behold, four years later (almost to the day!), he came back to Manchester High School.
We arrived in Manchester at 9:30, while the President was surely still at the White House. He was scheduled to speak at 12:15. We parked and had to be shuttled over to the venue. We proceeded to wait in line from about 9:50-11:20. NB- It was not warm outside.
The highlight of the line was undoubtedly our view of the Secret Service, who came well equipped with further canine security. Entertainment at its finest. It occurs to me what an operation it must be to shuttle the President around. While they make it look so effortless on the West Wing (thanks, Sorkin)... it raises more logistical issues than a wedding. Every single day. I am tempted to look this up and learn more about these procedures, though the West Wing recently informed me that the SS "doesn't typically comment on procedure."
The Separation
Finally, after an hour and a half of freezing, we got ushered in after going through "airport like security." For some reason- whether it be by coincidence or whether it was completely planned unbeknownst to us- we got shepherded into a private, secluded room with 20 others. While we watched the others we'd waited in line with, we were informed we would be sitting behind the President of the United States during his address. It was time to text my father and tell him to turn on the television.
While it is more than likely that our luck was completely coincidence, it was hard not to notice that the diversity factor was kicked up a notch in the group we'd been thrust into. Among those standing behind the President were several families of African American descent, a couple Indian families... and us. The college kids of America.
Here we are! Far back, front and center.
We arrived in Manchester at 9:30, while the President was surely still at the White House. He was scheduled to speak at 12:15. We parked and had to be shuttled over to the venue. We proceeded to wait in line from about 9:50-11:20. NB- It was not warm outside.
The highlight of the line was undoubtedly our view of the Secret Service, who came well equipped with further canine security. Entertainment at its finest. It occurs to me what an operation it must be to shuttle the President around. While they make it look so effortless on the West Wing (thanks, Sorkin)... it raises more logistical issues than a wedding. Every single day. I am tempted to look this up and learn more about these procedures, though the West Wing recently informed me that the SS "doesn't typically comment on procedure."
The Separation
Finally, after an hour and a half of freezing, we got ushered in after going through "airport like security." For some reason- whether it be by coincidence or whether it was completely planned unbeknownst to us- we got shepherded into a private, secluded room with 20 others. While we watched the others we'd waited in line with, we were informed we would be sitting behind the President of the United States during his address. It was time to text my father and tell him to turn on the television.
While it is more than likely that our luck was completely coincidence, it was hard not to notice that the diversity factor was kicked up a notch in the group we'd been thrust into. Among those standing behind the President were several families of African American descent, a couple Indian families... and us. The college kids of America.
Here we are! Far back, front and center.
Social Media
Have you ever gotten in trouble with the White House? Well, don't worry. We have. Not our proudest moment. If you were a college student, who had just waited in line for an hour and a half to see the leader of the free world, and was then randomly selected to sit behind him... what would your first instinct be? To tweet. It's second nature.
After each sending a couple twit pics, and excitable comments-- completely harmless ones, and ones fully in support of Barack Obama, I promise!--- the White House representative who had put us in formation hurried onto the stage where we all stood and demanded, "Who's on Twitter?"
The stage spectators froze.
She repeated her question. And again. Once it was answered to no avail, she shook her head and made a very frustrated proclamation: "No twittering!!!"
We hastened to obey. And no, no one dared mention that the proper terminology was "tweeting".
And now for the main event:
The President's Speech.
President Obama spoke on the American Jobs Act. He drew examples of working families from people he'd met on his visit to New Hampshire- like the math teacher some of the seniors in the audience had. He hoped the bill would be signed into law so he could continue helping the middle class by creating jobs. In addition to promoting the middle class- something the NH audience was very receptive to- he threw in some crucial political points. Several times, he made the point that the good of our country needs to come over partisanship. He urged the voters of Manchester to remember that whether or not it made him popular, he has done his best during the presidency to create the most jobs and stability for the economy.
The Heckling
About a minute into the President's Speech, the Occupy protesters started up. It was countered by an eruptive "Obama!" chant. It was organized chaos, to say the least. He handled it diplomatically, and even heard the protesters out. Remaining calm, he requested that they now listen to his points, because he listened to theirs. Logical. In my not at all reputable opinion, he handled it impressively well. Check out the video that made Nightly News. Oh, and when the Camera pans back... remember... last row in the center.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Stay Tuned... For the breaking news of my Thanksgiving Break. Coming Tomorrow.
Good news. This is not actually false advertising. Tomorrow, I will be going to see Barack Obama speak in Manchester, New Hampshire.
This is a testament to the strength of Twitter. In the car, on my smart phone today, I see a tweet from my friend Rob, another Massachusetts resident, that he has an extra free ticket to see Obama speak. 20 minutes and 3 tweets later, I have a spot in their car and by 9 am tomorrow, I will be en route to Manchester High School to hear President Obama speak on the American Jobs Act.
Morals of the Story: People are great, Twitter is great, and stay Tuned for the blog on seeing the President tomorrow. It will likely be the peak of my blogspot career.
The World Hits 7 Billion
Yes, I know. It's old news. But NPR, per usual, puts a new spin on it. This video, first brought to my attention by Kelsey Fowler's facebook page, paints it in a much more interesting light. The depiction of births as droplets into the glass, deaths as droplets out of the glass and usage of masking tape for health care and agriculture helps the viewer understand the process through visual means.
