The U.S. and UK and the social responsibility theory

http://focusky.com/gcwx/mlyo 

The United Kingdom is an island country located to the northwest of mainland England. The UK is comprised of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Under a parliamentary government, the United Kingdom has a prime minster and two houses: the House of commons (elected) and the House of Lords (appointed). The media within the United Kingdom is very politically biased. News stations have allegiance to their party of choosing, and when they switch parties it is a big deal. For example "the partisanship of some papers has been more fluid than others, with the Sun famously switching allegiances to Blair’s Labour party then back again to support Cameron’s Conservatives". The Sun is one of the United Kingdoms larger tabloid newspapers. The media coverage in the United kingdom has historically been thought of fiction more than facts. But, thanks to large news stations like the BBC (British Broadcasting Cooperation) and the PA (Press Association), the public is beginning to believe that their is more fact than fiction in todays media. 

United Kingdom television channels
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Television_channels_in_the_United_Kingdom_by_viewing_share_2008.svg 

The United Kingdom, along with the United States, have a social responsibility media system. The social responsibility theory states that the media be is free from government constraints but also has a responsibility to "provide the most reliable and impartial information to the public". In other words they must not just report facts, but put those facts into context with analysis that supports said facts. In both the United Kingdom and the United States, print media continues to decline. In the U.S. alone the newspaper industries revenue has declined from $49 billion to $18 billion between 2006 and 2016. In the UK print circulation has declined 40 percent between 2010 and 2018. This decline in both country can be attributed to the rise of digital media and social networks. Digital media and social networks are becoming the populations main way of reading the news. And why not? Most people today have a newspaper, magazine, newscast in the palm of their hand every single day. Radio has remained consistent in both the U.S. and the UK. In the UK radio listener numbers have remained the same for the last 5 years. In the US there too has been no decline. The FCC loosened it's rules on the amount of stations a company can own giving companies the ability to provide more content for their listeners across multiple stations. In the UK, most citizens get their news from the radio, but in the U.S., television reigns supreme with 50 percent of American citizens stating that they receive their news from the television. Television in the UK and U.S. are not that different however. Both countries have their 5-6 main channels and news providers. Also, both countries face the increasing threat of streaming sights such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. 

Major U.S. television channels and their partisanship ad placements
https://www.dailysignal.com/2014/10/17/republicans-go-golf-channel-democrats-pick-e-fascinating-facts-political-tv-ads/ 

Their are many pros and cons of having a social responsibility media system. Of course, an obvious pro would be that the government plays little to no role in what you can and cannot put on your station. A con would be that viewers may not always be seeing facts, but instead, fiction. Whether it be in the newspaper, online, on the television, or in social media. Any company could put anything out there and have a group of followers swearing that it is true when it is in-fact false. A pro for the United States is that it is much larger than the United kingdom which gives the U.S. the ability to have more media outlets for different groups of people. In the UK the small population handcuffs media outlets to put out content that is accepted widely by the masses. Now, I am not saying that the U.S. does not do the same thing but they have the ability to be more different and try new things with such a larger population. In conclusion, the social responsibility media system has the most free reign to put out content that appeals to all viewers and citizens. 

Bush addresses the nation

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/gwbush911addresstothenation.htm - video on this site 

http://time.com/3449480/911-the-photographs-that-moved-them-most/

September 11, 2001, a day that will never be forgotten in the history books around the world. 9/11 was the the largest scale terrorist attack on American soil. Three planes crashed into heavily populated government buildings: the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. There was a fourth plane also, but before it could hit it's target it crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The fourth plane was believed to be heading for the White House. George W. Bush, who was President at the time, addressed the nation about the attacks. Bush gave his address from the oval office within the white house in Washington D.C. His address was given the same day of the attacks, which was a very smart move on the part of the President. President Bush needed to give this speech the same day of the attacks. I was too young to understand at the time, but I can imagine a state of panic throughout the country and Bush's speech gave the people some much needed reassurance.

