spovar's Blog

“The Linguistics of Blame”

spovar — Thu, 14 May 2009 09:32:00 +0000

After reading Kate Clark’s “The Linguistics of Blame” I was able to see how language is integrated and organized into the media we read about and watch everyday. The key aims Clark brings forward has to do with naming analysis, transitivity, and possible motivations that attempt to demonstrate how The Sun and other major newspapers manipulate blame and misinform readers. The media does a great job of wrapping us into the major issues and developments going on around us, but do they alter the truth sometimes to make it more interesting? This chapter takes a look at the reporting of crimes of sexual violence and relates it to the study of language and its ability to alter the patterns of blame.

Clark examines the language the media uses to lay the blame on different people. Through this use of language it can heighten or minimize blame which Clark insinuates. She discusses how rape victims like young girls are portrayed in newspaper articles like The Sun to be the ones provoking the rape because of the way they look and dress. When the media twists the story and starts to place the blame on the victim rather than the attacker it changes the audiences perception of the story. Therefore through Clark’s article we learn that not only does the media start to place blame on the victim but then society places blame on the victim based on the way the article is written.

This article has shown us that newspapers like The Sun use linguistics to manipulate blame. Although it is not stated why they do this there are possible motivations that Clark discusses in the text. Clark says that “a general interest in sex seems to be a strong motivation for The Sun’s way of reporting events of male/female violence” (Clark 250). In other words, sex sells. Whether or not the story is a tragedy or not the use of language in the title and sub-titles are what grab the attention of the readers. I think the newspapers do an exceptional job writing the stories however, I think they should still place the blame on the one that committed the crime rather than put it on an innocent victim. Clark’s theories behind the use of language that is orchestrated in the media is spot on and easy to comprehend.

Clark, Kate. “The Linguistics of Blame” Pgs 243-250.

Samantha Povar

T14b

“Research Questions for the Evolving Communications Landscape”

spovar — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:21:43 +0000

After reading Leslie Haddon’s “Research Questions for the Evolving Communications Landscape” I was able to see the way we organize and understand how the media operates. Living in this technology advanced world we have evolved to new media and techniques that change constantly. Yet we learn quickly and adapt to the new media in front of us, engaging with people everyday because of it.

Haddon looks at different forms of communication that have evolved over the years, connecting current practices to future ones. She examines the relationship between repertoire fundamentals based on the development of new systems from existing ones. Haddon also looks at the ways in which certain things affect the repertoire we’ve attained. By showing our level of commitment to these technology based innovations, it helps us understand our patterns as media users and how we incorporate these mediums to our everyday life.

Haddon points out the continuities between media by connecting past to present. She gives examples like computer games, pinball machines, and other older technologies that we have come to appreciate today because without those games we would have no knowledge of the newer technologies that come out now. Haddon also brings up the point that people used to make phone calls to announce big news or to share information whereas nowadays things like that are sent via email. By locating the continuities in our technology driven lives we will be able to link it back to past precedents set by older technologies.

Another major concept Haddon discusses are the factors that shape the choice between communication options within the repertoire. She makes it clear that new innovations have only complimented the old ones, not by outdating them but by building from them. Haddon gives examples like texting because it is relatively cheaper than talking on the phone or using a work telephone than using your minutes up on your cell phone. Haddon also talks about the shifts in media and how they may result when one medium fails and you need another to be available upon demand. For example, if you have no service and cannot make a phone call it is often easier for a text message to go through instead.

The final concept Haddon focuses on is the longer term dynamics of the communication repertoire. She explores how communication is affected between relationships within different forms of mediums. Through email it is often hard to get things on time. Emails tend to have a delayed form of communication, some people receive them when others don’t check them for days at a time. This form of medium can be unreliable. Whereas an example in the article points out that emails are so popular nowadays that we are inundated with them constantly, leaving no time to write a meaningful email, everything is too rushed. Personally, I can relate to this example. Being away from home I am constantly getting emails from family and friends wondering what I am up to and how I am doing. When I have time I love to sit down and write long emails to update people from home but it’s definitely difficult to keep up with. Overall, Haddon shows us the parallels between previous technologies and new ones and how people engage with the media every single day.

Haddon, Leslie. “Research Questions for the Evolving Communications Landscape.” Pgs 210-218.

Samantha Povar

t14B

The New Digital Age

spovar — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:10:41 +0000

After reading Teresa Rizzo’s “Programming Your Own Channel: An Archaeology of the Playlist” I was able to understand the characteristics of networks and the shift from broadcast to network media. Rizzo explores three case studies in which new digital forms create a “spatial mode of viewing, customization, personalization, and mobile modes of viewing” (173). Through these studies we examine the concept of flow and its relation to the new digital age in which we are surrounded.