Is it necessary? Certainly not. If we all sat down and thought about the process by which the 7-billion-person-world came to be, we could undoubtedly get there. Unfortunately, we simply are not taking the time anymore. A child, however, would need a description just like the one in this video to slow the process down, and explain it step-by-step. It is a process that would make Linda Ellerbee proud. The video doesn't make us feel stupid, as Ellerbee was so concerned with accidentally patronizing her child audience. Instead, it forces us to consider the concepts while bring them to us in a visually appealing way. Now what else would make Ellerbee proud? Enjoy the video.
Is it necessary? Certainly not. If we all sat down and thought about the process by which the 7-billion-person-world came to be, we could undoubtedly get there. Unfortunately, we simply are not taking the time anymore. A child, however, would need a description just like the one in this video to slow the process down, and explain it step-by-step. It is a process that would make Linda Ellerbee proud. The video doesn't make us feel stupid, as Ellerbee was so concerned with accidentally patronizing her child audience. Instead, it forces us to consider the concepts while bring them to us in a visually appealing way. Now what else would make Ellerbee proud? Enjoy the video.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Upstate New York wiggles its way into Indy Media
According to ICTV's Newswatch 16 broadcast last Tuesday, Syracuse is set to become the third city in the state of New York to ban fracking. This was reported on November 1, 2011.
The news broke on Democracy Now on November 4, 2011. Incidentally, this is not a complaint for Democracy Now, but rather a plug- nay, a bragging right- for our student news station.
Democracy Now provides insight into the controversy behind banning fracking in Syracuse. While some of the more conservative regions are staunchly in favor of drilling, liberal areas are striving to preserve natural resources and ban fracking. Amy Goodman confronts the issue head on, by explaining with ease the 2 opposing arguments against hydrofracking. As someone who works with these stories regularly in the news, I found this incredibly informative because Goodman provided definitive arguments for either side.
In true independent media spirit, Goodman throws it over to the live local music, who fashions a song about fracking for the audience. Find the write-up and live broadcast here.
The news broke on Democracy Now on November 4, 2011. Incidentally, this is not a complaint for Democracy Now, but rather a plug- nay, a bragging right- for our student news station.
Democracy Now provides insight into the controversy behind banning fracking in Syracuse. While some of the more conservative regions are staunchly in favor of drilling, liberal areas are striving to preserve natural resources and ban fracking. Amy Goodman confronts the issue head on, by explaining with ease the 2 opposing arguments against hydrofracking. As someone who works with these stories regularly in the news, I found this incredibly informative because Goodman provided definitive arguments for either side.
In true independent media spirit, Goodman throws it over to the live local music, who fashions a song about fracking for the audience. Find the write-up and live broadcast here.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Welcome to... Moe Lane
Upon finding the links from Legal Insurrection I decided to explore the blogs Professor Jacobson recommended. I selected a promising website entitled "Moe Lane", mainly because of my passion for Moe's Southwestern Grill. If Legal Insurrection qualifies as formal, Moe Lane certainly tends to be more colloquial. It certainly has more of a "17-year-old's first tumblr" feel when shown next to the formality of Legal Insurrection. Regardless, it is clearly well-established and the product of a lot of hard work and research.
In my effort to not judge a book by its cover, I figured furthering my knowledge by reading a few posts couldn't hurt.
Overall, the content is good. For example, the post concerning RedState polls shows that the site is part of a national initiative, which is excellent.
On the other hand, the conversational tone could go either way. While it sounds like the blog is building a dialogue with its readers- a strong tactic- it can also give way to colloquialisms and typos, which do nothing for the credibility of the blog. Nonetheless, I was impressed.
In my effort to not judge a book by its cover, I figured furthering my knowledge by reading a few posts couldn't hurt.
Overall, the content is good. For example, the post concerning RedState polls shows that the site is part of a national initiative, which is excellent.
On the other hand, the conversational tone could go either way. While it sounds like the blog is building a dialogue with its readers- a strong tactic- it can also give way to colloquialisms and typos, which do nothing for the credibility of the blog. Nonetheless, I was impressed.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Legal Insurrection Revenue Stream
Ads Ads Ads Ads.
First and foremost, we learned that the bloggers are not immune to many things print journalists must also suffer through. From the beginning of our college careers, whether we are interested in broadcast or print, we are taught that our salaries will only get paid because of those paying for ad space or ad time.
As it turns out, bloggers are in the same precarious position. In order for Legal Insurrection to maintain its current success, it is just as much at the mercy of advertisers. With the exception of a humble "donate" tab, advertising revenue is the only source of revenue. Therefore, it's crucial.
Despite the differences between bloggers, print journalists, broadcast journalists, citizen journalists, etc, etc, we are all unified under a credo of mercilessness.
First and foremost, we learned that the bloggers are not immune to many things print journalists must also suffer through. From the beginning of our college careers, whether we are interested in broadcast or print, we are taught that our salaries will only get paid because of those paying for ad space or ad time.
As it turns out, bloggers are in the same precarious position. In order for Legal Insurrection to maintain its current success, it is just as much at the mercy of advertisers. With the exception of a humble "donate" tab, advertising revenue is the only source of revenue. Therefore, it's crucial.
Despite the differences between bloggers, print journalists, broadcast journalists, citizen journalists, etc, etc, we are all unified under a credo of mercilessness.
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