20 years in the business --

 

Journalism Professor Bob Wigginton spoke to our class on the issues facing the current newspaper industry.

 

Wigginton continued our discussion on minorities in the newspaper industry by telling us his mission as an editor with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

 

Wigginton agreed that minorities must be present in the media, however he says that the best person must take the job regardless of race.

 

Wigginton told the story of his mission of introducing diversity in to the newsroom at the Democrat Gazette. Although he dislikes the word “diversity” he believes it to be necessary.

 

Wigginton arrived at the Gazette and he recalls that only one African American worked in the newsroom, and this in a state with 50% African American population. Wigginton made it his mission to bring in an African American journalist into his newsroom, and the community.

 

Wigginton discussed how, in this decision to promote diversity, it was important to hire someone with the skills not just the proper “color.” He believes that if you do not make an attempt at diversity, you will miss out on a great experience. You will also say the black community that you are not interested in them or their views.

 

Wigginton believes that often times whites believe whites are the best for a job, while often times minorities are truly the best for the job, however some people do not want to give them the chance because of the race difference.

 

He stressed that it is important that you not deny that sometimes it is possible to find minorities best for the job. Gannett Company Inc. has made it a point to promote diversity in its newspapers and on its news stations.

 

Wigginton believes Gannett is the “great satan” of the news industry. It is destroying journalism with the USA Today newspaper he explains. With too much splash and not enough information the paper is degrading the industry that is already in decline.

 

The industry is down with 1600 journalism jobs lost with in the last year, and 18 of these journalists being forced into retirement at the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Small town papers like the New Jersey Star Ledger must let go of many people or face a shut down.

 

The small town newspaper was important to the American news landscape, but with this shut down things will change. The newspaper is supposed to be a connection to the local community, however more and more small papers must rely on the Associate Press to fill the papers. This means fewer local stories, and fewer local journalists hired.

 

Wigginton wrapped up his question and answer session with a brief discussion of how difficult the newspaper profession is. He warns of his dealing with daily deadlines, rude people, and those who simply do not want to talk to the media. He however shared that his greatest reason for continuing was to make a difference in the world. He decided to leave the industry, but still wants to make a difference.

 

Wigginton is the newest professor in the Journalism school at Lindenwood. This new position allows him to continue to make a difference in the world by molding the new journalists of the world. He believes it is important that the next generation to carry on the torch of true journalism.

 

Journalism is the fourth estate of the government, and with out this watchdog role that journalism plays the world would be full of uninformed fools.  

Trivial Pursuit Pop-Culture = Higher IQ ?!?!

 

That’s right… according to “Close-Up on Controversy” Pop culture is making people more intelligent. So does that mean that in addition to asking Johnny if he finished his math homework, parents are going to be asking “have you played your Halo for the day?”

 

According to the article, Pop culture is making us smarter, but it is also making us dumber… that is correct -- another double-edged theory.

 

Steve Johnson, author of the book “Everything Bad is Good for You” states that story lines in sitcoms are becoming more complex than they were 30 years ago. The story lines of sitcoms like CHiPS and Happy Days, followed simple, single storylines of a few characters. Today’s shows, like the Office, and House follow many different plot lines and characters.

 

Why do the new shows follow a more complex story line… have people really been getting smarter because of increasingly difficult story plot lines in their favorite shows? Well even though correlation is not causation, the correlation is definitely strong.

 

 According to a study of IQ tests from 1920 - present, people have been getting smarter. Those in the top 10 percent of the 1920’s population would now be within the bottom third of today’s population IQ range. (Malcolm Gladwell, “Brain Candy”)

 

Education level has indeed increased over the last 88 years and has had a significant impact on IQs increasing. The increased IQ of individuals has led to the creation of more “cranial stimulating” television shows and video games.

 

So does television make us smarter? Well today’s television shows are… complicated due to Multi-threading, the use of many narrative threads of many characters that weave together to form an intricate television show. Shows are complex and full of references to political issues, classic films, philosophy, religion and other current events.

 

South Park is a great example of a modern television show stocked full of intelligent references to politics, current events and classic films. The show is irreverent and rude, however it had dealt with some intelligent issues in less than intelligent forms; and many young people use this as a way to gain information on the current world and its happenings.