Rizzo examines the Foxtel iQ which works just like TiVo in the United States. This PDR system allows viewers to manage their own television shows to program what they want and when they want to watch it. It creates a “spatial mode of viewing” (174) to have viewers move in the direction of a multi-channel environment. This system allows viewers to be in control of their television entertainment with a click of a button. It’s simple and easy to understand so that all generations can have access to this luxury. Rizzo identifies the personalization aspect of the PDR and its features, discussing how creating your own play list leads to the concept of a “personal” channel. By having these controls as a viewer you can establish your own channels that coincide with your personal interests.

Rizzo’s next case study further discusses the idea of the personal channel by taking a look at YouTube. YouTube is a very popular site nowadays, broadcasting millions of video clips that people have published themselves. It’s features allow participants to create their own play list and let them share it with the world. The play list YouTube allows you to create social environments with people who share the same interests as you. “YouTube not only supports a spatial mode of viewing that can be highly personalized and social but it also takes viewing out of the home” (176). YouTube gives people a voice and its popularity has spread rampant all over the world. I recently created a YouTube account to publish my sky diving and bungee jumping videos for family and friends to see. After one day of posting my videos I had over forty views. Just by adding my videos in one day I created a social environment between myself and friends from home.

The final case study Rizzo examines is the mobility of the Apple iPod. Similar to YouTube, the iPod takes “viewing out of the home”. The iPod’s mobility and different uses allow people to create play lists, upload songs, download pictures, ultimately do anything they want. This medium has become very personalized over the years, letting users customize their interests and play lists wherever they may be. These studies have shown us that the new digital age in which we are surrounded is changing every year, leaving the average television applications to become obsolete.

A major key concept in this article relates to the theory of flow and how it has an impact on the new forms of digital media. It theorizes how television programming and scheduling have major affects on audiences and the kind of relations between users and the play list. Flow is created by “viewing play lists, either your own or another user’s” (182). It’s about making a selection that leads to millions of choices that you can make from your initial pick. Flow is also created by “uploading or downloading programs the user is involved in a particular creative process” (182). Overall flow corresponds to the new digital era of our time and the technologies that are created within it.

Rizzo, Teresa. “Programming Your Own Channel: An Archaelogy of the Playlist”. In Kenyon, Andrew, Ed. TV Futures: Digital Television Policy in Australia. Carlton, VIC: Melbourne University Press, 2007, 108-134.

Samantha Povar
t14B

The American Idol Craze

spovar — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:37:33 +0000

After reading “Buying into American Idol” by Henry Jenkins I was able to see how the concept of convergence comes into play and how it allows us to locate all of the technological shifts happening in our media today. American Idol is a television phenomenon that has got many households throughout the world addicted to its participants and their vocal talents. The idea of this article is to show how we as television viewers are being sold on reality television and the features they offer us.

Jenkins brings up the idea of “affective economics” and the marketing strategies American Idol has brought to the table to involve its viewers. Fans like to be involved with the shows they watch on television. Therefore shows like American Idol which let audiences text their vote and ultimately control the shows outcome will gain more viewers each week. This marketing technique has appealed to fans worldwide and has been valuable to shows like American Idol. In the age of media convergence and branding we get a better idea of how networks are involving audiences and there is a “greater collaboration between content providers and sponsors to shape the total entertainment package” (152a). Reality television shows that do not involve the audience risk the chance of losing viewers week after week. American Idol’s success is based primarily on audience involvement and the connection people can make between contestants and themselves.

On a personal level, I can truthfully say I was addicted to American Idol during the first few seasons. It would be a ritual for my family to all gather around the television and watch every Tuesday and Wednesday night. We each would pick our favorite singers and stand by them faithfully every week. As soon as the show was over we each would get on our cell phones and text our vote in. Sometimes we would even call it in a few times to get those extra votes in. I think American Idol’s use of mobile media to get audiences involved is a great marketing technique that’s pivotal for their ratings.

Jenkins, Henry. “Buying into American Idol: How we are being Sold on Reality Television” In Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York, NYU Press, 2006, 59-92.

Samantha Povar

t14B

The Cell Phone Phenomenon

spovar — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:36:26 +0000

After reading Mizuko Ito’s “Mobile Phones, Japanese Youth, and the Re-placement of Social Contact” I was able to understand how the prevalence of mobility and mobile phone usage are essential to live in today’s modern society. The research conducted in this article focuses on the communications of high school and college students in the Tokyo Kanto region. The mobile phone is a major technological usage in this area where young adults communicate all hours of the day. Mobile phone usage in the home is much different in Japan than in the United States. The Japanese have less private space and the cost of running landlines to Japanese homes are extremely expensive. Therefore, only one landline is used in the entire house. The article aims to point out that Japanese young adults use their mobile phones constantly to communicate with their peers. This idea further develops the concept of mobility that Ito is inferring in his article.

