Journal #3

(Media Studies)

This week I would like to talk about the spaghetti commercial. I thought that this was a very clever way to see how convincing commercials could be. I knew from the first moment that it is impossible for pasta to grow on trees, so I just watched how the whole commercial would unfold. I knew by the many facts and tips that the narrator made that some people would believe this, and doubt what was the obvious, and this worries me. We rely on the media so much that we will even believe something that we know is not true. All our lives we've known that pasta is made from ingredients, not on trees. The pictures were very convincing, however, when it showed it on the actual trees, and the people "harvesting" the crop. I think it would be interesting to see how many people would believe commercials like this, and ignore what they have been taught since childhood. It was such a simple commercial, and such a unique way to gauge how people react to things that are false. The media is such an easy way to make the general public believe almost anything, and that is extremely powerful. This power could be used in a bad way, if the power of the media fell into the wrong hands, because it could influence the world to believe some things that aren't very good.

Assignment #5- Exploring the Daily Gleaner

(Journalism)

Done based on the February 28th Daily Gleaner.

Front Page:

1. 4 items that appear on the front page other than pictures and stories are: An advertisement at the bottom of the page, a table of contents on the side, today's weather forecast at the top, and the barcode for purchasing the paper on the side.

2. The headline for the most important story on the front page is: "Writing may be on wall for education programs."

3. If I had to take out one of the stories on the front page to make room for a late breaking story, I would take out "Taking school to the great outdoors" which is about schools teaching a class outside. I would take this one out because it would still be seen on a different page, but may not be more important than this late breaking story.

*I would take out the story "PM goes on ski weekend" because it is not so important that it needs to be on the front page. It is not like the other 5 articles which talk about issues and problems that people should be aware of.

4. Out of the six stories, I would put pictures on the following articles: "The price of milk will double", "Forest fires cause great damage in Northern Ontario", and "A Canadian athlete sets a world high jump record at Athens Olympics". I would put pictures on these stories because they seem to be an upcoming issue, or something really fantastic, so they should be honored with a picture which helps with the article.

Hard News Stories:

1. The reporter is Terri Theodore.

2. The source of the story is the Canadian Press.

3. I think that the reporter got the information to write the story from some of the key people in the case, like Latimer's wife, and his lawyer. I think they also got the information

4. Even though it's not really a two-sided story, there is the other side that people may not think that Latimer should have gotten day parole. The reporter explains that some people still think that Robert Latimer should stay in prison for the remainder of his sentence.

5. I do think that the reporter should do a follow up on the story to show how Latimer is doing with the day parole that he has been granted. I know that many people support him, and would probably like to know how he is doing with this new sense of freedom.

6. The best quote in the story is: "The appeal division of the National Parole Board found that Mr. Latimer does not represent a significant threat to re offend." This was the best quote because it explains that they do not think that he is a threat because he killed his daughter so she wouldn't be in constant pain for the rest of her life. This shows that it is highly unlikely that he will re offend.

7. Headline: "Latimer finally wins day parole"

Lead: Robert Latimer was granted day parole on wednesday and was met with relief on the farm where he killed his disabled daughter fourteen years ago.

Who: Robert Latimer

What: He has been granted day parole after spending seven years in prison for killing his daughter.

Where: Vancouver, British Columbia

When: Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Why: The day parole was granted because there was no reason to turn down the request that was made last year.

How: They appealed the decision from last December, which stated the refusal of day parole for Latimer. The appeal division said that the refusal couldn't be supported by law.

Opinion

1. Tom Hickie from Fredericton is offering this opinion.

2. Mr. Hickie knows quite a bit on the topic that he is writing about. He knows what types of classes that are available both for students in the United States and Canada. He knows things like the differences between both school systems, and how the United States schools have classes that are more based on the students' interests.

3. Yes, facts have been given to support the writer's opinion, like the classes for hunting and fishing that are offered in Arkansas. He also gives facts on Canadian students who have done poorly that are put in classes with students who are much younger than they are. This obviously puts pressure on and puts down these students.

4. The writer is appealing to reason in that the Canadian school system can obviously become better. There are examples displaying the differences between schooling in the US and schooling in Canada. He is saying that the education system needs to be more about the students themselves, rather than the wishes of teachers and parents. He also takes a stab at the French Immersion program, as is it questioned whether or not the courses are beneficial to students in the long run.

5. Many people will benefit if the opinion being presented is generally accepted. If the education system is changed, then students will benefit, along with parents and teachers as the students are getting a more personal schooling, with courses that cater to the students interests, therefore making school a much better place to be for students.

Sports:

1. The percentage of sports stories in the paper written by the Daily Gleaner reporters and the percentage written by reporters from other agencies is 50/50. In this day's paper the stories were split equally.

2. There are 26 stories in the sports section of the newspaper.

3. "Senatorial Shuffle" is a story that outlines two conflicts: Competitor vs. Competitor, and Competitor vs. Team Management.

4.a. The nature of this conflict is that the Ottawa Senators fired their head coach, after their second straight shutout loss, and brought in a new one.

b. The names of the parties involved in the conflict are John Paddock, who was fired, and Bryan Murray, who is now the new head coach.

c. The cause of the conflict is that the Senators were losing too many games, and were passed by New Jersey for the number one spot in the Eastern Conference.

d. The conflict will affect people that are not directly involved because maybe Paddock has some fans as a coach, who might not support the Senators now that they have fired him. Also, he was given a different job with regards to the team, which also may affect some people surrounding that job.

