Top 10 Electronic Media Writing Revelations of the Spring 2010 Semester

1. Simplistic Writing

A piece of information that I found particularly helpful came on page 60 of Hilliard's Writing for Television, Radio, and New Media. Hilliard states that in writing, it is important to choose words that are familiar to everyone.

This pertains to my interest in advertising and public relations, because of target audiences. When I am writing a press release or creating an advertisement, I want to make sure that I am using simple, straight to the point wording that everyone in my target audience will understand. Hilliard also says to try to find different ways of saying the same thing. Advertising and public relations about about innovation, and finding creative new ways of expressing an idea. Hilliard's statements definitely resinated with me and I could find the connection to my professional field.

2. Cut Through The Clutter

News stations must distinguish their companies. Most news programs have the same information, so how they portray information is a large determining factor of who listens to them. They need to distinguish themselves in order to gain viewers, and even take viewers away from competitors. On page 154 of the text, Hilliard states that the competition to gain the most viewers is a rating race. This race forces stations to relay information in interesting ways to differentiate their company from the competition. This market competition can be seen in more industries than simply news stations. Competition in the market fuels the economy, and companies are forced to find unique ways to sell their products.
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3. Listen To The Public Service Announcemnt

Page 73 of the Hilliard text reveals that public service announcements are only aired when all of the commercial spots are not bought. Public service announcements contain important information that people need to hear. Many companies are required to create public service announcements for their business. For example, when tobacco advertising was allowed on television, for every three tobacco advertisements, the tobacco company had to have one anti-smoking public service announcement. Public service announcements often contain more valuable information than regular, propaganda-like messages. Often times, public service announcements are more important than trying to get consumers to buy a miscellaneous product. Here is an example about a public service announcement that has information content that will educate the public on Autism.



4. Documentary v. Feature

An important lesson that I learned from Hilliard was the difference between a documentary and a feature. On page 194 he states that documentaries take a point of view toward the subject matter, while features try to stay unbiased. Features like to give straight forward information that doesn't sway a person's opinion in anyway, instead, it simply educates them on the subject matter. Another difference Hillard points out is that features tend to avoid controversial issues. Documentaries in no way try to avoid controversial issues. Most documentaries are shedding light on an issue that they want to educate the public on. An example of a documentary is Bowling For Columbine, a film created by Michael Moore. This documentary explores what Michael Moore believes are the causes for violence with guns and specifically, the Columbine High School shootings.




5. Bye Bye Passive Voice

Hilliard taught a lesson about writing in a passive voice. He stated on page 355 to use an active voice instead of a passive voice. I never noticed, but I tend to use the passive voice.
An example of this would be, there are 10 posts contained on this blog, rather than saying, this blog contains 10 posts. The first statement is wordy, lengthly, and in the passive voice. The second statement is more direct. This relates back to using simple language. The phrase is more straight forward, and is understood better. Avoiding the passive voice makes sentences more direct.

6. Writing Skills For All Mediums

On page 447, Hilliard brings up the need to be able to write in a variety of forms. He says that it is necessary to be well rounded and to write in a number of media forms. This is something that electronic media writing is all about and Champlain College as well. Nearly every class that I have been enrolled in at Champlain has stressed the importance of being a well rounded individual. Part of being a well rounded individual is being a strong writer for traditional media, like print journalism, but to also be tech savvy and know how to blog and utilize tools such as Twitter. I definitely understand the importance. It is necessary for a person to be able to articulate themselves well for a variety of documents. Hilliard's statements connected to my professional field when on page 453 he brought up the need for broad-based skills that will transfer into having the ability to write everything from a bumper sticker, to a news release, to a billboard.
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7. Judgment Time

Hilliard talks about censorship and writing with non-offensive content. Page 13 of the text describes how writers must be able to have a talent for writing quality material while using their judgment in the material that they use. It's hard to censor writing for all audiences, especially because of the variety of people that have access to the different mediums. There are things like parental control on television, but that doesn't necessarily mean that a young child can't turn on MTV's Spring Break while flicking through the channels. Writing has to be censored to an extent, and it has regulations that the writing needs to follow. However, I think that writers also have to censor themselves for the benefit of their company. It is easier to write a family sitcom and satisfy the general public than to write for Family Guy, who has a more narrowly define audience and can easily offend people. Even with defined guidelines, some outrageous things can be aired by FCC regulations, but writers may censor themselves further as an act of PR. It's hard to satisfy everyone, but Hilliard states that there has to be some sort of attempt at self censorship in writing.



