Disputed pronunciations

Dәsputәd Pron^nsiejʃn

OR

DIsputәd Pronaunsiejʃn

In the English language there are many dialects. These dialects have created some wide spread discussions on the pronunciation of many common words. The topic was even famously satirized by Fred Astaire, in the Ira Gershwin work; Let’s call the whole thing off! The words recited in this quirky song are only a few of the well known words that have disputed pronunciations. Upon further examination of the disputed words, it becomes clear that many of the arguments lie in the pronunciation of a specific vowel sound within the word. These distinctions can be attributed to many things, not least of which being geographic location.

The words /disputed/ and /pronunciation/ themselves have quite ambiguous pronunciations. The first syllable in /disputed/ is often pronounced [dIs-], but is also commonly pronounced [dәs-]. Here, the speaker is choosing either the high-front vowel [I] or the middle [ә]. This distinction between [I] and [ә] is also present in the pronunciation of /vanilla/. Many speakers will pronounce the word [vanәla], while others will choose to say [vanIla]. The word /pronunciation/ is said both [pron^nsiejʃn] and [pronaunsiejʃn]. Slight distinctions can also be made between the use of the suffux [-ʃn] or [-ʃun]; this variation in speech is also evident in the pronunciation of the word /portion/.

The most memorable, and most quoted, piece of Gershwin’s work is the distinctions between the pronunciations of the words /tomato/ and /potato/. Both undergo the same transformation. The speaker chooses between the front-high [ej] or the low-back [a]. The pronunciations [towmejtow/powtejtow] are more commonly found within the United States; while [towmatow/powtatow] tend to be favored more in England.

Another common vowel transformation is seen in the words /either/ and /neither/. Here the /-ei-/ is pronounced with the front-high [i] or the low-middle [aj]. Variation seems to be congruent within these two words; that is to say, a speaker is not likely to say [iθɹ̩] and [najθɹ̩]. One of the vowel sounds is more likely to be attributed to both words.

The vowel /a/ also sees variations in its pronunciation; similarly in words like /data/, /gala/, and /patronize/, and also in the words /aunt/. The /a/ is either pronounced [ej] or [æ]. Hence, [dejta], [gejla], and [pejtrәnajz] become [dæta], [gæla], and [pætrәnajz]. The [æ] pronunciation has been attributed more to the United Kingdom, while the [ej] pronunciations are more common in the United States. Interestingly, the United States tends to say [ænt] more often than the United Kingdom pronunciation [a:nt]. There are two separate distinctions that are made in the pronunciation of the word /comparable/. The first pronunciation is [kәmpærәbәl]. This drops the [æ] when the pronunciation is [kɔmprәbәl].

The dispute in pronunciation does not always fall on the vowels. In the word /arctic/ there is a strong disagreement in the pronunciation, or lack there of, of the central /c/. The spelling of the word would suggest the pronunciation [arktIk]. There is an argument, though, that two /k/ sounds should not be voiced so close together; this belief brings on the pronunciation [artIk]. Pronunciation of this consonant would probably remain congruent in /Antarctica/ and when referring to /the arctic/. Another consonant dispute also involves an [i] to [ә] transformation. The words /diabetes/ is often pronounced [dajәbitiz], but has also been known to take the form [dajәbitәs]. Some speakers are also apt to eliminate the nasal [ŋ] from the words /length/ and /strength/. Hence, the pronunciations would alter from [lεŋ^kθ] and [strεŋ^kθ], to [lεnθ] and [strεnθ].

Some disputes are caused when sounds are inserted into words where they do not belong. This is evident in the words /athlete/ and /athletic/. Instead of the common pronunciations, [aθlit] and [aθlεtIk], the speaker pronounces the words [aθәlit] and [aθәlεtIk].

It is clear that people develop different methods of speech, and this difference causes disputes in the pronunciation of particular words. These words mentioned here are only selections of the ambiguous pronunciations in the English language. As colloquial dialects, and slang such as Ebonics, permeate deeper into speech there are sure to be many more disputed pronunciations.