President Bush moments before addressing the nation.
https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/george-w-bush/pictures/george-w-bush/bush-addresses-the-nation-after-terrorist-strikes

For a speech like Bush's, There is not much of a need for an attention getter. He already had the attention of the entire country and perhaps the entire world. Everyone wanted to hear what the president had to say in the wake of these horrific attacks. Bush did not shy away or attempt to water down the situation "The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, an terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger". By not watering down the situation Bush allowed himself to be one of the people, not just the President of the United States of America. We the people could connect with the president because we were all seeing and experiencing the same thing. The emotional appeal of Bush's speech is off the charts simply because it was an emotional time. Emotions were already all over the place, so Bush's job was to calm those emotions with his message. Bush's logic going in was to provide reassurance to the nation "These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But, they have failed". President Bush wanted to assure the nation that no act of terrorism, no matter how big or small, will not scare us. Bush goes on to explain how he is giving all justice departments all resources necessary to capture the people responsible for the attacks. Bush delivering the speech from his desk in the oval office gives the audience the perception that President Bush is all business. There is no one else in the speech, just Bush, looking right into the camera, essentially looking into the eyes of everyone in the nation and saying everything will be okay and we will make sure they pay. Even though nothing had been done yet, no one identified, just burning buildings and people dying, Bush gave us reassurance that everything was under control and that we are still a strong nation. The people needed to hear this speech and President Bush did a great job in his presentation. Wrapping up the speech, President Bush quoted the bible saying "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me".

One of the news articles I found responding to Bush's 9/11 reaction was very positive. The Odyssey shared similar thoughts on the speech's frame as me. The Odyssey stated that "He believed that the first step of any successful response is to project calm". I too believe that Bush framed his speech around remaining calm and staying positive. U.S News.com was not very worried about what Bush did say but what he did not say. They told their readers that he had no defining quote or statement that would stick with people like past presidents. They were also questioning how calm he was following the events and during the speech. The National Archives published a blog post on the President's speech that focused more on the preparation of the speech. They wanted their readers to know how difficult it is to write a speech for a whole nation in a time such as 9/11.

President Bush was not even a full year into his term when 9/11 happened. Thousands of people were injured or killed in a country that Bush is the leader of: How would you react? President Bush handled the whole situation with a calmness. From the elementary school in Florida to his oval office when he addressed the nation, he was calm. I believe most new stations and news articles all seem to present the same "frame", that Bush was calm under pressure. The media is made to critique nowadays, not so much reporting on what happened but reporting on what could have been done better, and I do not believe that to be fair to politicians. Bush did exactly what he was supposed to do. He delivered a calm, but firm speech about the attacks.


Sources:

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/george-bushs-response-9-11

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2001/09/14/911-presents-historic-challenge-for-president-bush

https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2011/09/06/911-an-address-to-the-nation/

Barbasol Advertisements

Barbasol is a nationally recognized shaving cream and has been since the 1920's. Back then it was more of a thick cream, but today it is more fluffy and easier to spread. Barbasol has advertised it's product to appeal to men ages 20+. My first advertisement I am analyzing is a Barbasol advertisement from the year 1949. My second and more common advertisement I will be analyzing is a Barbasol commercial aired on television in 2010. The title of the commercial is "Close Shave America" which has two different appeals. The Barbasol commercial has music appeal and sexual appeal, as opposed to just sexual appeal in the 1940's still image. Barbasol is a type of hygiene product, and one of the more common appeals with hygiene products is sexual appeal. Companies shoot for the advertisement to make the viewer or reader believe that if they use this product they will be desired by the opposite sex because they smell better, their hair looks better, their skin is smoother, etc.. Barbasol's shaving cream and advertising technique as not made many changes since the 1940's with the exception of the addition of tv commercials and videos.

Women have always been used as probs in the advertising industry. A common phrase said in the advertising industry is that "sex sells", and this is true because we are human. We as a spices desire the sex, and advertising companies know this. In the 1940's, the stereotype for women was too cook, clean and be a stay at home mother while the husband went out to work. So, advertising companies feed off that stereotype by saying how their products will make you look good women (or your significant other) and then they will want to have sex with you. The image I chose artist's name is Carl Setter and he created a still image advertisement for Barbasol Shaving Cream. The idea Barbasol had in mind with this image was to create a sexual appeal from the image to catch men's eyes. Carl did this by drawing a young women stroking a man's face. In the image the woman is very young and very attractive. The woman is wearing a bright red apron that is very tight and revealing. The dress is also red, which is a more eye catching color than a duller color. She is wearing a apron and holding a garden tool meaning she was working in the garden, which back than was stereotyped as a women job. The first sentence in the description below the image is "To make a Tiger Lilly purr -- try Barbasol!", the tiger lily symbolizing the women in the picture. Barbasol is advertising that if you use their shaving cream you will make women purr like a tiger lily. This whole advertisement is based of stereotypes of women and sex appeal, which was the norm in Barbasol's advertising. Most of the advertisements I came across had a young women in them with provocative clothing on. As I mentioned before, sex sells in advertising because it gives men/women the illusion that they will have the ability to attract young and attractive people from the opposite sex.

