Exam Review #5

Now that you have reviewed BIAS TECHNIQUES, have a practice!

Try filling in the following chart:

BIAS TECHNIQUE HOW IT CREATES BIAS IN THIS ARTICLE
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.



Should Loud Mouth be Silenced?by Bill O'Reilly, Fox News




One of the biggest Bush haters in the media is Rosie O'Donnell, a fanatical lesbian leftist who has been given a daily platform by the American Broadcasting Company.Ms. O'Donnell is now actively supporting Iran against her own country and Britain. On her Web site Ms. O'Donnell posted this quote about the British hostages.

According to Rosie O'Donnell the British set up their own people to be kidnapped to incite another war. This nutty theory goes along with O'Donnell's contention that 9/11 was a conspiracy and that terrorists mean us no harm and are nice people.

The question is what should ABC do? Remember ABC fired Bill Maher after he said the 9/11 killers had courage. She has a platform, a big platform. She is using for purposes that are irresponsible in my opinion. How do you see it?

The same people who bring us Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are bringing us this orgy of left-wing nonsense five days a week in the middle of the morning aimed at the most unsophisticated, politically unsophisticated, viewers in all of America. That's why we should be concerned about this.

Exam Review #1

One thing that you should review for the exam is how advertisements create an EMOTIONAL APPEAL. (Pg 77-79). Be prepared to analyse an ad based on the MODELS, the SETTING, the DETAILS, the STORY, the COPY, the POINT OF VIEW and the COLOUR. If the advertisement was a television commercial, you would want to discuss these elements by discussing camera angles, colour, actors used, lighting, etc. During exam review this week, we will be deconstructing this advertisement. Please get some ideas ready so we can brainstorm together.

New Blog Mark

This weekend I will be giving your blog a progress mark to let you know how much work you need to do on your blog to get ready for your FINAL BLOG MARK.

YOUR BLOG NEEDS:

Over 12 posts that relate to the media

One post that includes the definition of "Bias"

At least one post that is about bias that you have noticed in the news

A post about an influential woman

Editing and Revising

Special Features: sound, video clips, hyperlinks, etc.

Comments on other blogs (a lot!)

NEWS BIAS

1. Check out this activity about creating bias through word choice.

2. Next, head over to bias through headlines.

3. Then, complete on of the three activities looking at how bias can be created through images.

I would like everyone to post a definition and examples of bias on their blogs.

Also, please check out this media blog. Then respond to any post on it, and include a hyperlink to the article in your post. I will show you how!

Spruce it Up!

BlOGGER'S BLOCK

Some of you have been suffering from blogger's block. This is an attempt to help. You should be looking at how the media impacts your life - things YOU notice about how the media influences the world around you. This could be advertising, television, internet, movies, books, magazines,trends, etc.

1. Remember the categories of posts:
1. Pop Culture
2. Question?
3. I’m Outraged!
4. How Interesting….
5. Advertising
6. Hey! That’s subversive!

2. Look at other people's blogs., and websites online. Look for something that interests you. Reading other blogs will inspire you to write your own post about that topic or a similar topic. There are people examining the use of pregnant women for beer advertisements and examining the beauty of graffiti. We have movie reviews , song analysis and posting documentaries about 9/11 conspiracies. We are debating issues like whether or not athletes make too much money, and if musicians can make a difference in social issues like bullying.

3. You may want to scan the internet looking for issues or interesting topics. If you find an interesting article, then respond to it in a post and include a link to an article. Some interesting things I have found online have been a page devoted to the lastest news in arts and entertainment. Serena found a great page full of media issues at media-awareness. I found a fascinating media blog by typing in "media" in Google. (There is a fascinating article about a city in South America which has banned advertising). You may want to read about the dangers of facebook in an article I found on CBC's website.

Please comment to this post by giving an example of a controversial topic that could be a good topic for a post.

Thanks!
Happy Blogging!

Post Assignment #2

So far, I have only assigned one other Post Assignment, and that was a response to the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car". Now that most of you have solid blogs set up, there will be more Post Assigments coming.

Last week we discussed famous men and women. Many of you were surprised to realise that the class wasn't able to come up with many women who were famous for their intelligence. Your assignment is to create a post dedicated to a woman who is famous for her intelligence. Be creative and be sure to explain why this woman is so important. You may also want to comment on why her name may not be famous or why she didn't get very much media attention or why you had never heard of her before.

Here is a list of some famous women. Try picking someone you have never heard of before. I'd like to have all the posts be about different people, so please comment to this post with your choice. If no one else has claimed that person, than you may claim her.

