Category: students

Fantasy TV shows are always a huge hit. Think of Game of Thrones, or the new Netflix show, The Witcher. Even if you don’t watch these shows, I guarantee you’ve at least heard of them. They have huge fan bases, and oftentimes huge controversies, so it would be hard to have not heard of them.

Fantasy is a huge genre. It can be anywhere from dragons, to space. There is, however, a connection between almost every fantasy show: their treatment of female characters. 

Women in fantasy TV is something I’ve always been passionate about. Maybe not always, but definitely since I got into fantasy TV around 7 years ago. I’m passionate about it because, yes I am a feminist. It would be hard to ignore how fantasy TV shows present their female characters. 

The way these shows present their female characters, is similar in most cases. They try and make their characters seem strong and independent, but in the process, take away their emotions. As a female viewer, I want to see all kinds of women. Eventually, the “strong independent woman” trope gets overused, and that is what tends to happen in a lot of these shows. 

Obviously, I get a lot of information on this topic from the actual TV shows themselves. Game of Thrones is always one I turn to when talking or thinking about this topic. The Magicians is another one of my favorite TV shows to use as an example when talking about women in fantasy TV. 

However, I don’t just watch the shows to get the information. TV news sources such as IndieWire or Screen Rant, for example, will often have articles about this specific topic. 

I also follow this topic on social media. I will see it talked about a lot on places like Tumblr and Twitter. On social media, I’m an active participant in conversations about women in fantasy shows. 

We talk about all sorts of things on these sites. One big thing we talk about is the sexual harassment a lot of female characters face in fantasy TV shows. Out of any other genre I’ve watched (and it’s a lot), fantasy is the genre with the most sexual harassment. 

However, different media sources speak out against this. Game of Thrones is a huge example of this. After repeated rape, and general mistreatment, on the show, people started to speak out. 

This just goes to show how this topic is treated. In TV shows, women are mistreated a lot. However, on social media and in the news, people are speaking out against it. 

The topic of the effects of music on the youth can get very deep. Music is presented on all types of media platforms. The musicians also play a keep role when it comes to media platforms. Media platforms thrive off of music and the celebrities that create these pieces of influential tracks that go onto represent the people of the youth. Musicians can carry a huge amount of powerful influence that can pretty much help “raise” children and even influences major corporations and politics. 

Music can be a huge selling tool when it comes to retail. Music is something that people can relate to and music is a true bond between all people. Music can be found in movies, television shows, on a radio in the car, on your cellular device, and many more places that are easily accessible by the masses. Music and celebrities can agglomerate many people and things. For example, a charity event called Chime for Change is used to raise money to fight against inequality for women. Powerful musicians were a part of this amazing organization to help promote the massive foundation.

The media typically grasps stories about famous musicians that can lure in readers and listeners to gain views and high ratings. Social media is a huge part of how celebrities make a living other than just music. Instagram has many if not, all of the celebrities partaking in the activities on that social media. So many people that are in the world are pointing their attention to this mega-monster that celebrities come here to make a huge impact on their brand and their music as well. 

YouTube is a HUGE platform to which musicians place their art and persuade the people of this earth t the best of their ability. YouTube allows people to share their own videos that they create and can profit from it when it is a profitable source. Many people who are on YouTube do not even share music, they may share videos of a make-up tutorial which is again, very accessible to many people and can influence so many who use this platform. 

Facebook is another huge platform that many people are influenced by the music and the celebrities that partake in this forever evolving time of internet and social media. Facebook is used to present many ads and promotions for a lot of things such as music and many other retail items. There are so many different platforms that help play a part in the influence of many people that use them as consumers. 

Nevada was the first state to regulate sports wagering in 1949. Since what seems like forever they remained the only legal option for betting on games. Sports wagering has always had a public image of being seedy. Reserved only for those who had organized crime ties or for those willing to fringe on the line of an illegal market.

Does this taboo fringe public perception hinder a product, or in this case, a market from flourishing? In the case of sports betting the answer is simply no. In an article written by NBC https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/think-sports-gambling-isnt-big-money-wanna-bet-flna6C10634316 we get a glimpse on just how much money is wagered on all different sports every single year. Let’s just say the numbers are staggering as they are in the billions.

