Future For Magazines?

After my magazine browsing experience at Wal-Mart over the weekend, it became pretty clear to me that magazines aren't going anywhere. After Time Warner's online magazine disaster, paper copies will be around for awhile. If magazines were to set up some sort of website, they would be smart to offer some extra features not included in the mag (more pictures, an exclusive article, etc.) for a fee. There are some entertainment shows on tv that are basically magazines, but a lot of people care more about game cheats than Heather Locklear's mugshot. Television and websites can never reach specific audiences as well as magazines, it's pretty certain that mags are going to be cluttering coffee tables and doctor offices for the rest of forever.

-Jenn

Magazine Adventures!

This past weekend I decided to kill two birds with one stone and do my grocery shopping and Comms homework at the same time! And there's only one place where you can totally and completely combine buying and browsing: Wal-Mart. Now don't freak out, Wal-Mart totally qualifies as a bookstore! It just also happens to function as a grocery store, clothing store, toy store, and beauty supplier.

I never really looked at the magazine selection at Wal-Mart before, but was actually really surprised by the array of literature! The top rows had wedding magazines, interior decorating magazines, food magazines, and magazines targeted to African Americans (but not necessarily in that order). The bottom rows had kids magazines, pre-teen magazines, (and by that, I mean a dozen different tributes to the Jonas Brothers), sports magazines, music magazines, and computer magazines (again, not necessarily in that order). There might have been a few I missed, but that was the general feel of the section.

It was kind of weird to stand there and flip through magazine after magazine and trying to picture the reader in their "natural environment." I decided to pick the typical pre-teen magazine reader, so here goes:

Age: 13
Gender: Female
Favorite Color: Light blue
Favorite Movie: Camp Rock
Favorite School Subject: Lunch (duh)
Favorite Song (which has the tendency to change without warning): 7 Things by Miley Cyrus
Most Prized Possession: Camera phone

These magazines would be found strewn about the reader's bedrooms...





Sounds like fun, huh?

-Jenn

Reading And Such

"Read any good books lately?" results:

Reader 1. Learning In The Light Of Faith

Reader 2. The Gospels

Reader 3. The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants

Reader 4. My textbook for Humanities

Reader 5. Nope

Reader 6. How We Eat by Leon Rappoport

Reader 7. 2 Nephi

Reader 8. The book for my Communications class

Reader 9. The Far Side Gallery

Reader 10. The Secret Life Of Bees


"What have you read in the last six months?" results:

Reader 1. The Work And The Glory (the second one)

Reader 2. The Book Of Mormon

Reader 3. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

Reader 4. The Book Of Mormon

Reader 5. A recipe book from my aunt

Reader 6. All Creatures Great And Small by James Herriot

Reader 7. The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons

Reader 8. Twilight and all those others

Reader 9. Captain Underpants And The Wrath Of The Wicked Wedgie Woman

Reader 10. My old journals


My sample was pretty narrow and very much Mormon! I was surprised by a few answers though, I wasn't really expecting Dan Brown or James Herriot. Several of the people I polled said they really had to think to answer my questions, which tells me we definitely aren't reading enough!

-Jenn

Books vs. E-Books

As a starving college student, I should want to spend less money on textbooks. I dropped $350 this semester on books, and I thought the $130-ish spent on my summer load was a lot! I have never used an online textbook, but from what I've heard, they're not all that great. I'd rather spend the money on a physical book now than have to pay later when my eyes go bad from spending so much time looking at a screen. I'm online more than I should be anyway, it's my "me time" for the most part, and I'd hate to start categorizing it under homework. E-books may be a good idea for some people, but I am not one of them and don't intend on becoming one any time soon. Or at all. Ever. The end.

-Jenn

How Much Is Too Much?

If people began locking themselves away in their rooms playing RPGs all day, the "real" world would cease to exist. Gyms would go out of business, McDonald's would start delivering, and everyone could watch General Conference from the comfort of their own homes. Excessive addiction to mass media has already become a very serious problem. This link will take you to an article about a game-addiction clinic in China, while this one mentions an online funeral for a World of Warcraft player. One of my most favorite scenes in The Office is displayed below:



While amusing, these are very serious matters that need to be made known and stopped before something worse happens.

