Chapter 1 Review:
Initially most communication within our culture was based upon oral communication but was later replaced by the invention of the printing press and the mass production of books. One thing that I was not aware of that I found interesting was during our digital age a number of news networks started losing their audiences during the presidential campaign to companies such as MTV and Comedy Central which is quite amusing considering that these news shows (ABC, CBS, NBC) cover and focus primarily on politically-related events. In addition, critics and audiences have created a type of "skyscraper hierarchy" which in turn is used as a metaphor to classify high and low culture. The skyscraper puts "superior products at the top and inferior ones at the bottom" however I disagree with this as one's own opinions can differ from the next. Later on the effects ("does violence in media affect child behavior?) and benefits of video games are mentioned as well as Google and the birth of the Internet/World Wide Web.
Chapter 8 Review:
"Nellie Bly" had pioneered what had known to be detective/stunt journalism which was extremely effective at the time in terms of gathering information and personal experience. Her efforts influenced and inspired other journalists to be part of "investigative journalism." Along with these in-depth articles came newspapers. Although newspapers stocks have dropped in sale percentages over the years they still continue to entertain and inform the general public. In addition, I found that newspapers are impartial due to the fact each newspaper has to satisfy all their clients and political views/current events. This type of impartial news model was put forth by Adolph Ochs who had also bought the New York Times in 1896. Unfortunately in America, yearly newspaper sales are declining steadily. Print takes a large percentage of salary that many newspaper companies are now going digital since the print era is on the verge of extinction. This not only allows more detailed articles but enables articles to be updated instantaneously.
Chapter 9 Review:
Cosmopolitan had undergone many changes before becoming the magazine that most people are familiar with today. Helen Gurley Brown (whom I actually didn't know who she was) changed Cosmopolitan from a magazine which was intended for the modern day family to a magazine for "sexy single chicks." Why is any of this relevant? "Magazines reflect and construct portraits of American Life;" many of which advertise the latest products and give a sense of visual culture. Although magazines emerged slowly within America, they have come a long way introducing various types for readers of all kinds whether be it political or simply for general-interest.
Chapter 10 Review:
"Our oldest mass medium is also still our most influential and diverse one." With that said the creation of the printing press made it possible to create a portable medium for the public. Books serve as the building blocks of human society providing insight, knowledge, history, and stories towards our everyday experience. Many Egyptians used clay tablets or papyrus which ultimately preserved written symbols for the first form of "books." Later the practice was adopted by the Greeks and Romans who then used the material parchment as it was more beneficial for writing and did not needed to be imported; as a result, parchment replaced papyrus in Europe. Books later developed from hand-made copies, to block printing/movable type, and then revolutionized by Johannes Gutenberg's printing press. From his genius we get our modern day college textbooks, such as this one, and all of the electronic books that we have today.
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