Quiz Show? "Fifty million people watched, but no one saw a thing"

Robert Redford's 1994 hit Quiz Show is a movie about morals. Dick Goodwin, a young government worker discovers that the hit TV show "Twenty-One" has been fixed due to the attention that former contestant Herbert Stempel has brought about. Dan Enright, producer of "Twenty-One", had asked the man that couldn't be stumped Herbert Stempel to intentionally loose. Stempel unwillingly does what he is asked, throwing possibly the simplest question he had faced to date. Charles Van Doren is then able to answer a question which he had already known the answer to and take Stempel off of the show. Now the moral question here is, should Van Doren have answered the question knowing the show was fixed and was it right that he did? What's right and what's wrong? These are moral questions that we ask ourselves all the time and questions that we might even give a different answer to under certain circumstances.
Charles Van Doren is faced with this very brain teaser, is it OK for him to cheat on the show even if no one is hurt in the process? Many of us were brought up taught that cheating is wrong and shouldn't be accepted in culture. Van Doren was merely a pawn in the game of television, brought on only to spike ratings for the station. Van Doren had told Enright that he didn't want to cheat at first and he wanted to beat Stempel in a fair game. This of course wasn't the case, as Enright asked Van Doren a question which he knew he would get right. What they did was morally wrong but technically not illegal at the time. Congress quickly made rigging a quiz show a federal crime.
The cheating was done for the sake of entertainment, to draw in a crowd using Van Doren. They were able to exploit him, by using his families fame and his look. He was the perfect face for the show and quickly became a hit, and had almost instant fame. I believe the sudden burst of popularity somewhat blinded him to what he was actually doing, cheating. He went from caring that he was cheating and not wanting to cheat, to going along with it and not caring because he believed no one was actually getting hurt in this process. No one was actually physically being hurt by this, but the "50 million" viewers watching the show were not being told the truth and being lead to believe something that was nothing more than an act. Things like this still happen to this day. Children are being lied to about things such as Santa Claus or the Easter bunny, and people still watch shows that appear to be real but aren't such as wrestling. The only difference between these lies and the quiz show lies is the huge sum of money being given away to the "winner".
Hundreds of thousands of dollars were being given to these people for "winning" the quiz show for the multiple weeks they are on the show. This technically doesn't hurt anyone other than the station providing the show to the general public. I believe that if the station had no idea that there was cheating going on during these shows that it should be legally wrong. Other than that it's just people being human, believing what they are told is real. actually is real. In my eyes it comes down to human stupidity, you can't possibly believe that everything you see on TV and if you do it's really your own fault for being "hurt" by it. It comes to a point where you have look at things for more than what they seem to be. In the situation of the quiz show scandal you have to think, one person can only be full of so many useless facts and there has to be a point where they are cheating to some degree.
Cheating happens, no one is going to be able to completely stop what most believe is cheating. If there was no sort of cheating in a quiz type show, which could be as small as informing a contestant what categories will be on the show, than contestants would constantly bomb questions leaving no entertainment value to the show. No one want to watch a show where people are constantly getting answers wrong and no one is winning anything. All of these small "cheats" are done for the entertainment purpose and to bring in ratings for the station. So 50 million people may have watched, but at least one should have been smart enough to realize something was wrong.

-A. Snow

Is IM/text speak destroying the English language, or can it serve to educate?

In this era of the Internet and digital communication (c. 1990) there has been a continuing trend of instant communication technologies referred to as Instant Messaging (IM), which "is a form of real-time communication between two or more people based on typed text... conveyed via computers connected over a network such as the Internet" (Wikipedia) and Text Messaging, which is the “sending of 'short' (160 characters or fewer, including spaces) text messages from mobile phones using the Short Message Service (SMS)" (Wikipedia). These forms of instant communication have become a part of the average person’s daily life as the technology has become more efficient. American youths have been referred to as "... generally intense users of instant messaging technology..." (Lenhart, A., Rainie, L., & Lewis, O., 2001), but how does this mode of communication affect a youth's command of the English language, whether it be written or spoken? In addition, how does it affect a youth's ability to create and build healthy relationships? Research has been done to determine "how student's use of text messaging technology, specifically IM, affects their writing skills" (O'Connor, 2005), and this research has revealed mixed views on the topic. The technology's affect on youth's socialization has become a constant topic of debate.

A 2001 Pew report assessed that "about 17 million youth ages 12 through 17 use the internet" (Lenhart, et al., 2001), which represents "73% of those in this age bracket" (2001). Of those online teens, 74% were found to be using instant messaging; also, 69% of teen instant message users were found to use IM at least several times a week (2001). It has been claimed "instant messaging stands to actually strengthen many existing relationships one has by reducing the problems caused by distance, time and money" (Payne, 2007), but the Internet, and its place in the home, also creates tension between parents and children (Lenhart, et al., 2001). This tension is focused on a report that "57% of parents worry that strangers will contact their children online. These worries are well grounded. Close to 60% of teens have received an Instant Message or an email from a stranger and 50% report emailing or instant messaging someone they have not met before" (Lenhart, et al., 2001).