-Jenn

Stereotyping

I absolutely believe negative stereotypes exist in the media. In order to be politically correct, we use terms and make assumptions that strive not to offend others. I went to Humor U this past weekend and there was a black guy and he joked about how he was always asked the same two questions, "Do you play football?" and "How long have you been a member of the Church?" The answers are "No," and "All my life," but the stereotypes lead us to believe otherwise. One of the best examples of stereotype bashing is Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty. This company has gone above and beyond using average everyday women to market products that are made for everyone, not just those who are size 0 and smaller.

Click here and watch "Amy," you'll be glad you did.

-Jenn

Information, Entertainment, Persuasion, etc.

Maybe because it's been around the longest, but I believe newspapers are the best at informing. Sure, television and the internet are faster, but when it comes to getting the facts straight, the paper is mightier than the .com. The argument is that newspapers tend to be more biased, but I think it's the other way around. If you just want your facts, your best bet is a newspaper.

The internet is the most entertaining form of mass media, there is literally nothing you can't find on it. You can keep in touch with family and friends, watch television shows and movies, buy products and have them shipped anywhere, or even watch others play video games! The future is bright for the world wide web, and while it's kind of scary, it's really exciting at the same time!

Television is probably the most persuading, having an opinion constantly thrown out for a half hour or more will eventually take its toll on the viewer. Advertising and product placements subliminally create an idea about what is suitable and what is not. The things allowed on television are only going to get more and more risque and inappropriate, and the opinions created are going to become even more difficult to dissuade, which is exactly what the advertising and television companies want to happen.

-Jenn

The Communication Model!

Newspaper Article

* Sender - the author of the article

* Receiver - the reader

* Channel - the final product (the physical newspaper, or maybe an online article)

* Encoding - understanding the words (but not necessarily the point)

* Message - the article itself

* Decoding - grasping the concept

* Feedback - letter to the editor, the emotional response, etc.

* Situation - wherever you do your reading

* Noise - internal or external arguments of morals, application, etc.

Magazine Article (very similar to a newspaper article)

* Sender - the author of the article

* Receiver - the reader

* Channel - the final product (the physical magazine, online article, etc.)

* Encoding - realizing what the words mean (but not the point)

* Message - the actual article (and maybe some pictures, big quotes, etc.)

* Decoding - comprehension of the concept

* Feedback - emotional response, letter to the magazine, etc.

* Situation - wherever you're reading

* Noise - advertisements, external or internal arguments of application, morals, etc.

Radio Program

* Sender - there are several senders and vary with what time you decide to tune in, it could range from a show host to an actual song

* Receiver - whoever is listening

* Channel - the radio station

* Encoding - the ideas/emotions presented by the various senders

* Message - how the listener interprets the words

* Decoding - listening to what is being said/sung

* Feedback - calling in/logging on to request a song, correct a DJ, or participate in a contest

* Situation - in the car, at home, in the office, etc.

* Noise - advertisements, static, DJs, etc.

TV Show

* Sender - the show's producer

* Receiver - the loyal viewer

* Channel - the actual television channel

* Encoding - creating the idea, filming, etc.

* Message - the show

* Decoding - watching the show and understanding its point (no matter how funny, serious, etc. it may be)

* Feedback - maybe doing a call-in-and-vote thing or talking about it with others

* Situation - at home, online, wherever

* Noise - ads, previews for other shows, surroundings

The Communication Model definitely works a lot better for some media than others, television probably being the best. You can watch your show, escape for a little while, talk about it with your friends, post messages on discussion boards online, and love doing it! America's Next Top Model is my favorite show ever, and Wednesday nights are not complete without my one hour fix. I have my favorite contestant (this Cycle it's Sheena) and can usually predict who will be in the bottom two every week. I've added the Addicted to America's Next Top Model application on Facebook, I spend more time than I should going through all the quizzes and quotes. The Communication Model has definitely affected my life when it comes to my beloved ANTM and I like it!

-Jenn