Journalism

The first question that was brought up by Professor Everbach was something that shocked me by how little I was shocked. Apparently in the early news days for Katie Sherrod and Carloyn Barta were spent working in the "women's section" of the newspaper. Which specifically excluded politics and hard topics.  When women tried to get involved they were often shut down. They were told that their looks would pose a distraction. These women fought so actively to work in the political fields that they desired. They were able to be so successful by standing their ground and not taking no for an answer. Leona Allen talks next on how she worked in the city of Akron and noticed the extreme racial segregations that were still in tact. She recalls on how the "white people lived on one side and the black people on the other." She talks of the importance of race and its role in the media. She recalls on the time her white partner locked the car door after seeing a young african...

Symbolic Annihilation is a term that was first introduced to be in my race/gender class. It basically refers to when the media will leave out certain groups of people and often stereotype them when included. This is seen in a lot of different minority groups throughout the US alone. It is deeply offensive and can often create feeling of unease towards a group/groups of people. One of the most common is Native Americans. They are rarely quoted or talked about in the media. We do not know a lot about them because they are not put in the news often. When it is it is often referring to scholarship or reservations. There is rarely anything else seen.  When they are they are typically characterized. Perhaps with a big nose or headdress. This can create stereotypes that spread. These stereotypes are negative and frankly inaccurate due to to the fact they were observed on such a small scale. Sometimes these stereotypes are taking a step forward by dressing up as a specific race such as Na...

As I was studying for the content that will appear on the first exam in my media class. I realized the great importance of some of the things I was reviewing. The first of these being the importance of recognizing Media Literacy. As I have learned in class, it is very important to understand how the media works. Especially if you are not a journalist. That way you can truly limit bad content and analyze the good content. Everyone says that they are not affected by the media. But that obviously is not true with the amounts of active stereotypes that exist about everyday people. Not only this but the amount of stereotypes that are used in TV and the media. These stereotypes are harmful, out of date, and must be taken down. Media literacy provides a framework in which people can analyze, evaluate and send messages. It also builds an understanding of the media's important role in society. Which is to keep everyone accountable and aware. It also allows people to discern when the media...

Talking about gender representation in sports brought an interesting discussion for our class. It was the same day I presented with my group. In order to give a visualization i included the video "Like a Girl" by Always. (I will attach at the bottom) This video showed what it was like to be represented as a girl in athletics. The result was astounding.  So often the media paints a picture of life that is inaccurate. An example of this is women being slow runners or bad fighters. The video showed what people thought it meant when statements were said like, "now run like a girl," or "fight like a girl." They all reacted in a negative way by showing weakness in their actions. This is because they all grew up in a society that says that women are weaker than men. This paints an ugly picture for young women going through puberity. The only models that responded in a normal way were the young girls that had not yet seen or been affected by the media. The rest o...

Killing Us Softly 4 was an enlightening documentary on the implications of media in the lives of young women. Jean Kilbourne is the speaker and woman behind the movement. She began to collects clippings of ads in the 60's after having experiences as a model. It was rare to see an ad or model that had not been touched up by photoshop. Creating this unrealistic image of women in the media. Eventually she looked at all the clippings she had collected and had begun to see these patterns. She began to see what it meant to be an American woman according to society. She saw that according to society it was a woman's only job to look good. Not only that, but that it was the most important character trait of a woman. While you would think it had gotten better in recent years, Kilbourne assures us in the documentary that it has not. The ads have only gotten more generic. The most important part of the documentary was when Kilbourne said, "Ads sell more than products. They sell va...

This class was a special one. My group presented over race and gender in the media. Being a journalism major who does not wish to get political has been trying in class. However this assignment made a connection with what I wanted to do with my future. I wish to work in magazines. Whether that be beauty, fashion or entertainment. I find that this sort of work is inspiring and fun. So when I attend classes that focus on more serious aspects of journalism it can be hard to relate. This assignment however made me look at the serious implications that magazines can have on the public.  Magazines can have a negative affect especially among women. They typically promote unhealthy and unrealistic beauty standards. This is seen especially among celebrities and their enhancement. Many magazines edit models without their consent and this has led to many claims and problems within the community.  I know personally I have been affected by this. I saw ads in magazines at a young age ...