These dangers aside, this trend in communication has both benefits and detractions to the mental growth of youths. It has been said that "while [IM/text] allows us to quickly and easily communicate with those that we want to communicate with, it also tends to take the personal level of communication out of the situation a bit" (Payne, 2007). This lack of personal, face-to-face, interaction could ultimately hinder American youth's growth and development of natural socialization skills that past generations acquired simply through their day-to-day communications. Payne went on to say, "Even if one was to consider the video and voice features available, this kind of communication is still void of face-to-face contact that is key to our social interactions overall" (2007).

A report from New Horizons for Learning stated that "while there is supporting evidence to suggest that these technologies have a large influence on the social development of adolescents, and even more pertinent issue for classroom teachers is what effect these technologies have on the academic development of young people" (O'Connor, 2005). On the topic of instant messaging affect on student's academics two points-of-view have been determined; they are "those who see 'Internet English' as a breakdown of the English language" and "those who regard this same 'Internet English' not only as an example of how language is constantly developing and changing, but also as a type of literacy in and of itself, which can be capitalized on to engage students in more traditional learning" (2005).

Several articles indicate that students who use messaging on a frequent basis often use bad grammar, poor punctuation, and improper abbreviations in academic writing (2005). One such report claims that "teachers say that papers are being written with shortened words, improper capitalization and punctuation, and characters like &, $ and @" (Lee, 2002). It was also said, "some teachers see the creeping abbreviations as part of a continuing assault of technology on formal written English" (2002). Cindy Glover, a teacher of undergraduate freshman composition in 2002 claims to have "spent a lot of time unteaching Internet-speak.’ My students were trying to communicate academic, scholarly thoughts, but some of them didn't seem to know it's 'y-o-u' not 'u'" (Friess, 2003). In the same report, Friess describes a 15 year-old's summer job application that read, "i want 2 b a counselor because i love 2 work with kids" (2003). Another 2003 report found that "students have trouble seeing the distinction between formal and informal writing, and consequently use informal IM abbreviations and lingo in more formal writing situations" (Brown-Owens, Eason, & Lader, 2003, p.6). Robyn Jackson, a high-school English teacher explained, "we expect kids to get it instinctively, and they don't. It's something that has to be explicitly conveyed to children" (Helderman, 2003). Robert Schrag, a communications professor, echoed this same view when he stated, "We have always implicitly taught our children different language structures and how they function in different arenas... We use (a different) language structure watching a basketball game than in our place of worship. Most children will understand the difference" (Friess, 2003). Montana Hodgen, a 16 year-old high school student "was so accustomed to instant messaging abbreviations that she often read right past them. She said that she 'was so used to reading what my friends wrote to me on Instant message that I didn't even realize that there was something wrong.' She said her ability to separate formal and informal English declined the more she used instant messages" (Lee, 2002). Leila Christenberry, former president of the National Council of Teachers of English and a university English professor, offers the analogy, "It's not that there's never a place for this sort of thing, but it's the difference between how you would dress to go out on a Saturday night versus how you would dress when you do yard work" (Friess, 2003).

Though many educators feel this form of communication is for the worse, some feel that it may aim to improve student’s grasp of the written and spoken English language. Professor Barbars Bell believes that "anytime [students] are reading or writing, it's going to help" (Associated Press, 2003, p.1). There is also a "strong agreement among parents and teens that use of the internet helps youths at school" (Lenhart, et al., 2001). In a Washington Post article, Helderman took the stance that "Instant messaging and email are creating a new generation of teenage writers, accustomed to translating their every thought and feeling into words. They write more than any generation has since the days when telephone calls were rare and the mailman rounded more than once a day" (Helderman, 2003). In her research, Gloria Jacobs has found that not only are students writing more than they have in years, but they are also revising and editing as well (O'Connor, 2005). “Jacobs said that too many adults dismiss online writing because they assume kids jot off anything that pops into their heads. While that is sometimes true, she said, she also saw teenagers read over messages before sending them, editing to clear up mistakes or imprecision... Liz [Charlton, a 13 year-old seventh grader] and her classmates said they will sometimes sit in front of a computer screen for up to 10 minutes, planning a sensitive message- wording and rewording" (Helderman, 2003). This process is also being shuffled off by technology, with AOL's recent advent of an email spell-check program.