When looking at the numbers, we learn that by far the majority of the money being wagered has been illegally. Either through illegal bookmakers or on unregulated off shore websites. Eventually these numbers could no longer be ignored and we subsequently in recent years have seen a more accepting stance on sports wagering.

May 14, 2018 the US Supreme Court ruled that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (which banned sports wagering) actually violated the tenth amendment.  What does this mean for the booming billion dollar industry? Marc Edelman a senior contributor for Forbes gives us a great rundown in all the new legislation in his article Explaining The Supreme Court’s Recent Sports Betting Decision. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcedelman/2018/05/16/explaining-the-supreme-courts-recent-sports-betting-decision/#2ff7ad30537c

So can you sports bet nation wide? The answer is no! The Supreme Courts decision simply allowed states to make their own decision on the matter. Nevada has been an example of a thriving regulated sports market and we are seeing many other states follow their lead.

As a long time sports bettor, I am fascinated on how this market will be covered in media, and it’s acceptance in society. We have recently seen many more sports journalist work the point spread into their pregame analysis, or mention the over under (a type of bet) of a game.

A great example of this incorporation of gambling into sports media is in ESPN’s flagship program Sports Center where the days sports action is recapped. Host Scott Van Pelt features a segment titled Bad Beats were he highlights the most brutal point spread outcomes of the week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMEIw1-NxyE

There are countless other mainstay media corporations who are actively covering sports wagering. It seems everyone wants a piece of the pie. The bottom line is sports wagering is here to stay and I can’t wait to see how it will continuously be covered in the media and you can rest assure I will be right here to report on it.

Francisco Healy

I’ve chosen skateboarding in the Olympics as my blog topic, because I love skateboarding. I first picked up a skateboard 10 years ago when my parents gave me the option to either go to the skate park with my dad and little brother or pick a sport at school. I didn’t like the rules and practice times of regular sports so I chose skateboarding and I’ve been hooked since. Skateboarding becoming an Olympic sport gave it so much more credibility around the world. It has also divided the skateboarding community and cause a lot of skepticism about whether or not this is going to be a good thing in the long run.

A lot of the mainstream media coverage has focused on the skateboarders who are Olympic hopefuls (like this article from the LA Times) and their views on it. These skateboarders view it as a positive, and in many senses this is going to be very true. It will benefit the women in skateboarding, who, have historically not been treated equally. It will also expose many new people to skateboarding. Jagger Eaton, an Arizona native and pro skateboarder, talked to Reuters about this.

When the possibility of skateboarding becoming an Olympic sport became a reality and not just a far fetched dream many pro skateboarders didn’t like the idea. Skateboarding being in the Olympics isn’t just affecting skateboarders in the United States either.

China has started promoting skateboarding more since it was announced to be included in Tokyo this year. For many Chinese skateboarders this is an unwelcome change.

I normally get my skateboarding news from Thrasher Magazine and Jenkem Mag. These cover skateboarding in a much different way than other major news organizations, and that’s because they don’t care about the newsworthiness of the subject, they care about how it affects skateboarding and skateboarders.

Thrasher only really talked about the Olympics when it was first announced to be an official sport. Since then the closest it’s gotten to the subject has been in interviews with pros and a skate event that was hosted at the Montreal Olympic Stadium, but had nothing to do with the actual games.

Jenkem has stayed closer to the subject by publishing stories about the possible rules and regulations, how China is gearing up for the games (aside from the one I’ve already linked above), and the first Dominican Olympic skateboarder.

Overall, I think that the mainstream media is covering it in the best and fairest way considering how their audience will appreciate the articles. I’m going to stick to reading the stories from Jenkem, though. To me, as a skateboarder, these are more significant and worthy of my attention.

POLITICAL COVERAGE & OUR MEDIA ENVIRONMENT

In the media environment that we see today, there are so many different aspects of political news and current event coverage. There are many different sources for political news consumption ranging from a daily news brief on TV or our twitter feed. Although the shift we’ve experienced provides more accessibility and convenience, consumers should be more aware to filter what may look like political information may not always be true. It is important to prioritize this topic so journalism and media continues to be used as a critical tool to inform the public rather than fill consumers with negative connotations of our nation and lack the respect it deserves.