8. Narrowcasting

Narrowcasting came up on page 3 in the Hilliard text. There has been an increase in television programs with very specific, specialize audiences. However, like I spoke about with revelation 7, a primary aim of video producers is to present material that will not offend anyone. I think that narrowcasting is a way to reach target audiences by avoiding having to use complete censorship. If the audience is completely aware about the material, they can choose not to watch it. There are many controversial television programs that get criticized. One example is Jersey Shore. MTV received a lot of backlash for having this television program, but it was a huge success, and they are creating a second season. Another example is Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl was originally a book series. The series have risky material in them as well, so parents who let their children read the books, shouldn't have a problem with the TV show; however, they can research the program and see if it is appropriate for their children. From learning about narrowcasting, I think that it is important to write for a specific audience, but make smart decisions knowing that people outside of the niche may be exposed to the writing as well.
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9. Children's Programming

Page 381 of the text quotes producer Lucinda Whitely. She is stating that all programming cannot be lollipops and rainbows for children. There has to be a balance of the sweet programming we often see and including challenging issues. Programming is supposed to be educational for children. Yes, it is supposed to be entertaining as well, but the most important aspect is the education. Issue have to be pertinent to children in modern society. Programs often include divorced parents and widowed parents. These types of issues are applicable to nearly 50% of households. Within the programs there are messages about how to deal with these types of problems. Within children's programs there are also messages included for children to pass on to their parents. Recently, a Nickelodeon animated TV show, "Dora The Explorer," promoted the United States Census. It was to promote the importance of including infants and young children on the 2010 United States Census, because recent studies have shown that parents have been excluding children under the age of 5. Television is very influential to young minds, and they absorb the information like a sponge. It is important for writers to use helpful, educational information in the programs. The "Dora The Explorer" example shows the cross over of advertising and television programs.



10. Creativity

Creativity ties into advertising in a major way. I liked how Hilliard stated that creativity cannot be taught. I think that books and education can provide writers with the tools to be successful, but they cannot teach what ideas are going to come out of the writer's head. The tools, such as persuasion techniques, are extremely helpful and stimulate the brain. Education is a process that helps writers gain necessary tools. With education, writers gain experience with provided "free" criticism. I can see how taking creative classes that engage the brain in different ways can spark a creativity gene that someone wasn't aware of. It's important to continue to go to school and learn about different approaches, because it makes students more versatile. However, the versatility does not guarantee that someone is going to be good at being creative. People cannot be taught how to be creative. Creativity is something that comes naturally to people as a basic instinct. I know it sounds a little pessimistic to think that people cannot be taught creativity, but I really don't think it's possible. It is a natural born talent that some people possess and should take advantage of. That being said, I do believe there are a variety of ways to be creative.

Sustain Champlain

This is the YouTube video my group made for the Sustain Champlain assignment. Our concept was simple. Champlain College students are green, and it isn't hard. Some students may not be aware of how green they are. We showed a few simple things that students at Champlain do everyday.





Now, here are my reflections:

1. What was the most difficult moment in making this video?
I think the most difficult moment had to do with the weather. We didn't want to shoot when it was rainy and gross out, so our production was pushed back. It was a little stressful, because we thought that we were going to be cutting it close, deadline wise; however, the class received extended time, and it all worked out.


2. Other than finishing it, what was the most rewarding moment in making this video?
The most rewarding moment was when we were actually filming. My group wrote out our final script in the morning, and got together in the afternoon to film. We all worked very well together, collaborating ideas, and giving Steph directions. We shot most things only once. It was rewarding to see how easy filming is with proper planning.


3. Discuss 3 specific lessons you learned about film production and/or "group process" in making this video.
[1] I learned that it is hard working on a film project as a group. Many people have different viewpoints as to what looks best. Also, I felt very helpless when it came to the editing section. One of my group members took control and did the editing while the other people were not present. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and have a hard time trusting group members complete a project when I'm not there. So, with this project, I learned to take the back seat, and let someone else be the leader.

[2] I realized that the two column method is helpful. We used it to map out the scenes, extra sounds, and dialog. It made the filming much easier.

[3] I learned that tripods are a useful tool. I was worried about our video looking shaky and overly amateur, but by using a tripod, the shots are smooth. By using the tripod we were able to get both moving shots, and still shots, from good angles. A good example of when the tripod was very helpful was the bike scene. The tripod makes the movement looks fluent while Steph rides her bike by the camera.