It is a clear conclusion that IM is becoming an important literacy in kids' lives, and consequently one that needs to be recognized by teachers (O'Connor, 2005). A University of South Carolina- Aiken report declared that "the dilemma, then, is how to help educators adopt literacy education to the reality that instant messaging is the dominant mode of written communication in the lives of many American teenagers" (Brown-Owens, et al., 2003, p. 8). Erika Karres, a teacher educator, uses Internet language as an example of today's speech as she "shows students how English has evolved since Shakespeare's time" (Lee, 2002). In addition, Trisha Rogarty, a sixth-grade teacher, explains, "when [her students] are writing first drafts, I don't care how they spell anything, as long as they are writing... If this lingo gets their thoughts and ideas onto paper quicker, the more power to them" (2002). However, the same teacher indicates, "during editing and revising, she expects her students to switch to Standard English" (2002). Ultimately, "students need to understand the importance of using the appropriate language in the appropriate setting, and that who one is writing for affects the way in which one writes" (O'Connor, 2005). This should be the main focus of today's educators, because this trend shows no sign of ending any time soon.

Bibliography/Works Cited

Is Blogging Journalism?

Until recently, people had to rely on the traditional news outlets, print newspapers and television, for information on what was happening in their community, country, or world. The Internet changed the whole landscape of news reporting whether it was how reporters were getting their information or how the papers themselves were reaching the readers. Reporters have become able to uncover background information much more quickly than in times past and newspapers are able to relay that information on to the readers almost instantly. The thing that most traditional outlets fear, though, is that amateurs are stepping in and trying to do their jobs. Some anti-bloggists like Michael Skube, a former Pulitzer Prize-winning author who teaches journalism at Elon University in North Carolina, are strictly opposed to the idea of blogs and will allow them no credit as journalistic material (LA Times). Skube, who admits that he doesn't read blogs, told the Times, "I find myself doing something in my journalism class that gives me considerable unease... discussing that often truculent tribe that calls itself bloggers." I completely disagree with Skube's stance of blogging as journalism. As a child of the technological age, I have been brought up with the internet and primetime 24-hour news outlets; I am older than most of my classmates, though, and also believe that the traditional reporting of newspapers is the correct way to relay the news to the public. In my personal blogs I cover both aspects of news reporting; I track down sources (though I do it online mostly) and back up my observations with substantial facts while also inserting a person touch and my opinions on the topics that I choose to discuss. I may be different than most though, in the sense that I am a journalism student receiving education on the topic while most bloggers are just jumping into it blind, with little to no education or knowledge of writing and reporting the news. This is the freedom that the Internet allows society, though, and I believe it should be embraced, for better or worse.

In the USC Annenburg Online Journalism Review, J.D. Lasica, OJR Senior Editor, said, "a journalist is anyone who is an eyewitness to events or an interpreter of events and who reports it as honestly and accurately as possible. Period. You don't need to have the resources of The New York Times behind you. You can be a lone-wolf weblogger out there in the field with your Apple laptop, and when you blog an event you're reporting. We forget the derivation of the word journalism: someone who keeps a journal (USCA-OJR)." I love this definition. It sums up my feelings on blogging and journalism completely. I feel that if I was present at an event, and I blog it accurately; I was reporting that event, plain and simple. There is no other way to define the action and classic journalists shouldn't fear this new process of reporting, it should be embraced and enlisted by more professionals in the field. Maybe then we will get sincere reporting on events rather than template reports that are kept politically correct and conglomerate biased. I, for one, feel I am doing my part.

Bibliography/Works Cited

Detective Fiction and the 'Hard-Boiled' Genre

When Raymond Chandler wrote about the emotional basis of the new 'hard-boiled' detective story, I believe that he described the 'hard-boiled' detectives and their stories perfectly. All the early detectives solved mysteries like machines, almost never touching on the natural human emotions to solve the case, but instead relying on their heightened knowledge and what sometimes comes across as a sixth sense. The 'Classic' detectives (i.e Holmes and Dupin) always had the knowledge that was necessary for solving the mystery at hand and wanted nothing else but the satisfaction of the solution itself. At times, there appears no other reason for these men to exist other than solving 'crimes' with the help of their friend/right hand man (Watson or Poe's 'Narrator'). The 'hard-boiled' detectives seem to approach their cases haphazardly, with minimal knowledge of the situation. They rely on gut instinct and a 'brawn over brains' style of deduction that separates them (Spade, Marlowe, Archer) from the 'classic' sleuths. Chandler said, "If you know all you should know about ceramics and Egyptian needlework, you don't know anything at all about the police." (The Simple Art of Murder, 1950). I agree with this idea that Holmes' extensive knowledge of ashes wouldn't count for anything on the new age 'mean streets' of 'hard-boiled' fiction.