In today's day and age, advertising has become much more complex. Today's technology gives companies to make commercials on television, with moving images and video. Barbasol is still a well known company in the men's hygiene industry. Big name companies like Gillette and Barbasol do not have the need to hire an artist for newspaper advertisements anymore, instead teams of videographers and editors to make commercials for television. I chose a commercial from 2010 that Barbasol aired on national television. Like the previous advertisement discussed from the 1940's, this commercial too has sexual appeal. What it does have that the previous advertisement did not have is a music appeal. The jungle titled "Close Shave America" is an inviting and catchy tune. It is a longer jingle than some of the more effective jingles such as Kit-Kat's jingle, but it still has music appeal. The words are not difficult to understand or follow and the music flows with the words. However, the music is only one piece of the advertisements appeal. The commercial begins with a man that seems to be driving across country in a Barbasol 18-wheeler, appearing tired and feeling the need to shave (rubs face). When he arrives home there is a can of Barbasol on a table with a note that reads "Welcome Home, xoxo". The man then shaves and is met in the bedroom by his wife. His wife, an attractive younger woman, is lighting candles wearing a loose over-sized shirt, almost appearing the reward her husband for shaving. Barbasol is advertising that if you shave your face after a long day of work, you have a better chance of having sex with your wife. The music is just icing on the cake because it is catchy and has a nice ring to it.

Although times have changed, along with stereotypes of women, one thing seems to remain a constant: sex sells. In the two advertisements mentioned, each had a young and attractive woman in the ad. Each woman was also wearing seductive clothing. Both advertisements gave the message that if you use this product you will get to sleep with young and attractive women. Each style was delivered different but it was heard loud and clear. Barbasol is still a powerhouse in the men's shaving industry because they have used effective methods of advertising to capture the attention of their audience. Most men will eventually need to shave, so why not use a catchy tune and a young attractive woman to lure consumers in?

ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Sports

https://theparcferme.com/espn-release-2018-f1-season-tv-schedule/ 

All over the social media landscape there are numerous sports reporting accounts, none being more prominent than the "worldwide leader in sports", ESPN. Created in 1979, they wanted to accomplish one goal, cover all major sports in the U.S. with hopes of covering major sports and sporting events worldwide. The growth of social media and its multiple platforms has made it easier than ever for ESPN to cover sports worldwide. In the past, reporting on major games or sporting events could not be done until the next day on the ESPN television channel. Now, reporting is done instantly. Scores are reported seconds after games or matches conclude. Reporters are never far away from their respective studios to go in and have a monologue about specific events and news happening at the moment. Within the sporting world there are always games or matches going on, all over the world, and ESPN is there to report on it. ESPN is most relevant on Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube amassing over 47 million followers/subscribers alone just on those sites alone. Twitter is the most followed with 33.6 million followers, and they use that to their advantage on a daily basis. These three sites in particular (excluding Facebook) are the biggest names in social media sports reporting given the capacity of users and the ability to report almost instantly. ESPN has a grip on the sporting world and I do not see that changing anytime soon thanks to social media.

ESPN has found the sites they believe will give them the most exposure in the social media world and those sites are (as mentioned before) are Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. Although twitter has the most followers/subscribers, the Youtube videos posted an average of over a million views per episode. With that being said, a subscriber only has to open the video and let it play for one second for it to count as a view. Regardless, averaging over a million views per video is impressive. Most of the videos posted are clips from the sports shows aired on the ESPN television channel, but it is what the people want to see, other than watching an entire episode on television, and ESPN knows and understands that. ESPN understands that on Youtube interactions are not as common as sites like Twitter or Instagram. For example, a video posted by ESPN titled "Charles Barkley on if Lebron James joined the Rockets" has over 3 million views, but only has 15 thousand interactions ('likes', 'dislikes'). So, it is clear that ESPN is more focused on the amount of views they have rather than interactions and at the moment they are putting out content that is getting a large amount of views.