Mobile phones at school are banned in the classrooms. In Japan, these students bend the rules and secretly text message during class. This is completely relatable to my high school years in the United States. Cell phone usage was not acceptable in the classroom when classes were in session. As young teenagers, it is difficult to not be completely attached to your phone and be up to date with the latest gossip or stories. Even if there is nothing to be said, text messaging provides entertainment and offers great distraction to pass the time during the monotonous school day. The concept Ito is trying to convey is the mobile phone use and e-mail define a “space of persistent connectivity”. Mobile phones have created mobility for youths to dodge power geometries of space like, the classroom, at home, or in public places. The continuous availability that cell phones provide is so convenient that we find it necessary to have it on us at all times.

This article is very relatable to my personal life. I for one have my cell phone attached to my hand at all times when I am back home in the United States. Long conversations are communicated via text messaging and I will constantly be typing to someone. When the article talked about how there’s a social expectation being violated when a message wasn’t returned fast enough I laughed to myself. Because text messaging is a form of conversation, I find it annoying when someone doesn’t text back for a long amount of time. As young adults living in such a technologically advanced society it is normal for us to rely heavily on getting in touch with people because we know their cell phones are always with them. The mobile phone is a socio-technical device, connecting people together in social aspects whether we are in the leisure of our home or a learning environment at school. Mobile phones have created a space between all people, identifying the public and private space that we create while participating in cell phone use.

Ito, Mizuko. “Mobile Phones, Japanese Youth, and the Re-placement of Social Contact.” Pgs 120-129

Samantha Povar

T14B

The Doubling of Place: Feeling like you are in two places at once.

spovar — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 06:19:57 +0000

After reading Shaun Moores “The Doubling of Place: Electronic Media, Time-Space Arrangements and Social Relationships” I was able to relate the aims of the article to my personal life. The article talked about how different types of electronic medium could be termed a doubling of place. Moore broke this down to three sections discussing how public events are interruptions of our routine, the internet as part of everyday life, as well as the idea that mobile conversations in public are never private. This article shows how all mediums have an affect on our social lives whether it be conversing on a cell phone or watching a live broadcast on the television screen. We are completely surrounded by media all the time and each account described in Moore’s work emphasizes how relationships and place are continuously being pluralized.

Broadcasting allows us to encounter a live witnessing of events that makes it seem like we are apart of what’s going on without actually being there. The idea of the “doubling of place” relates to how broadcasting links the event itself to the viewers watching at home. It creates a sense of closeness to the audience knowing that they can rely on the broadcast media to accurately display the events being recorded and feeling like they are apart of something that is realistically a world away.

For example, when Moore talks about Princess Diana’s death and how people grieved over this tragedy even though she was someone not a lot of people had the opportunity to meet. Through the broadcasting of her funeral and services people felt a connection to the Princess and would sit at the television in complete despair. The media coverage took the story of Princess Diana’s life and captivated viewers everywhere. I was nine years old, on vacation with my family at Niagara Falls in Canada when Princess Diana died. I had no idea who the Princess was until after I watched the news with my family and learned about her incredible life. I just remember that the coverage was on every station and watched my mom cry when she heard the tragic news. The news talked about Diana’s “ordinariness” and people were able to relate to her as a mother and as a wife.

Also, I found the concept of the doubling of place regarding the mobile phone use to be very interesting and relatable. We all have come across those people on the bus or in a quiet doctor’s office have a serious or even intimate conversation on the phone and have listened to every word they say. In the example told by Schegloff when the person on the phone yelled at someone for staring at them because they were trying to have a private conversation we see the idea of the doubling of place come through. Moore’s article clearly states how technologies main purpose is to help ease the space between relationships and link us together by electronically mediated communication.

Moores, Shaun. “The Doubling of Place: Electronic Media, Time-Space Arrangements and Social Relationships.”

Samantha Povar

T14B

Breaking News: The Effects of Media & Time.

spovar — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:02:42 +0000

The reading “The Frequencies of Public Writing: Tomb, Tone, and Time” by John Hartley suggests how time and the media are bound into our daily life. This article aims to demonstrate how all news relies on a high frequency of consumption. Nowadays we are not too concerned with the news that is based on low frequency of consumption (e.g. , textbooks, ruins, tombs). We are all so consumed with what is going on around the world and are so technologically advanced that we can get minute to minute updates wherever we may be. The news changes instantly and because of its high frequency we are well informed at all times. The article takes a look at the frequencies of public writing and how the media’s temporal qualities shape our world view.