TRADITIONAL COVERAGE

Traditional coverage or Mainstream media  is what I see as what has the most influence on our media environment today and in addition the most trustworthy. A few examples of these sources would be Fox News, CNN, Washington Post and New York Times. I perceive mainstream media as sources that are widely used and hold the most influence over our media environment. Unfortunately, consumers(including myself) associate their influence and providing real news at all times.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media and the use of these platforms for reporting is becoming more and more significant, but still may be unfamiliar to some people. In Fact, I have realized many have not recognized the growing importance of social media platforms and the benefits it could have as a tool. These platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the list goes on. Along with traditional media outlets, social media is becoming more widely used to seek news coverage. It is also important to note that with the popularity of these platforms growing, so does their influence on the media environment.

The increase of influence was a lot more evident after Donald J. Trump won the 2016 presidential election. President Trump uses Twitter as one of the main way to inform the public of current events. I do see his strategy as an improvement because he has the capability to directly provide information to the public, but not everyone has a twitter account or even access to the internet.

OUR MEDIA ENVIRONMENT & POLITICS

The shift in media coverage of political we are faced with in all media, fails to serve its ultimate purpose: to inform the public. Although that purpose holds a lot more depth, I don’t believe that majority of consumers have realized this perception and harm it is increasingly causing. Although these are not enforced rules, the SPJ Code of Ethics by the Society of Professional Journalists is a useful guideline that provides more detail and reinforces the ultimate purpose of journalism.

When I look for information on current events in the White House, I get flooded with misinformation, opinions pieces, clickbait links of fake news. These frustrations and difficulty to find political news updates without any of the obstacles mentioned above, are what drive me to bring more light to this situation and prioritize the influence it has on the media environment.

Celebrities in the media have always been under a microscope and quite frankly, I think it is a huge violation of privacy. Whether it is good news or bad news, celebrities are always having their every move watched, judged and scrutinized.

I personally have never been one to believe much of what I read about celebrity news because who actually knows what is going on in their life besides them? We can get a glimpse into their lives through social media and what they choose to share, but let’s be honest, we are only seeing the surface level. We don’t know anything about their personal lives and what they go through on a daily basis.

I find that a lot of people are almost obsessed with celebrity news due to its juiciness. There is always some crazy drama, new relationship, arrest, etc. It is very easy for news sources to focus on celebrities simply because of the attention that it gets. It is like reality TV for us, but with real people’s lives instead. E News is a huge source for all of the celebrity news that goes on daily. I find this source to be very unreliable because of how many updated articles come out after the initial one is posted. It’s almost like they just rush to get a story out and when more facts come out, they keep making new posts about it.

As interesting as celebrity news may be to us, I think that we make it very difficult for them to live “normal” lives. Sure, they are not living like the average person is, but that does not mean that they aren’t human just like the rest of us. They still have feelings and emotions so is it really our right to be in their business 24/7?

A big problem that the media causes for celebrities is substance abuse and emotional disorders. A lot of people are born with a higher risk of developing these problems already, but when we put this pressure on them to always be perfect, it can send them into a spiral. Take Demi Lovato for example. She has been struggling her whole life with different health concerns including depression and eating disorders. I can only imagine how difficult this was for her to overcome on top of being constantly followed by the paparazzi.

The news media as a whole needs to take a step back (in my opinion) when lives are clearly in danger. Will it be a good story? Absolutely. At the end of the day though, it is their story to tell if and when they are ready for it. We do not need to make life hard and feel impossible for them just for our own pleasure.

I finally finish a restaurant shift  that wouldn’t end, with customers who wouldn’t stop being needy, and chefs who wouldn’t stop yelling. The first thing I look forward to after a day like this is getting into my car and blasting some music on my way home. Unless we’re at a concert or watching music videos, we’re typically not watching the artists while listening to their music, so does it matter what they look like?

I want to dedicate my time into delving deeper into the relationship between musicians and body image. I found this interesting because in the entertainment industry, we all expect models to be on a tight eating/exercising regiment. Then the actors. And the TV personalities. Everyone is paid to be on screen and in print. Yet the pressure is just as intense with those who serenade us through faceless speakers.