https://twitter.com

Twitter and Instagram are beginning to become the most popular social media sites around the world. ESPN has recognized this and is capitalizing on it greatly. Twitter has allowed ESPN to give real live updates on supporting events, not just final scores or halftime scores. ESPN has numerous amounts of twitter accounts aside from their main 'ESPN' account: ESPN CollegeFootball, NFL on ESPN, NBA on ESPN, ESPN FC, Mundo ESPN, and ESPN Stats & Info. In total, ESPN and ESPN affiliated accounts have a combined total of 49.1 million followers. ESPN has tweeted over 96 thousand times. The main ESPN account averages around one thousand retweets and five thousand favorites on any given tweet. However, after scrolling through their account multiple times I have noticed tweets with media (pictures, videos, gifs) have many more interactions than tweets with just words. ESPN also does a great job with engaging with the audience by posting a poll every couple of days in which anyone can vote on whatever the poll is about. Instagram, on the other hand has a different approach to polls, only allowing users to post polls on their "story" mode, which ESPN also takes advantage of. Unlike twitter though, Instagram only allows two options for a poll, while twitter allows four. Instagram is much more media oriented. ESPN's main account on Instagram has 23 million less followers on Instagram than on Twitter, yet average over a million views on videos and over 100 thousand likes per picture. Why is this? Within the social media sports world it seems users would rather see graphics and videos rather than plain text, on any social media platform. ESPN needs to post more tweets with media on Twitter, whether it is pictures, gifs, or videos, it is clear that it is what their followers want. Also, ESPN should post at least one poll a day. Right now it is once every couple of days or even once a week.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Instagram_logo_2016.svg

ESPN, in my opinion, does a great job on social media. They have plenty of followers/subscribers on main websites which is key. If ESPN was posting poor or not up to date content their follower/subscriber account would be much lower on the three sites I mentioned. I say amount of followers/subscribers is most important because on any of the sites I mentioned any follower/subscriber can see a post, acknowledge a post, but not interact with that post (I do this often). In terms of interactions, however, ESPN is still doing a great job with how many people interact with their posts. One recommendation I would have is to post more media related tweets on Twitter, and post more poll related posts on both Twitter and instagram. These ideas would help with follower interaction. Overall, ESPN simply needs to maintain their current social media status with maybe a few critiques and they will continue to dominate the sports world on social media.

Sources

https://twitter.com/espn 

https://www.instagram.com/espn/ 

https://www.youtube.com/user/ESPN

Photo Essay: The national anthem protests

The national anthem is played before every sports game that takes place in the U.S. Each person in atendance (if able) is supposed to stand, face the flag, remove their hat and listen to the national anthem in its entirety. The national anthem's purpose is to let us as civilians pay our respects to the men and women who fought for our right to have the freedoms that we enjoy every day we are on this earth.  For the past two football seasons select players have decided to kneel during the national anthem. The first player to begin the movement was Colin Kaepernick, a former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. After his lone showing, many other players around the league joined in. Immediate backlash was had for the players as they chose not to stand. Some were claiming it to be disrespectful for all the current and former members of the military. The protesters (mostly African American) claim that they want everyone to understand that they do not mean to insult military members, but instead want it to be know that they are protesting police brutality, especially injustices done to the African American community. Such protests have gained such national attention that even president Trump weighed in on the subject. Eventually, commissioner Roger Goodell had to make a new national anthem rule that was declared this spring. The new rule states that if a player or team personal is on the field during the national anthem he/she must stand for the national anthem or they will be fined by the NFL. However, players and team personal have the option to stay in the locker room during the national anthem. 

https://sports.yahoo.com/colin-kaepernick-apos-supporters-voices-030613731.html Scene Setter: Kaepernick supporters gather outside of NFL Headquarters where meetings to change anthem rule took place.

Any major issue that the NFL faces is handled at their Headquarters in New York city. This photograph is important because not only does it show the location of the meetings to discuss the anthem controversy but it also shows how much the protesting means to the people. The supporters pictured want their voice to be heard just as much as the players want theirs. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nfl-players-huddle-owners-over-national-anthem-protests-n811651 The medium shot: Current and former players leaving NFL headquarters after meetings to discuss anthem controversy

For months, stemming from last fall/winter, numerous amounts of meetings between players, owners, and NFL personal took place to discuss the anthem controversy. Not all meetings included all parties. Some meetings were players and owners, others were owners and league personal, some were players and league personal, and some meetings included all three parties. The NFL wanted to hear what the players had to say other than just having the team owners speak on their behalf. This photograph is important because it shows unity between former and current players alike. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/sports/nfl-owners-kaepernick.html
The portrait: Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem

Coming Kaepernick will go down in history as the man that said so much without saying anything at all. This picture has everything a portrait needs: the action of Kaepernick kneeling, his afro which he says helps him embrace his African culture, and everyone else standing in the background. This is a very significant photo that is still being used today as news stations cover the anthem protests. The action taken place in this photo is the very reason the rule change was implemented. 