Benazir Bhutto
Jane Addams
Madeleine Albright
Mary McLeod Bethune
Marian Wright Edelman
Indira Gandhi
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Emma Goldman
Anita Hill
Dolores Huerta
Maggie Kuhn
Golda Meir
Rigoberta Menchu
Sandra Day O'Connor
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Rosa Parks
Alice Paul
Frances Perkins
Eva Peron
Jiang Qing
Eleanor Roosevelt
Phyllis Schlafly
Gloria Steinem
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Maya Angelou
Hanna Arendt
Rachel Carson
Agatha Christie
Simone de Beauvoir
Anne Frank
Betty Friedan
Ann Landers
Margaret Mitchell
Toni Morrison
Dorothy Parker
Sylvia Plath
Gertrude Stein
Barbara Walters
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Apgar
Helen Caldicott
Marie Curie
Rosalind Franklin
Jane Goodall
Grace Hopper
Melanie Klein
Mary Leakey
Barbara McClintock
Lise Meitner
Coco Chanel
Julia Child
Elsie de Wolfe
Katharine Graham
Ruth Handler
Estee Lauder
Mary Quant
Marian Anderson
Margaret Bourke-White
Maria Callas
Isadora Duncan
Ella Fitzgerald
Martha Graham
Billie Holiday
Janis Joplin
Frida Kahlo
Dorothea Lange
Georgia O'Keeffe
Mary Pickford
Leni Riefenstahl

BLOG MARKS

Hello, class.

Sorry that I am sick today. I just want to remind you that on Sunday I will be marking your blogs for your midterm report cards. Many of you NEED a good mark on this to boost your average for the class. I will be using a rubric which I will give you tomorrow, but essentially, this is what I am looking for:

• At least 8 posts that comment on an issue in the media
• Other posts (any amount) that give your post personality (about me, interesting pictures, etc - like my cactus post or Go Leafs Go post)
• Some links to other websites
• An attractive appearance
• Many comments on other blogs
• Comments on your blog
• Attempts to edit and revise spelling and grammar

(help each other out on that one. You get marks for commenting on other blogs, but you also get marks for the comments on your blog.)

(I am generally not taking marks off for the odd spelling or grammar error, but try to keep these errors to a minimum. You can always go back and edit any post - spellcheck is available.)

I will try to be commenting on your blogs during class if I don't fall asleep first. If you have a question for me, comment on this post, and I will try to answer it somehow.

See you tomorrow

Mzqbit

PS. Looking through your blogs, I noticed that many of you didn't post anything yesterday. Make sure you post to your blog today - it's the last day in class before you are marked.

The Blog Assignment

What Is Required?

At least 2 weekly entries
Every week you are to create at least 2 entries in your Media Blog. The entries must relate to media in some way, perhaps by voice your opinion about some kind of issue or controversy.

At least 4 weekly comments on other blogs
Every week you need to check out some of the blogs in the class and comment on different postings. You should have at least 4 comments a week, but quality is more important than quantity, so be sure to comment on issues that you are truly interested in.

Check in on my blog
Think of my blog as the class blog. I will be regularly contributing to my blog and perhaps posting points of interest about blogs in the class. Occasionally, I will have assignments posted on my blog that I feel are relevant to our study.

How Will This Be Marked?

The rubric will be coming, but basically, this will be a significant portion of your final mark since you will be working on it for the rest of the semester. There will be periodic due dates so that I can give you a progress mark on your blog. I will give you at least a week’s notice before any marking dates. You will be marked on your thoughtfulness, your mastery of the medium, your comments, your creativity.


What Should My Entries Be About?

Here are some of the types of entries that I will be looking for. You are not restricted to these categories, but this might help you if you have blogger’s block.

1. Pop Culture
In this category you will observe something new or strange about pop culture. This could be a new trend, a t.v. show, a movie, etc. You should explain what it is and why it is significant.

2. Question?
This should be something you have noticed and wondered about. Anything that puzzles you, perplexes you, something you find strange. You should have lots of questions … and perhaps no real answers.

3. I’m Outraged!
This should be something that you have noticed in the media that you do not agree with, you find offensive, insulting, etc. You should explain WHY you are so outraged. If it is possible, explain what you are going to do about it, and most importantly, RANT!

4. How Interesting….
This is a free for all category where you record things that you have found interesting. It may overlap a bit with the pop culture category, which is fine.

5. Advertising
Anything new or different in the world of advertising, an ad that you thought was interesting or controversial in some way, new trends, etc.

6. Hey! That’s a Subversion!
Hopefully we have talked about subversion enough in class that you have started to recognize it in your own travels. Look for something that seems to be different from what is expected … I will post some examples on my blog.