The 'classic' detectives not only possessed knowledge that the average person would not, but it seems that they also had far fewer loose ends to tie up due to the settings in which the authors placed them. While the 'hard-boiled' private eyes are following up leads in the big cities, with some of the lowest people on earth, the 'classic' detectives are off in the countryside dealing with, at the worst, an escaped convict. These criminal figures make up the majority of players in 'hard-boiled' mysteries. "We spend more time in Miami hotels and Cape Cod summer colonies and go not so often down by the old gray sundial in the Elizabethan garden." (The Simple Art of Murder, 1950). This is a point most recognized when looking back into "The Moonstone", where Mr. Franklin Blake can be found walking down the garden path more than once in Betteredge's narrative.

Not only is the 'hard-boiled' story told in a new setting, it is told about different types of people. The Baskervilles of Homles' 'Hound' and the Verinders of 'The Moonstone' are people of wealth and elegance, people that would have no place in the slums of Hollywood or Los Angeles with the 'smut peddlers' and 'grifters', like Gutman or Geiger. Chandler commented on the 'English-style' of detective stories as "... not quite so brittle and the people as a rule just wear clothes and drink drinks." (The Simple Art of Murder, 1950). One couldn't imagine Miss Rachel acting the way that the Sternwood girls did in 'The Big Sleep', because Collins was writing about a different time and very different people than Chandler. "But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective in this kind of story must be such a man. He is the hero, he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet and unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor- by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in this world and a good enough man for any world." (The Simple Art of Murder, 1950).

This description of the 'hard-boiled' detective is the most complete take on the subject. Even though Spade has some connection with Brigid, in Hammett's 'Falcon', he still has to bring her in to the authorities. "She did kill Miles...," Spade tells his secretary Effie. Thats how the 'hard-boiled' detective works, on a strict code. "Thats the way it is," Marlowe tells Vivian Regan in Chandler's 'Big Sleep', "Kissing is nice, but your father didn't hire me to sleep with you," and the honorable man shows through in the end.

A Study of Political Bias in the National Media.

Research Question:
Does the media provide balanced coverage of both Democrat and Republican news?

Hypothesis:
There will be similar amounts of coverage for Democrat and Republican news

Methodology:
A keyword search, using the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, was conducted on February 20, 2008. Four keywords were chosen as parameters for this search. Those keywords were chosen for their relevance to this particular study and were documented as follows:
1. 'democrat' or 'democrats'
2. 'republican' or 'republicans'
3. 'democrat' or 'democrats' and 'republican' or 'republicans'

Further parameters were set for this keyword search. They are as follows:
· Only those broadcast in the month of January, in the year 2008
· Exclude Commercials

The Archive was searched for ALL NETWORKS, which include; ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, PBS, FOX, MSNBC, CSPAN, CNBC, and UNIV. No results were returned from PBS, CSPAN, CNBC, or UNIV during any search. Results were sorted by 'Network' to further investigate coverage patterns; the intent was to determine whether one government party receives more news coverage on certain stations than the other.

Data/Analysis:
1. The search for keywords 'democrat' or 'democrats' returned 68 items (CHART- D1 and D2); where either of these words can be found in the Title or the Abstract for a particular broadcast. The complete list of results for this search fell under 'Evening News.' The search returned broadcasts from four of the ten possible Networks. They were distributed as follows: ABC, 22; CBS, 11; CNN, 28; NBC, 6 (CHART- D1). The percentage of coverage was formulated by the 'Create-A-Graph' program, and returned the following data: ABC, 32.84%; CBS, 16.42%; CNN, 41.79%; and NBC, 8.96% (CHART- D2)

D1











D2












2. The search for keywords 'republican' or 'republicans' returned 130 items (CHART- R1 and R2); where either of these words can be found In the Title or the Abstract for a particular broadcast. The list of results for this search fell under either 'Evening News' or 'Special Program.' 'Evening News' accounted for all but 21 of the broadcasts. The search returned broadcasts from six of the ten possible Networks. They were distributed as follows: ABC, 41; CBS, 15; CNN, 58; NBC, 8; FOX, 3; and MSNBC, 3 (CHART- R1). The percentage of coverage was formulated by the 'Create-A-Graph' program, and returned the following data: ABC, 32.03%; CBS, 11.72%; CNN, 45.31%; NBC, 6.25%; FOX, 2.34%; and MSNBC, 2.34% (CHART- R2).