4. Discuss 3 specific things you learned about Champlain College and/or the "Sustain Champlain" project that you did not know before completing this project.
[1] While researching for our group production, I watched several YouTube videos on the Champlain YouTube channel. I learned that Champlain purchases some of its food from local farmers. This is both beneficial for the local economy, but it is also helping the environment because the transportation of the food is shorter and therefore, uses less fuel for a vehicle.

[2] I learned that all dorms are equipped with low flow shower heads. When I lived in a dorm last year, I didn't even notice the difference. I think this is a nice addition that the school has provided. It saves 30% of water per shower. There are a lot of students on campus, and hopefully they all shower at least once a day. It seems like investing in the shower heads is extremely beneficial.

[3] Overall, I learned how "green" Champlain is trying to be. I knew that we had an environmental club and Sustain Champlain, but I wasn't aware of how active these groups were. It seems like the school is putting a lot of effort into reducing our carbon foot print, and promoting a more environmentally friendly life style for the Champlain community.

Information That Comes To You [Part 2 Media Meditation #3]

For the final media meditation blog post, we were asked to describe our experience with RSS and Google Alerts.

RSS is an interesting tool, that I always noticed the icon (or symbol) for on websites, but I never knew much about. In Electronic Media Writing, we learned about the power of RSS, by first beginning to watch a YouTube video, that explained it in "Plain English."



After watching this video, I signed onto my Google account and began setting up my Google Reader. The Google Reader allows for me to click the RSS button on any page, which will subscribe me to the website, and then the information that I am looking for will come to me by appearing on my Google Reader. This type of technology is excellent for active audiences and information seekers. I see RSS and Google Readers as being a personal shift because this mass information is available to anyone; however, I am actively participating with the new technology by allowing the information to be sent to me directly.



When I set up my Google Reader, I subscribed to two different news sources that I am interested in. To do this, on my Google Reader, all I had to do was hit the "Add a subscription" button. Clicking that button will make a box appear, where I can type in any website I want to subscribe to. First, subscribed to my hometown newspaper, the Brattleboro Reformer. I also subscribed to CNN. To add a more personal touch, I also decided to subscribe to Advertising Age.

Now, what do I mean by "subscribe?" Well, now, when I log onto my Google Reader, I will see a list of my subscriptions. From the list, I can click on individual websites that I have subscribe to. Then, it will show me a list of new information streaming from that website that I may be interested in.

For the Brattleboro Reformer, it gives me a list of headlines along with a few sentences of the beginning of the articles. This acts as a preview, so I can browse the new articles added to the Reformer's website. Then, if I find one that interests me, I can click on the link and it will bring me to the article on the website.



The RSS and readers use timing as a persuasive technique. The information is coming to the user directly, freeing the user from having to spend time looking for the information.

In class we also began to looked at Google Alerts. Here is a video that I found useful to understanding the concept. This YouTube video explains what a Google Alert is, and how to set it up.



Like RSS, Google Alerts bring the information directly to the user. It's a definite technological shift. Users don't have to go to multiple websites to look for information on a certain topic.

It is also an extremely helpful tool for PR. People can set up their alerts for certain people or businesses that they want to know about, and then they will receive an email, as many times a day as they choose, about the topic.

In class we had a student from Champlain come in to discuss a YouTube video that she had created. It became extremely popular, and even Lady Gaga herself had seen the parody, because of having an alert set up about herself.

For my Google Alerts, I decided to set up one for Jean Kilbourne and another for Jodi Picoult.

For the Jean Kilbourne alert, I found a lot of the information to be websites mentioning her, and her research. One article I found was from Business News and it was simply mentioning her Killing Us Softly series. I also found out about different appearances and speeches she would be making.



When I created my alerts I included my favorite author, Jodi Picoult, because I knew that she was releasing a new book in March called House Rules. I knew that she would be making appearances to spread the word about the book, and I wanted to be kept informed. From this, I found out that she was going to be at the Norwich Bookstore on the day of the release in Vermont. Unfortunately, it was on a Tuesday, and I was unable to attend, but it was still helpful information.

RSS and Google Alerts are new technology that are revolutionizing the way Internet users seek information. It is making our lives easier, and these tools allow for information to come directly to our email inboxes.

Other tools, such as Twitter, are beginning to incorporate this type of information style. I have recently noticed that the Burlington Free Press has a Twitter account that acts as a similar thing to an RSS. They have popular articles as "tweets" and provide a link to view the rest of the article.

These technologies are fascinating tools that people are beginning to utilize. With information advancement like this, it makes me wonder what the research process will be like five years from now.