Editorial Assignment #4

(Journalism)

1. The publisher is Shelley Wood. It is also a division of the Brunswick News.

2. The entertainment news is on pages D3 and D4.

3. The headline from a story from a foreign country is "Activists outraged; South Africa allows killing of elephants".

4. A photograph that shows people in action can be found on page A3.

5. A news story about a politician is "Obama faces parodies, questions about his promise in race".

6. Two reporters who write for the Daily Gleaner are: Stephen Llewellyn and Michael Staples.

7. Two columnists are: Jo-Ann Fellows and Laverne Stewart.

8. A national news story is "Doomsday vault to protect world's seeds".

9. The Canadian city that recorded the highest temperature is Victoria (9)

10. You can find a list of the sports scores on pages B2 and B3.

11. The subject of today's editorial cartoon is the amount of ambulances that have crashed recently because of the lack of good tires.

12. My horoscope is: Aries: Work with others. Listen. The unexpected will take a toll f you don't flex and open up to other possibilities. Integrate new information, and what you experience will happen easily. Confusion surrounds plans or a goal. Tonight: How about a game of Scrabble?

13. A business story is: "Electronic Arts offers US $2 billion for Take-Two" on page C1.

14. Two examples of opinion writing are: "Value bilingualism's success" and "Stop trying to force French" which are both found on page C7.

15. Three things found on the editorial page are: the editorial cartoon, the letters to the editor, and the editorial itself.

Bulldog Burgers (Media Studies)

Codes & Conventions

(Media Studies)
*The advertisement that I used is a Max Factor makeup ad with Carmen Electra and a nice looking guy.

A) The type of reality that is being constructed in this ad is exciting and sexy. The background is dark, with the main focus on the guy who is entranced with Carmen Electra. It makes it seem really seductive and flirty at the same time. 
B) This ad shows constructed reality in that it portrays that if you wear this make up, you will "get the guy" that is good looking and totally into you because of the make up that you wear. It says "head-turning" and "heart-stopping" which portrays that Max Factor make up will make you this way. People should know that you probably won't get the guy you want just based on what you put on your face. 
C) It shows the "good life" in that you will be sexy and seductive and get a great looking guy if you use this product. It depicts how much more exciting and awesome your life would be if you use their make up. It almost makes it seem like you could be like Carmen Electra if you use the make up that she wears. 

Letter to the Editor

(Journalism)
I have recently heard and read about the ambulances in the Fredericton area not having the proper tires for winter. Since the many storms that have hit New Brunswick in the last few weeks, I have been appalled at the conditions of the roads. One example is when I was traveling to and from Woodstock on Sunday, the 17th. I was concerned with the layer of ice that was virtually covering the left hand lane of the highway. This made it very difficult and dangerous to pass. What would happen if an ambulance needed to reach someone as quickly as possible, but was held up due to the horrible road conditions?
Why not give the ambulances studded tires? If it would get them to where they need to be quickly and safely, what's the harm? I live in a rural area, and live on a secondary road. It is still rutted and slippery, and the storms have ended days ago. The scarce use of sand or salt is limited to the middle of the road, causing only one safe lane. It worries me that the roads are still in such rough shape, and the emergency services are without the proper equipment to do their jobs efficiently. Even if the roads are still not completely clear, I am sure that it would at least give the public peace of mind that that if you get injured or are in an accident, the ambulances can reach you safely. Whoever made the decision against studded tires on the ambulances have obviously never endured a New Brunswick winter.



Amy Dickeson
Fredericton Junction, NB

Journal #2

(Media Studies)
This week, I would like to discuss the video that we watched yesterday, the one about the university classroom. I really liked this video, and I think that it should be shown in many high school classes. I liked the video because it shows some realities that are going to happen, once some of us enter post secondary education. The things that are shown are also statistics, so it is a lot more real than just someone telling a story. The fact that the students are saying what they mean by writing on a piece of paper gives it more impact as well. Even though the video is not that long, it shows students a little of what to expect if they go on to university. It shows what a waste it can be if you go to class and just go on facebook for the whole time. It gives you the knowledge that professors will not chase you for late work, because you are the one that is paying for the education, and you are the one that has everything to lose. I also thought that it was interesting that many students will get an education for a career that doesn't even exist yet. It is something that I have never really thought about. It is kind of scary that technology is moving so quickly. Overall, this was the best video that I have seen in a long time, and it gave me some good lessons about what might occur at university.

Journal #1

(Media Studies)
The topic that I am going to talk about this week is pretty much everything we have done so far. First of all is the Challenge Day videos. I thought they were amazing in that even the guys that were in opposite gangs were hugging and saying that they wanted to change. Obviously this technique is quite effective and should be done at more schools, more often. I didn't participate when it was at OHS because I wasn't sure what it was, but now that I know some stuff about it I think it is awesome. Second is the advertisements that we looked at yesterday. I thought the cereal ones for Special K were really good, but I was disappointed when I read the article that said that the US changed the ads to have Cindy Crawford instead. I think that ads that are about a healthy weight should have regular people in them instead of famous people. Then the ads would seem much more believable. Anyway I enjoyed everything that we talked about this week :)
~Amy

*My Bulldog Burger ad is on the computer that I was working on, in case you want to look at it... because I didn't know where to put it...