R1












R2











3. The search for keywords 'democrat' or 'democrats' and 'republican' or 'republicans' returned 153 items (CHART- C1 and C2); where either of these words can be found together in the Title or the Abstract for a particular broadcast. The list of results fell under either 'Evening News' or 'Special Program.' 'Evening News' accounted for all but 21 of the broadcasts. The search returned broadcasts from six of the possible ten Networks. They were distributed as follows: ABC, 50; CBS, 20; CNN, 65; NBC, 9; FOX, 3; and MSNBC, 3 (CHART- C1). The percentage of coverage was formulated by the 'Create-A-Graph' program, and returned the following data: ABC, 33.33%; CBS, 13.33%; CNN, 43.33%; NBC, 6%; FOX, 2%, and MSNBC, 2% (CHART- C2).
C1













C2
Discussion/Conclusion:

When reviewing the collected data, it initially appears that the Republican party receives more television coverage than the Democratic party. The Republican search returned 62 more items that the Democratic search. When broken down into percentages, though, it becomes clear that the amount of coverage per station stays somewhat constant between the two parties; for example, the Democratic search shows ABC accounting for 32.84% of its broadcasts, while the Republican search returned 32.03% for the same station. This perception is further negated when both searches were run simultaneously, returning 153 of the 198 total items gathered from the archive.

This shows that coverage between stations is somewhat balanced; exceptions to these findings are FOX and MSNBC, which failed to return data in the Democratic search, but returned the same items in both the Republican and the Combined searches. These findings also fell into the minority of 'Special Programs.'
Further research should be done into the amount of time devoted to each party to determine if this data can reveal any other patterns in coverage between stations, but at this time, it appears that the national media devotes nearly the same amount of coverage to both Political Parties.

We're watching you. But why?

The selection of media news outlets is directly related to the uses and gratifications approach to mass communication research, audience motivations and the various criteria which may be used in selecting media messages for attention (Garramone, 1985). It has been widely discussed that viewers tend to seek out information that is similar to their own beliefs (Xiang, 2007).

The uses and gratifications approach to mass communication research focuses on the audience because people select and use media to satisfy their needs and desires. A central concern of uses and gratifications research, then, is people’s motivation for using mass communication. Researchers are interested in what influences the reasons people use mass media and how different motives lead people to select different content (Perse, 1990).

The reason’s why viewers choose Fox News (FNC) or CNN are somewhat clarified in the following studies; Gina M. Garramone: Motivation and Selective Attention to Political Information Formats; Douglas A. Ferguson and Elizabeth M. Perse: Media and audience influences on channel repertoire; Elizabeth M Perse: Predicting Attention to Local Television News: Need for Cognition and Motives for Viewing; Michael Pfau, Patricia Moy, and Erin Alison Szabo: Influence of Primetime Television Programming on Perceptions of the Federal Government; Lawrence A. Wenner: Political News on Television: A closer look at audience use and avoidance orientations; and Yi Xiang: News consumption and media bias.

The study of attention to local television news presented information on the hypothesized relations between local news viewing motives and attention to sports reports and government reports (Perse, 1990). This questionnaire study had the intentions of examining how different reasons for watching local news leads to attention toward different parts of the newscast; and testing how need for cognition, a personality trait that directs people to enjoy thinking, influences motives for watching local news (1990). Three reasons were given why local news was the specific focus of the study. First, local news is broadcast several times a day, attracting a variety of different viewers who compromise a large audience. Second, local news is reported to be more widely watched that network news (Comstock, 1989; Perse, 1990). Finally, local news focuses on a wide range of topics; such as government, news, crime, human interests, sports, weather, and investigative reports (Perse, 1990).This study aims to show that motivation, a central concept in uses and gratifications, leads to media selection. It is successful in relating motivation for watching local news to selective attention toward different parts of the newscast. Specifically, utilitarian viewing motives (viewing to gain information for personal or social use) lead to attention toward local news government reports while Pass-Time viewing motives (viewing because there is nothing better to do or watch) lead to avoidance of local government news (Palmgreen et al., 1980; Rubin, Perse, and Powell, 1985; Perse, 1990). This is important in the study of why Democrats and Republicans choose FCN/CNN because it explains that the viewer’s motivation for choosing to watch the news is related to what they will watch.

More information on this topic is revealed when selectivity of strictly political formats are studied. Several examples for selectivity include the perceived objectivity of the message, the extent to which the message agrees with their opinions, its timeliness, its topics, and the media source or format by which it is conveyed (Garramone, 1985). Motivations for paying attention to political content in the media are placed in two categories; surveillance/ vote guidance and diversion (Blumler, 1979; Garramone, 1985). An audience member with a surveillance/vote guidance orientation uses the mass media for general review of the political environment and for information needed to make voting decisions. The most obvious diversion provided by campaign information is the “horse-race” excitement of media coverage. However, the use of political information for casual conversation may also be conceptualized as largely diversionary (Garramone). Research indicates that most political discussions are not aimed at persuasion, but rather focus on the “game” aspect of the election (Patterson, 1980; Garramone, 1985). This study claims that surveillance/ vote guidance-motivated individuals should select information based on its usefulness for making vote decisions. Diversion-motivated individuals, on the other hand, should choose information based on its excitement or conversational value (Garramone, 1985). Results of the factor analysis indicate that people selectively attend to presidential campaign information based on editorial (live coverage, news reports, journalists’ opinion, etc…) format, rather than it’s originating (speech, debate, interview, etc…) format (1985). This research relates to the FCN/CNN question in two ways. First, viewers may choose a specific station because of the formats used by that station, not their own beliefs (political affiliation). Secondly, Garramone agrees with Perse and Xiang in the idea that viewers tend to watch programs that share their beliefs and moral standing.