I feel strong about this topic because I’ve dealt with body image issues here and there, throughout my life, and well… I’m passionate about music. Fans like myself become emotionally attached to musicians. Perhaps it’s because the musicians will practically pour their heart out in a song and we feel like we know them. Since these artists play such an important role in the lives of many, I think it’s vital that we find ways to let them express their craft without being torn down and stretched thin by social standards of body image.

Generally I feel that the media has been creating more of an open dialogue for artists to speak their truths and be open about their struggles. Just this week, Variety interviews Taylor Swift about her struggles with eating disorders while she was on tour. The first step in healing a community is to talk and let others know they are not alone. To this end, media eats up these stories – partially to inform the public, but also because people want the celebrity gossip. It sells (metaphorical or literal) papers.

I trust Variety as a media source on this topic because often they will have exclusive interviews with celebrities, this article being an example, so the reader doesn’t receive any information that’s been falsified from it being passed through the grapevine. Also, while I am guilty of reading trashy fashion articles about “who wore it best” and “fashion fails”, Variety keeps fashion… Fashion. It doesn’t talk about love handles or who is too skinny. The articles don’t use body shape and size to draw attention to their articles. I trust media sources who display principles I take as my own.

What really moved me to learn more about this topic was body image in the K-pop world. I’ve only recently began listening to K-pop, which is a music genre originating in South Korea. But I noticed all of the performers always looked so pristine and skinny… I learned about these training camps that people go to in pursuit of becoming K-pop stars.

In this video, Yanagi Mizuho is in the training company, hoping to become a part of a K-pop band. The clip I chose starts at 1:43 – Yanagi eats 300 calories a day.The girls are expected to be 50kg (110 lbs) or under. They each weigh themselves. When one of them has lost weight, they cheer, give each other hugs, and breath sighs of release. This is the behavior we need to address.

I follow Billboard for my music news. They are a trusted source, and have been for many years. You can see in their “about” page that they cover many different genres of music and their news is global. They tend to focus on the heavy-hitters in the music industry. The Billboard “Hot 100” list is a standard that the music industry respects. That said, I wish they would highlight some more up-and-coming artists. It would be interesting to see these artists’ journeys from bottom to top.

Year after year the Oscar nominations are released and with it the lack of diversity. It became so severe that the hashtag #oscarssowhite started trending in 2016. Lately, it might appear like we have been improving with major wins for movies like 12 Years a Slave, Moonlight, Roma, and this years Parasite.  Still, those few wins are not enough when so many minority films continue to be snubbed.

A few of this years snubs being: Last Black Man in San Francisco, Dolemite is My Name, The Farewell and Hustlers. With it being 2020, one would think we would have more diversity in the Academy and the media is not shy in speaking out on this issue.

It is extremely concerning that we still have to be calling the Academy out on this. It seems as if the Academy refuses to get on board with the changing times and is still holding onto its old traditions. They should really be ashamed because as movie lovers, they should be most aware that a major component of story telling is its diversity.

The art of story telling should not be limited to the same old American  traditions. Movies made by people of different backgrounds teach us about different walks of life, and can also raise a light on important issues. Movies by great directors like Pain and Glory (Pedro Almodovar), Blackkklansman (Spike Lee), and  Little women (Greta Gerwig) teach something that not everyone might relate to but can learn from due to the minorities who are telling their perspectives. These films are important and should be recognized just as equally as the ones that are nominated.

Like I previously said, some past winners do show some improvement, but we are still far back. One thing I can say is, how moved I am to see how the media refuses to stay quiet about this. Amanda Dobbins from the podcast, The Big Picture, spoke about the trend the Academy tends to have when nominating people of color, saying that they tend to only be nominated when portraying slaves or are in situations where they are not in power. A big snub that is going around in the media is Lupita Nyongo’s incredible performance in US. Although, they did nominate Cynthia Erivo for her role as Harriet Tubman in Harriet.

In all the Oscar snubs listening and reading I have done, I felt Amanda Dobbins’ comment was very honest and it was something I had not been aware of. This is also why I like reading articles from The Washington Post or The New York Times. I feel they have been persistent on this topic and do not hold back on the Academy’s actions. I especially appreciate how the media is not just talking about how one-sided the Academy is, but has also been cracking down on what their excuses really are for these snubs.