Hyperbole Can Be Funny [Part 2 Media Meditation #2]

I have recently seen a series of television commercials for UbyKotex, a new line of feminine care products. The commercials are based on humor, and definitely caught my attention. Here's one of them:



Below you can find my analysis of the commercial relating to the 21st Century Media Education Tool Sets.

The Triune Brain:

The limbic brain was definitely engaged during this commercial. The music was light, angelic, almost fairy tale-like. The limbic brain continued to be engaged by the images that came across the screen.

The reptilian brain activated when the hissing cat shot came up. It was funny, but at first I was caught off guard.

Then, as always, my neocortex had it's own role while watching this video. I was analyzing the commercial as well as thinking about other commercials for the same type of product.



Eight Shifts:

This commercial is a personal shift. This type of topic wasn't always talked about, and now television is bombarded by feminine hygiene products. They can also be found online, which is a different aspect to commercials in general. This new media allows for people to share the commercials and products with people, especially through social media, like blogging, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

UbyKotex used an epistemological shift for this commercial as well. Like I talked about with personal shift, the brand went from talking about product to making a commercial about it and showing it using images. Images are definitely more interesting than someone simply explaining it.


Seven Basic Principles:

"Reality" Construction/ Trade-offs were utilized well for this commercial. The company used humor to criticize their competitor's commercials. They were basically stating that all the other commercials fabricate what it's like for women to have their period, making it seem like the feminine hygiene products were the solution to all of their problems. They made their product seem more relatable, because the commercial portrayed an average looking female who seemed to feel the same way as other people her age about the typical pad/tampon commercial.

Pacing were also used well for this commercial. It used different clips of what other commercials portray women doing while using their products. The pace was quick enough to keep my attention, and was consistent throughout the commercial. The pattern would be that the female representing UbyKotex would make a sarcastic remark, and a clip would follow what she said.





Persuasive Techniques:

This entire commercial is based on humor. It uses a lot of sarcastic comments that women can relate to. An example I particularly liked was when the woman stated, "I want to hold really soft things, like my cat" and then a hissing cat appears (0:06).

Simple solutions was also used. The commercial was basically saying that the UbyKotex understands women, so you should use their product.

Straw man was a strong factor in this commercial as well. It was solely based on making fun of competing companies to make their own company look good.

As with most feminine hygiene products, this commercial uses plain folks. This technique is used to make the girls in the commercial seem identifiable, and properly represent the company.

Lady Gaga Backlash

Fox News isn't as fond of the new Lady Gaga video as I was. Here is what they had to say about it.

Calling Gaga [Part 2 Media Meditation #1]

Recently Lady Gaga released her most recent music video featuring Beyonce. It is a short film/music video written by Lady Gaga and Jonas Akerlund,who also directed the film. The always eccentric Lady Gaga went all out for this. Watch and learn.

Warning: it's not censored.



After watching this video once on Vevo, I knew it would be a perfect media meditation. It makes a good media meditation because it probably covers every single definition in the four tool sets. I'm going to jump right into the educational aspect of analyzing this video, because I find it so fascinating.



The Brain:

As with all music videos, the limbic brain has a frenzy. There is music playing, people talking, and images moving across the screen.

The neocortex is also highly involved because there are words appearing on the screen at different points in the music video that people must read.




Eight Shifts:

The first shift that I notice is the epistemological shift because the song is going from words and lyrics to an image of Lady Gaga's depiction of the song.

Watching the music video on the Internet is also a technological shift. There was a point in time where music videos did not exist, then they were exculsively on television, now they can be found on multiple websites like YouTube and Vevo.

I am also making this music video part of the discursive shift by talking about it on my personal blog. I am posting my own personal views about the video after watching it multiple times to dissect it.




Seven Principles:

Production techniques were used throughout the video. One that I really liked was showing the view from the surveillance camera's perspective.

Pacing was also used very well. The movements of the camera were extremely quick, and kept me engaged the entire time.



Persuasive Techniques:

The real reason I wanted to use this music video as one of my media mediations was because of the symbols shown throughout the entire film. I watched the video multiple times in a row, and continued to find more symbols. While watching the video I saw: Virgin Mobile, Diet Coke, HP, Quentin Tarantino's Pussy Wagon, Honey Buns, tattoos, Wonder Bread, Miracle Whip, USA flags, Polaroid, Plenty of Fish, Mickey Mouse glasses, and multiple Illumiani symbols. The most prominent Illuminati symbol was the All-Seeing-Eye, where Lady Gaga, and even Beyonce continuously cover one of their eyes with hair, costumes, or by simply flashing "OK" symbol (seen by Gaga a lot over one eye).