Further clarification on this topic is gained from a telephone survey that was conducted to examine the television viewing patterns and motivations of 615 respondents through channel repertoire (Ferguson and Perse, 1993). Channel repertoire was divided into two categories: Total Channel Repertoire (TCR) and Mindful Channel Repertoire (MCR). TCR was defined as the number of channels viewers watched, using aided recall (a list of available channels was presented to the subjects and they designated which channels they watched). MCR was further defined as those channels identified by viewers through unaided recall (unprompted). The findings indicate that TCR is related to media and audience factors, while intentionality was a significant positive predictor of MCR (Ferguson and Perse, 1993). TCR is related to the number of channels offered (Webster and Lichty, 1991), while MCR is generally smaller than TCR (Greenberg, Heeter, and Lin, 1988). Television viewing motives are a primary signal of audience activity (Rubin, 1984). Ritualistic television use, which is marked by watching to pass time or out of habit, is a nonselective and less active use of television that focuses on using television as a medium, not specific content. Instrumental use, on the other hand, reflects selective and purposive exposure to specific content (Rubin and Perse, 1987). These results correspond with the FNC/CNN study by showing that channel availability and viewing motives play roles in the viewer’s choice of media outlet.

These studies have shown that a viewer’s decision for choosing a specific media outlet is directly related to many different social and personal parameters that are different for most subjects. Simply taking into consideration one’s political affiliation is clearly not enough to determine why they choose the news outlet that they do. Selective exposure, through seeking like opinions, is the most obvious choice for why the viewers would choose the specific broadcast that they watch, but it is only a portion of the reasoning behind the actual choice.

Bibliography/Works Cited

Is our use of Mass Communications inhibiting our culture with too much entertainment?

Mass Communications drives our country. Its mediums serve as sources where people obtain their information. Recent trends show that a decline in content may be a social problem for the United States.

It's not unusual for an American to admit that other countries have a negative view of our culture, or what they perceive to be our culture. In a book titled Learning to hate Americans: How the U.S. media shape negative opinions among teen-agers in twelve countries, Marvin L. DeFleur found that of the twelve countries surveyed (Argentina; Bahrin; China; Italy; Lebanon; Mexico; Nigeria; Pakistan; Saudi Arabia; South Korea; Spain; and Taiwan) only Argentina showed a positive outlook on American culture (Times, pop programs). American pop culture has branded all American culture as violent, corrupt and scandalous in the eyes of other cultures. The actual problem with this perception is that depending on where you look, the culture may directly reflect an image of pop culture stereotype. FOX's The OC or MTV's Laguna Beach (a "reality" show based on the lives of Californian teens) clearly reflect lifestyles that can sometimes project a negative image. The sensational plots that company agenda-setters formulate to draw in audiences are taken as actual portrayals of American culture by people in other countries. This limited exposure to American culture does a very poor job of representing how many Americans would view themselves in society. "Using the lessons of the media product, they [teens from other countries] learn to hate Americans because they seem like despicable people," said DeFleur (Times).

Another trend that is affecting American culture is the over use of foul language, especially by people in positions of influence. While comedians like Denis Leary, George Carlin and of course Andrew "Dice" Clay have used excessive profanity in their performances, recent political heads such as George W. Bush and John Kerry have been caught on record using profane language. Senator John Kerry was quoted saying, "Did I expect George Bush to [expletive deleted] it up as bad as he did?" (Christian Century, foul words). This comment on how Bush handled the war in Iraq is a direct example of how 'curse' words are used by nearly everybody in American culture. President Bush himself was caught referring to a New York Times reporter as a "Major league [expletive deleted]-hole" (Christian Century). Even peace advocate Bono, of U2 fame, dropped the "F-bomb" at the Golden Globes causing them to air the ceremony on a five minute delay (Christian Century). This use of coarse language negatively affects America’s youth and poses great social risks.