One of the main concepts of this article is how the contemporary and fast modes of media are related to the time in which we view the news happening around us. When breaking news strikes we are aware of it instantly. A text message will be sent to our phones, a headline will come across the bottom of our television, or it will be posted all over the webpage we log onto. On the desktop of my laptop I have one hundred breaking news headlines that pop up constantly from the MSNBC news channel. I am always aware of the current events happening around the world because of this reliable media I have downloaded to my computer. This relates back to the concept of the high frequency of consumption we receive and the time it takes to reach the viewers of the world.

Another concept that sticks out in this article is when the frequencies of knowledge-type is discussed. It shows how gossip and rumors are shared faster than fiction and even science. This goes to show how heavily the media influences our lives and how much we absorb our lives with other peoples business. The time it takes for gossip and rumors to get around is getting so much faster with all of the technology. This article opened my eyes as to how quickly breaking news and new information can be transferred from home to home and how we are always tuned into what’s going on outside our front door.

Hartley, John. “The Frequencies of Public Writing: Tomb, Tone, and Time” pgs. 80-102

Samantha Povar

T14B

We are all couch potatoes, one day or another.

spovar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 07:29:12 +0000

The reading “Disciplined and disciplining co(a)gents: The Remote Control and the Couch Potato” discusses the way people have conformed with technology over the years to become completely addicted to what the television and its accessories have to offer. This article aims to show how our society has coined the term “couch potato” and all of the negative connotations that go along with it. Americans especially have defined this term and lived up to all of its meanings. Living like a couch potato and having the remote control glued to our hands has become a social norm in our society. It is not considered deviant behavior for someone to sit on the couch for more than a couple hours channel surfing or to watch back to back television shows on a Monday night. This article illustrates how dependent we are on technology and how the media fully engrosses our everyday lives.

In my family, for example, the remote control always becomes an issue when all of our shows are on at the same time. My dad thinks he is the commander of the remote control, when actually he is mistaken. My mom takes the reigns on this typical family debacle and always gets to watch her favorite shows. However, the story changes when it’s football Sunday and my dad is a legitimate couch potato from kickoff of the first televised game to the final whistle blown past midnight. The reclining chair has his name written all over it and the remote does not leave his hand. Our Sunday family dinners normally consist of my dad running in and out of the kitchen every time he hears cheering from the fans, while we just roll our eyes and accept that this tradition is never going to cease. It has become such a normal thing in my household that we are so used to him yelling at the television and jumping up and down with excitement. This example emphasizes Michael’s point that the couch potato and his lack of productivity is a direct link to the remote control and how one click of a button can control everything.

I think that this article makes us realize that the remote control has more of an impact on our lives than we believe to be true. We rely on it to record our favorite programs, switch from channel to channel, and even pause live television. Its multi-functions have left us to do no manual labor whatsoever. The remote control is such a convenience for people nowadays that being a couch potato is hard to escape. We have our rituals and go through the motions day after day. It’s a constant cycle that will only grow with the advancements in technology.

Michael, Mike. “Disciplined and Disciplining co(a)gents: The Remote Control and the Couch Potato.” Pgs 51-61

Samantha Povar

T14B

How does the media influence our lives?

spovar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:56:56 +0000

O’Shaughnessy, Michael and Jane Stadler. “What Do the Media Do to us? Media and Society”

The reading “What Do the Media Do to Us? Media and Society” discusses how the media affects the world we live in every single day. It shapes the way we think and view people within our society. The media is what keeps us up to date with the world’s latest news, breaking stories, popular fads, entertainment, and more. Our world is so consumed with the media and it’s technologies that we drown ourselves in it everyday. The media influences every aspect of our lives whether it be on the internet, television, or mobile phones, we cannot escape it. Although that sounds like a bad thing, I believe the media addresses a lot of positive things that are essential for the society to understand and be familiar with. The acronym CRASH discussed in the text describes how the media has categorized the society into different groups in order to target all of the various demographics. Case studies prove that what we see on television and in movies influences our actions. In the text, the case study about the media in Iraq really stuck out to me. We all know what is going on in Iraq and the brutality of it all, but the media sometimes takes it a bit too far with the graphic images and posts they share with the general public audience. These violent pictures and videos are not healthy for children and young adults to be immersed in all the time. The media has a direct effect on people in our society and influences their actions. When people watch violent movies or television shows non-stop it is proven that they begin to develop violent tendencies. When I think of media the first thing that pops into my mind is celebrity gossip. We are so consumed with what everyone else is doing and what’s going on in their lives when we should be concerned what’s going on in our own. The media does a great job diving into these people’s lives that privacy is not an option for them. People will even go as far as stalking celebrities because they become so obsessed with them. The bottom line is that we are so dependent on the media for everything in our lives that we need to be aware of how it influences us as people.

Hello world!

spovar — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 05:38:51 +0000

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