Humor was used in the beginning of the video. There have been rumors that Lady Gaga is a hermaphrodite, so to take down those rumors, Lady Gaga makes a joke out of it in her music video. When she is brought into the jail, her clothes are ripped off, and she jumps on the jail bars, revealing herself (well, it was censored). However, when that happens one of the security guards say, "I told ya she didn't have a dick." Then to continue the joke, the other security guard replies, "too bad."

Bandwagon is used because it seems like Lady Gaga is the one to convince Beyonce to be a part of the mass homicide at the diner. Beyonce agrees because Lady Gaga is doing it too.


Testimonial is an obvious one for this video. It uses Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Jonas Akerlund, and even Tyrese Gibson.

Beautiful people is used as well in this video, because of the people listed above. Lady Gaga and Beyonce dance around in scandalous attire, which includes a scene where Lady Gaga is simply wearing a bra, a thong, torn fishnet stockings, and high heels. I'm sure that's attracts a certain crowd.




Scientific Evidence is used in a way. There is a scene where the recipe for poison is listed on the screen. I watched this video on cable television yesterday, and they blurred out the recipe, so I think it's a fair assumption that the poison recipe is accurate.





Lady Gaga outdid herself for this video, and probably used everything from the tool set. These are the most prominent ones that I noticed. Hope you found it as fascinating as I did!

Mystery Revealed

As a part of the Electronic Media Writing midterm, there was a mystery assignment. This is the mystery assignment.

1. After studying media for eight weeks in this class, what have you learned? Be specific?
I have learned how to script video news stories along with TV commercials, using the "Web 2.0 Mash Method." This has been interesting, because sometimes when I am watching a news story, or watching a commercial, I am consumed by what is going on, that I don't fully understand the full effect of the entire clip. I have learned to listen carefully to what the people are saying, what the background noise is, and to read everything that is on the screen. I have also realized how many different scenes there are in a short video clip. I have also learned that blogging isn't terrible, and it may be beneficial to me in the future. Another thing that I may regret saying is, Twitter is not the devil.

2. What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself as a 1. a critical reader; 2. a writer, and 3. a critical thinker in this class so far?
1. I've learned that I look for specific observations while I read the text book, and other types of writing. I also start thinking of possible questions. This has made me a more involved reader, and has helped me retain more information.

2.I have learned that it is hard to write while keeping all the tool sets in mind.

3. As a critical thinker, I am more inquisitive. I have begun to question things a lot more. I have also started to look at movies and TV differently.

3. What's one thing YOU would do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?
I think that I would have been more open minded to our social networking tools. When I started the class, I did not want to have a blog or Twitter, because it's just another distraction that I don't have time to keep up with. Blogging also seemed very repetitive, because I am constantly told by teachers to contribute to a class blog. I think that if I was more open to learning about these new types of social networking tools, homework wouldn't have been perceived as such a task.

4. What's one thing you would like ME to do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?
I would like to do more writing. To be honest, without writing my own things, the class seems like a repeat of Mass Media. I think it would be beneficial to write my own script, instead of re-writing scripts that already exist. It would definitely be harder to do, but it would help me in my professional field. I don't really know what I want to do in my future, but I have considered advertising, and knowing how to script a commercial, and even try to do it, would have been helpful. But perhaps we'll do this later in the class!

5. Please comment on the usefulness of the course blog, your personal blog, our films, and our book(s) as learning tools.
The course blog is helpful when I need to refresh my memory. I hardly ever write down my assignments for this class, because I know that we always have something due Sunday night, and I can always find the exact directions on the course blog. The course blog is also helpful for studying, or completing other assignments. When I was looking for three facts that went along with my news script, I went back to the course blog to see what people wrote about for that chapter. It refreshed my memory, and I was able to find the information I needed in the book, with the guidance of my classmates, and what they wrote.

My personal blog has been helpful to getting a more clear understanding about the blogging world. I think it's been fascinating learning about how to customize the blog, and make it aesthetically pleasing. I also have learned about how to save drafts, so that I don't have to copy what I write on Word and save it for another time when I can finish. I have also mastered the art of going back and fixing my mistakes on the blog. It's easy to do!

The books and tool sets have taught me to analyze the media critically. Sometimes, I curse the day that I learned some of the tool sets, because they are always in my mind, and distract me from the mindless viewing pleasure. However, I think that they are are important, and have allowed me to understand how the media works.