Jay Winsten, a professor at Harvard's School of Public Health, has utilized America’s pop culture to battle negative trends in society. He believes attitudes and behaviors can be changes by popular culture, and especially by TV (Chronicle of Higher Education, using pop culture). His work on popular shows of influence, such as Beverly Hills 90210, greatly influenced views in issues like domestic violence and drunk driving. His work even spurred Random House Webster's College dictionary to add a reference listing for the phrase "designated driver" in 1991 (Chronicle of Higher Education). Violent video games like Rock star’s Grand Theft Auto series and glorified violence in "gangster" rap music have attributed to a more violent society and changes need to be made because the street fights of our fathers (or possibly our grand-fathers), which seem like child’s play in comparison, are being replaced with drive-bys and random acts of violence like the Colorado and Montreal school shootings, which are viewed as a decline in society.

Mass Communications provides us with an outlet for change and a decision has to be made (by the people in power) whether this change is going to be for the better or for the worse. This decision needs to made quickly because if these negative trends continue to escalate, there may be no way to reverse the damage done to our image in the world and America’s actual values and morals.

Bibliography/Works Cited

What is the nature of the relationship between media and society?

Mass media usually are thought of as sources of news and entertainment. They also carry messages of persuasion. Important, though often overlooked, is how mass messages bind people into communities, even into nations.

Mass media are pervasive in modern life. Every morning millions of Americans wake up to clock radios. Political candidates spend most of their campaign dollars on television ads to woo voters. The United States economy depends on advertising to create mass markets. American children see unprecedented numbers of commercial messages a year. Through the mass media we learn almost everything we know beyond our immediate surroundings. What would we know of Baghdad or Tikrit or the Super Bowl if it were not for newspapers, television and other mass Medias? (Miller).

The mass media bind communities together by giving messages that become a shared experience. In the United States, a rural newspaper editor scrambling to get an issue out may not be thinking about how his work creates a common identity among readers, but it does. The town newspaper is something everyone in town has in common. A shared knowledge and a shared experience are created by mass media, and thus they create the base for a community.
The same phenomenon occurs on a national level. News coverage of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon bound Americans in a nationwide grieving process. Coverage of the death of Princess Diana prompted a global dialogue on celebrity coverage. Stories of misdeeds help us figure out what we as a society regards as inexcusable. The news coverage of the impeachment of President Clinton did this. Mass media is essential for the ongoing process of society identifying its values. The importance of mass media in binding people into nationhood is clear in every revolution and coup-d’etat around the world. The leaders try to take over the national media right away as an essential vehicle to unify the population behind their cause and silence the opposition. When the U.S. invaded Baghdad in 2003, a priority was to get the television back on the air.

The trend of conglomeration in media poses a problem for society. Conglomeration affects the diversity of messages offered by the mass media. Conglomerates are trying to buy control or market domination not just in one medium but in all the media. The aim is to control the entire process from an original manuscript or new series to its use in as many forms as possible. A magazine article owned by a company becomes a book owned by the company. The book becomes a television program owned by the company which then becomes a movie owned by the company. It is shown in theaters owned by the company and the movie soundtrack is issued on a record label owned by the company, featuring the vocalist on the cover of one of the company’s magazines (Bagdikian). Understanding this, it is clear that the company will be less than enthusiastic about outside ideas and production that it does not own or control.
One of the negative affects of conglomeration occurs when a parent company looks to its subsidiaries only to enrich conglomerate coffers as quickly as possible and by any means possible, regardless of the quality of products that are produced. Management of diverse conglomerates tends to take an “easy-way-out” approach that deemphasizes content. Many of these conglomerates focus on profits alone. This mind set leads to decline in quality product.

“The Man” forces subsidiaries to cut costs to increase profits, a trend that severely impacts the quality of the media message. Fewer people to do more work is the new formula for business success. At newspapers, a reporter’s story used to pass through several hands- editor, copy editor, headline writer, typesetter, and proofreader. At every stage the story could be improved. In today’s streamlined newsrooms, proof readers have been replaced by spell check software. The jobs of reporter and the typesetter have been consolidated. In many newsrooms, so have the jobs of copy editors and headline writers. This trend in media directly affects people in their everyday life, costing some their jobs.

Mass Medias also create rituals around which people structure their lives. This is one of many ways that the media contribute to social stability. Northwest Airlines pilots flying over the Dakotas in the 1950’s could tell when the late night news was over on WCCO, the powerful Minneapolis radio station. They could see the lights at ranches and towns all across the Dakotas going off as people, having heard the news, went to bed. The 10 o’clock WCCO news has become a ritual (Curran).

These are just a small look at how media influences society. The relationship between the two is parasitic. As long as society has a need for information and entertainment, the media will be there to provide it.

Bibliography/Works Cited