Defining the News

My idea of the news includes facts and statistics, interpretations, and different points of view and opinions. These facts and statistics, interpretations, points of view and opinions could be pertaining to subjects or topics such as science, politics, sports, religion, latest in Hollywood, etc. I turn to the news to do homework, to be cognizant of world affairs and local affairs(economy, war, policies), to form an opinion on an issue, and of course to settle any discrepancies with friends, family, or peers. What makes me trust a news source is prominence of it based on its accuracy, basically if its widely known as reliable source. What also makes me trust a news source is the source being the industry a great number of years and having experienced researchers and reports which ties in with the first reason of the prominence of the source. A very important factor that aids in the source gaining my trust is if the source gives both sides of the story. What makes me suspicious is if the source doesn't give both sides of the story and is in a sense blasting or constantly promoting a certain side. Of course there will be bias but if there is too much then that turns me off from a news source in which I search for a source that isn't slandering or censuring.

My definition or basic belief of what the news should be is a source that forwards information to the people with out being so slanderous but gives both sides to the story. The news will be bias at times but should be similar to the wikipedia core value of the neutral point of view to let the people form their own opinions on an issue based of the specifics of the story. The neutral point of view definitely pertains to the information that the news passes forth such as interpretations, points of view and opinions. The news should be a haven for meaningful and current facts and statistics to keep the people informed and apprised. A news source should encompass all of these aspects to be credible and reliable.

Organization of the Class Wiki

The class wiki should definitely be organized because I would rather create a wiki thats meaningful as opposed to create a wiki that contains random and insignificant information. At minimum there should be a guideline to where we are only to put information that is significant to the wiki. The class wiki should be organized, enlightening, and relevant. I am not thinking of a wiki that is so strict that we dont have fun creating it but I am sure I'm not the only person that would rather have a wiki that is meaningful and presentable.

The idea of assigning people to certain tasks or subjects is a good idea. The only thing I would suggest is to assign certain tasks or subjects and the various topics that are related to the main subject to individuals based on their interests. I would use this assigning process because it creates a better chance for an organized class wiki. This chance is created because when people are researching a topic/subject that they are interested in they tend to have a greater standard for the type of information they post regarding the subject. The process of assigning people to certain tasks or subjects based on their interest involuntarily creates a better class wiki.

Working with the txt: Parody

The message of the parody is to show that smoking leads to death and the rationale behind the strategy we chose to create this ad was to get people to stop smoking and killing themselves. Shareen and I thought this particular design would be effective because almost everyone is familiar with this product and the slogan of "Pleasure to Burn" was perfect to pair with the concept of death. The only questions that arose as we moved through the concept to design phase was what color urn to use?, should a logo be on the urn?, and should another logo be on the ad period?. Working on a parody ad helped me to see that advertising as a form of public communication is very useful and in most cases helps people get the point. I learned that there is a preferated line when it comes to the ethics of advertising because you are allowed to advertise an item that can kill and cause harm but it's ok as long as you state what the product is capable of doing, which isn't right in my opinion.

Effects of Social Networking Sites on the Political Campaign

Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have a great impact on the Political Campaign this year. They effect the campaigns in positive ways. These sites offer a way for people who tech(internet) savvy and who are not really tuned in to newspapers or or television to become cognizant and active in this years presidential election. Some may have strong opinions about who should win the election and lead the nation but how can they be aware of whats going on if they dont pay attention to the other main forms of media? But of course, social networking sites is how these individuals can find out the current views of the candidates and the people on various topics, the standings of the candidates in each state, also the locations of election polls in their area so that they can go out and vote. These social networking sites allow people to feel well informed on this year's election and encourages them to become active and of course vote!

The social networking site that is making big waves, in my opinion, is Facebook because through Facebook, as I write, Obama and McCain are encouraging voter registration. These two campaign camps are utilizing Facebook by allowing users to check whether they are registered to vote, to request an absentee ballot, and to locate their polling place; per www.politicalticker.blogs.cnn Facebook has allowed Obama and McCain to spread their messages and gaining supporter through links posted which go to the two candidates campaign sites. I think these social networking sites are greatly impacting and influencing political campaigns and overall this year's presidential election.