 

South Park is a gateway to becoming informed on the world around us. South Park presents modern and pertinent issues in an entertaining form; this causes many young people to do research into the issues that are being expressed. This research makes people use critical thinking skills while analyzing the issues via different media sources to form an opinion on the issue(s). South Park is popular culture in itself, and I believe it, and most other shows are indeed making us smarter.

 

So what about video games… don’t they “fry your brain like an egg”… and yes I am referencing a cheesy PSA -- your brain on drugs. Many compare video games to a drug that simply steals your brain cells. However many argue that video games make people use critical thinking skills. Games like Halo and Call of Duty cause players use their minds to make accurate and intricate decisions that could affect the entire mission in a mater of seconds… like Chess on “crack”—Yes that is Pee-Wee Herman. Video games are a fun way to exercise critical thinking skills that players often do not realize they are using.

 

Like television shows, video games have become more advanced in their use of critical thinking skills. Look at Pac-Man of 1982 vs. Call of Duty 5. Yes Pac man forces the player to make quick decisions, yet those decisions consist of left, right, up, or down. Call of Duty however makes player make intricate decisions including all of the aforementioned actions in addition to say 30 more in one second. Players can switch weapons, duck for cover, and do many other things, and they must decide even quicker than the Pac-man expert.

 

Video Games and TV are indeed making people smarter by making them exercise critical thinking skills. The TV watcher must use critical thinking in order to form opinions on the issues satirized on South Park, while Call of Duty gamer must make split second decisions that could mean mission over or mission complete.

 

international student blog

When asked my top five movies of all time I have a hard time narrowing them down. However my top five American movies, in no particular order are as follows: Tommy-Boy, Remember the Titans, The Big Lebowski, Stepbrothers, and Monty Pythons’ Life of Brian.

 

All five of these movies have one thing in common: they are all comedies. Four of the five are American made, with Life of Brian being the only foreign made film. This British import is equally as quotable as say… “The Big Lebowski.” The fact that a movie is quotable is a way of testing its popularity in popular culture.

 

I believe the Life of Brian is a great example of how the importing of media into a country can influence its culture, in this case popular culture. I have enjoyed this movie since I was about 10 years of age. My interviewee, who happened to be 11 years of age and living in India was also enjoying this imported movie. This goes to show you that we, as consumers of media (in this case movies) are connected more than we think.

 

The media in modern India was quite similar to the media I enjoy in the United States of America. First my interviewee, who asked I not use his name, told me that he really did not notice a huge difference when he came to the U.S. in terms of television and movie media.

 

The television media in India is similar to American media in that the television networks are not government owned. The government opened its television markets in the early nineteen nineties to outside cable companies.

 

The satellite television in India boomed about the same time the American market did. The popular channels in India are MTV, CNN, the Disney channel, and even CNBC India. These stations are almost identical to those shown here in America.

 

The Indian station known as ZEE TV is an Indian owned company that broadcasts Indian Television in English and Hindi. The channel is much like an NBC or ABC, it broadcasts dramas, comedies and reality shows original to India. My interviewee mentioned many shows on this network, and one really looked interesting… take a look at Shabaash India

           

My interviewee mentioned a popular show that his small sister enjoys; apparently it is Hannah Montana. She even wants to have a band of her own, he told me.

 

 MTV is a way for some popular American music to find its way into India’s youth culture, according to my interviewee. Much of this music is not American though, for example his favorite band is American, but much of the music he listened to in India is Indian Rock. Because that is what old friend’s from home still listen to. As a teenager he remembers not having internet (not because of government control, but rather parental control) and wanting it to listen to American music. But now he enjoys modern Indian Rock music thanks to his “forced listing” due to lack of Internet.

 

As far as movies go my interviewee asked me my favorite movies, and I listed those above, he had seen all but Remember the Titans. And two of his top fives of all time matched mine. His favorite was the Life of Brian, and he also listed the Big Lebowski. However the Life of Brian is a key concept in this look at similarities in cultural media outlets. Life of Brian is a British movie and an import in to the U.S. and in India. The fact that we both recognize this movie as our favorites show that media from one nation can have a control over many different countries’ popular culture.