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2017/10/27/poll-majority-still-disapprove-nfl-anthem-protests/ Capturing Detail: Fans of the Miami Dolphins holding "STAND UP" signs in light of players kneeling

Not everyone is in agreement with the NFL players protesting. Many do not want to believe that they are protesting police brutality but more disrespecting military veterans. It is interesting that everyone in this picture holding up a sign is caucasian. The players protesting are protesting police brutality on the African American community, which would explain only caucasian fans holding up signs. It is hard for caucasian fans to understand what African Americans go through on day to day life. 

https://www.sbnation.com/2018/5/25/17391410/nfl-anthem-policy-timeline-colin-kaepernick
Capturing Action: Kaepernick joined by teammate's

Kaepernick was alone in his first protest, but was quickly joined by teammates. After Kaepernick spoke out about the real reasons of his protest he was quickly joined by teammates. After his teammate joined him in protest other players around the league also joined. This photo is important because not only does it show Kaepernick with his teammates supporting him, but in the background are military members holding the flag at mid-field during the national anthem. This photographer's specific angle is interesting because of the implications made about Kaepernick's protests and his actual stance. 

The United States of America is the melting pot of the world. So many different cultures and ethnicities gather to live together in this great country. One of the reasons our country is so great is that citizens of this country have the opportunity to exercise the right of free speech. Colin Kaepernick was exercising his free speech right when he began his protests. At the time, there were no rules in place that said Kaepernick could do no such thing. Each picture chosen tells its own story of the National Anthem debate leading up to the decision to make a rule. The protest outside of the NFL headquarters set the stage for the photo essay as it shows where the meetings were made about the protests and NFL players were not the only people that feel something needed to be said. The players and former players coming out of meetings honed in on theft that it was not just owners and NFL personal taking the matter into their own hands. My main subject was Colin Kaepernick and the image I chose zeroed in on Kaepernick and Kaepernick alone as he protested the anthem. The detail of my fourth picture really captured who exactly did not agree with the protest, mainly caucasian men. Finally, my action photo showed other players supporting Kaepernick along with military members holding the flag during the national anthem. Their are many ethical concerns that come with the pictures I chose because everyone attends sports games at some pointing their life. Everyone faces an ethical dilemma in their lifetime. How does one respond to said dilemma? Kaepernick decided to take action and do something about the dilemmas he saw faced the African American community. The reporting done following this story would be a lot different without pictures. Putting a face to the name and action with visuals helps readers more understand the story. Visual reporting is as important as written reporting because it gives readers more information about the topics they read or hear about in the news. The more technology advances, however, increases editors capabilities to doctor photographs to sway readers a certain way towards a certain agenda. I did not use any doctored photographs but it goes without saying that there are doctored photos out there and readers must be careful. 

About The Author

http://www.dbknews.com/2018/02/07/ken-montgomery-jr-maryland-football-recruiting-hillsborough/

        My name is Wyatt Cook and I am a Junior at the University of Maryland. However, this is not my first college I have attended. I previously attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. I am on the football team here at Maryland, as was I on Purdue's team as well. Maryland is my home state and I am glad to be representing my state on the field and in the classroom. I am an economics major, but I chose this class because I have always been interested in media. Not only is it a big part of football, but it is also a big part of my life. We use media every day as a football team whether it is watching film, being filmed, watching hype videos, etc. Also, everyday as individuals we use media as well.

https://twitter.com/twitter

        I expect to learn a great deal from this class. As a 21 year old I have been involved with media for a while in the sense that social media began to catch on in my early teens. Social media is beginning to take over all other forms of media. A majority of people get their news from social media, just because it is so up to date to the second. It is becoming even faster than television because all it takes is a few clicks on a phone and then it is out for the world to see. 

       

        I have watched many different genres of movies, films, education short films, interviews, etc. I have been interviewed plenty of times (usually for sports) and I am interested to understand how interviews form their articles and stories. Obviously, every single quote is not used but I am interested to learn about the criteria of a story/article, regardless of quotes.