This chapter actually hit close to home with me. Before I cam to college, I thought I might want to be a journalist. I took a journalism course.....and hated pretty much every minute of it. Just wasn't my style of writing. I like to take my time, chose my words carefully, use adjectives, and save all the good stuff for the end. Needless to say, I no longer want to be a journalist. Even though I know longer dream to be in a newsroom, the journalism chapter definitely opened my eyes to some of the corruptions occurring there. I thought it was really interesting that major corporations like Disney and Time-Warner are actually buying media outlets. I know we have to constantly question the media, but now I wonder how much we have to question it. Small town newspapers have so much character. It is a shame to imagine that they are being bought by large corporations.
I also thought that the VNR's used by PR firms to promote something was pretty slick. The idea of taping/editing/sending a perfectly doctored tape to be broadcast on a news station is genius. While this practice may seem unethical because it isn't actually showing a "live" or "real" story, it is an easy way to self promote. PR firms realize that small news station don't have the money to review and edit the original tape by themselves, so by sending them a copy good-to-go, they know their material will get aired.
This chapter made some really interesting points about journalism and news media. I will definitely keep in mind that many PR firms and large corporations are in control of the news we hear.
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It is frustrating to know that THE MAN is in control of all of our media coverage. There is a vast difference in the way a main stream newspaper writes their articles and the way a smaller organization writes theirs. It is almost disheartening as a young aspiring english major to know that the english language can be used to manipulate advertisements and control citizens. I hate constantly questioning everything I hear. Yet, I know everything I hear was once subject to another's opinion which means whatever I am hearing is not the genuine truth.
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