The current state of AM/FM radio is a lot different than what I was accustomed to growing up in the 70s and 80s. Back then you could hear new music on the top 40 stations while deejays talked between songs. Older music was relegated to the oldies stations; it was unheard of to hear older songs from the 50s and 60s outside of the oldies station or an old movie. You could switch on the rock station and hear a whole album played front to back. At certain times of the week, you might catch a Dr. Demento show, which played odd novelty songs, or Rock Over London, which played current hits from Great Britain. And who could miss Casey Kasem counting down the top hits of the week on his show, American Top 40. Radio was everything in my teenage life (along with MTV when they still played music videos.)

The format of radio began to change in the 90s with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The goal of the bill was to deregulate the broadcasting markets. The result has been the consolidation of media ownership by only a handful of corporations. The effects on the broadcast radio industry has been detrimental, with changes in policies and formats that have left radio listeners turning to satellite subscription services such as SiriusXM or streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, and Pandora.

Part of what has made me turn away from listening to radio is that lack of a personal connection that I used to feel as a teen. I no longer here the familiar voice of a local deejay announcing the names of songs in between the music. We now have automated stations that are programmed by a computer to play music and advertisements. Radio is also no longer my place to go to discover new music. In fact, on my local alternative rock station, ALT 94.7 FM KKDO,  out if the last twenty songs played live, over half were older than two tears old, with some spanning back to the 90s. Which brings me to what I said earlier about not hearing anything 20-30 years old on the radio unless you were listening to the oldies station.

The issues with modern broadcast radio go beyond just the monopoly on station ownership and formatting changes. In the last couple of months there have been developments that are troubling. Country stations are coming under fire (Rolling Stone) for not playing enough female artists and iHeart Media is laying off 1000 on-air personalities (Rolling Stone). Media is starting to take notice that one of our oldest broadcast media channels is struggling to stay afloat. I still have a difficult time finding relevant news articles about this subject, but my goal for this blog is to find what I can and see how it measures up.

It’s very likely that you’ve never heard or seen the word “Hallyu” before, but it’s even more likely that you’ve encountered what it is one way or another in your daily life. So what exactly is Hallyu and what does it mean?

To put it simply, Hallyu is a word used to describe the growing global popularity of South Korean culture since the mid to late 1990s. The common usage of the term itself is attributed to Chinese media when Korean television dramas first became popular on Chinese television. The word Hallyu literally translates to “Korean Wave” which perfectly describes how South Korean culture has taken the globe by storm in recent decades.

So why am I writing about this Korean Wave, you ask? Because it’s been a huge part of my life that I felt was lacking growing up. I’m a second generation Asian-American and being partially Korean, I have felt disconnected from my culture for a lot of my life. The rate at which Hallyu has been washing over the world, and North America specifically, within the last 10 years has helped me connect with a part of my heritage that I was never able to truly immerse myself in. Imagine growing up and not seeing people that look like you in the media or being made fun of for eating “foreign foods” that look and smell weird to the other kids. Because of Hallyu, South Korean culture, part of my culture, is being brought into the spotlight. Our music is gaining popularity, our foods are becoming staples in homes across the United States, our films are infiltrating the mainstream market, and our people are being represented in American media far more than we’ve ever been before.

The coverage of Hallyu in media brings me joy. The United States of America is a melting pot of races, cultures and traditions. To see my own culture being represented so prominently and in a positively trending light has helped me connect with a part of my heritage that I had always felt forcefully disconnected from. The media’s coverage of South Korean culture, whether it be news outlets like The New York Times reporting on Korean film directors and their success in the US, or websites like Reddit where the smaller communities focused on South Korean culture (like popular music in Korea, Korean food and language) within are gaining hundreds, if not thousands of subscribers, is exciting to see! Of course with all good comes bad though. I see a lot of negativity regarding Hallyu on Twitter, where discourse commonly happens between people who are fans of the South Korean culture trends. Despite the bad, I still think along the lines on the saying “all PR is good PR” when it comes to the Korean Wave. Getting coverage on media of all kinds exposes more people daily to the cultural trends and further integrates a culture I once felt was lost to myself, into something that I can share with so many people now.