 

Many accuse America as influencing many countries culture and standards, and this is true, however according to my interviewee he enjoys American media from music to movies to television. He feels as though watching American movies and television in India helped him adjust quickly to American culture because he “knew what to expect… at least kind of.” He says the movies, especially comedies are most popular and influence young people in India to want to act like Americans. This leads me to believe American media makes us look like “clowns” only looking for a laugh.

 

Gen Y

I’m blogging ‘bout my generation… “Generation Y” that is. Generation Y has quite a few aliases: The Millennials, the iGeneration, and even Generation WHY. From these pseudonyms one could make a couple of reasonable assumptions regarding what constitutes a Millennial. The term iGeneration is a simple title with a seemingly simple explanation. The “i” preceding “generation” is an obvious reference to Apple’s beloved iPod. This nickname seems to simply expose that Millennials are music lovers who own an iPod. This assumption is absolutely true, however this “i” represents much more. “i” represents all that the iPod, and its cousin the iPhone stand for: a way to be connected, connected with the world and its media, a way to be connected with the popular culture of the age, and a way to be connected with friends at all times.

So with these simple assumptions made who is Generation Y? According to 60 minutes there are 80 million of us, we were born between 1980 and 1995, we only take yes for an answer, we come first, and we are “all winners.” We are tech savvy “narcissistic praise hounds” who cannot take a harsh comment, our parents (the baby-boomers) and Mr. Rogers told us we were all special, and we are unprepared (?) for work because of this. We are changing the face of business with our flip –flops, iPods and Yoga lessons. We are not going to settle with one job, we are going to keep adapting and changing until we find the career’s we want because we “can be what ever we want.” We will transform the office into a much more efficient, flexible, and nicer place to be.

I agree that I am a part of Generation Y based on the media test (score 21) the age group, as well as most of the assumptions made on 60 minutes. I was born in 1988 to upper-middle class baby-boomer parents in suburbia. I will admit that I do like to hear yes as an answer, but who doesn’t. I was indeed always told that I was a winner, and that I could do what ever I wanted. I believe this is quite true, and Mr. Rogers did indeed tell me I was special… but then again as a cynical child I remember thinking “hey isn’t he telling everyone else they are special too” I want to be more than special… I want to be above the rest, so I work harder and longer than many of my generation. I believe everyone is a “winner” in there own way, however I want to be a champion among winners.

I do enjoy praise, do I work harder for praise… yes, I suppose I do, but don’t we all to a point. I believe our parents (and Rogers) did not ruin us, they simply took a more nurturing approach and they may be on to something… it is said that millennials are changing the workplace for the better. Maybe that is because our parents want us to succeed and perhaps the inflated self-esteem gives us that ability to have our fun while doing exceptional things in the workplace. We are the new phase of the workplace and the elders need to adapt as they exit the workforce. 

I do however feel as though some of the more negative aspects described do not describe me properly. I am not someone who needs to be constantly praised for small tasks. I am a self-motivated person with out the need for a boss acting as a “coach.” I do not buy newspapers but I listen to the paper on my iPod in the morning on my way to class. I know that we are called narcissistic, however it is also said that we put family and friends first over job and career, so we cannot be that narcissistic. It is said that millennials do not hold summer jobs, I do, admittedly not until college, but none the less I do hold a job all year round. I work hard and feel as though my work ethic is more similar to that of the Baby-boomers. I am quite offended that we are stereotyped as only working to be praised by parents and “boss-coaches.” I work hard because I am indeed slightly narcissistic, and I want to be the champion among winners. I want the older generation to understand that we are hard workers; we are their sons and daughters… we are told we will be successful and that is our plan. 

The older generation in the workforce need to understand our goal is success, but we also want to have fun while being successful… and the earliest millennials have proven that we can do both. This is due in large part to our increased knowledge of technology and how to work efficiently and smartly. The older generation needs to understand that we may wear flip-flops and listen to the news on our iPods but we can still relate to them in many ways, and they should treat us as adults. We are reached easiest via email, text message and Instant Message. These new text based communications are still secondary to spoken communication. We communicate in code only via text message and Instant Message not in spoken language… do not try to be “hip” just speak to us like your peers.